Sometimes love arrives in the cutest bundle of fur.
Alpha rabbit shifter Jungkook only plans to stretch his legs when he pulls to the side of the road. When a quick shift turns into a brush with death, he's left in the hands of a young boy who vows...
I had never had good luck with otters, but Doc was pretty cool. It was clear he cared about Chim and wanted the best for him...which seemed to translate into him wanting the best for me. And it was nice. I hadn’t had a lot of strong male role models in my life, and it felt good to know someone truly had my back.
The feeling wasn’t quite so warm and fuzzy when Sheriff Mark came by the next day. I could see why Doc didn’t trust him. There was just something about him that oozed slimy. I had no doubt he was one of those guys who became a sheriff for the power.
He probably had a tiny dick.
He immediately railed into me like I was a serial killer. No matter how many times I said I got lost in the woods and couldn’t remember much about what had happened, he glared at me and scribbled notes that made me worry for Jimin’s safety. I knew I could handle whatever shit this backwoods asshole tried to throw at me, but when he noticed the electrical tape holding a light fixture together as he passed the mudroom, made a comment about not being sure if the old house was up to code.
Chim tried to keep his cool, but the color immediately drained from his cheeks and I knew he was intimidated by the bastard.
“So, where is my car now?” I stood on the top step of the porch as the sheriff strutted back to his vehicle. “Can I ride with you to pick it up?”
He shook his head but didn’t turn back until he was standing outside the door of his cruiser. “It’s in the impound yard. They open at ten a.m. tomorrow. Take cash.”
“Cash?” I suddenly realized how screwed I actually was. “My wallet’s in my car, and I don’t know if I have a lot of cash in it. Don’t they take cards?”
The old guy smiled but it looked more like a snarl. “Cash only, kid. And the daily rate isn’t cheap, so don’t wait much longer or it won’t be worth picking it up. We aren’t in the city—Riverview Township doesn’t do that fancy shit.”
“Fucker,” Jimin whispered from behind me.
I couldn’t hold back a smile as I watched the guy plop into his car. “Yep. He is.”
“Don’t worry about the money. We can hit the bank on the way there and I’ll pull out cash. It’s fine.”
“No.” I turned toward Jimin and reached for his hand. “I can’t let you do that. I have money. I just need to figure out how to access it without my phone or wallet.”
He waved away my objections. “You can pay me back later. It’s really okay.”
I hated being in debt to anyone, but this was a very temporary loan. As soon as I had my car and my wallet, we were going right back to the bank to replace every penny he loaned me. I’d even buy him lunch to cover the interest.
* * *
Nine hundred and thirty-eight dollars later, I’d covered all the random fees and completed the pile of paperwork necessary to get my car back, and then I followed Jimin to the bank. I wanted to immediately repay him, even though he insisted it wasn’t necessary. But it was to me. What I was feeling for Jimin wasn’t just a schoolyard crush or Stockholm Syndrome. In fact, every time he was more than twenty feet away from me, the ache in my belly confirmed what I’d been thinking for a while now.
Jimin was my mate.
And as caveman as it was for me to insist on paying my way, I just couldn’t allow him to waste even a single penny on me. I’d always been a little old-fashioned when it came to dating, which I attributed to my alpha genes. But the possessiveness I felt toward him was next level.
Everytime he furrowed his brow, I wanted to smooth it out.
Everytime he studied a problem, I wanted to solve it for him.
And everytime he looked worried, I wanted to hold him in my arms and promise everything would be okay.
And the way he was chewing his lip definitely called to me for some comfort. I didn’t know what was bothering him, but I didn’t like it. “Is this about the money? Because I promise I can cover it.”
Jimin shook his head as if clearing it. “No, it’s not that. It’s nothing.” He nodded toward the teller when the window was available. “It’s your turn.”
I wanted to press him for the real answer, but that had to wait while I convinced the teller to pull cash out of my credit card since the daily limit on my debit card was only $500. She was nice about it, but it was embarrassing as hell to basically beg for cash like a loser.
Once we were finally done at the bank, I slipped my arm behind Jimin’s back and walked him to the deli next door. It was a few minutes before noon so we managed to snag a table before the real rush came in.
After we ordered sandwiches and Cokes, I crossed my arms over my chest and stared right at Jimin, pinning him in place with just my gaze. “So, spill it.”
“What?” His eyes darted from my face to my shirt and back before finally releasing a deep breath and sinking back into his chair. “I’m just worried about you.”
“Me?” That would be comical if he wasn’t so genuinely upset. “What could possibly make you worry about me?”
He shrugged one shoulder and let his gaze drop to his hands. “The clerk called the sheriff when you went out back to get your registration. He told him you were there and it sounded like they were conspiring or something.”
I reached across the table for Jimin’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m flattered that you’re concerned, but I haven’t done anything wrong so there’s no reason to be worried about cops. There’s nothing for them to bother us with.”
Jimin’s eyebrows shot up and he gave me a pointed look. “Well, there is one thing that you probably don’t want him to know about.”
“My rabbit?”
Jimin frantically looked around the crowded restaurant to see if I was heard. “Shush! Do you want to end up in some kind of laboratory?”
God, he was adorable. “Lots of people have rabbits, Jimin. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
He thought about it for a minute but then finally let it go. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“I know I’m right.” I smiled and winked just as a smoky voice startled us both.
“What are you right about, boy?”
“What?” We both looked up into the beady eyes of the sheriff. “Oh, nothing.”
He nodded and turned his full attention to me. “I might need to talk to you about something that happened in the woods a few days ago. Where will you be staying while you’re in our fine town?”
I glanced at Jimin to see what he would say, but his mouth was already open before I could even come up with an answer.
“He’s staying with me. Indefinitely.”
Indefinitely? I liked the sound of that, but it surprised the hell out of me. I’d need to unpack what that actually meant later, not in a deli with the town cop staring down at me. “What happened in the woods?”
His eyes bored into mine as if he was looking for an answer to an unspoken question. “I’ll be in touch soon. Don’t leave town.”
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
