by Alexa Riley
Bunny shifters are wired a little different than most. We get super horny all the time, even before we find our mate. But we can’t get off until we find them, so I’ve just been in a state of constant need for the past two years, and I’ve learned to ignore it for the most part. It’s a curse, but I’ve been told that once you find your mate, it’s a blessing. Because then all they want to do is mate, too. I worry, though, that if I don’t find another bunny shifter as a mate, they won’t be able to keep up. My kind are used to sex on top of sex until we pass out, but not all shifters are the same, and I haven’t heard of another rabbit living around here.
Pushing away thoughts of sex, I focus on waiting in line for my turn at the gas pump. There are tons of people here, both locals and tourists. I watch as the dark clouds descend quicker than I thought and the roads are blanketed fast. I catch sight of Dominic’s SUV with Ruby and the kids going by. I should have stayed at the bakery and gotten a ride with them, but I didn’t think about it, and I didn’t expect the storm to come so quickly.
Seeing all the trucks in line at the pumps, I worry that my car might not make it if I wait much longer. I don’t have time to wait before it gets worse, and if I leave now I have a better chance. Against better judgement, I pull out onto the road and head home, praying I make it.
Chapter 2
Finn
“This place isn’t the same since Snow left,” Forest says, and I see the sadness in his eyes.
We love our sister, and although we’re happy that she finally found her mate in Koda, we miss her being here with us. Flint isn’t saying much about how he feels, but he usually keeps quiet when he’s upset. The three of us were litter mates, so it’s not as if someone can feel something without us noticing.
Forest is usually the one who’s a guaranteed good time; he’s the laughter of our home. Flint is quiet and sometimes shy, but when he’s angry, everyone in a ten-mile radius knows. I’m definitely the more laid-back, but I’ve always been the leader. I thought that maybe as we got older and found our mates that things between us would change, but it hasn’t happened yet, and I’m beginning to worry.
We’ve been in Gray Ridge for a while now, and though we met most of the female shifters, none of us have found our mate. I think Flint and Forest thought I would go first since I’m the leader of our trio, but that’s not always the way it goes. There was a larger pack of seven of us when we first came here, but one by one they all paired off. Including Snow.
“You mean you don’t like my chicken and dumplings?” Flint says, and I see Forest smile.
“I guess if you consider burnt balls of lava ‘dumplings,’ then sure, they’re great.”
I’m happy when they’re happy, and I’m discontented when they’re sad. I feel the need to make sure that they’re okay, and the responsibility is heavy on my shoulders.
“Hopefully you’ll find a mate that can cook, because otherwise your young might starve,” I say, and the mood turns from happy to sad again. “Sorry, I just meant—”
“We know what you meant,” Flint says, cutting me off. “Let’s not pretend we aren’t the reject wolves in this town. No female’s gotten our attention, and we need to face those facts.”
He goes over to the kitchen sink and throws his bowl into it.
“It’s not up to the female to decide,” Forest says, telling us what we already know. “Maybe we should move on. We might have a better chance in another town. And now that Snow is provided for, it’s not as if we need to worry about her so much.”
“We agreed not to move again,” I say, leaning back in my chair. “When we came to Gray Ridge, we said we would give this a chance. Just because none of us have mated yet doesn’t mean we have to give up and move.”
“What if your mate is here and we move away?” Flint says, looking to Forest. “Would you have us all leave and never find your true half?”
“If it meant you would both find yours, then I would be willing to make that sacrifice.” Forest stands up from the table and for a moment I think he’s going to storm out, but instead he gets an even sadder look on his face. “I would give up my own happiness to see you two raise your young. It would be enough for me.”
I go to open my mouth, but he holds up his hand to stop me.
“Forest…” Flint tries, but Forest just shakes his head.
“I’m going for a run. I’d like to be alone.”
Flint and I nod, knowing that right now he needs his space.
“Don’t be gone too long,” I say, and Forest agrees.
I watch our tender-hearted wolf go out the back door and strip down. It’s only a half second later before he shifts and disappears into the surrounding woods.
Chapter 3
Forest
Soft moss and earth depress between my toes as I push my body to the point of pain. I want to feel the burn of my muscles and the ache in my bones because it’s better than the pain in my heart. I can’t take seeing my brothers like this, knowing there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
When I get to the back of Red’s Goodie Basket, I see Dominic Wolfe playing in the nearby woods with his cubs. He catches my scent sooner than I thought he would, and he nods to me in greeting. He’s the sheriff in town, and the few times that we’ve met I’ve really liked him. His wife Ruby runs the bakery with her friend Gwen, and they are always nice to my brothers and me.
I shift back to human form and grab some spare clothes from the box they keep beside the back door for passing shifters that want to come in and have a snack. There are picnic tables set up out here, so it’s a safe place for us to be ourselves away from any tourists that might wander inside the store.
I pull on a pair of clean sweatpants and a muscle shirt, thinking how only a shifter would know that the clothes can’t smell like someone else. It would irritate us too much to have the scent of another male on our bodies.
“Come to get an evening snack?” Dom says as he walks over and offers his hand to me. His smile is easy.
