Chapter 43 - Reece-Finally, Little Bunny Is Safe. Right?
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Reece
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Just as I caught her, Riley and the others came into the clearing. Riley and one of the others had shifted, they had taken to searching the surrounding areas in pairs, using human and wolf senses to make sure nothing was missed. Riley shifted back.
"How is she?" He asked me and I lifted her up into my arms.
"She's been through a lot, and she's beaten up. I need to get her back to the house." I told him. "The men who took her left going that way. They have about a mile and half head start, maybe two miles now. They were heading south east probably toward the highway."
"Deek, Nick, Cole track them as best as you can. Her scent may linger with them, follow that if you can." Riley told his men. They nodded and ran into the woods. "I will head back to the house and prepare a room for her. I am sorry, Reece, this should not have happened. This is my fault."
"No, it's mine. I left her alone. I didn't come prepared. And none of us thought this would happen."
I held Little Bunny in my arms, cradled against my chest. She wasn't just asleep like last time. No, this time she was unconscious and was not likely to wake up and catch me carrying her. Which was probably a good thing, since I was stark naked at the moment and she would probably take offense and have some problem with that.
I carried her swiftly, getting to the house in no time. Still, Riley had gotten there first as he had run in his wolf form. He was waiting in the forest with a set of clothes for me to put on. I had to make a choice, set the bunny on the ground or let him hold her while I got dressed. I set her gently on the ground, propped against a tree.
Once I was dressed, I lifted her into my arms again, doing so I heard her groan. She was in pain, and hearing that made my wolf snarl.
I carried her into the house and laid her on the bed in the room that Riley had gotten ready. I had not told him or anyone in his pack that she didn't have a wolf. I didn't want rumors spreading and following her everywhere. But I needed to tell him now.
"Riley, I need to talk to you. Privately." I implored him. He cleared the room, leaving just Little Bunny, myself, and Riley.
"What is it Reece?" He asked me, looking worried.
"There is something I need to tell you, about Trinity." I looked at him, with a pleading look.
"What's wrong?" He was fearing the worst, I could tell.
"I don't want what I am about to tell you to leave this room, I do not want it to become public knowledge in your pack."
"You have my word, brother." He promised, looking at me intently.
"Trinity, is not like the other pack members, she is not like you and I."
"Meaning?"
"She does not have a wolf."
"How can that be?" He asked, confusion written all over his face.
"I don't know exactly. But her mother was a wolf, I know that for a fact."
"And her father?" He questioned.
"No one knows." His eyes widened in response to my words.
"How could no one know?"
"Her mother either did not know or was afraid to tell anyone. Or somehow manipulated into not telling." I told him. I was starting to have some thoughts concerning her lineage, I wondered if I was anywhere near the truth.
"Do you think he was a human?"
"No, most human and wolf half breeds still end up with a wolf, just a weaker one."
"Do you have any theories?"
"Just one." I said. "But I don't know if I want to say it just yet."
"Fair enough. I won't push you Reece. What do you need from me right now?" He asked me, never once pressuring me to give more.
"I want a pack doctor to look at her. Do you have one you can trust?"
"We only have one pack doctor. She's an OK person, but I don't know if I can reach her on such short notice." He admitted, and that annoyed me.
"Then I will call one from home and tell them to hurry."
"Alright."
I sent word to have my most trusted doctor sent over. He worked in the hospital in the city, and since I said it was an emergency and I was willing to pay out of my ass for the cost, I told him to take the helicopter to get here. I also called Vincent while I waited. I knew he would be worried sick as he had gotten cut short from both me and his Luna. He answered after only half a ring.
"Is she alright?" He demanded the second he answered the phone. He had clearly been pacing with the phone, waiting for my call.
"I found her, and she is resting. I am waiting for a pack doctor from the city to get here to check her out." I answered him obligingly.
"Oh Goddess, is she hurt bad?" He still wasn't satisfied.
"She has been hit in the head a few times, and she is unconscious. I think that might have more to do with the spent energy and the adrenaline leaving her body than anything, but only time, and the doctor, will tell."
"I'm so sorry, Alpha, I should have gone with you. I should not have left her earlier this evening."
"You did as you were ordered to do. I would have told you to go as well. None of us would have expected this to happen. This is a pack we have a treaty with, and she was not attacked by wolves."
"Wait, what?" He seemed shocked by my words. "Then who was she attacked by?" He asked, confused.
"Warlocks."
"WHAT!" He shouted into my ear. I growled at him and he got his tone under control. "What do Warlocks want with the Luna?"
"I don't know, but I intend to find out." I told him.
"We still have our other meeting, which will have to be pushed back to a later time in the day or until Sunday. I will keep you all posted. But when we get back, she is to be watched more carefully at all times."
"Yes sir."
"Oh, and Vincent."
"Yes, Sir?"
"Why does she seem to have a problem with Leslie and Jeremy?" I asked him. If anyone would know it would be Vincent.
"Well." He seemed uncomfortable, like he didn't know if he should tell me or wait until the Luna told me.
"Answer me." I told him.
"As for Jeremy, he just makes her feel like he hates her. And Leslie, well the night you marked the Luna, he made her feel very uncomfortable." He told me in a weak voice.
"Uncomfortable how?" I asked him. He went on to detail everything that Leslie had said and done the night of the marking, which made me understand why Little Bunny had shown an aversion to him ever since. Well, someone's going to find himself getting punished.
"Thank you for the information, Vincent, it was very enlightening."
"You're welcome, Sir." He sounded spent and exhausted.
"Get some sleep." I told him.
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Trinity
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I could hear Reece talking, but it sounded fuzzy. My head was killing me. I had a feeling that if I opened my eyes any light I saw would be like knives to my brain. I tried to shift slightly and groaned.
"Are you awake?" I heard Reece clearly this time.
"Not really." I answered in a muffled voice.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like my head is about to explode." I told him, which felt accurate to me.
"I have a doctor on their way. He should be here any minute now." He told me.
"Does he carry a pharmacy?" I asked sarcastically.
"I didn't ask." He chuckled.
"Ugh, if he doesn't, he's fired." I growled with deadly seriousness.
A few minutes later there was a light knock on the door, the sound of which was still too loud for my head. A man who appeared to be in his early forties came in carrying a dark blue duffle bag. He was dressed in a casual business suit and looked nice enough.
"Hey Griffin, I need you to check her out." Reece told him, pointing to me. Reece started detailing everything that had happened tonight, my head hurt so bad I spaced it out.