~~

Trinity

~~

Ten minutes later we were sitting at the table when a young woman walked in. She was pushing a cart covered in food. It smelled and looked good enough, but it wasn't Abigail's cooking. I missed her food already. Reece was right when he said it would be lunch that was brought. It was just after noon now so it was definitely past breakfast time. We were each served massive plates. It wasn't an overly complicated lunch. They had obviously prioritized speed here.

The lunch was large mushroom, steak and cheese subs piled with meat, cheese, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, and smothered in Italian dressing. It had been toasted so the bread was crispy and the cheese had been melted perfectly. The sandwich was bigger than my head, but my stomach growled so loudly when I smelled it that I dug right in as soon as the maid left the room. I picked up the messy sub and sunk my teeth in.

At that moment, I didn't care that it wasn't Abigail's cooking anymore. I had ignored my hunger so long that I hadn't realized how truly starving I was until the food was right in front of me. I quickly worked my way through the whole sandwich as well as the heaping pile of fries that was on the plate next time it. Before all this happened, I might have been able to eat half at most.

When my plate was cleared, I leaned back in my seat fully satisfied. I cleaned my hands and face on several napkins before taking a long drink from the glass in front of me. Reece had asked for lemonade and soda to be brought to the room. I had opted for the lemonade to start with, and after the first sip I realized then how thirsty I was. My body had been deprived of food and drink for so long. I had been given a drink once in all the time I was held captive, and since then I had ignored my body's screams and protests for food and water. Before I knew it, I'd drank nearly the entire pitcher of lemonade that was sitting on the table.

"Oh Goddess, I can't believe I just did that." I looked at Reece, embarrassed again as I noticed him smiling at me.

"What's wrong?" He seemed genuinely confused as his smile disappeared from his face.

"I just ate like a total pig, that's what." I buried my face in my hands. I heard him laughing at me and just wanted to melt into a puddle.

"Little Bunny, we've been eating our meals together for months, I've seen you eat your food before. Now was no different."

"So, I'm always a pig?" I glared at him.

"That's not what I meant." He stumbled over his words momentarily. "What I'm saying is it doesn't matter to me. I love you how you are. And you shouldn't be ashamed. You were starving, literally. Anyone who hasn't had food in nearly three days is going to eat fast. And even though it wasn't our home's cooking, they were good enough. Plus, these sandwiches were messy regardless." His smile did little to settle things for me.

"So, what you're saying is, the foods to blame for being messy and I'm allowed to be a pig cause I was so hungry?"

"If you're so inclined to hear it that way, sure. But I'm saying you're fine, and you weren't a pig." He was exasperated now.

"Agree to disagree?" I asked him.

"If I must." We laughed together. "Oh, before I forget, I have something for you."

I watched as Reece went back to the bag he had gotten our clothes out of. He dug around in a pocket for something before he turned and came back to me, his hands hidden behind his back. He knelt in front of me, looking me straight in the eyes.

"Happy birthday, Little Bunny." He said as he brought his hand out from behind his back. He was holding a small square, white box wrapped in a blue ribbon.

"What?" I asked him, perplexed.

"It's Thursday, January 28th, it's your birthday." He was smiling at me with a happy grin. "Actually, it had just struck midnight when you shifted. Today is your birthday, and the night of the wolf moon. Maybe that's why your wolf finally decided to show." I thought back to the night before, the bells ringing.

"It was midnight?" I asked him.

"Didn't you hear the twelve bells in the distance?"

"I heard nineteen tolls of the bell." I was lost in thought.

"Maybe it was just everything that was going on last night, that made it seem like nineteen."

"Yeah, that's more likely." I nodded in agreement with his words.

"Anyway, here." He put the small box in the palm of my hand.

"You didn't have to get me anything, Reece." I smiled at him. "You saved me after all, that's gift enough."

"I bought it before you were taken." He was looking at the box expectantly. "I planned to give you this regardless. And I will always be there to save you, always." He looked up into my eyes again as he said those words. "Go on, open it." He encouraged me.

I smiled once more before doing as he asked. I pulled the ribbon, untying the bow from around the box. The blue fabric of the ribbon made a slight noise as it slid against itself. I dropped the ribbon into my lap then gripped the lid of the box. When I lifted the lid, I saw the most beautiful necklace I had ever seen. It was made of platinum, both the pendant and the chain. The pendant was in the shape of a heart with two wolves, one clearly male, the other female based on the size of their heads. The wolves' noses seemed to be touching in the center of the pendant. Below them was the symbol I had just recently learned had the same name as me. Two wolves, a heart, and a trinity symbol. The detail of the necklace was exquisite.

"It's beautiful Reece. It's too much really."

"Nothing will ever be enough." He said as he pulled the necklace from the box. "You deserve the world, Little Bunny, and I'm going to do my best to give it to you." He leaned forward then, putting his hands around my neck. He moved forward just a little more and pressed his lips gently against mine. I didn't notice when he moved his hands from behind my head to holding my cheeks, but when he pulled away he was cupping my cheeks in his hands.

"Two wolves bound to one heart with a trinity." He said as he lifted the pendant of the necklace. "At first I got it because of your name, but now we both have trinity symbols on us. It's fitting."

"You said Trinity means group of three, but we're only two." I reminded him.

"Well, you can look at it two ways. One, the pack is the third, or two, our future pup is the third." He grinned at me.

"I-I--I--I don't think I'm ready for that yet." I stammered.

"No worries. We will know when the time is right." He let the wolf pendant fall to rest against my chest again. "As long as I get a pup that looks like you I'm happy." He was grinning like a loon when he said that and for most of the rest of the day.