Two Alphas And A Rabbit

Chapter One: Stranded

Chapter One: StrandedKaylie stirs and comes awake to the strangest dawn she has ever seen. The boat is speeding along in a dense pearly mist, but even as she watches it, the grey-blue sky, streaked with a radiant pink, becomes visible through the vapor.

She glances up at the two men who had travelled her with her. First at Will, because he's familiar and right there. His fingers are curled in her hair, petting her lightly. His crooked grin and relaxed posture is remarkably reassuring. She smiles back at him, and then looks fleetingly at the lean, bronzed features of the other occupant of the boat, who looks inscrutable in the morning night.

He has a hand on the motor, and he makes a low, unhappy growl at the state of it.

She tries to sit up immediately, feeling foolish for being asleep when it's clear that they are in a dire state.

"Hey, now. There's no need to be frightened," Will says, but allows her to put a little distance between them. The little boat shakes at her shifting.

"I'm not afraid," she responds automatically, though it is useless trying to hide her anxiousness from the two Werewolves, who can pick up on her anxiety easily. Her ears give her away too easily, ears folding back, her tail curled up between her legs.

"Of course, you're not," the other man says calmly.

Ethan Garland, the man had told them his name was. Apart from that, neither of them know anything about him. He's older than Will and he appears to know about the fires such as the one that they had experienced. He had known enough, at least, to have a boat and rescue her and Will before they could perish in it at any rate, something for which they are grateful for.

The sun rises, thinning the mist and he leans forward, closer towards where they are. "You hit your head hard earlier when we hit that rock in the darkness. Are you feeling dizzy? Nauseous? Any memory loss?" he asks in quick succession while she shakes her head.

"I'm fine," she says, though her hand does got to the back of her head, where Will had been petting her earlier.

"There's a sizable bump there," Will says. "But not bleeding or anything."

"That's good," Ethan says. "The repair shouldn't be very hard," he reassures them, "but it may take some time. Do you know how to use the paddle William?"

Will nods. "Couldn't be that hard," he says, showing his perfect white teeth. "We seem to be rather unlucky, aren't we, darling?" he jokes, reaching over to squeeze her thigh reassuringly.

She hums in agreement, though she doesn't miss the way Ethan's gaze follows the man's hand on her thigh. She would be embarrassed at the stranger's scrutiny if she's not so used to his easy familiarity.

"Why were you at the water hotel anyways?" he asks. "Shouldn't you two be at the Estate already?" he asks.

"It took a while for customs to clear us, by the time they were done, the last ship had left already," Will answers. "Ahh, pity neither of us thought to rescue our luggage," he says, turning to Kaylie, who manages a weak grin.

"We're lucky to escape with our lives," she says. "Thanks again, Mr. Garland."

"Ethan, please," he corrects in a non-committal tone, still refusing to meet her eye.

She wonders if he's the sort to take offence with people like her. She's a Rabbit Shifter who isn't bound to an Alpha pack. It's not a requirement, but some people find it distasteful for her to run freely.

"We were damn lucky you were there during the fire, Ethan," he says.

Kaylie remembers the vivid scene when she first encountered the man. She had rushed from the deserted, smoke-smelling hotel with Will. They were given a room away from where everyone else is. Will, who chaperoned her, had requested for it specifically. The people on the island were rather fascinated with her. They had never seen a shifter like her before and he had been worried that they would attempt something silly.

She thought he was being paranoid. Most people from smaller towns are curious about her, but no one has treated her badly for her ears before. It is the people in the city who thinks that just because her ears and tail look remarkably soft and fluffy, then they should be allowed to touch and - on occasion - yank at them, as if to see if they are detachable. Sometimes, she wishes they are. It would make her life that much easier.

She had learned to fold her ears as close to her head as possible to avoid such instances.

From afar, she remembered see Ethan in his black slacks and a white shirt, lowering men and children into boats with the efficiency of a man who has done it countless times before. By the time they reach the pier, they were the only ones left and it is clear the Ethan had caught sight of them at some point and decided to wait with his own boat while others had made haste and left.

"Get in," he barks before either of them could ask for a ride away from the burning water hotel. It had been such a beautiful experience earlier, to book into a hotel floating on water. It was a rather nice right up to the moment it caught on fire.

He picked her up with remarkable ease, his hands tight enough to bruise her skin, and then released her into his boat before she could get a word in.

Will followed straight after, jumping into the boat without a word, hands rubbing the spot where the stranger had touched her earlier, erasing his scent and replacing it with his own.

She gave him a fond look, but didn't call him out on that possessive behavior.

"Fires like this one occur unfortunately frequently in this area," Ethan says abruptly, breaking the silence. "The dry air and lack of rain, as well as the material used to build the houses encourages the spread of even the smallest flicker. Ignorant tourists who smoke wherever they wish certainly do not help matters," he says.

"Will they all be homeless, then?" she asks, frowning mightily, feeling bad for the islander for losing their houses if the fire were to spread.

"They're used to it," he says, mirth in his eyes and mischief in his gaze as he turns to her, finally. She has a feeling he had stared a fair bit while she was unconscious and is only being polite now that she is able to stare right back at him. "You may have noticed how easily they packed up and how they have all gone their own ways. They rather enjoy the fires. There's a belief about it being cleansing. They would have all evacuated by now," he says. "And they'll drift back by degrees and rebuild. It won't cost them anything but the effort."

