Page 35 of It’s Kind of a Bunny Story (Hey There, Hop Stuff #3)

Monroe hopped in before the alpha could continue.

“That’s why we’ve asked you to come here.

And feel free to say no!” She reached out and squeezed my hand.

“Trust me, I know all about the nightmares a place from our past can hold. And if you decide you never want to step foot in Blackberry Burrow again after today, we will back you 100%.”

The alpha nodded. “The decision is yours. But we’d like for you, and your mates, to consider taking over Blackberry Burrow. If you didn’t want to stay permanently, it could be a temporary arrangement.”

My jaw hit the sidewalk. “You can’t be serious.”

“Dead serious,” the alpha confirmed.

“But how would we…?” I trailed off, my eyes scanning the place that had once been my home and my prison.

Women and children lined the streets on either side, their gazes nervously darting from the wolves scattered around, to the council, then to me. It was what I saw in their gazes, something I’d never seen before, that stopped me from turning the alpha down and making a beeline for the SUV.

Hope.

They wanted things to change, and this was probably their only shot at making that happen.

“There’s so much to be done.” My legs wobbled as I thought about the amount of work we were facing.

“Which is why you wouldn’t be doing it alone.

We’ve made some preliminary plans to help streamline the process for you.

” Cillian motioned around the grounds. “The women have been moved from the dorm building, and now the males are living there. The prison is under the control of my most trusted security team. They’ll bring the prisoners out daily, and have them work in the burrow while staying under close guard.

All the men who don’t have productive jobs will join that workforce. ”

Monroe squeezed my hand, barely containing her excitement.

“They’ll be working to build houses so each woman will have a house to share with her children.

Boone and Reese are willing to stay as well.

Boone is eager to revamp the entire lab in order to create a steady supply of the vaccine that can be distributed to packs around the US, as well as continue researching an antidote. ”

“Wow.” There was so much I wanted to say, but words escaped me.

Linc laughed. “I’m pretty sure Reese is just hoping for a chance to knock some heads together.”

Monroe rolled her eyes. “You’re not wrong. But she could be a positive influence on the women. Not to mention, she would be great at monitoring the interactions between the male rabbits and the females to make sure no manipulation is happening.”

“It’s possible there are couples, or fluffles, that would love the chance to be together.

” Her brow creased with worry. “But I think the females are going to need to learn how to set boundaries first. They need to see that a different way of life is possible, and feel safe while they get used to it.”

“Exactly,” Alpha Cillian agreed. “That’s why we want Reese and Boone, as well as some of our pack, to stay here at Blackberry Burrow. They will help with security, but also with anything else you need to create a beautiful haven.”

“It’s something I would have loved the chance to do to my own burrow,” Monroe added, her tone wistful.

Cillian noticed, and his stern expression softened.

“And you will soon,” he promised, brushing his knuckles against her cheek.

“Now that we know other burrows were involved in the capture and death of wolf shifters, as well as working to create a distribution network for the toxin, many of the burrows are going to find themselves under new management. This isn’t a problem with a single burrow, and it’s past time they were stopped. ”

“Ellora wanted to be here, but she’s already on the way to her burrow with her mates at her side,” Monroe told me, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“While going through Blackberry Burrow’s records, it was discovered that they’d placed a large order for the toxin.

And since a weapon like that breaks paranormal law, they’re overturning the leadership there as well. It’s time for change.”

I couldn’t agree more. For years, I’d dreamed about a life outside of the burrow. A life where I’d be loved and protected. It had never occurred to me that it might be possible to have those things here.

“What do you guys think?” I asked, searching my mates’ faces. “Are you really willing to leave the mountain? I know you love it.”

“Sugar,” Linc said, giving me a slow, lazy smile, “I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth as long as I get to hold you in my arms at night.”

“And you?” I asked, looking up at Copeland.

“We locked ourselves away, hurt from past attempts at failing to find a mate. It’s time for us to leave our self-imposed isolation and experience new adventures with you”—Copeland exchanged glances with Linc and Fletcher—“with our family . This seems like a pretty good place to start.”

It wasn’t going to be easy, but nothing worth fighting for ever was. I would make Blackberry Burrow a wonderful place to live. And I’d enjoy knowing that the men who’d once made me feel so small would be forced to watch me undo every indignity they’d forced upon those weaker than them.

Oh, yeah. I was definitely going to enjoy this.