《The Alpha Instinct》Bonus Chapter: Be Still My Rabbit Heart
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"You always beat me! I don't know why I even try." Laurel yells to me slightly out of breath, her hands pressed to her knees. I look back over my shoulder with a smug grin. Laurel and I might be twins but we were opposite as it came. She was usually the calm and thoughtful one while I was the impulsive and loud one. She was my best friend though. We did everything together without much thought about. A month ago she met her mate which happened to be the Alpha's son Jason and that had changed everything.
"You are going to be Luna Laurel you need to step up your game. It'll be so embarrassing if your sister always beats you. I mean what will the pack think?" I tease her and she growls at me before charge forward. I laughed as her body slammed into mine and took me down to the ground. I let her pin me as usual so that she felt accomplished. I knew that I would always be stronger then her but I didn't for one minute doubt her ability to be Luna. Laurel might not have a bunch of physical strength but she had a fair and compassionate heart needed in a leader—something that I had always lacked.
"Do you really think I'll be a good Luna Bunny?" She asks me as she pushes off of me and takes a spot on the ground next to me. I turn my face toward her studying the features of her serious expression. Our face were almost mirror imagines for each other except that she had freckles splattered all over her cheeks and nose. I looked away from her toward the clouds overhead, "No I don't think you'll be a good Luna." I reach out and grab her hand in mine, "I think you'll be the best Luna." She gave me a light punch in the arm for teasing her but we both laughed about it.
Laurel was everything to me—to our pack. If only I had known then that she what she would be up against I would have made sure she was ready. I would have trained her even if it made her hate me a bit because then at least it would have kept her alive. For the short time that she was Luna she had been the best. The pack had flourished under her and Alpha Jason. I couldn't have asked for more for my other half but it all ended in tragedy. The rogues had come and taken everything that had mattered to me in one foul swoop.
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Months after Laurels death I came to the sickening realization that her mate had lost himself to the madness of his grief. He had begun seeking me out often and when he would talk to me he would often call me Laurel. At first I had thought it was just a simple mistake, after all we were twins. When it continued and I found his attentions a little more affectionate then I would like I knew something was wrong.
"Jason! I'm Bunny!" I scrambled for words as he pushed me towards the corner of the room. My heart was beating heavily in my chest, "Laurel is dead—please Jason..." I tried to reason with him though he seemed beyond it at this point.
"Laurel?" His eyes seemed to cloud over for a moment and he froze in his pursuit and I used that time to charge out of the corner toward the front door of his home. I didn't get far before he tackled me to the ground. I hit the hard floor with a loud smack and I felt the jarring of my bones. Jason was an alpha and I knew there was no way for me to win an outright fight against him. My only hope was escaping and using my speed against him. I thrashed underneath him trying to get to the door.
"Mine!" He growled loudly in my ear and my body trembled with fear. My wolf was trying her best to submit to her alpha but the fact that he was trying to claim us was making her frantic. His teeth scraped at the skin of my shoulder and I screamed at the pain that coursed through me. My wolf pushed to the surface and I threw my body with all my strength catching him off guard.I pulled myself up off the ground in a stumble, tripping over my feet as I raced towards the door.
I threw the door open and leapt off the porch. I heard a loud roar of frustration echo out into the night, "Laurel!" Jason called out in desperation. My face was moist from my own tears as I disappeared into the night not knowing where I was headed but knowing in my heart that I could never return.
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For weeks I survived in my wolf form—hunting and living as if I was a beast. The pain of losing my sister and my pack almost seemed to much to bear. I wandered for a long time until I caught the scent of something interesting—which eventually led me too a small pack of wolves who were trying to catch themselves some dinner. I tried not to laugh at there attempts though they were a bit pitiful.
In the end I killed the deer for them. I don't know why I helped them but I would say it was my desire to be apart of something again. The wolves watched me as I dragged the dead animal towards them and laid it like an offering at their feet before I shifted back into my human form. It felt odd to be back in my human skin after all those weeks but at the same time I felt relief—as If I had finally returned home. I didn't understand why I felt that way until the wolf near the front shifted back into his human form.
There he stood with a firm and serious expression plastered on his handsome face. When Laurel and I were young we would often described what we imagined each others mates would be like. It had been a fun game we'd play when we had trouble falling asleep. Now as I stood a shallow shell of the woman I had been I almost laughed—he was exactly as Laurel had described to me in those late evening hours. I knew in my heart this was her last gift to me. She might have left me too early but she made sure that I would never be alone—she had led me to this place, to him.
He moved slowly towards me as if he was afraid I would break at the slightest movement, "We're not going to hurt you..." He whispered to me gently. I feel my lips turn upward in a small smile, "As if I would let you..." I say back to him. His eyes darken at my challenging words but I notice his lips twitch as if he's holding back a grin.
"What's your name sweetheart?" He asked as he inched closer to me. The others were hanging back looking like they were uneasy about my sudden appearance. I tilted my head as I observed my mate, "Bunny..."
"Bunny..." My name coming off his lips sent a shiver racing through me and my wolf was yipping with excitement. We had been on the run for weeks and now we finally felt safe. He smiled at me in an endearing way, "I'm Marshall. Do you know who I am?" His voice is deep and velvety, soothing any nervous feelings. I nodded my head, "You're my mate."
"Thats right " He practically purred, "You are mine and I'm yours."
The space between our bodies was almost null and void. I stared into his dark eyes, "You won't leave me alone will you?" I was haunted by the memories of my sister and of being alone. The last thing I wanted was to be alone anymore. I wanted a pack, people I could lean on when I felt weak. He reached out slowly and brushed his fingers across the skin of my cheek almost as if He wanted to make sure I was real. Behind his eyes I could see pain and sadness but he brushed is away quickly, "You will never be alone again Bunny—as long as I have breath to breathe."
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Song: 'Insane (Feat. Moon Holiday)' -Flume
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