Page 19 of It’s Kind of a Bunny Story (Hey There, Hop Stuff #3)

I must have dozed off, because the next thing I heard was the sound of soft whispers. I slowly opened my eyes, then bolted upright in confusion, not remembering where I was.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Monroe leaned forward, catching my frantic gaze. “You were asleep. We’re still in the waiting area.”

My galloping heart slowed as the room and the two women sitting in the chairs on either side of me came into focus. “Linc? Copeland? How are they?”

The corner of Monroe’s mouth turned down in a frown.

“Nothing the doctors have tried has made any difference. Fletcher told us everything he knows, and we informed the medical staff, but they simply don’t know where to even start.

” Seeing my distress, she was quick to add, “Don’t lose hope!

They are still alive, and that’s the most important thing.

No one is going to give up trying to save them. ”

I swallowed hard, unable to speak. I’d feel a lot better if we knew more about what we were dealing with, but it wasn’t like Blackberry Burrow was going to hand over records to the pack about a weapon they’d created specifically to kill wolves.

Ellora cleared her throat and bent to snatch a bag from the floor.

“I’m sure you’ll want to visit the shops and pick out stuff, but I couldn’t resist grabbing a couple of outfits so you could at least be more comfortable.

Since no one has seen you shopping in town yet, we figured the men were probably keeping you hostage.

” Her eyes twinkled with a knowing look.

“If I weren’t so stubborn, I think mine would still be holding me hostage. ”

Monroe nodded. “Yes. I thought being married to the alpha was tough, but Ellora’s mate, Mac, takes the prize for pure bossiness.”

They were back to trying to distract me. Needing to think about anything other than losing my mates, I appreciated it. “Mac?”

“Yes. He can be a little intimidating.” Ellora rolled her eyes. “But he’s an absolute teddy bear when you get to know him.”

“I’m sure you’re right, but everyone is too terrified to get close enough to find out,” Monroe teased.

Ellora laughed. “That’s probably true!”

“Maybe when the guys are feeling better, we can have a girls’ day out,” Monroe suggested. “That could be a lot of fun.”

Since I had never been on a girls’ day out, I had no idea if it would be fun or not. But I thought I would enjoy spending the day with them when I wasn’t so stressed about my mates.

“Here.” Ellora handed me a glossy pink shopping bag. “There’s a bathroom across the hallway. You can go in there and change. We’re about the same size, so I think everything should fit.”

“Are you sure?” I reached out to take the bag but stopped, hesitating.

It would be nice to wear clothes that actually fit, but I didn’t have money to reimburse her.

“You might as well take them because she won’t take no for an answer.” Monroe twisted the cap off a water bottle and took a sip.

“She’s right,” Ellora agreed, completely unapologetic. “I’m stubborn.”

“It seems like that might be a rabbit shifter trait,” I half-heartedly joked, taking the bag.

“Hmm.” Monroe rubbed her chin and pretended to be deep in thought. “You might be on to something.”

Following Ellora’s directions, I found the bathroom. I quickly slipped out of the oversized shirt and untied the short’s drawstring I’d been forced to pull tight and wrap around my waist twice just to keep them up.

The blue jeans she’d bought were brand new, but were buttery soft and faded, as though they’d been well worn.

They fit perfectly, far better than any pair of hand-me-down pants I’d owned in the burrow.

Reaching into the bag, I found a petal pink shirt that was made from the softest fibers I’d ever touched. Curious, I checked the label.

“Bamboo? You can wear bamboo?” I asked the empty bathroom. “Who knew?”

In the bottom of the bag, I found a sports bra, pink socks with a pattern of tiny white bunnies, and a pair of white slip-on sneakers. Within five minutes, I was fully dressed. Ellora had thoughtfully picked everything to be comfortable, the type of clothing you could forget you were wearing.

I moved to the sink to splash water on my face. When I finished, I felt somewhat human again.

