by Golden Angel
The unholy sound of chaos, guns firing, screams, and snarls got even higher as Kasim leaped and cleared the barrier, landing on the side where the humans were. He was a much larger target than Bailey's tiny form, but his wicked claws and sharp teeth made it possible for him to take out a soldier with a single swipe of his paw, rather than having to go for the throat like Bailey was.
Steele skidded to a halt next to his mate, snarling and knocking the darts from her skin with his snout. Since she'd basically knocked the jeep over, anyone who wanted to shoot at him or her was going to have to come over the cars to do so, and going by the noises, they were a little too distracted to even think about that right now. Only two darts had actually managed to bury into her flesh, blocked by all the fluffy white fur. He sneezed as some of it got into his nose.
Wake up, wake up, wake up.
He didn't think Kasim and Bailey were going to be routed, but just in case... if they needed to move out of here in a hurry for some reason, they couldn't do that with Bailey asleep. Her shape in this form was just too big for one person to easily carry.
Everything he'd ever heard about mates ran through his head - most of which he barely remembered and really wished he'd done a better job of paying attention to. Supposedly, he should be able to share his strength with Bethany. Would that be enough to wake her up? He had no idea, but he knew he had to at least try.
It wasn't hard to find that little knot of emotions in his head that was 'other.' Up until this moment, he hadn't always been aware of it - especially when his own emotions were running high - but now it was just this big blank spot. Even when she'd been sleeping, there had been something there, taking up space. The lack of it was making his wolf feel even more panicked.
Steele pushed against that spot in his head. The screams and shouted orders fuzzed out as he focused everything he had on the place in his head where Bethany was supposed to be. He could hear more people coming, more violence heading towards them, and knew that this was rapidly going to turn into a shit show. It wasn't just humans heading their way, but his own people as well; Main Street was about to become a big battleground and his mate was lying helpless on the ground!
Growling, his wolf pressed his body against hers, rubbing his scent over her throat and fluffy cheek, sneezing again as her whiskers tickled his nose.
Come on baby, wake up... I need you.
That spot fluttered with something almost like awareness. Encouraged, Steele pushed harder, imagining his own energy pushing into her emptiness and filling her up, trying to give her himself.
It... felt like something was happening. He felt weaker. He felt her waking up, felt her emotions snapping to life... and himself draining into her. It was like having his energy sucked up into a vacuum, except that he was happy about it.
To his shock, his wolf suddenly shivered and he shifted back to human without meaning to. The energy transfer stopped, as if the shift had broken the connection, even though he could still feel Bethany in his head - that part of the connection hadn't broken.
Totally naked, he knelt in the street, stroking her sides. "Baby, wake up, please wake up."
A shudder went through her and she suddenly rocked, the way any animal did when it was lying asleep on its side and something startled it. Her back legs kicked and Steele was glad that he was standing up by her head.
"Thank god," he whispered as she rolled onto her feet, nose twitching, and whiskers brushing his face. Her cute pink nose was the size of his hand and, if he'd been standing, her face would be almost level with his - although her long ears put her well over his height. Right now it felt like his legs were too shaky for him to get up; he was as exhausted as he was after a night of running and hunting in the woods. Which was not real fucking ideal, right now.
Growling, his mate suddenly flipped around, blocking his view of Main Street with her bulk. He could still hear the approaching fight, though... well, not so much a fight as The Company's soldiers trying to retreat to what they thought of as their base, only to find a bear-sized bunny blocking the way.
Hearing Kasim's low rumble - not quite a roar, but certainly a threatening sound - Steele forced himself to his feet so that he could see what was happening. His strength was returning, just more slowly than he was used to. On the other side of Bethany, The Company's mercs were fighting for their lives against shifters. They'd managed to get out of range of the snipers, although Steele was pretty sure they weren't far behind.
