Page 2

Chapter Two

Arley

“H ow are you doing today, Arley?” Elder Mitchell greeted me as he entered the town’s bakery where I worked. I had been working behind the counter since my sixteenth birthday and owed it to my employers for keeping me housed, clothed, and fed after my parents passed away. “Do you have any more of those delicious fruit muffins left? Or did they sell out again?”

I took the last remaining blueberry-lemon muffin out from its hiding spot behind the counter and handed it to my father’s oldest friend. “Here you go. I knew you would be around this afternoon, so I saved one just for you.”

“Thanks, kiddo.” Elder Mitchell handed me a ten-dollar bill and took his first bite of the treat. “You are way too nice to me. If the other customers knew you stashed this away for me, there may have been a riot.”

“You were my father’s best friend.” I wanted to shrug but refrained; it was no hardship to be grateful. “Of course, I will make sure to have your favorites available. Just let me know when you’re stopping by and I will prepare one just for you.” My parents passed away two years ago, but I was still close to their friends. The pack members, Elder Mitchell and Doctor Elliot, would always have my back. They swore to my parents that I would be treated as one of their own children. For that reason, they were second dads to me and I made sure to keep their favorite snacks on hand as a sign of my appreciation and affection.

“I promised your parents I wouldn’t ever let anything bad happen to you.” He pointed a half-eaten muffin at me instead of a finger. “I meant that. I heard some rumors recently though that I may be failing at my job. Are Marcus and the boys still giving you trouble? I spoke with them about cornering you last week. They said they’d apologize.” Elder Mitchell finished his muffin and took a sip of the tea I had placed on the counter for him. “Did they stop by?” His expression told me he already knew the answer.

We both know they won’t give up that easily. Marcus has it in for us for some reason and he’s going to keep bothering us until he gets what he wants. My bunny wasn’t wrong about him not giving up.

I’ll never give it up to him. Him and his wolf both disgust me. I just had to find another way to get Marcus to leave me alone. I just didn’t think there was enough evidence to get the council to step in fully yet.

“Not yet.” Thank the goddess, I was hoping they wouldn’t. “Don’t worry about it though, no harm was done. They just scared me because it was dark and they were drunk. I’m sure they won’t do it again.”

“They better not.” Elder Mitchell emptied his cup and disposed of his mess in the trash can next to the counter. “Let me know right away if they do anything again. They can’t get away with this and need to understand that actions like that will not see Marcus claiming the spot of alpha. The pack doesn’t need to be ruled by bullies. They need to remember that just because they are predator shifters, they are not to torment the prey shifters we share this land with.”

“I’m not one of the pack though.” The wolves in the area had their pack, but the rest of us shifters were in groups too small to form any clans or dens. In other areas, the pack may have opened its membership to shifters of all kinds, but here in Painesville, the pack only allowed wolves to join. Maybe if the council stayed in charge, they could change that though. “Perhaps one day the pack could open its doors to all shifters though.”

“You aren’t in the pack, that’s right. But you are part of our town and deserve respect and kindness like everyone else. And perhaps you are correct that it’s time for the elder council to vote on letting all local shifters join the pack and become a hybrid pack, like those in the city.” Elder Mitchell coughed, the sound a deep bark.

“Thank you, Elder Mitchell.” I placed a hand on his arm and offered a bit of calmness through my touch. My omega gift of grounding others could help ease his symptoms temporarily. “Are you okay? Shifters don’t usually get sick and that cough sounds bad.”

“Don’t worry about me. Doc said I’ll be just fine. There seems to be a shifter-inclusive virus going around. The best doctors in the area are looking into it. Most of us older folks seem to have caught it. But I bet in a week or two we will all be back to normal.” Elder Mitchell looked at his phone. “Isn’t it time to close up? Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? My mate, Stanley, is cooking my favorite dinner tonight, steak, candied sweet potatoes, and cheesy broccoli. Can I tell him to add one more to the dinner table?”

“Thank you for the invitation, but I’m a bit tired tonight. Let’s have dinner another time when we are both feeling 100 percent?” I checked the time and saw that he was right. It was indeed almost time for me to lock up the bakery for the day. “I’m just going to clean up for the day and head home.”

