Page 82 of Shifter Situations

She would be one less problem if they’d just let me go.

I caught the rabbit, shaking it between my teeth to quickly put it out of its misery. It had bitten my tongue, and drops of my own blood mingled with the rabbit’s before I’d killed it. The taste was foreign and disgusting.

I dropped the rabbit in front of Briggs, nudging it in his direction with my nose. I didn’t want to eat it, couldn’t even bring myself to consider it.

I didn’t like cooked rabbit, much less a raw one.

I loved chasing the animals, but not actually catching them. My mate didn’t seem to understand, not that I did either. He twisted his head, flicking his ears as he stared at me.

I spoke into his mind. “I don’t eat meat.”

He glanced down at the rabbit before his wide, green eyes met mine. “How?”

“I don’t know how to answer that question.”

“I mean, I know humans who are vegetarians, but how are you not a meat eater? How do you manage that?”

“I just don’t like it. Once in a blue moon, I may eat some, so I’m not actually sure that I could call myself a vegetarian.”

I cycled through everything that I’d eaten in the last couple of weeks. Fruit and vegetables, chocolate, popcorn. I’d drank a little blood too, but mostly, I’d gorged on fear.

Maybe they didn’t notice.

I rarely ever paid attention to what I ate. It wasn’t something I would hold against them.

Briggs’ thoughts spun around several different questions before the black wolf chuffed at me.

“You swallow.”

I closed my eyes and hung my head, wishing I was in my skin so he could see my reply instead of just hearing it.

“There are mixed reviews on semen, but the general consensus is that if a vegan has permission to swallow, then it’s okay. I am not a vegan, and a little extra protein never hurts. But if you’re concerned, then I’ll take a facial next time.”

“Are you rolling your eyes at me?”

“Yes.”

Briggs huffed at me as Baylor trotted up. I couldn’t see the blood on his fur, but I could smell it.

I winced as he mentally shouted, “Are you two done? I want to leave, but I’m worried that I still need to watch you.”

“You don’t have to yell. I can hear you. And I think we may be done too. We can’t leave until midnight, though.”

“Fuck. Okay. That’s like…” I could hear Baylor mentally counting.

“Thirty minutes, give or take,” Briggs rumbled.

I tossed my head to the left. “Go. Hunt. I’ll be good.”

“That’s a lie. I know you well enough to know that you’re a bullshit magnet. The moment I wander off something will happen, so I’m staying right by your side.”

“I’m rolling my eyes again,” I muttered.

Briggs nipped at my shoulder, urging me to follow him deeper into the forest. My thoughts spiraled into filthy territory, from swallowing to being bitten, and then all I could think about was having the massive black wolf mount me.

He growled instead, shaking his head as he huffed again. I hoped that his mind would be a fun place to be, but his thoughts were quiet as he studied the brush in front of us.

There was another rabbit hiding in the foliage. I could hear its little heart thumping a mile a minute, and I could just see the outline of its head through the leaves. I turned away, uninterested in chasing it.