With one hand on his mate's fluffy shoulder, he turned to peek over the cars behind them. Kasim was still in lion form, one paw squashing a little ball of sticky red and white fluff. Bailey was squirming, trying to get out from under him, snapping her sharp little teeth at the still body of Dr. Montgomery. The doctor wasn't dead - not for lack of trying by Bailey - and Steele was relieved. He needed the doctor alive. Just for a little bit longer. Once Steele and Eli had the information they wanted from him, Bailey could go all Monty Python on him if she wanted.
"Bailey," he said, projecting his voice over the sounds of violence coming from behind him, his tone Alpha stern. "Stop fighting Kasim. We need to ask Dr. Montgomery some questions, which means we need him alive right now."
The wiggly, blood-stained vicious bunny stopped moving, peering at him suspiciously. He nodded his head at her, keeping his hand on her sister's shoulder as Bethany growled her own displeasure, her upper lip lifting menacingly. Damn. His mate's fangs were even bigger than his.
Not that he was intimidated by her teeth. Size wasn't everything.
Steele petted her, surprised by the hardness he felt underneath the soft fur... a bunny the size of a bear, with a bear's sharp teeth, and a turtle shell on her body? Geezus... the doctor had a lot of explaining to do. It was like Bethany was a mish-mash of all the animal genes her family possessed. Whereas it looked like Bailey had gotten the teeth, but not the size. He wondered if she had a shell underneath too... going by the way Kasim had no compunction about keeping her under his heavy paw, even though she'd stopped struggling, Steele assumed so. This went so far beyond impossible… no wonder any growling the Bunsons did sounded completely unnatural. Still, talk about having the best of all their animal genes. Steele might even be a little jealous. His wolf was big, but not like, bear-size big.
The sounds of violence had completely died down on the street behind him, so he turned to take care of that. They needed to pile the bodies, separate them from the wounded enemy, get any of their own people's injuries taken care of, and interrogate any of The Company's men that were still left alive. Like the two kneeling in the middle of the street, their hands twined behind their necks, heads bowed in defeat.
Smart men.
Taking a step, Steele almost stumbled on a rock, steadying himself with his hand on his mate's body again.
"Thanks," he said, patting her. His bunny made a strange, almost growling noise. Could bunnies growl? Or was that the bear part of her? He was 99% sure it had nothing to do with the turtle. "Are you going to change back to human anytime soon?" She looked away from him. "That's fine, if you don't want to," he said reassuringly. He assumed she might feel safer in this form right now. Or maybe she just didn't want to get naked in front of all of his soldiers. Nudity didn't bother shifters, but he didn't expect Bethany to behave like a normal shifter. "Will you walk with me?"
Turning her head back towards him, the bunny made that same little funny growl. It was pretty cute actually.
"Kasim, let Bailey up, and keep Dr. Montgomery secure. I want to question him back at base."
Orders given, Steele grinned and walked forward, keeping his hand on her body - he couldn't keep it in the same spot as they moved, because her little hops meant her shoulder didn't stay at the same height. Her fur flowed over his hand as they moved, and he couldn't help but grin. She was so soft and cuddly, even if she was also big and vicious, in this form. Even though he hated the way she'd become a shifter, he couldn't help but admire how incredible she was.
Alt
hough he scowled as he noticed her bunny eyes going wide, her gaze skipping across the street half full of naked men. Only half full because some of them were still in their animal forms. Nudity wasn't a big thing, but it suddenly occurred to him that he was probably the only naked man Bethany had ever seen until today, and now she was getting an eyeful. Steele growled under his breath. She better not be enjoying it too much.
The sun glinting off of metal, sending up a bright flash of unintentional light, saved his life.
"SNIPER!" Someone yelled at the same time Bethany's body suddenly bowled him over.
All he could see was white fluff as he was completely covered by his mate, her heavy weight pinning him down. The sound of a gun going off, followed by a strange thud that he could only assume was the bullet impact; Bethany's body shook and Steele knew that the shooter had been aiming at him and she'd just thrown herself in the way! That was his job!
