Feral Born (Viciously Yours #1)

Chapter Seventeen: Just. Watch.

Staying downwind, I watched the fat rabbit's nose twitch in time with its fluffy tail. I had been following this little food bag for at least twenty minutes. Either the rabbits around here had gotten faster and smarter or I was more distracted than I thought. From the short amount of time that Ryan had been in my space, I knew I made the right decision by letting him move in with me. Already, my small cabin felt full of life and I just knew that living with him would be very interesting. Besides his lack of knowledge about my kind, I could feel that little ball of warmth growing inside my chest. Every time he blushed or blabbered, I felt the warmth increase and it had been happening more often since his show of violence.

It was common for Feral Borns to mate after fighting one another or seeing the interested person give a show of aggression. Consciously, I knew I was beginning to register Ryan as my mate but nobody ever mentioned these...feelings being a part of the mating process. My kind didn't mate with feeling in mind but with aggression. So, trying to sort through these feelings while also trying not to over think my plan for the Lunar Soldiers was proving difficult. Because of this, I was going to stick with my core feelings. The wolf doesn't overthink, she takes what she wants and so will I. No more complications.

The fat gray rabbit wiggled it's little nose once more before turning it's back in my direction. Licking my fangs, I tensed my muscles while pushing my hands a little deeper into the snow for purchase. With one powerful spring, I had the wiggling rabbit in my grasp squealing in fright. A shriek left the little mammals mouth as I gave it's neck a hard jerk to the right. A quick and almost painless death. Clutching the rabbit in one hand, I made my way over to where I had been lying in wait. There on a skinny branch leaning against the side of the tree hung my three other kills. My last rabbits had been scavenged by the time I had been able to go back and retrieve them.

After tying the rabbit to the end using a small piece of twine, I grabbed the branch and rested it over my shoulder leaving the rabbits to swing at my back. Deciding to take my time going back, I set a leisure pace for myself. I had already been out here for at least three to four hours, trying to catch rabbits with a distracted mind was even harder than it sounded. Side stepping around a pile of animal scat, I continued on to the cabin doing my best to keep my mind clear for the next couple of minutes.

Pausing for a moment between the trees, I watched as little specks of snow began falling from the sky. The few that made it past the trees gently drifted downwards to the ground with the faintest of scrapes against the already fallen snow. Smiling gently, I continued on my way home at a faster pace in the hopes that my clothing wouldn't be damp by the time I arrived. Carefully sliding between two bushes, I exited the forest and entered the small space by my back door. Thankfully, rabbit hunting didn't involve me going far out into the woods.

Ripping them from the end of the branch, I tossed it by the stairs as I opened up the back door and slipped inside. Toeing off my training sneakers by the door, I moved into the kitchen and dropped the rabbits on the island. Digging a knife out from the drawer, I turned and placed it by the rabbits. Leaving them there, I strided to my room to change and take a shower before Ryan came back from wherever he had went.

Closing the bathroom door behind me, I immediately stripped down and stepped into the shower. Turning the water to hot, I pulled the hair tie from my hair and tossed it onto the sink before getting underneath the shower head. Scrubbing at my scalp, I pumped a quarter size of the 2 in 1 soap and massaged it in. I let it sit for a second and then washed it out, making sure there was no soap left. Turning the knob off, I rung out my hair with my hands before grabbing the towel hanging in front of me. Wrapping it around my body, I stepped out of the tub and exited the bathroom.

Taking out the articles of clothing that I needed, I yanked on my undergarments, tan cargo pants, and then tucked the navy tank top into the waistband. Drying my hair with the towel, I walked back to rehang it over the curtain bar. My hand had barely left the soft material of the towel when I heard the front door open and close followed by the sound of footsteps. The scent of oranges and mint wafted throughout the bedroom as I went to stand in the open doorway.