“I will.” It was a promise I hoped I could keep.
A guy in a flight uniform motioned for me to step closer and helped me up into the chopper. The well-trained team took mere minutes to strap down the metal stretcher frames and make surethey were secure. They checked my harness, then gave the pilot the okay to take off.
My stomach dipped and my stress levels rose as we lifted into the air. In my worry over my mates, I’d forgotten that I’d never flown before… and it wasn’t something I’d had on my bucket list.
Free diving far beneath the water? Yes please.
Flying far above the land? No thanks.
I stared through the dust-covered window at the horizon. The sky had turned the rose-gold hue that signaled the sun was soon to set. Fresh grief pierced my heart, and I wished I were sitting by the lake, snuggling with my mates as we watched the beautiful sunset together.
Pushing aside my sadness, I forced myself to focus. I began a mental walk-through of my plan, wanting to be prepared the moment we touched down.
Bradford. I’d never been there, but I was familiar with its location on a map. Fletcher must have truly trusted the pack to protect me if he was allowing me to be taken to a city located not too far from our old burrow. Or had he been so distracted he hadn’t heard where the hospital was located?
When Fletcher and I had left Blackberry Burrow, we’d made the journey on foot because we hadn’t wanted to risk leaving a paper trail for the burrow to follow. That had meant no taxis, no airplanes, and no rideshares. We’d also spent most of that time in our rabbit forms to avoid the need for restaurants and hotels. Several times throughout that trip, Fletcher had hidden me away so he could spend several hours backtracking and creating false tracks in case anyone was after us.
In the end, it had taken about two weeks to get to Monroe’s pack. Now, the helicopter was covering those miles in a matter of hours.
As the sun slowly sank toward the horizon, I rested my head against the window and watched the rise and fall of my mates’chests. Needing to touch them, but unable to move much thanks to my harness, I could only reach Copeland’s hand. I laced my fingers with his, relieved to find his skin was much cooler than it had been at the house.
That relief was short-lived. What if that wasn’t a good thing? For all I knew, it was a bad sign, especially since both men were nearly unresponsive.
Linc and Copeland hadn’t roused as they were loaded into the helicopter, nor had they moved during the hours we’d been in the air. Had they given them a sedative? Or had the toxin caused them to be as motionless as statues?
I was too afraid to ask, and I wasn’t sure I could handle the answer…not when I needed to be strong for what was coming.
Cillian planned to confront the burrow and demand answers from the council. But if that didn’t work, they’d have to find a way to storm the gates and get the answers they needed from the scientists who’d created this toxin. But that would take time… something I wasn’t sure my mates had.
Besides, how could they get onto burrow lands when there was a toxin that could poison them if they so much as brushed against the limbs of the plants that created the perimeter? What if the burrow had a way of blasting it onto the streets as well? None of us knew how much of the toxin they had stockpiled. Even if the wolf shifters stayed in their human forms and wore hazmat suits, the rabbits could have rogue coyotes waiting to attack and rip open the suits before they got across the perimeter.
The alpha would do whatever it took to save Copeland and Linc, but he couldn’t risk the lives of the rest of his pack in the process. That meant he’d have to come up with a strategic plan rather than going in with metaphorical guns blazing.
For the first time in my life, I found myself in a strange position.
I had the advantage.
As a rabbit, I was apparently resistant to the burrow’s toxin. I was also small, fast, and I knew just about every way to sneak in and out of burrow property.
I also had the element of surprise on my side. The council would be distracted from dealing with the angry werewolf alphas who were ready to declare war.
The very last thing they’d expect was for me to return alone. And yes, I was fully aware I was falling into the “stupid female tries to save the day” trope, but I didn’t see any other option.
Fletcher would never have let me return to Blackberry Burrow. Not even if I had an army at my back. But if he tried to enter the front gate, I knew he’d be arrested on the spot. The council considered him a traitor, and they’d make him disappear before anyone could come looking for him.
That was why I had to be the one to go. It was far easier for me to sneak in and out. Who would be watching for the one rabbit no one was expecting to return alone?
I already had a pretty good idea of which man was most likely to have the answers I needed. We’d met on more than one unpleasant occasion. His past repulsive behavior would make it easy to do whatever I had to, to get the answers I needed. I certainly wouldn’t lose any sleep if he gained a few scars, considering how many he’d helped to carve into my skin.
Knowing there would be little opportunity to rest until I completed my mission, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. But it was impossible while listening to the labored breathing of two of the three men I loved more than life itself.
As the lights of the city began twinkling in the distance, I squeezed Copeland’s hand and committed every line of both men’s faces to memory.
When we left the burrow, I promised myself I’d die before ever stepping foot there again. But now, I’d die before lettinganything stop me from returning… or from making my way back to my mates. They’d fought a pack of rogue coyotes to save me, and I was more than willing to bop a few bunnies on the head if it meant saving them.
The moment the helicopter rails touched down on the roof of the hospital, doctors and nurses rushed from inside the building, ready to help move their patients inside. With the type of expertise that came from years of practice, the medical team on the helicopter swiftly unfastened the stretchers. They removed my mates, their I.V. equipment, and oxygen machines from the helicopter without tangling or tripping over a single cord or line.
I’d been worried the alpha might have assigned someone specifically to guard me, and I’d been trying to come up with excuses that would give me a chance to sneak away. Maybe I’d pretend to go to the bathroom, or make a private call. But I needn’t have stressed over it.
