Page 19 of The Rabbit's Foot
Mal arched his eyebrows. “Excuse me? Did you forget who’s First here?”
Alp waved his residual limb. “Did you forget what they did to me? I want to look Hyde in the eye before he dies. I want him to know I’m not afraid of him. And I want to be there when he pisses his pants, knowing that he’s about to draw his last breath.”
Wow. Mal’s little rabbit was pretty bloodthirsty.
“You can’t take this away from me, Mal.”
“I won’t take you with me, and that’s final.”
The scowl was instant, but then it changed and became something darker, more fearful. “You’re not coming back.” He jumped out of his chair, nearly knocking it over. “You son of a bitch, you’re planning on going in there to die!”
Mal grabbed his shoulders. “I won’t let them hurt my pack!” he snarled.
“What do you think dying will do? Huh?” He jabbed Mal in the chest with two fingers, actually forcing him to step back. “What do you think’s going to happen?”
“You’ll go home with your parents and—”
Alp let loose with what Mal could only call a disgusted grunt. “And again, fuck you. You are the most thick-headed person I’ve ever met in my life. My folks are coming, and they’re grabbing clothes and stuff for me. I don’t intend on going home. When this mess is all over, I’m still going to be here. They’ll come to visit, and bring my siblings and their kids to see me. Mom doesn’t like it, but she understands I need to be here.” He drew in a breath. “With you, ya big, dumb fucker.”
There was no way Mal wouldn’t admit Alp didn’t have a cast iron set of balls on him. But he also wouldn’t admit how adorable he looked with his chest all puffed out, hair spreading out like straw, breathing hard as he stared Mal down. In another life, another time, maybe Mal and Alp could have had something together. He liked Alp, both as rabbit and as man. Maybe…. He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to deal with flights of fancy. Besides, predator and prey? How the hell would that even work?
“There’s no one else,” Mal said, trying to get Alp to understand the gravity of the situation. “It’s just me, and I won’t let you be in harm’s way. You can hate me all you want, but that’s the way it is. Now, say, ‘yes, First,’ and let it go.”
Alp’s eyes narrowed. “Fuck you,First.”
Before he could twist away, Mal grabbed him by the shoulder. “You don’t talk to me like that. I am your First. You’ve sworn to me, so you’ll do as you’re told.”
Alp shrugged him off. “Not when my First is being an idiot, I don’t. Fine, we’re a pack of two, but wearea pack. Where you go, I go. There is no way around that.”
What the hell? No one had ever argued with Mal before. They all did as he expected. Why the fuck was he letting Alp get away with it?
“You will do as I say. This isn’t a democracy. We don’t all get a vote here.”
Alp flopped back onto the chair, his gaze locked on Mal. “Then you’d better figure out another way, because I will be going with you, even if I have to run after your motorcycle on foot.” He waggled his arm. “And you’re going to look awfully stupid with a three-legged rabbit chasing you.”
Alp’s words jolted something in Mal’s brain. Something his First had tried to instill in him, which Mal rejected. Family. Pack. Joined. The precepts of a pack sprang from the heart and bound the people together. It was forever, unless someone shattered the bonds on their own.
Like Mal had done. He’d run like a coward in the night because of the expectations that were going to be on him. He was too young to be saddled with the needs of a pack. He didn’t want to be responsible for anyone but himself. Only now he’d taken up Alp’s burdens as his own. How could he protect Alp, especially if the bastard wouldn’t do what he was told?
A knock at the door startled him. He sniffed and groaned when he realized Lydia was there.
“You need to shift,” he whispered urgently. “We can’t let her see you.”
“And why is that?” Alp demanded.
“You’re right. Here, Lydia, let me introduce my one-handed friend who, oddly enough, is missing the same limb as the rabbit, which isn’t here right now.”
“Oh.” Alp frowned. “I suppose that makes sense.”
But Mal could tell Alp didn’t like it. And truthfully, neither did Mal. Still, when Alp stripped out of the sweats Mal had given him, he couldn’t help but stare at the pale ass, the slender lines of his back, and the soft curve of his cock. Mal shook his head. Why was he thinking about Alp like this? They’d only known each other a few weeks, but he seemed to have… oh, fuck no. No, that wasn’t possible. It wasn’t something that happened across species. Was it? The thing was, it would explain his need to sniff Alp’s hair, to rub his cheek against it, ensuring Alp carried Mal’s scent. He was fucking marking Alp, so that any shifter or animal who got close to him would know that he belonged to Mal.
Motherfuck! He’d marked Alp. He’d done more than accept Alp into his pack—he’d made it so no other shifter would come near him without Mal’s approval. Worse still, with his scent mingling with Alp’s, Mal had wended Alp into his life. Because of that stupidity, Mal needed to keep Alp close, ensure he was protected at all times. He’d seen the First do it with his wife and children, marking them so it would settle him. Son of a bitch, he’d fucked up this whole mission already, because now he wouldn’t be able to walk away from Alp.
Ever.
Chapter 8
Alp lay in the corner of his cage, staring at the vet as she chatted with Mal. That insane jealousy roared through him again, and even though he tried to quell it, the heat continued to rise. What was up with that? Even though it had been all he’d wanted, why had he told his parents he wouldn’t be coming home, choosing instead to stay with the grumpy werewolf? And why, even weeks later, did his rabbit—and Alp—seek out comfort from Mal?
