Page 49 of Chased

Running flat-out, Sanchez followed his brothers’ trail. It wasn’t hard; not only did he know their scents inside-out, but they were making a stupid amount of noise.

He could smell Madison, too—where she dodged and doubled back, the way his cousins surrounded her and herded her.

He got a sick feeling in his stomach. They were playing with her. That was good in that it would give him more time to catch up, but he couldn’t even imagine how terrified she must be.

And what if he didn’t get there in time?

He continued shoving his dominance out through the forest. Stop! Now! Not our prey! He wished like hell he could communicate mentally with them in words, but that wasn’t how it worked. It was just… feelings.

And they were still pissed off, still defiant.

Still fighting him. He could feel their resistance through their bonds with him. But he also somehow felt Madison’s terror and desperation. How was that even possible?

He ran harder, crashing through the underbrush, taking all the shortcuts he could. Then he heard his cousins yipping in the way that said they had their prey cornered.

And then he heard the scream. It echoed through the woods, shrill and desperate.

Gods. They were hurting her. They were ripping her apart.

Putting on one last burst of speed, Sanchez burst out of the woods into a small clearing. The biggest rabbit he’d ever seen was crouched in front of a thicket of underbrush, screaming at the two wolves who had her cornered. He’d never heard anything so blood-chilling, and he never wanted to again.

He hadn’t even known rabbits could make that noise.

Matéo lunged, snapping, and Madison fucking leaped forward and bit him right on the nose. Dropping to the ground, she hissed at him. Like a fucking cat.

Cisco was already bleeding from a scratch on his face. This fat white bunny was fighting two wolves.

She really should have been a fox. Or a tiger.

But the danger wasn’t over. So far his cousins were both too shocked to attack, but in another minute they’d get pissed off and tear her to pieces.

Sanchez leaped over Cisco, landing between him and Madison. He felt a furry body hit his rear flank, and tiny sharp teeth dug into his butt. Fuck.

Sanchez Changed, already yelling. “What the fuck is wrong with you, chasing her? You didn’t hurt her, did you?”

Cisco Changed, looking confused. “Why shouldn’t we? It’s a rabbit. A big one, too.”

Without realizing he was going to do it, Sanchez punched him in the mouth. “It’s not a real rabbit, you moron. It’s Madison.”

Cisco, getting ready to hit him back, stopped in mid-swing. “It is? No. Can’t be. I thought she was a fox!”

“Clearly not.”

Matéo Changed too, looking stunned and scared. “Oh, shit. We didn’t know. We would never—what the fuck is she doing, being a rabbit?”

“She lied on her job application, genius.”

“But, why would a rabbit come here? That’s crazy.”

“Why does anyone come here?” Sanchez snapped. “Sheer desperation. Some things are worse than being eaten by wolves, apparently. Did you hurt her?”

They shuffled their feet, looking at the ground.

Oh, gods. His voice got soft and deadly. “Did you?”

Matéo bit his lip. “I don’t think so? One of us might have nicked her a little, but that’s all.”

Cisco said, “We’d better check.”