I take his hand and nod. I thought I’d get some homemade food to take back to the guys, thinking it might cheer them up. Every now and then Snow will bring food over, and it always lifts their spirits.
“Could use some of your wife’s famous magic bars,” I say, rubbing my stomach.
“Be careful. Those things have been the end of my six-pack days,” Dom says, glancing back to his young wolves playing with one another.
“I envy you,” I blurt out without thinking it through. “Sorry, that came out wrong.” I shake my head feeling like an idiot.
“Actually, I understand where you’re coming from.” There’s a gentleness to his voice that I don’t expect. It must come from having a mate and a litter of his own. “But you’ll find yours one day. All shifters do. We don’t always know it, but we are led to where they are. There’s a reason you’ve been in Gray Ridge so long. Your wolf knows it’s in the right place, and you won’t be able to leave until it tells you to.”
I nod, feeling my wolf stir in my chest. It’s something Flint suspected, but we didn’t know for sure.
“There are many females in this town you haven’t met, and more come every new moon. Be patient,” Dom says, patting my shoulder. “I suggest you get a basket of the banana nut muffins to go as well. They’re fresh made and make everything feel better.”
He’s right. Being impatient isn’t going to solve the situation, and I need to focus on being a good mate for when the time comes.
I say goodbye and go into the bakery, grabbing a basket and loading it up. Another perk of being shifter owned is that they provide baskets for us to carry back in our mouths so we can go home in any form we choose. They think of everything.
I greet Ruby politely, being respectful of her mate Dominic and not getting too close. Even a faint trace of another male would make him angry, and she is clearly marked. I stand on the other side of the counter, ten feet from her, and there is no mistaking his claim.
I see a carrot cake
and my stomach grumbles. I ask Ruby to give me the whole thing, along with the individual slices next to it. I don’t know why, because I’ve never really thought much about carrot cake before, but suddenly I’m ravenous for it. My mouth waters as she loads them up, and I can’t think of anything else besides the sweet cinnamon and cream cheese. A growl forms low in my chest, and when Ruby pauses to look at me, I clear my throat, embarrassed.
“Just hungry,” I mumble.
She smiles brightly at me, offering more cookies to take, but my basket is overflowing, and this should last us at least a day.
I slip out the back as Dom and his family are coming inside. I make the mistake of looking back to see him go to his mate and rub his body against hers. Envious pain creeps into my rib cage, and I hurry outside so I don’t have to witness it anyone.
I place the dirty clothes in the second box that’s used for discarded items so they can be cleaned and reused. When I shift back, I grab the basket and head home. Hopefully this can put a smile on someone’s face. Even if it’s not my own.
Chapter 4
Flint
When Forest comes back home, he’s carrying treats from Red’s Goodie Basket. We meet him outside on the porch, and though there is still a little sadness in his eyes, he does look somewhat happy giving us the desserts.
When he opens the carrot cake, the three of us growl at the same time. Shocked, I look to Forest and then to Finn, and they both have the same look on their faces. It’s strange, because I don’t know that I’ve ever eaten carrot cake, but suddenly I want to fight them for it.
“I got all Ruby had. There’s enough to share,” Forest says, and I calm down.
After a second, Finn laughs and shakes his head as he takes a piece. “Who would have thought we’d be this protective over a piece of cake?”
He pauses before he takes a bite, then moans at the flavor. We all do the same, and I have to admit that the sheriff in town is a lucky man. His mate knows how to bake.
After I polish off four pieces, I notice the paperwork sitting on the kitchen table. “Was Dominic at the bakery when you were there?”
“Yes, Ruby was working, so of course he was with her.”
“I need to get these to him. I should have taken them by his office earlier, but I got sidetracked with chores.”
Winter is almost here and we need to be prepared. Being shifters, we can survive the coldest snow storms, but we can’t stay in our animal form all the time. We had a tree go down after a bad rain storm last week, and I decided to be the one to restock the woodshed.
“I think it’s great you’re going to go through with it,” Finn says, and as much as I hate to admit it, I like his approval.
I’d told him that I wanted to apply for the open positon at the sheriff’s department. They need a part-time patrol, and I thought it would be a good way to contribute to the town while giving myself purpose. I can only focus so much time on my brothers and if I’ll find a mate or not before I go crazy. I have to do something with my free time.
“I think I’ll take them up there real quick before they close.”
I walk out front and get in my truck, thinking it will be quicker if I drive. The road from our cabin is private, but it’s nice to be tucked away. Although we aren’t far from town, sometimes it feels more isolated than it really is. Which can be a good thing for shifters in their own small pack.
My brothers and I have banded tighter over the years, and we like living together. Our cabin is a good size, with room for all of us, and more if we grow. We never talked about what would happen if one of us got a mate first and how that would work. I think we’ve all been avoiding the subject so that we could pretend it wasn’t going to be a problem. But as I look at the cabin in the rearview mirror. I can’t help but think, I don’t ever want to leave it.
When I get to the bakery I open my truck door and feel the wind on my back. I look up at the sky and see the clouds darkening with what looks like snow.
