Page 13 of The Rabbit's Foot
“With the exception of going away to school, I have lived my entire life in this town. I love it here and have no desire to go anywhere else. That said, I wish the people could understand my love of the animals more, and respected that. You’re the only one I know who would rescue a rabbit, spend an obscene amount of money on his care, and then take him to your room to watch over him. What kind of person does that?”
A First, duh! Alp never had one, but at one time, he’d had online friends all over the world who were shifters, and they constantly talked about what it was like to have a First. The caring, the compassion, the… Firstness of them. They made everyone in their pack, clan, gaggle, sleuth—whatever—feel safe, protected, cared about. That was how Alp knew Mal was his First, because he felt all those things when the wolf or the man was nearby. He had since that day Mal had cradled him as he carried him out of the woods.
Alp had to admit, he liked the feelings that filled him. He wasn’t so eager to see the world as long as he had someone who cared what happened to him. Not that his parents hadn’t, of course, but they’d had fourteen children—which was a small family for rabbits—and Alp felt left behind. With Mal, Alp knew he was seen. It was obvious Mal cared—otherwise Alp would be nothing more than a bit of extra fur on those dead bodies in the woods.
“So, dinner?”
Mal smiled. “Really, I’d like to, but I can’t leave the rabbit here by himself.”
“That’s fine,” she said, strolling over to the credenza, where she picked up a binder from the desk and flipped through some pages. “We can order in. We don’t have a lot of world-class cuisines, but there’s some really good Chinese food if you’d like to try it.”
Ooh, Chinese was one of Alp’s favorite foods! And now that the doctor had cleared away the mess that Hyde had made—and Alp’s mind continued to make—of his leg, his shifter metabolism was revving up again and he was feeling a lot better. Oh, and hungry, and he wanted more than hay. When it came to Chinese food, he loved the seasonings, the tang, the… everything. His mom, bless her, had tried, but she could never capture that authentic flavor. Alp stood, ears perked and peered through the bars of the cage. When Mal noticed Alp wriggled his nose, he grinned.
“Sure, I think some Chinese food sounds great.”
Yes! Then Alp realized and thought that bastard had better save him some. Especially the water chestnuts. Ooh, Alp loved those crunchy little morsels.
“Great. Take a look at the book and figure out what you’d like.” She made a move toward the door. “I have to go get my phone so we can call it in.”
“There’s a phone in here.”
She waved a dismissive hand. “The restaurant knows my number, and I get a discount because I treat Mrs. Wén’s obnoxious cat. Be right back.”
As soon as she stepped outside and closed the door behind her, Mal hurried to Alp. “Okay, let me know what you’d like. We’ll split it.”
Alp let his gaze drift over the page, and when he came upon Buddha’s Delight and saw the variety of vegetables in it, his mouth watered. He headbutted the book, and Mal turned it around to see what Alp wanted.
“So you want the beef lo mein?” He wrinkled his nose. “Seems like a weird dish for a bunny, but whatever.”
Alp grabbed the bars of the cage in his teeth and rattled them, which made Mal laugh. Seriously, even though he’d just eaten, it was a Buddha bowl!
“Okay, the Buddha’s Delight. Got it.”
When the vet came back, she placed the order, then sat at the table with Mal and talked. Alp wanted to listen in, but exhaustion swept over him and his eyes fluttered shut. Safe. Mal. Safe. Mal. The two words were becoming synonymous in Alp’s brain. He hadn’t even realized he’d drifted off until there was another knock at the door. He jolted upright and watched as Mal took the bag from the driver, slipped him some money, then came back to the table and unpacked each of the boxes. Alp’s mouth watered and his stomach growled as the room filled with the redolent steam. Mal picked up Alp’s dish and put a nice selection of sauced vegetables in it, then put it in Alp’s cage.
“Oh, I don’t think he’ll eat that,” the vet said.
Alp snorted. Showed what she knew. He stuffed his face in the bowl and started chomping on what Mal had given him. His first water chestnut sealed the deal. He’d eat the whole damn bowl to show her how wrong she was.
“Well, damn. I’ve never…. You have a weird rabbit, you know that, right?”
Mal snorted. “You have no idea.” He reached out and tapped the bars of the cage with his index finger. “Good food?”
How badly Alp wanted to tell him it was the most delicious thing he’d had in years. Sadly, he meant that literally. The subjects at the lab were given the barest minimum needed to survive, and nothing beyond that. In fact, it was the hunger and the overwhelming fear that drove Alp to attack the person on kennel duty that night. It was an ill-conceived plan at best, but when they opened his pen to feed him, Alp leapt at the man with his waning strength. It wasn’t like he could actually have hurt the guy, but throw in enough grunts and snapping, and he could see why the man jumped back, giving Alp enough time to gamely hop for the door.
From there, it was a goddamn maze. He’d had no idea the building was so large. Still, desperation drove him on, because he knew that if they caught him, he’d lose a lot more than a paw. He tried to shift, but there wasn’t any strength. He realized that was why they kept them deprived of food. A weak shifter was docile and meek, and only their use of shocks could force the shift.
He’d refused to give in. He continued down the hall, getting weaker with each passing moment. He’d only been out a few minutes when the alarms went off, and he knew he was out of time. The door at the end of the hall opened, and four men rushed in. When they saw Alp, they grabbed batons from their belts and headed for him. Using the last dregs of his strength, Alp bolted for the door they’d come out of. He barely avoided their blows, more out of luck than any effort on his part. The door was the problem. It clicked shut in his face.
“Nowhere to go, little bunny,” one of the men said, a sneer on his ugly face.
It was then things went dark for Alp. He didn’t remember anything that happened, and the next thing he knew, he was outside, running for his life as the men chased after him. He’d done his best to get deeper into the woods surrounding the lab, but they still followed. And Alp had to admit it. They were going to catch him, and he was more than likely about to die.
Then came his First, bursting through the trees and straight at the men. He remembered the tearing sounds, the screams, the scent of blood, and against everything bunnies believed in—peace and harmony—Alp was glad Mal had killed them.
Now if only he could do the same with Hyde.
Chapter 6