“Alright, Arley. Let’s plan for dinner next week. I’ll check at home with Stanley and let you know tomorrow which day works best for his schedule and hopefully then you can make it.” Elder Mitchell winked and opened the door, sniffing the air. Probably searching for signs of trouble. “Be safe tonight walking home. Call me if you need anything.”

“Will do.” Walking over to the door, I flipped the sign over, telling customers the bakery was officially closed and began my nighttime cleanup procedures.

I was a bit sad when I locked up the storefront half an hour later. My parents’ friends were the best, but seeing them always brought a small amount of pain. They made me realize how much I missed my family.

“Arley.” Marcus’ gravelly voice surprised me as he gripped my arm. I twirled around to find him and his two friends, Kris and Harley. “Where are you going, my sweet whittle bunny?”

I rolled my eyes at the annoying men in front of me. I struggled to break free from Marcus’ grip but it proved fruitless. Sighing, I answered his question. “Home. Now if you will move out of my way, I can get going.”

“Nah, I would rather you spend a bit of time with me tonight.” Marcus leaned in closer and took a deep sniff at the juncture of my neck and shoulder, licking it. “You smell delicious tonight. I wonder if you taste just as sweet.” I held back the gag and bile threatening to surface. The chills skittering across my flesh was bad enough.

I called on my ancestors to give me a bit of extra strength and pushed away from him. “I have to go. Just leave me alone.” I started walking down the block, praying he’d leave me alone. However, I didn’t run. Running meant he’d chase. At times, I wished I was fast enough to run far away from him.

Marcus growled and grabbed my arm, pulling me back into his body. His grip pinched, and had I not been a shifter, I would have been bruised for days. “I didn’t say you could leave. You need to give it to me, Arley, give me what I want. You are no match for me. You should be lucky I want to give you this pity fuck. Now take my cock and be thankful a poor little prey shifter like you is allowed to be filled by an alpha wolf like me.”

I spit in his face and prepared myself to be slapped by him for the offense. Like last time. But just like that time before, my resistance was worth it. Maybe I should have vomited on him. He would never be the one to breach my barriers. I would fight to the bitter end. Marcus grabbed me back to his chest and I hated that I flinched, but I was prepared to fight.

“He said leave him alone.” The town’s most respected physician, Doctor Elliot, stepped out of his medical office building next door to the bakery. He was an older gentleman but stood at six foot six and was an opposing figure. He was also on the elder council of the pack and now a witness to the abuse of power that Marcus and his group were partaking in. At this rate, Marcus would be showing the elders and the rest of the pack his true colors all by himself and I wouldn’t need to even testify. “Let Arley go, Marcus.”

Marcus’ iron-clad grip on my shoulders released, and I dropped to the ground from the force. I quickly pushed myself up and away from him, my heart beating erratically in my chest. “Thanks, Doctor Elliot. I’ll be heading home now.”

“You go on, Arley. I’ll make sure these three don’t follow.” Doctor Elliot let out a troublesome wheezing sound and wiped his nose in a handkerchief. “I may have this strange wolf-cold right now, but I can still kick some ass.”

“We weren’t doing anything, right, Arley?” Marcus called after me, Doc blocking him from pursuing me.

Overcome with bold confidence because backup had arrived, I raised a hand in the air, middle finger proudly displayed as I walked steadily down the block, head held high.

I heard the doc laugh and a low growl from Marcus. But I didn’t care.

I was saved.

For now.

***

I needed to shift.

The insidious itch started in my core and crawled up my waist and into my chest, soon spreading across my shoulders and flushing my face. My legs ached, heavy with the need to transform into that of my animal. The desire to let my rabbit free into the air. I’d been attempting to put this off for as long as I could, to stay inside my warded cabin and not tempt danger. But I could no longer hold off.

Undressing and folding my clothes, I laid them on the entry table in my hallway for quick access once I returned. Facing the door, I unlatched the triple-lock mechanism that my father had always insisted we engage, a mix of mundane security with the special magical wards my mother had bespelled upon our property. Now that they were gone, I continued the tradition of mixing magic with non-magical means to make sure the predators of the world didn’t take advantage of any sign of weakness in me.