"Bethany!" He roared her name, shoving at her, frantic to push her off of him so that he could see the damage, not caring about the scrapes he was collecting as the street tore at his bare skin. Good god, she weighed a ton in animal form!
Another gunshot. "Got him! Shooter down!"
Raoul sounded pissed. As well he should be – it had been his job to keep any snipers from getting into position! The amount of ground they’d all had to cover (and the fact that Bethany had moved a fucking mile from her initial position) obviously had made that a hell of a lot more difficult, but if his mate was hurt, Steele wouldn’t care what the reason was.
"Bethany let me up!" He pushed as hard as he could, rolling her back... and stopped dead. There wasn't any blood anywhere. In fact, she looked like a big white cotton ball. "Bethany?"
Her head suddenly popped out, making him - and everyone else around him - stare in disbelief. The bunny twitched her nose and then sighed, shifting back into her human form, which seemed even tinier by comparison. Sitting on the street next to her was the silver bullet.
******
Curling into a ball, Bethany tried to stop the trembling of her body. She wasn't even sure what she was more upset about - the fact that now everyone knew what a monster she was, that she was naked in front of all of them, or that Steele was staring at her like she was a freak.
Actually, she was pretty sure that last one was what she was most upset about. She'd just saved him from being shot after all. Did he have to look at her like that? The inside of her chest felt like it was ripping apart.
"Bethany?" he asked again, this time his voice kind of hoarse.
Hardening her heart against any condemnation, she glared back up at him, doing her best to ignore the people around them. "What?" she snapped.
"Are you okay?"
That... was not the question she was expecting. "Yes," she said, confused.
And then squeaked in alarm as Mr. Confusing-and-Delicious (yes, she was still aware of how hot he was, even when he was breaking her heart) suddenly lunged forward and she found herself wrapped up in his arms, her legs dangling over his forearm, while his other arm was securely supporting her back. She grabbed at his neck, just to feel more on balance.
"Don't you ever do that again." He started pressing kisses to her temple and the top of her head, his hands squeezing her tightly, as if he was afraid to let her go.
For a moment she thought he meant shift into her creature, but only for a moment. Somehow she knew that wasn't what he was talking about, but that just left her even more confused.
"Do what?"
"Do what? Do what?" He sounded infuriated, but the emotion coming through her head was fear. Bethany was startled to realize that she could read him more clearly than ever... and she didn't sense any disgust. No rejection. And his fear wasn't of her, but for her. "Jump in front of a bullet! Do not ever do THAT again!"
His dark eyes were practically bulging as he glared at her.
"Oh, that."
"Oh?! That?!" Mr. Naked-and-Inarticulate snarled, his hands tightening as if he had just remembered that he was carrying her, and so he couldn't throw them in the air in exasperation.
"I knew they wouldn't hurt me," she explained, although she couldn't help but be touched about his freak out.
"How could you poss-" His voice cut off and his arms tightened even more, making her squeak, as he turned his head back in the direction of Dr. Montgomery. Kasim was just coming around the jeep, carrying the doctor's limp form over his shoulder, just as gloriously naked as Steele was. He looked like an ebony statue, sunlight soaking into his dark skin, his hair hanging down his bare back and a very nice cock swaying gently in front of him as he walked. Bailey trailed behind him, a man's bloody jacket wrapped around her, unashamedly checking out his ass. Bethany had to admit, she was finding the show of male flesh absolutely delightful. She had a feeling it was probably rude to stare the way she was - no one else was giving each other a second glance - but she couldn't help it. There were just so many penises - penisi? peni? - and she was getting quite an education on the many variations.
After all, it wasn't like she was going to get to touch any of them. And, if she was being honest, she didn't really want to. But checking them out visually was fun. Holy crap, was that guy pierced?!
