Page 17 of The Rabbit's Foot
“And they won’t,” Mal promised.
They lay quietly for a few moments. “Can I… I mean, do you think it would be okay if…?” Alp blew out a breath. “I was taken the day after I turned sixteen. I… might have helped myself to the family car, because I wanted to get out and—”
Mal chuckled. “A rebel bunny. I like it.”
Alp hung his head, his voice dropping to barely a whisper. “They took me, and my parents never knew what happened. I want to call home, but I’m worried they’ll be angry or hate me or hang up on me and—”
Mal reached out and gripped Alp’s shoulder. “Hey, stop that. Bunnies love their family. It’s how they’re built. If you want to call them, we can do that.”
“We?”
“I won’t leave you to face them or the people at the lab or anything else ever again. You’re my bunny, my pack. I will protect you unto my dying breath.”
Alp gripped Mal’s arm. “Let’s not go that far.”
It seemed right, being here with Alp. Being his First. Guiding him. Protecting him. Keeping him—aw, shit. These were the lessons First Walker was trying to instill in Mal. To show him that everything within the pack came from him as the center. Without him, the pack would fail. And now, here he was, swearing to Alp that he’d be there, keeping him safe, and that he’d go into this lab and do what he could to get the shifters out of there. First things first, though.
“Let’s call your parents.”
Alp nodded, then stood and crossed the room to the phone. He picked up the receiver and stared at it a long time.
“What do I say?” he husked.
“Start with, ‘Mom? Dad? It’s me, Alp.’ Then take it from there. No matter what happens, I’m here with you.”
Alp pressed a few buttons, and Mal could feel the fear and nervousness rolling off him. He stepped up behind Alp, put his hands on the slender shoulders, and rubbed gently. Mal could hear the phone ringing, and for a moment, he wanted to bundle Alp up and run away, but he needed to be there as Alp faced the issue. When a woman’s voice answered, Alp tensed.
“Mom? It’s me, Alp.”
And the tears rolled down his cheeks, big and fat. He scrubbed a hand over his eyes as he gasped for breath. Mal would protect him from anything, but this was something even he couldn’t fix.
* * *
“Alpin? Is it really you?” Her voice, brittle and harsh, broke, and the pain in it weighed on Alp.
“Yeah, Mom.” He stepped closer to Mal, who slid an arm around his shoulder. “I’m… sorry.”
“Alpin Dawkins, where the hell have you been?” she shouted. “We’ve been worried sick about you.”
How could he explain it to her? How could he tell her about the men who’d taken him, kept him in a cage, cut off his goddamn hand? Mom was a gentle soul, and she didn’t deserve this kind of stress.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called,” he whispered, ready to hang up.
“You hang up that phone, and I will bust your ass!” she cried out. “Alpin, please, I’m begging you. Don’t disappear on us again.”
As much as Alp didn’t want to burden her, he couldn’t help it when the story tumbled out of him. “I didn’t want to, Mom. They took me. They kept me locked in a cage. They did things to me, and….” He sobbed. “Mom, they cut off my hand.”
She gasped. “Who? Who did this?” she demanded.
“A doctor. He wanted to see if I could regrow it, and… I couldn’t, Mom. I couldn’t do anything. They strapped me down, and I had to watch as they… as they….”
Mal took the phone as Alp turned and threw his arms around Mal’s stomach. “Mrs. Dawkins? Hi. Alp is a bit emotional now.”
Emotional? Sure. That sounded about right. Alp could hear his mother on the other end, her voice strident.
“Who is this? What are you doing with my son?”
“My name is Mal. Malachi Kurian. I’m the one who found Alp.”