I’m about to step inside, when Dominic and his family walk out at the same time.
“Hey Flint. Ruby’s closing up early; looks like we might get some snow,” Dom says, putting the kids in the car.
“Forest was just in a few minutes ago and got a slew of treats,” Ruby offers up.
“Just wanted to drop these off to you, Dom,” I say, and hand over the paperwork he’d asked for.
“Thanks, I appreciate that. I needed to make it official so we’d be good if anyone asked. I’ll give you a call in the morning and we can work out a schedule,” he says, and waves goodbye as the family loads up and pulls away.
As they leave, the wind direction changes and I catch a hint of something. My wolf pushes to the front of my mind and all my senses are alight. It’s as if in one instant I’ve been struck by lightning. My jaw aches, my hands throb, and there’s a chill down my spine. I’ve never felt anything like it before, and though the scent is faint, the whisper of what it means is ingrained in my DNA. There is no mistaking what my wolf knows to be true, and in this instant, everything has changed.
I’ve found my mate.
Chapter 5
Finn
I’m closing the shutters on the windows outside as I hear Flint’s truck approaching. It’s coming faster than usual, but it’s probably because of the bad storm. My wolf can sense this is going to be bad. It’s come faster than any of us thought, and we have to scramble to get ready.
“I put away all the tools and closed up the barn,” Forest says as he walks out onto the porch. “Damn, it’s really coming down. Good thing Flint is back already.”
The moment Forest says the words, Flint’s truck comes barreling around the bend and Forest and I are immediately on red alert. We both go down the driveway as Flint comes to a stop and jumps out.
“I scented her!” he yells, before we can ask him what’s going on. “My mate. I caught the scent. We need to shift now.”
“We?” I ask, feeling both excited for Flint and disappointed for myself. It’s a big moment for him, though, so I push my own jealousy to the side. I’ll be happy for my brother and deal with my own sadness later.
“You should be tracking her before the snow gets too deep,” Forest says, quickly looking beyond Flint at the heavy snowfall.
I stare at Flint, though he looks just as confused as we do. He pushes on. “I don’t know why, but my wolf made me come back home first. I had to come back and get you guys. Maybe he knows something I don’t, but I have this pull inside me that I need you to be there.”
I begin to protest, but Flint puts his hands up in a prayer motion in front of his chest. “Please, please just listen to me. For whatever reason, I need you to come with me. Please.”
“We’ll come,” I agree quickly, and there is relief on his face.
Above all, we are brothers and we will do anything to help one another. There is time to worry later about what this will mean to the three of us, but for now we should hurry.
“The roads are going to be bad,” Forest says, pulling off his hoodie and kicking off his boots. “We should all go as our wolves.”
“Agreed,” I say, as we make our way out back, the three of us stripping off.
When we all shift and are ready to go. Flint leads the way, since he’s the one who caught the scent. He’ll know best what he’s looking for, but I’m not sure how we’re going to be able to track it in this weather.
Giant flakes of snow the size of golf balls are coming down in heaps. It’s as if the clouds have fallen over our small town and we are being covered. From what I can see through the thick trees, there’s already three feet of snow on some of the main roads. We run through the woods, sticking to the trails as we approach the back of the town bakery. For a moment I’m confused, but Flint creeps around to the front of the building slowly, keeping his legs low.
I’m worried that he’s going to get caught in his wolf form, but the storm is bad enough that any remaining tourists have long gone.
Fo
rest and I stay back as he walks over to the parking area and does a few circles. His ears move and then he walks over to the small table and chairs under the awning of the shop. Those don’t have any snow on them and he moves over each one, scenting them.
My wolf is anxious, watching him with bated breath, when suddenly Flint’s body tenses and he takes off.
Forest is hot on his heels before I can blink, and then I’m bringing up the rear. I don’t know how Flint knows where to go in this weather, but he does. I feel a warmth in my chest as we run as one, somehow our wolves bonding even tighter.
It’s a strange sensation, but I try not to think about it, instead focusing on helping Flint. If his mate is out here, we’ll find her.
We wind through the trees of the forest, the snow making everything quiet. After a few milestones, Flint stops abruptly, and Forest and I come up beside him. We stare down a side road that’s off the main highway. It’s not traveled much because it’s a back way to Dominic and Ruby’s house. I don’t think they even use it because there’s a better entrance that’s closer to their house a mile or so down the road. But looking at this narrow road in the woods, there are fresh tire tracks that are rapidly being covered in snow. Night has almost fallen, so it makes it impossible to see all the way down the stretch of road. Forest nods in the direction of Dom and Ruby’s house, and we all follow.
Up ahead I hear the sounds of what might be someone crying. I stop and turn my ears, my wolf on high alert. My brothers do the same and we look around. I spot something on the side of the road in the distance—it might be a car. The bank of snow is huge, but it could be under it.
Slowly we all walk over to where the noise is coming from. As we get closer, I can see it’s a small car that’s gone off the road and into a ditch and has since been covered by snow. Having a white car in this weather is dangerous, and if we hadn’t been out here whoever it is may have remained stuck.