Ellora clapped her hands together as I stepped back into the waiting room. “Oh! They fit perfectly!”

“I don’t think I’ve worn anything this comfortable before.” Feeling shy, I bent and gave her a tentative hug. “Thank you.”

“Don’t even mention it!” She wrapped her arms around me, giving me a tight squeeze.

Before we could say anything more, there was a soft tap on the door and the sound of footsteps behind us. I turned just in time to bump into Fletcher’s chest.

“Hi, love.” Fletcher pulled me into a tight hug.

I wasn’t sure who needed the reassurance of being held by their mate more, Fletcher or me. Unwilling to let me go, Fletcher sat down and pulled me onto his lap.

Cillian stepped into the room and moved to place a soft kiss on the top of Monroe’s head.

Monroe asked the question I was too afraid to voice. “Any changes?”

“No.” Cillian shook his head. “Our doctors aren’t equipped to handle something like this.

But there’s a hospital in Bradford, and a specialty team runs a private lab and facility inside it.

They have extensive experience with wolf shifters, so we’re hopeful they’ll be able to figure out how to handle this. ”

The alpha turned toward me. “Charlee, a helicopter will land in the next few minutes to transport Linc and Copeland to the hospital. There’s enough space in the helicopter for you to fly with them.”

He was doing his best to comfort me, but he’d misread the pain on my face, thinking I was upset about being separated from them; it was something else entirely that had caused my heart to sink to my stomach.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

Cillian nodded. “Fletcher, you can go with her. I’ll follow later, but first, I need to travel to meet with the alphas of several packs in a nearby city. They need to be aware of the danger this toxin poses to their wolves, and they need to be there when I call the burrow and demand answers.”

Fletcher looked at me and back at the alpha, clearly torn. “I want to go with Charlee, but?—”

“It’s fine,” I cut Fletcher off, knowing he felt responsible, as though he should’ve foreseen how Blackberry Burrow would use the toxin. “It’s not your fault. You should go with Cillian in case they have questions you can answer.”

Fletcher rested his cheek on top of my head. “I know very little about it, but I’d like to help if I can.”

This gave me the perfect out I was seeking, and I pounced on it. “Don’t worry about me. I’m so tired that once they take the guys into the facility and start working on them, I’ll probably just sleep.”

Fletcher studied my face. “You promise to eat something? You’re nowhere near recovered from everything?—”

“I know, I know! And I will,” I promised.

“Once they drop off Linc and Copeland, the helicopter will return to get Monroe and a couple of pack members. You won’t be alone for more than a few hours, and there are several shifters among the staff who will help you should you need anything.

” Cillian glanced down at his phone. “The helicopter just landed. Let’s go. ”

We followed the alpha down the corridor, where we met up with the staff rushing Linc and Copeland to the helipad. Out on the roof, we watched as they loaded the stretchers onto the helicopter.

Fletcher gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll be back at your side before you realize it. Be safe.”

“I will.” It was a promise I hoped I could keep.

A guy in a flight uniform motioned for me to step closer and helped me up into the chopper. The well-trained team took mere minutes to strap down the metal stretcher frames and make sure they were secure. They checked my harness, then gave the pilot the okay to take off.

My stomach dipped and my stress levels rose as we lifted into the air. In my worry over my mates, I’d forgotten that I’d never flown before… and it wasn’t something I’d had on my bucket list.

Free diving far beneath the water? Yes please.

Flying far above the land? No thanks.

I stared through the dust-covered window at the horizon. The sky had turned the rose-gold hue that signaled the sun was soon to set. Fresh grief pierced my heart, and I wished I were sitting by the lake, snuggling with my mates as we watched the beautiful sunset together.

Pushing aside my sadness, I forced myself to focus. I began a mental walk-through of my plan, wanting to be prepared the moment we touched down.

Bradford. I’d never been there, but I was familiar with its location on a map. Fletcher must have truly trusted the pack to protect me if he was allowing me to be taken to a city located not too far from our old burrow. Or had he been so distracted he hadn’t heard where the hospital was located?

