She nods.
A tiny nudge at my ankle draws my attention. It’s Bangs. Bombs is still loafed in a lazy pose. The cinnamon girl stands up before setting her front feet down to nudge my ankle again.
“She wants you to pet her,” Red explains.
The rabbit springs onto my lap before I can respond. I’m so surprised, my claws emerge by instinct on the chair arms. Mindfully, I retract them as the bunny twitches her nose in my face.
I run a thumb along her face and she instantly calms, settling in my lap.
Fucking ridiculous.
“What was the book?”
“What?” I ask, entranced by the soft nose pushing up into my hand.
“The book the woman gave you, what was it?”
I don’t answer.
“Brexley?”
“Pride and Prejudice.”
She chokes on her water, violently coughing.
I level a glare at her and continue to pet the rabbit.
“You got a problem, Red?” I dare her to say, realizing how utterly ridiculous I look on every count now.
“No, no, not at all. Wait, did you read it?”
“Yes, I did,” I say, shooting her an imperious look while still petting the rabbit in my lap. “It’s one of my favorites. You got a problem with that?”
Her expression turns serious as a heart attack. “I would never book-shame someone.”
She’s saved by the bell, literally, the doorbell. I ordered a fleet of bacon cheeseburgers from an app, the moment Kiki commanded it. Red devours two burgers and an order of large fries before she even starts to slow down.
Halfway through her third burger, Red pauses to say, “I’m glad you learned to survive on your own, but I’m sad you have to. Making a new family at the Poison Apple, it’s helped. It’s healed wounds in me. At first, I told myself I wanted nothing to do with my old life, but it only became true when I made a new one, with friends who care about me.”
I don’t respond, and it’s not long before Red passes out on the couch. At some point, Bombs wondered where his wifebun went and joined her. I doze off, petting the two rabbits nestled in my lap.
For a moment, I entertain Red's idea–the idea of belonging, companionship. But the pain of losing all that is too sharp. The pain is literally etched in my face. I can’t forget, and therefore I’ll never risk it.
I promised I would kill Grandma so I could get back to my reclusive life.
But as I watch Red lightly snore, and the two rabbits cuddle in my lap, I realize I can’t do it. Hurting Red would be like gnawing off my own arm. Despite my best efforts to keep her at bay, I care too much about her.
If that makes me a dead wolf, then so be it.
Chapter37
Mated and Sated
RED
Iwake up before Brexley, who is still asleep in the chair next to the couch. My rabbit babies have returned to their pen where they are snuggled up next to their litter box. Feeling out of sorts, I take to the stairs and head to the master bath for a shower.
Unlike my dinky bathroom, I have no problem washing the soap out of my hair here. The powerful shower head helps me emerge clean and refreshed. And I don’t hate that the scent of Brexley’s soap clings to my skin.
