Page 15 of The Rabbit's Foot
Oh, hell yes, Alp was certain. He hadn’t minded the motel room, but after a few days, nothing changed. After a few weeks, Alp was tired of being cooped up. The smell of the cleaners they used were cloying, the air stagnant. Alp wanted to get out in the worst way. When Mal suggested going to the lake, Alp could scarcely contain his excitement.
And then he had the audacity to say he’d go slow? Screw that.
Mal mounted the motorcycle, then asked once again if Alp was sure about this. He thumped his back feet against Mal’s chest, trying to get him to go, damn it!
A snort, then the rev of an engine had Alp’s heart thumping hard. When Mal put the bike into gear and pulled away from the motel, then opened up the engine? Alp peeked up over the top, watching as the road zoomed by them. Alp had never gone this fast in his life, and it was scary and exciting as hell. Hell’s bells, Alp wanted to shriek, but wasn’t sure if it was fear or excitement or both.
Then Mal tipped his head down and smiled as Alp looked up, and he had his answer. Definitely both.
In the rabbit community, same-sex attraction was seen as a normal thing, just like heterosexual relationships. Bunnies, after all, would pretty much hump anything that would stand still long enough. Hell, sometimes it didn’t even have to stand still, if the rabbit had good enough balance. For Alp, coming out wasn’t a thing. He told his parents he wanted to marry Jed when they were both five-years-old, and it was met with a fervent hope that it would last.
It didn’t, but by then, Alp had wanted to marry at least three other classmates. With every announcement, his parents wished him the best. Never once did they try to talk him out of it, or tell him he’d be happier with one of the does in the warren. By the time Alp was sixteen, he’d fallen in and out of love with at least a dozen different boys. Things took a horrifying turn when Lars, one of the oldest members of the warren, came out and Alp’s parents tried to suggest maybe he and Lars should get to know each other. They figured that Lars’s maturity would help to tame Alp. The problem for Alp? Lars was in his sixties and hardly ever left his house. Not that Alp had anything against older men, because they could be downright sexy in that gruff sorta way, but he didn’t want to be a home bunny for anyone.
“We’re here” came the rumbling voice from above.
Alp snapped his gaze up and marveled at the crystal-blue water, with the sun riding the waves to shore, lapping at the smooth rocks that dotted the sand. The day was awesome. A little chilly by human standards, but for Alp it was bracing. Mal put Alp down gently, and Alp did something he’d been dying to do for years. He lay on his back in the dewy grass and rolled around. It was cool and refreshing and, Maker, Alp wanted this moment to last forever.
“It seems you like that,” Mal said, chuckling.
If he only knew how long it had been since Alp had touched real grass. Not counting the day they met, when Alp was so terrified, he hadn’t even registered the fact that he was even in the tall stalks. Now?
He grabbed several blades and munched them, delighting in the snap of flavor. He’d missed this so much. Mal came closer and sat on the edge of the grass, right where it met the trail they’d apparently come down. Alp hobbled over to him and crawled into Mal’s lap. Sure, grass was nice, but feeling safe with Mal was way better.
“I can’t wait for you to be able to shift so we can talk. I’m going to warn you now, though. I have questions. Lots and lots of questions.”
And Alp couldn’t wait to hear them. Maybe… maybe Mal would know what to do about Hyde. Maybe he would even be willing to help Alp to shut the bastard down, and—no. He couldn’t ask Mal to do that. He’d already said that he didn’t want the headaches that came with being a First and that was why he’d run.
“See, the thing is, I don’t know a lot about rabbits, but I have to say, I have never in my life thought they could think so hard.” He slid a finger between Alp’s ears, stroking slowly. “It’s a day to relax, so try to let your problems go, at least for a little bit. Enjoy the area, explore, get some fresh water from the lake. Do something you’ll remember, because I don’t know when we’ll be able to get out here again.”
And Alp did. He slid off Mal’s lap and went to stick his nose everywhere it would fit. The scents, so crisp and clear, intoxicated him. Way better than the lab, with its putrid concoction of chemicals and body odor and sweat and… death.
No, Mal had said to put it out of his head, and Alp would do his best to listen to his First. His First. Just thinking the words gave Alp a tingle throughout his body.
He continued his exploration. He hopped toward the water, wanting to lap something cool and clean. The first taste was sweet and exhilarating. It was weird, but since he’d gotten out of the lab, stuff in the world seemed so much sharper, more focused, more… everything.
It was then Alp felt it. Deep in his core, a spark of energy flashed. It radiated from inside him, pushing outward. He knew what that was, and he welcomed it. He turned and hobbled back to Mal, who sat with his head cocked.
“You okay?” he asked.
Better than! He lay at Mal’s feet, urging that power to spread throughout as Alp remembered having hands and feet, that little pug nose that his parents told him was adorable, the blond hair on his head that could best be described as artfully messy, until he tamed it with about a gallon of gel, the blue eyes his friends said spoke of mischief. Long, slender fingers ending in nails that begged to be pampered, thin, elegant toes that had nails that demanded equal time, all as part of a frame that people had told him made him look like a swimmer, all toned and neat. A powerhouse stuffed into a compact five-foot three-inch body.
“Oh Maker,” Mal gasped, putting a hand atop Alp’s head. “You can do this. Trust in yourself, feel the energy and—”
“Shut up,” Alp rasped, his vocal cords unused to doing anything other than screaming or crying.
As soon as the shift was complete, Alp lay on the ground, exhausted, his chest heaving as he tried to draw breath back into much larger human lungs. The shift had taken everything in his reserves, and now that tank was truly empty once more, but he was human again. He was about to say something, when Mal manhandled him up and wrapped the leather jacket around Alp’s form. It was easy to see that Mal was far bigger, because Alp was practically swimming in the garment that he was now bundled up in. And it was a good thing, because with no fur, he could feel the cold. It permeated his body, causing him to shiver violently. Only when Mal pulled Alp in and held him to that powerful body did Alp stop.
“Hi, little one. I’m Mal,” he whispered into Alp’s ear, the warmth tickling the hairs.
Funny how his voice sounded so different when Alp was human. A deeper timbre, with notes of concern that wound its way into Alp’s mind, setting up residence there.
“I’m Alp,” he said, tears streaming down his cheeks. He never believed he’d be able to be human again. He feared he’d die as a rabbit. After they amputated his hand, Alp was left in his cage, never to shift again.
He wound his arms around Mal’s waist and sobbed.
“It’s a true pleasure to meet you, Alp the Bunny.” He sniffed the top of Alp’s head, then rubbed his cheek against it. “We should get you back to the room. Wouldn’t want you getting sick, especially after all the work Lydia did to make you healthy again.”
Alp could only nod. He wasn’t ready for Mal to lift him from the ground as though he weighed nothing. Or for him to carry Alp to the bike and set him on the seat.
