“Yeah. Actually, at the firehouse where Merrick works, there's a bunny named Sooty. Or at least, there was. I think she lives at the house with the family now.”
“Why did they decide to get a pet rabbit?”
“Rune, one of their pack members, rescued them. The bunny was in a house fire. They took it to Melody for help, and he nursed it back to health, and it became the firehouse mascot.”
“You better tell me that that bunny is black. A rabbit called Sooty has to be black.”
My nose crinkled as I spoke. “Close enough. She's dark gray. Technically, it's a color called blue, apparently.”
“Aww, that sounds cute.”
“Are you a fan of rabbits?” I cocked a brow at him.
“I don’t know. I’ve never really been around them. Maybe we can see some when we visit Melody’s shelter.”
I hummed happily. “That sounds like a plan.”
My eyelids were drooping shut, and I was just about to drift off to a peaceful sleep when Merrick walked into the room.
“Hey, sorry, I didn't think you were going to want to sleep yet.”
“I can assure you I very much want to sleep at all times. This shit is hard,” I mumbled.
In fact, I was pretty sure I was already halfway into a deep, restful sleep, nestled in Nolan’s arms while buried in my nest.
“What’s up?” Nolan asked, shifting slightly underneath me. “And talk fast ’cause we’re losing her.”
I almost laughed, but when Merrick spoke, everything stopped, and sleep became the last thing on my mind.
“Preston's getting out of the camp. He’s officially a free man.”
Chapter 41
Preston
“Are you ready for this, man?” Walker asked as we drove toward the house where my entire pack was residing.
Including Hailey.
I nodded, my spine rigid in the seat. “I haveneverbeen more ready.”
And, weirdly, that was the truth. I’d been waiting to see Hailey again since the moment I'd been forced to leave her in that damned alleyway. I missed my pack mates, and I was genuinely curious about this Merrick guy.
No official arrests had been made yet, but the fentanyl I’d snuck out had been enough to get me out, combined with a few more months of monitoring. The moment I handed over the small recording device—where the warden specifically told me he would give me drugs—to Walker, I was officially done and free.
It’d taken a few hours to fully remove me from the camp, of course. Plus, several of the guards had to be told that I was not, in fact, a convict in case they saw me around town.
Walker was pissed, to say the least. The fact that someone who was meant to be looking out for these convict firefighterswas profiting off them and sneaking them drugs was absolutely vile.
Edward would be going to jail soon.
“What are you looking forward to, other than the obvious?”
“Some decent food.” I laughed. “The food in that place made the rations we had while we were serving in the Army together look like gourmet meals.”
Walker grimaced. “Oof. That bad? Really?”
I tilted my head down, like I could empty the memories that way. “All I want to do is eat good food and spend time with my omega. You know…once we…talk.”