"I'm going to kill that fucker as soon as we get our answers," Steele said, in the darkest tone she'd ever heard him use. It sent shivers vibrating up her spine and completely distracted her from the silver glinting in another man’s shaft. She couldn't just let him make a statement like that and not argue.
"Get in line," she responded, poking his chest with her finger. "I called dibs on tearing that asshat apart years ago."
The muscle in his cheek jerked as his jaw clenched. Bethany gave him a brilliant - and menacing - smile. She wasn't kidding. She wanted answers too, but then she wanted blood, and she deserved to get it.
"So you knew the bullet wouldn't hurt you?" he asked in a low voice as they trotted closer to where people were gathering around the two prisoners. Several of them looked at Steele, obviously wanting to talk to him, but apparently no one was willing to approach until he made eye contact with them, but all his focus was on Bethany. She sighed.
"Bunny in a half-shell, that's me," she said, resigned. "Even silver bullets don't pierce the shell, although they can do a lot of damage if someone shoots inside the shell. That's why I put my back to him. I'm pretty much invulnerable there, unless someone sets me on fire or uses explosive rounds. My brothers are a little more vulnerable, they aren't as fast as I am and they can't pull inside their shells." She glanced over Mr. Muscles-Aren't-Even-Straining-Yet's shoulder. "I have no idea about Bailey, although she does have the shell."
"I see." The muscle in his jaw was still clenching.
Bethany frowned. "Well if you're going to be pissy then put me down." She tried to push away and he snarled at her. She bopped him on the nose.
Mr. Pissy-and-Pouty glared. "Unless you want a public spanking, you better cut that out right now, little bunny foo-foo."
Now it was her turn to pout. His muscles were just like his name - hard as Steele - and there was no way to get away from him unless she was going to shift into her animal. Which, if she did that, she'd be crushing him again. Which might be kind of funny but...
Okay, so she kind of liked having his arms around her and being carried. Plus, this way no one could see her naked parts. Not that anyone was looking. They truly didn't care, but Bethany had been raised modestly by human standards and she'd been without privacy for so long in the lab that she just couldn't feel comfortable naked. Peeking over Steele's shoulder again, she could see that Bailey was clutching the blood-stained jacket she was wearing tightly around her, obviously feeling the same way. Heck, she must be, otherwise why would she be running around in a dead man's clothes?
Steele finally started looking around, meeting the eyes of his people, and barking orders like the sexy alpha male that he was. She thought about asking him to put her down, so that she could help, but somehow she knew that he wasn't r
eady to let her go yet. So she let him keep holding her. The fact that she was enjoying it as well was just a bonus.
******
"So let me get this straight," Steele said, pinching the bridge of his nose to try and ward off the impending headache he could already feel growing. This was his third interrogation of the day and by far the worst. The two mercs hadn't had much information to give up, because they hadn't been in charge. He'd handed them off to Raoul who had promised that he was doing the right thing. Raoul was going to fill them in on exactly why their buddies had died and then let them loose to gossip.
The Company was going to have a bitch of a time hiring any more mercenaries. At least, any that had any kind of honor and a reasonable price.
Now he was talking to Dr. Montgomery, with Eli watching from his office computer, while Doc and Dr. Phil dug the trackers out of Bethany and Bailey's arms. At least they hadn't needed to be knocked out for it, since they'd both insisted on sitting in on all the interrogations. This was, by far, the worst, and not just because he could feel Bethany's bloodthirsty desire to rip Dr. Montgomery into tiny bits riding on top of his.
The worst part was that the doctor didn't seem the least bit unhappy about anything. The asshole was beaming at Bethany and Bailey like a proud parent, obviously overjoyed. Which just made Steele want to rip the man's throat out. Unfortunately, he'd been nothing but cooperative.
"Let me get this straight," Steele repeated, trying to gather his thoughts. "You kidnapped five children, experimented on them, and tortured them, all for the good of humanity."