I had checked my calendar earlier this week and was positive my heat was not due until a week from now. I was always reliable, never late and never early. So this couldn’t be related to my heat. I should be fine to venture out into the woods for a quick shift. Besides, from the few bits of rumor I had heard from a few other prey omegas in the area, the wolves had only hunted those they could scent were close to their time of need, using the lust the heat induced in the prey to take advantage of those they perceived as lesser.

My rabbit was confused by the actions of the local pack. Why do they want to fuck us if we are not worthy of dating or even befriending any other time?

Because they are horrible beasts who want anything they can get. I had discussed this with my animal before. While my animal waited for a mate, he still couldn’t seem to comprehend why no one wanted him.

Why aren’t the elders doing anything about Marcus and his friends, then?

Both my rabbit and I had no solid answers on that one. I am sure the pack was working on a solution, but I didn’t feel confident they were working quickly enough.

But what if the rumors are true and they don’t only hunt to take pleasure in our bodies, but to devour us fully afterward? My animal was torn between wanting to take his fur form and wanting to stay safely at home. If it wasn’t for the itch to shift, I would be half inclined to agree with him.

I shook my head, not allowing what my rabbit suggested to take real shape in my mind. No. There is no proof that has happened.

Yet. But you have seen Marcus and heard the jokes the others make. Do you really think they aren’t capable of such violence?

Stop. We cannot hide from them forever. I am in heat, so we will be fine. I stretched my limbs as I left my house and entered my backyard, quickly crossing into the tree line.

There weren’t many non-shifters around us in this town, so we didn’t feel the need to hide who or what we were. The benefit of being in a smaller town governed and secured by shifters was that we didn’t think twice about shifting anywhere on our properties. I knew there were other areas in the country where shifters had to be more careful, not because humans didn’t know about us but because they still freaked out and had most of the nation’s power. Although that was slowly shifting as well, and I knew one day there would be more balance for us all.

I allowed my body to relax once I found a nice spot in the woods. My senses tuned in to the area and, aware of only real animal life around me, I was the only shifter near. I closed my eyes and allowed the shift. The energy radiated through my body, beginning at my toes and flowing up until my entire being felt the tingle of the magic that allowed us to transform from human to rabbit.

Opening my eyes, I saw the world through my rabbit’s perception. I took a moment to adjust to the dichromatic vision, my world now a mix of blue, dull-yellow, and grayish-green hues. I loved how I could see the world differently in this form, and felt a tad sorry that non-shifting humans couldn’t shift and experience the world in more than one way.

Now it was time to play.

Jumping over a fallen tree trunk, I decided to venture a bit deeper into the words and find some plants I could forage. I wouldn’t roam too close to the rest of the town and risk running into the wolf pack nearby, but I also wouldn’t allow their presence to keep me in too tiny of a box. This was my land, and my family had been here as long as any of those wolves’ families. Just because nature deemed them stronger and better hunters didn’t mean they possessed all this land and everything that dwelled on it.

They would never possess me.

Although Marcus had tried. Even going as far as pretending to be legitimately interested in me for more than just a quick roll beneath the sheets.

I was a fool to have ever let him into my life. I had once considered him a friend and spent some time hanging out with him. Then his father had died and his true colors began to show. His friendship with me turned into an obsession to control and dominate me.

I told you. At least we never let him mate us.

I would rather die.

Don’t say that. They are on the hunt tonight.

I caught the scent of the pack just before my bunny spoke. The hairs on my back spiked and my adrenaline rose. It was time to run.

I shifted back to my human form. It would be hard to outrun the wolves in any form if they shifted. But as long as they stayed in their two-legged forms, at least I had a chance to escape them. My rabbit would be captured within moments. I would only shift back if I needed to hide in a small space. There were places my human form just couldn’t fit into.

Rustling from the trees on my left had me heading right. I needed to get back to my cabin. I couldn’t let any of these men capture me. Who knew what they were capable of? And if it was Marcus, no one would be around this time to save me.

“Ah. It looks like we are in for a good night, boys.” I heard one of Marcus’ cousins shout out to the others as I dashed through the forest. “Let’s go hunting.”

I was so fucked.

And not in a good way.

Goddess, save me.