Page 6 of A Bunny for the Bear
I fought to get my breathing back under control after finishing the note. The good news was that I still had a place to live. The bad news was that I had a new neighbor. Then again, the neighbor might be a good thing. Maybe they’d even want to be friends while they were here. It was strange for them to only rent it for two months. I suspected there was a story behind the change. I was curious to know it.
Setting the note on the end table by the doorway, I went about doing as I intended when I first arrived.Home, shower, change.The entire process took about twenty minutes. As soon as I slipped my shoes on, I grabbed my keys and a jacket. It could get cool at night, and I didn’t want to be shivering if everyone else was prepared for the chill.
Once I locked things up, I took off for the park. It was somewhat in the center of town, which made it easy to get to. It also meant there would be plenty of witnesses should anything bad go down.
My fingers were crossed that it would all be fine. It had to be. I didn’t want to have any issues in a place that already felt so much like home.
As I made my way to the park, I pondered yet again over who all might be there. I was hopeful it would be a welcoming group of people. So far, I hadn’t met anyone who wasn’t happy to see me in town. They were all nice enough.
History had a way of slapping me in the face sometimes. Memories of my old pack and how they treated me came to mind. I didn’t ever want to go through something like that again.
When I reached the park, I spotted Arisha right away. She was standing in front of a small group of people, her arms waving through the air as she told some story. I laugh at how animated she was.
Her head whipped my way at the sound. That shifter hearing of hers must be better than most if she recognized me from my laugh. Then again, she did say she was a busybody. I imagine she had to have a good memory to earn such a title.
I waved as I approached. “Hi, Arisha.”
“Hey there, Ross. I’m so glad you decided to come. I was just telling all these lovely folks to be on their best behaviors as we welcomed you to town.”
Nodding at her words, I turned to face the group. They were varied in a way that gave me hope someone as unique as me might fit too.
A tall, broad man stepped forward first. He extended his hand as he said, “I’m Sheriff Nolan and this is my mate Barrett.”
“Nice to meet you both.” I smiled at them, then turned to the next pair.
The woman moved closer, her hands protectively over her stomach. “Hello, Ross. Welcome to Collier Cover. I’m Judy andthis is my Alpha, Kris. Over there is my cousin Clynt and his Alpha Maklihn. Mack owns the bookshop in town, so be sure to stop by.”
“You just had to introduce us all, huh, cousin? Mack and I can speak too.” The Omega who shared a few key features with Judy stood with his hands on his hips. He, too, had a rounded belly, letting me know there was more than one pregnant person around.
The baby boom had hit them too.
“Let Judy be, mate. She’s just excited to have more people around. You know how she gets.”
Judy sniffed, though she nodded at the one she’d called Mack. “Anyway, we should probably move on. I don’t want to be the center of attention anymore. The baby doesn’t like it.”
Arisha waved the final pair over. The two women don’t hesitate to pull me into hugs. “Easy, gals. Don’t scare him.”
“Oh, hush, Rish. He’s fine,” one of them said before turning back to me. “I’m Souli. It’s nice to meet you. This is my sister from another mister, Greenly.”
“She means that literally. We share a mother but have different fathers.” Greenly laughed as my eyes went wide.
“Thank you for clarifying. I didn’t know that was a thing that could happen.”
Souli nodded. “It can in some places. While most people only have one mate, some do get blessed with two.”
“Or more,” Arisha added.
“More than one mate!? That’s… terrifying.” I admitted the words when I really should have kept them to myself. Everyone around me stared with confusion. Well, allexceptArisha.
“Is this about your shifter status? I told you, there won’t be any judgement from anyone in this town. All are welcome.”
I shook my head quickly. As much as I wanted to believe her, I needed to get to know these people better before labeling myself as prey. There was no doubt in my mind some of them were large animal shifters. If I told them I was a bunny, they might laugh—or worse, want to play a game of chase.
Internally, I flinched at the memories that assaulted me with that single word. The old pack I lived with would often start a game of chase when they were bored. That or when I was getting too comfortable. They claimed it kept me on my toes.
Really, all it did was make me constantly look over my shoulder.
“I’m here! I’m here! Sorry I’m late.” A man carrying a stack of boxes jogged across the grass towards us. He set the boxes on the blanket beside Arisha, then wrapped an arm around her waist.
