Chapter 13.

Abigail.

PASCALE CLOSED THEdoor behind us and just like that, my immediate access to fresh air and open spaces was gone.

I was trembling with fear, but I pushed through.

You asked to see his place, remember? You wanted to learn and experience... You can't wimp out now!

These tunnels had surely been here for eons. Pascale lived, slept, and worked here and he was fine, as was his colony.

It has to be safe. Right?

Pascale's put his hand on my back and coaxed me forward.

With every step I felt the solid earth beneath my shoes and the walls were too close, and the ceiling was barely an inch above Pascale's ears! The restrictive proximity of my surroundings made me feel claustrophobic and I had to remind myself to breathe.

"Hey, E.B!" a young man called out, then trotted toward us along the hallway.

I whimpered then swallowed the noise down, immediately concerned that Pascale would think I was afraid of his friend. But I wasn't! I was worried that the rabbit shifter's jogging would bring this whole place down around us.

The rabbit shifter stopped just in front of us and eyed me with interest. "Hello," he said, flip-flopping his ears as he spoke.

"Hi," I said, trying to smile, but still gripping Pascale's hand like the anchor it was.

"James, this is Abby. Abby, James. Abby's a little worried about the infrastructure of the burrow," Pascale explained. "She's not used to being underground. Do you think you might be able to help allay her fears?"

The other rabbit, while shorter and slighter than Pascale carried an air of authority. He grinned at me. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that. These burrows have been around for four generations. That's over a hundred years. Rabbit shifters are excellent burrowers, and our construction is as sturdy as the earth itself."

"Really?" I asked, the simple transfer of information coming from someone other than Pascale immediately helped to calm my anxious brain.

This rabbit has no reason to lie to me. He's not trying to spare my feelings or protect me the way my mate is likely to.

"Wow. Well, that's really good to hear, thank you."

And that little tid-bit was something that was working to logically relax me. A hundred years—a whole century—with three-hundred and sixty-five days a year of regular use and bunny traffic... So, what were the chances something bad would happen while I was here, today?

Pretty slim.

"I'm giving Abby a tour of the burrow," Pascale explained.

James continued to look me over with curiosity. "You've never brought a human down here before," James said, leaning forward to sniff in my direction. "She is human, right? And not just a shifter that I can't sense?"

I glanced from Pascale to James, and back again. Despite the fact these two men were basically huge talking bunny rabbits, they were chatting just like any two college guys would at a weekend barbecue. It was a bit of a trip to witness. "I actually help fallen angels," I managed to inject into the conversation somewhat confidently. "So, I'm human, but kind of exist on fringe of the paranormal world. I can see magicals." I grinned with pride. I'd successfully conveyed the new idea and my connection to their world using the right terms.

James glanced up at Pascale. "That's certainly a unique ability," he said. "So, are you guys dating... or?"

His query was left hanging in the air, unanswered, and I deferred to Pascale to clarify.

Finally, after hesitating for what seemed an unnaturally long time in my opinion, Pascale relented, confiding in his friend. "Abby's my fated mate."

James's eyes grew wide, then he thrust out his hand to Pascale enthusiastically. "Congratulations, EB! ... and you!" he reached over to pull me in for an unexpected but welcome hug. "It's so good to meet you, finally."

I laughed, my cheeks burning as I hugged the big rabbit back. "It's nice to meet you too."

When James pulled back, Pascale grabbed my hand and tugged me back to his side. "Thanks James," he said, sounding a little anxious.

"Well, let's not tarry, shall we? Come, come." James said, gesturing to both of us. "Come see the chocolate room! We're almost done there."

I followed James along the hall, and although I wasn't keen on how dark it was, my eyes were slowly beginning to adjust, and I was finally able to discern the patterning on the walls and the paintings on the doors.

"God, this is really beautiful," I whispered with admiration, running my hand over an intricate nature carving.

"The Easter Room is next door," James announced.

I hurried after him, still clutching Pascale's arm, my childish heart racing with budding happiness at the fact I was about to actually lay my eyes on the Easter Bunny's warren.

When I stepped into the brightly lit room, all I could think about was that I'd walked straight into Heaven! Art supplies, paints, and mounds of colored foil littered the room from floor to ceiling. Chocolate eggs and bunnies were piled high, some in baskets, others in boxes and my mouth watered. There were five other rabbit shifters present, working, painting eggs and wrapping baskets with pretty cellophane.

I'd never seen anything so amazing and positively magical in all my life. I stood there with my mouth hanging open and I didn't even attempt to hide my shock. "Wow!" I breathed in awe, my eyes wide as I tried to drink in the scene before me.

"It's pretty cool, isn't it?" Pascale asked from his place beside me, letting go of my hand so he could cross his arms over his chest like a man truly proud of his teamimageand no doubt he was.

I gulped down the emotion that clogged my throat. I felt less afraid in this room. There were no windows in here and yet the walls had been painted a clean eggshell white and the floors were tiled and sparkled. It was bright and light, and it felt better to be here than anything I could have imagined. I loved it. "Who needs Vegas when you have all this?" I whispered, mostly to myself. But when Pascale dragged me closer and squeezed me tight against his body, I knew he'd heard me.

"Thank you for showing me the magic that goes on, here, James," I said with a genuine smile as I reveled in the closeness of Pascale's body.