When Fletcher and I had left Blackberry Burrow, we’d made the journey on foot because we hadn’t wanted to risk leaving a paper trail for the burrow to follow.

That had meant no taxis, no airplanes, and no rideshares.

We’d also spent most of that time in our rabbit forms to avoid the need for restaurants and hotels.

Several times throughout that trip, Fletcher had hidden me away so he could spend several hours backtracking and creating false tracks in case anyone was after us.

In the end, it had taken about two weeks to get to Monroe’s pack. Now, the helicopter was covering those miles in a matter of hours.

As the sun slowly sank toward the horizon, I rested my head against the window and watched the rise and fall of my mates’ chests.

Needing to touch them, but unable to move much thanks to my harness, I could only reach Copeland’s hand.

I laced my fingers with his, relieved to find his skin was much cooler than it had been at the house.

That relief was short-lived. What if that wasn’t a good thing? For all I knew, it was a bad sign, especially since both men were nearly unresponsive.

Linc and Copeland hadn’t roused as they were loaded into the helicopter, nor had they moved during the hours we’d been in the air. Had they given them a sedative? Or had the toxin caused them to be as motionless as statues?

I was too afraid to ask, and I wasn’t sure I could handle the answer…not when I needed to be strong for what was coming.

Cillian planned to confront the burrow and demand answers from the council. But if that didn’t work, they’d have to find a way to storm the gates and get the answers they needed from the scientists who’d created this toxin. But that would take time… something I wasn’t sure my mates had.

Besides, how could they get onto burrow lands when there was a toxin that could poison them if they so much as brushed against the limbs of the plants that created the perimeter?

What if the burrow had a way of blasting it onto the streets as well?

None of us knew how much of the toxin they had stockpiled.

Even if the wolf shifters stayed in their human forms and wore hazmat suits, the rabbits could have rogue coyotes waiting to attack and rip open the suits before they got across the perimeter.

The alpha would do whatever it took to save Copeland and Linc, but he couldn’t risk the lives of the rest of his pack in the process. That meant he’d have to come up with a strategic plan rather than going in with metaphorical guns blazing.

For the first time in my life, I found myself in a strange position.

I had the advantage.

As a rabbit, I was apparently resistant to the burrow’s toxin. I was also small, fast, and I knew just about every way to sneak in and out of burrow property.

I also had the element of surprise on my side. The council would be distracted from dealing with the angry werewolf alphas who were ready to declare war.

The very last thing they’d expect was for me to return alone. And yes, I was fully aware I was falling into the “stupid female tries to save the day” trope, but I didn’t see any other option.

Fletcher would never have let me return to Blackberry Burrow. Not even if I had an army at my back. But if he tried to enter the front gate, I knew he’d be arrested on the spot. The council considered him a traitor, and they’d make him disappear before anyone could come looking for him.

That was why I had to be the one to go. It was far easier for me to sneak in and out. Who would be watching for the one rabbit no one was expecting to return alone?

I already had a pretty good idea of which man was most likely to have the answers I needed.

We’d met on more than one unpleasant occasion.

His past repulsive behavior would make it easy to do whatever I had to, to get the answers I needed.

I certainly wouldn’t lose any sleep if he gained a few scars, considering how many he’d helped to carve into my skin.

Knowing there would be little opportunity to rest until I completed my mission, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. But it was impossible while listening to the labored breathing of two of the three men I loved more than life itself.

As the lights of the city began twinkling in the distance, I squeezed Copeland’s hand and committed every line of both men’s faces to memory.

When we left the burrow, I promised myself I’d die before ever stepping foot there again.

But now, I’d die before letting anything stop me from returning…

or from making my way back to my mates. They’d fought a pack of rogue coyotes to save me, and I was more than willing to bop a few bunnies on the head if it meant saving them.