Not that Rowan had ever said anything about Thomas being an idiot.Thomas didn’t think that Rowan believed he was.Rowan was sweet, and he never would.It was hard to ignore the small voice in Thomas’s mind sometimes, though.
They climbed into Thomas’s car, the rabbit in the backseat in its box.Luckily, the drive wouldn’t be long.Thomas was excited to see the rabbit be free again.They’d been taking care of it, and the rabbit had relaxed, but it didn’t belong in the sanctuary.As he drove out of the parking lot, he explained, “This is where we take most of the prey animals we release.It’s actually pack territory, which means there are fewer predators.It gives these animals a chance to get back to a normal life.”
Rowan nodded, serious.“I imagine it would be quite stressful for the rabbit to be freed only to be eaten by something.”
“Well, the rabbit would be dead, so it wouldn’t be stressed, but it did happen a few times in front of volunteers.They don’t usually take that well.”
“I can’t imagine that they do.”
“I don’t think we need to worry about that today, though.You’re with us, so predators will stay away.They won’t want to deal with the big bad wolf.”
“I might be big, but I promise I’m not bad.”
Was Rowan flirting?Thomas wasn’t sure, and he didn’t know how to make sure.Maybe he could ask Rowan, but he felt like that would defeat the purpose.If Rowan was flirting, he probably assumed that Thomas would know and would do something about it.
Shit.Was Thomas supposed to do something about it?What?
He couldn’t come up with anything, and after five minutes, he gave up.He was pretty sure the moment had passed, anyway.It was fine.They were working, even though they’d left the sanctuary.They didn’t need to be flirting, no matter how much Thomas wanted to.
The spot where they were going wasn’t far, so five minutes later, he parked his car on the side of the road.Rowan was out before Thomas could say anything, opening the back door to grab the box.Thomas was amused, but he let Rowan do it.There was no reason not to.
He took the lead, walking to the edge of the forest.There was a small path there, which they took, and it led them deeper into the woods.Thomas couldn’t tell when they stepped into pack territory, but the spot wasn’t far from the road.
“You can put the box down,” he said once they reached it.
Rowan quickly obeyed, then stepped back.Thomas bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing.He’d never seen Rowan so eager.It was sweet.
“You take the lead.I’ve never done this,” Rowan said.
Thomas was happy to do it.He leaned down and opened the side of the box, then took a big step back, dragging Rowan with him.Together, they waited for the rabbit to hop out of the box.
It didn’t.
“It happens sometimes,” Thomas said softly.“It’s probably confused.”
“What can we do to help?”
Thomas hesitated.Normally, he wouldn’t do this, but he knew Rowan.He wouldn’t do anything to hurt him or the rabbit, even though he was a wolf.
“I’m going to shift,” Thomas declared.“Hopefully, seeing me will help the rabbit.”
Rowan’s eyes were wide as he nodded.“Yeah, okay.”
Thomas had no idea what Rowan was thinking, but he’d made his decision.There was no going back.There was no reason to go back.
The rabbit needed Thomas, and Thomas was going to help.
* * * *
ROWAN TRIED NOT TOshow how excited he was about seeing Thomas in his rabbit form.He didn’t want to come off as creepy.He wasn’t excited in a creepy way.He was getting to know Thomas, and his rabbit was part of him, just like Rowan’s wolf was part of him.If Rowan wanted to know all of Thomas, he’d have to meet his rabbit eventually.
It looked like that was about to happen.
Rowan took a big step back, wanting to give Thomas a little privacy.They both knew what shifting entailed, so Rowan took out his phone and started scrolling.He kept his gaze focused on the screen even as he felt Thomas move.It might be natural for them, but they were coworkers, and even more than that, they were friends, and Rowan didn’t want to make Thomas uncomfortable.No matter how badly he wanted to see, he didn’t look once.
Well, he did when he felt something tug on his shoelace.He glanced down, frowning, only to see a gray rabbit with an adorable pink nose looking up at him.
“No one should be that cute,” he mumbled.