"Oh," she startles. That's unexpected.

"Do they always take to the sea in a fire? Why not drive away?" William asks.

"There's only one road," he says. "And it will have been choked up with tourists. You're further from the roads than the others and are lucky to have come my way," he says, shoving one of the paddles towards him. "We'll head west, straight across the current. It's must stronger than you might think and we only have these two paddles, so take care not to be too rough with it," he says. "If you're tired, let me know and we will stop to get a bearing."

"How do you know where west is?" Will asks. "All I see is water."

His grin is wry, "I've been living in these parts long enough to be familiar with the general geography of the islands, and the sun helps. Kaylie, would you come take my place in the stern?" he is kind enough to make it a suggestion, but there's nowhere else for her to go unless he intends to give her one of the paddles and she knows she would be completely hopeless with it.

He holds her steady with warm fingers as she passes him. "Is there something I can help with?" she asks.

"Not just now," his smile, when he turns his full attention to her, is almost kind, though he looks away quickly and releases her before she has gotten her bearings completely, causing her to stumble a little that last few steps. "Later, once you're feeling better, you can dig into the goods up there in the bows and see if there's food in there."

She glances at the heap of luggage and boxes at the other end of the boat and instantly frowns at the mismatched colors and different wraps, some even with tags on them, others wrapped in ribbons, looking like they've been gift-wrapped. "When did you manage to load all these up?" she asks.

"Oh, I didn't do that," he chuckles. "Gave the boys who were looting from the hotel guests quite a scare when I got to my boat earlier. Scurried off," he says. "There's always looting in a fire," he continues, ignoring her gasp of astonishment. "They tipped their haul into my boat and then lost it when I arrived. Should be something to eat among the boxes."

She takes the place that he had vacated and glances out at Will who is now taking instructions from Ethan on how to use the paddle accurately. They're made well, capable of handling a Werewolf's enhanced strength, but not necessarily an Alpha's. They are both Alphas and she keeps expecting them to butt heads, but they've been agreeable so far.

The boat jerks and sways as they begin to row, moving rhythmically, getting the craft turned and headed towards the wide stretch of fast-running water.

"Hold on tight now, darling," William says, trying to keep his voice easy-going, but there's a small frown between his brows that give away his worry. He's wholly focused on bringing them all to safety and the least she can do is not be a nuisance. She already feels bad for fainting earlier, when she stumbled and hit her head. No doubt, they were waiting for the sun to rise before trying to cross the current. Perhaps they were waiting for her to wake too. She can still feel William's fingers curled in her head, his lap a comforting warmth for her as he keeps her steady.

Will is a little awkward it the paddling at first, being as inexperienced with it as he is, but he starts to get a hang of it soon enough.

"No, no, keep your shirt on," Ethan cautions when William pauses to tug his shirt up. "The sun is hotter than it looks. You don't want to get burnt," he says, much to her dismay, though she keeps the disappointment bottled up. She doesn't think she would ever get enough of watching their muscular, sweating back, rippling and moving with every motion. They're drenched in sunshine in the midst of a perfect blue-green sea. It's heavenly.

She does manage to dig up some food from one of the boxes. It's only the fifth box she opened, the first few being filled with clothes and knickknacks, souvenirs from the locals. There's cake of all sorts in the box and she sets it aside, using the clothes to keep the cakes covered so that the heat does not ruin them, in case they are to be stranded for long.

Unsurprisingly, neither of the Alphas are ready to admit that they're tired, continuing to row for what feels like ages.

"That green fuzz on the horizon? Is that land?" Will asks.

Ethan laughs. "It is. That isn't so hard now, was it?" he sounds genuinely relieved to see land and she wonders if he hadn't just put on a brave act to ease their panic.

"You can rest for now, William. I'll get us the rest of the way in," he says.

Despite being an Alpha Werewolf, Will isn't used to manual labor and is glad to be relieved of his temporary duty, lowering the paddle and making himself comfortable.

She looks on at the approaching island. There are palms fringing a white beach, a wooded hill behind them, a lagoon hardly bigger than an open-air, swimming pool. Between the coral rocks lay a single channel which take a launch right through the beach and that is where Ethan brings them, the motor boat grounding on pebbles and sand.

Ethan sets to work immediately, springing out and grasping the rope. He helps William and Kaylie climb off the boat with a firm grasp, though she feels as though he had grasps her palm a bit harsher than necessary and thereafter released her as if touching her had burned his hand. Maybe she's just thinking too much into it.

The water is shallow now, but still cold on her feet. She hurries to dry land while William helps Ethan in tugging the boat farther up the beach. Together, they sling the rope several times around the trunk of a palm and knots it.

"Is this land inhabited, I wonder?" she asks Ethan, who merely shrugs in response.

"Could you look around, William? In the meantime, I'll survey the damage to the motor and see if I can get it fixed with what little we have."

Will looks wary, glancing from the Alpha to her, uncertain if it's safe to leave her alone with him, but ultimately decides that it would be better in the name of efficiency to split up. After all, he knows practically nothing about motorboats and engines.

The suspicious look is not missed by Ethan, how has the good graces to not bring it up. Alphas don't like being questioned regarding their instructions, though it must be odd, having two Alphas together.

"Stay close to Ethan, alright?" he says and presses a kiss to the forehead before walking away. There's a certain tension in the air and she's grateful that she is familiar with at least one of the men she's stuck with.