The Vampire's Bunny

*1*

Veronica Newton squirmed uncomfortably in her seat as she anxiously scanned the side of the road. She needed to go, and she needed to go, now.

She had been on the road for three days now and for some reason today it had been harder to keep her eyes open than it had been for the other two. So, an hour ago she'd stopped at a store and bought a huge forty-four-ounce drink and a six-pack of cola, along with a few snacks before hitting the road again. In that hour she'd managed to empty the cup and refill it twice.

She whined. "I need to go but there isn't a blessed thing out here! There is a pull-off and a slight trail. I'll just pull over and find a bush because I refuse to pee in the seat of my car."

Quickly moving to the side of the road, Veronica drove a little way down the dirt trail and parked. Practically diving out of her car, she shifted into the form of her cottontail rabbit and hopped into the closest bush she could find.

Even in the form of her rabbit she couldn't help but feel major relief. When she was finished, she caught the scent of something and poked her nose from the bush. Her nose wiggled as she tried to decipher what the smell was. It was coming from a bit of a distance, and she had the wild urge to follow it.

Glancing back at her car, she hesitated. She was supposed to be in Blue Moon Gulch by tomorrow and she needed a little bit of sleep before meeting her new boss. Chewing furiously on a blade of grass she'd broken off, she sat.

Finally, she shifted and made her way back to the car and decided it was far enough off the road that nobody should bother it. She then grabbed her keys, locked her purse in the trunk, and placed her key in the bumper just like her father had taught her. Then she shifted back into her animal form and took off after the scent which seemed even stronger now than it had ten minutes ago.

Veronica began to follow the scent and after a while, she realized two things. One, she was far, far away from where she left her car and had no idea whatsoever where she was at. Two, the sun was beginning to set which meant she had been roaming around for at least two hours.

Spinning in a circle, she tried to find her own tracks but couldn't. Her brother always said she was a lost cause because she had no animal instincts, at all. How many times had she gotten lost growing up and her dad or brother had gone out to find her? Usually, she was so close to home she should have been able to smell it but because she was in a panic she only ran in circles.

Sitting down under a scraggly bush, Veronica felt like crying but knew it wouldn't do any good, even if her rabbit could cry.

What am I going to do? I can't even smell the tantalizing scent I was following anymore, it's as if it disappeared. Soon the predators will come out and since this isn't my home, I have no bolt holes to hide in. I'm lost and scared and I want my bubby.

A sigh escaped. She hadn't called her favorite littermate 'brother' in fifteen years. He had informed her when they turned five that it was no longer appropriate since they were starting school. No, she was to call him Luke, just like their four other brothers did. Veronica hadn't liked it and had told him so. Luke hadn't cared and when their mother had stepped into the argument she had agreed with Luke and said Veronica would call him by his name when at school and in public, at home she could still call him brother. However, once she had gotten used to it, it hadn't been a problem anymore.

Now here she was regressing into her childhood because of her fears.

I will have to figure this out on my own because if I don't, I could die out here.

Her ears perked at a soft sound. She held very still, her heart pounding in fear. Something or someone was out there. They were so quiet she wouldn't have heard them if it weren't for the fact, that she was so close to the ground she felt the slight vibrations of their movement.

Veronica backed further into the bush when something began sniffing around the edges of it.

"What have you found, boy? Please tell me you didn't find something dead you want to dig up and play with," a man said with a soft chuckle.

Veronica froze. The sound of the man's voice shot through her rabbit's body like a bolt of lightning and had her fur standing on end. A deep breath to calm herself only worsened when his scent was recognized as the one she had been following.

A soft woofing caused her to freeze instead of darting out of the bush as she wanted to. Whoever the man was, he had a dog of some kind with him, and Veronica didn't know if it would attack her or not. So, she stayed where she was, not truly knowing what to do.

"I know, you can't help yourself, can you, boy?" the man inquired. "I tell you what, how about I see what the big deal is and decide if you should chase it or eat it?"

The dog softly woofed once more.

Before Veronica could do more than wonder what the man was about to do, a hand reached down and plucked her from the thicket.

"Look what we have here, boy, a cottontail. I don't think you will be eating it, it's much too cute."

Veronica's bunny instincts kicked in and she kicked and squirmed trying her best to get free. Her heart pounded like a loud drum, and when freedom didn't come, she squealed.

"Ouch, that's hard on the ears," the man murmured as he flinched. His brown eyes narrowed as if he might be in pain. "You sure are loud for such a little bit of fluff."

Veronica froze at his words, her wide brown eyes locked on his. It was true, she was much smaller than all her littermates were, all five of them.

The man brought her to his chest, his large hands holding her still as he hummed. "You are a pretty baby. So soft and cuddly."

The dog whined, causing Veronica to stiffen and turn her gaze his way. The dog was sitting, staring up at her with his head tilted. She wondered if he perhaps knew her furry body was hiding a human in it. Maybe he even had a human hidden inside of his fur.

Veronica gave a delicate sniff, trying to figure out if he did, but smelled nothing but the dog and the scent of... Vampire? The man holding me is a vampire. How could he smell so good to me if he's a vampire?