"Your most welcome!" he answered. "As much as I wish I could regale you with the history and beauty of our burrow, I have to get back to work and I'm sure EB has got you covered. See you around, Abby." The friendly shifter headed off to talk with two of the others and left us to our own devices.

Pascale grinned down on me, seemingly more relaxed than he was when I first entered his world. And the dynamic of our adventure underground shifted for the better. "Come on, I'll show you the rest of the burrow," he said. "I promised you a tour, remember?"

I went happily with Pascale, and we walked through his home, chatting away as he explained everything there was to know about their Easter operations and life underground. Every room was temperature controlled, bright and light and beautifully decorated. Only the initial entrance to the burrow had been dim and dark. I could have smacked myself in the head as the realization of why that was, struck me.

Of course it was! It's to help the shifter's eyesight transition and adjust from the light outside as they come in! It's not scary at all. It's smart. God, I feel stupid for freaking out so hard earlier...

Drawing myself back to the moment, I couldn't believe how relaxing it was, and how much I was enjoying the quiet and serenity here beneath the surface of the Earth. The lack of buzz and noise in my ears from cars, phones, people chattering and general everyday disturbances that made your ears ring when you finally found peace at night was immensely relieving.

Sucking in a deep breath, I asked the question that had been lurking in the bac of my mind since we'd arrived. "Are you going to show me your room?" I whispered up at Pascale when we'd finally seen the last of the mess hall and the kitchens.

He stared down at me for a time, then nodded. "Sure, come this way."

During the course of my tour around the burrow I'd come to realize that all of the rabbit shifters were lovely, and very welcoming. It was obvious they adored their leader and were happy for him to find someone—even if that was a human like me.

Maybe this could really work, after all ...

My stomach churned with butterflies at the thought. It seemed as if I'd been too quick to judge and too desperate to cling to my comfort zone. But now, I could see us compromising and potentially making things work and that buoyed my spirit to no end.

"Well, here it is," he said, pushing open a door. "I have a slightly bigger room than a lot of the others, being the Easter Bunny and all, but it's still not super lavish. I like to keep things fairly simple. I prefer comfort over style, I'm afraid."

I looked around the room with appreciative eyes and immediately felt right at home. The bed was huge and boasted a mound of plush pillows. The predominant color theme was a complimentary palette of pale grays and matte blacks, and while I would have added a few more colors, myself, it was elegant and perfect.

"This is so lovely," I said, wandering around the room.

"So, you're not as worried about being down here anymore?" he asked, seeming suddenly nervous after our nice tour.

I sighed and sat down on the bed, running my hand over the soft covers as my belly tightened with longing. I couldn't wait until the day, or night, that we could finally climb into this bed together.

Naked.

"No, not at all," I told him honestly. "The tour and welcoming atmosphere here have really helped ease my anxiety. I offered him a smile, then tilted my head to the side in a combination of curiosity and concern. "What's the matter?" I asked him. "You seem... a little off?"

He put his arms behind his back and began to pace around the room. "I have something I need to tell you, Abby, but I don't want to ruin this moment. You've adjusted so well, and this has really been everything I've ever hoped for," he trailed off.

I sat up straighter and prepared myself for whatever was about to come my way. "Pascale, you can tell me. I can handle it, I promise." If I could even seriously consider living underground with the Easter Bunny, I could likely wrap my head around just about anything!

He sighed heavily and scratched at his fur. "I need you to know that I'm not sure if I can travel with you. And it's not that I don't want to, believe me. I'd give it a go, but I don't have an ID, or a passport, or any of those documentation things; so, I don't know how that would all work. I just wanted to be upfront with you and not give you false hope. I want to make you happy, Abby, and I'm willing to be flexible, but I don't know how to overcome human legalities. That's where my powers, magical or otherwise, end."

I jumped to my feet and threw my arms around him, a laugh of relief bubbling up and out of me. "You had me worried for a moment there! But oh my God, you've come to the right person." I pulled back from him with a big grin on my face. "That's what my family does! We create ID's for all the angels that fall all the time. We have a whole system, and it works flawlessly. I could get you one tomorrow if you wanted!"

Pascale's smile wasn't as relieved as I'd expected it to be, so I threw out the first truth that came to mind. I knew he had his own hang-ups about the human world, just as I did the paranormal one. "Look, if you don't want to travel as much as me that's one hundred percent okay. I can go by myself for a week at a time, maybe. I understand how you feel, seriously. Like you said earlier, it's a lot to take in—for both of us."

"You'd really be okay with that?" he asked.

I went up on my toes and kissed him. "Of course," I answered. "If you hadn't noticed, I've always been pretty independent. Most of my angel rescues have been done on my own, and I've had to drive far and wide to places I've never been. I'm not afraid of going new places on my own, Pas."

Pascale smiled and my heart filled to bursting with joy.

I could travel by myself—it was no problem for me— and I might have to this week, because I still had over a week to wait until I could jump the Easter Bunny's bones! "Honestly, a bit of a solo adventure and a break from being an angel agent while you wrap things up for the holidays sounds like a great idea!"

Pascale shared in my excitement and embraced me tightly before he walked me back to my car. I had a bunch of things to organize, because the countdown to Easter Sunday was on.

And I can't wait!