Brock's Bunny Read Online Free Page B

scrapes, but she kept on.
    After
Brock rejected her, she didn’t dare go back to the cave. She’d scented another
human nearby and she couldn’t trust herself to make sure she wouldn’t be detected.
She couldn’t ruin the hideout for her friends. Her car could be an issue, but there
had been several in the lot when she parked, so it shouldn’t seem suspicious.
    More
tears fell as she thought about Brock’s dismissal. Finding a mate was supposed
to be a life-changing event, a dream come true; instead it turned into a
nightmare. She’d never forget the repulsed look on his face when he’d told her
to get out.
    Any
chance for them to be together was over.
    Hollie spotted Matt and Jenn’s backyard and ran up to
the patio. She used all of her strength to rapidly bang on the door, causing
the glass window to shake, then she crouched down in front
of a storage bench and hid herself from the forest.
    The
door swung open and Matt stepped out. He looked ready to fight until his eyes
landed on her shaking, naked form.
    “ Jenn !” He yelled into the house as he took
off his sweatshirt and draped it around her shoulders. “Come on inside, hon.”
Matt urged her to stand, guided her inside and yelled for Jenn again.
    “ Wha —Oh my God! Hollie ,
what happened?” Jenn’s arms came around her, and Hollie started sobbing violently. Her friend rubbed her
back, whispered soothing words and let her cry until it seemed she had no tears
left.
    “Better?”
    She
shrugged. She wasn’t better, never would be, but the tears had stopped.
    “C’mon,
let’s find you something to wear. Bull and Christina are here now, you can tell us all what happened.”
    Hollie nodded in agreement and soon they were gathered in Matt and Jenn’s living room, her four friends patiently waiting as
she stared into her cup of tea. Christina gave her knee a reassuring squeeze.
    “Tell
us. It’ll be okay.”
    It
would never be okay, but they were her friends and she trusted them.
    Hollie told them what happened.
    ****
    Brock
jerked awake at the sound of the ambulance siren and opened his eyes to see a
paramedic hovering over him.
    Oh God. Not again.
    For the
second time this week, Brock was in an ambulance.
    When Hollie ran out of his life two days ago, his heart hurt to
the point of pain. Afraid he was having a heart attack, he dialed 911. After
several tests, he left the emergency room with a clean bill of health. Brock met
with his physician the following day and received the same diagnosis.
    Traumatic stress.
    His
body chose to mirror heart attack symptoms in response to watching Hollie change from a cute little bunny rabbit into the
woman he loved. The woman he still loved.
    He
refused to lie to himself any longer. His heart didn’t hurt from watching her
change; he hurt because he’d reacted badly. Instead of listening, he’d yelled
and pushed her away. The pain on her face, combined with the knowledge that she
ran into the forest naked to get away from him, replayed over and over in his
mind. Looking back, his reaction didn’t make any sense. His heart ached for her
and he believed that they belonged together. Why had he yelled?
    The
paramedic asked him something and he reached up to remove the oxygen mask.
    “Sir,
you need to keep the mask on until we reach the hospital. What’s your name?”
    “Brock Smith. I’m not having a heart attack.”
    “No, I
don’t think you are, but you collapsed in the restaurant so we’re going to run
some tests.”
    Oh God. He collapsed in the restaurant.
Candace had told him to stay home, but he was going crazy thinking about Hollie . In an effort to put her out of his mind, he went to
work. Everything was fine until he walked by the booth he’d met her in. He started
to hyperventilate and his chest pain was more severe. Brock remembered the room
getting blurry and then he fell, but never landed. The next thing he saw was
the paramedic.
    “I’m
fine. I had the tests two days ago. It’s traumatic