"He’s quite the hunk, Kell.” Sheila’s voice was light and cheery. To the other girls her flirting was merely play; Kevin, however, had eye contact with the frisky she-wolf, and he knew lust when he saw it. Sheila draped an arm around Kevin’s shoulder and leaned inward,” You know Kevin, I've always had something of an... attraction to rabbits.”

“So I’ve heard. That’s actually the reason we never asked you to babysit Coney.” Kevin replied, a bemused look on his face.

Sheila had enough tact to look embarrassed, “It’s true I went through a phase where bunnies were my prey of choice.” Sheila confessed.

“Choice? They were the only thing you’d eat.” Kell quipped, feeling some measure of satisfaction in Sheila’s apparent discomfort.

“Er… Well, yes, but that had more to do with where I was living at the time. There was a rabbit burrow near my apartment, and I’d just given up on vegetarianism.” Sheila turned back to Kevin, “I was a little more ravenous than usual that year, and your kind really knows how to fill a girl up. I just wasn’t motivated to hunt too far away from home; not when I had such a readily available source of prey nearby.”

Reaching out, Sheila placed a hand on Kevin’s thigh. Ever so lightly, she began to stroke it. The subtle movement was lost on both Kell and her mother. It took all of Kevin’s self control to keep from recoiling. Normally he had no trouble stoically ignoring the affections of other women, but the wolf sitting next to him was practically a dead ringer for his wife.

“Like all predators I have my appetites, and I can’t deny that I enjoy having a big strong man fill me up.”

Kevin felt a trickle of sweat roll down his brow. Thankfully, it was hidden by his snow white fur. Kevin was growing increasingly uncomfortable. He couldn’t determine whether Sheila’s comments were laced with innuendo or not. She was border line flirting with him… but he wasn’t sure if that was because she found him arousing, or delectable. Maybe she found him to be both. Some predators enjoyed fucking their meals before devouring them and, based on Sheila’s aesthetics and mannerisms, Kevin suspected Kell’s cousin was one such pred.

“Careful Sheila, you know that Kevy is all mine.” Kell said in a tone that was light hearted and yet somehow serious at the same time.

“Does that mean there’ll be no ménage à trois?” Sheila asked innocently.

“What do you think?”

“You’re such a prude, Kell.”

…………………………………………………………………………

Rudy stepped out of his bedroom and shut the door behind him, “Let’s give Fiona some peace and quiet while she digests her food.” Even with the door closed, the predator and prey teams could clearly hear the pained moans of their co-captain.

“Poor dear.” Leona said sympathetically, “I hate stomach cramps.”

“I hope she feels better soon.” Lin chipped in. Her mildly sarcastic tone made it quite clear she wanted the exact opposite. Leona snickered and Mike shifted uncomfortably. Their lupine co-captain just ignored the jealous chipmunk.

“We can head to Lindesfarne’s room,” Rudy suggested, “though she might have a few bug kids running around in there.”

Rudy knew that at least one firefly kid, a boy named Ace, had survived his step sister’s wild binge eating. He’d likely survive a few days more, perhaps even for a couple of weeks. Lindesfarne had mentioned she was interested in trying ‘free range’ dining. Rudy had been a little shocked that his nerdy, selfless sister would try something so fearless and (potentially) cruel. While Rudy had never tried it himself, he was aware of what it entailed. At one point he actually suspected his mother of marrying Kevin for the free rang dining experience, but as the years went by he realized her affection for the big bunny was legit.

Free Range dining was always a little bit risky because it involved ignoring one of hunting’s most important principles: don’t talk to your intended target. It required you to capture your prey instead of messily devouring them; not an easy feat depending on the size of your victim. After, you’d keep the victim captured anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Sometimes prey would even be kept for months.

Predators who engage in free range kidnappings on a regular basis claim that it helps heighten the meal, because you get to know your prey intimately. After a few days time, your unwilling guest will start to become less panicky and more cordial with you. They’ll start to divulge their hopes, their dreams, where they grew up, who they took to prom, etc. During their incarceration at your home, if you’re really lucky, a mutual trust can form between the two of you. Breaking that trust, or getting a prey species to willingly sacrifice themself to your gut, is supposedly one of the most delicious and rewarding moments a predator can ever experience.

Of course, free ranging has its naysayers. Many predators have given it a go only to leave with a bitter taste in their mouth, and no small degree of guilt. Getting to know too much about your prey can lead to feelings of empathy, and even sympathy for them. In more than one instance a predator has gone on to marry a potential meal. Also in more than one instance, a predator has been emotionally scarred after finally devouring their houseguest. Rudy knew one hawk, a senior at school, who had actually turned to vegetarianism after a traumatic free range experience.

“I’d rather we go somewhere else, if that’s alright.” Jim murmured. He really didn’t like being around people he knew were slated for death.

“Yeah, isn’t there someplace more private around here?” Jason asked, sneaking a peak up Rhonda’s skirt. The giant cat playfully swatted him in the face with her tail.

“The only other place we could head is outside… You know, the terrain is a bit different in my backyard than at school. Maybe we could do a few more hunting drills before we call it a day.”

“Could we just do catch and release, captain?” Jim asked. He’d already showered once that day, and he wasn’t looking forward to revisiting Bruno’s mouth, or anyone else’s for that matter.

“Sure! We’ll do catch and release for half an hour. The field of play… hmmm, let’s make it small. How about just a one mile radius, with my house being the center point?” Everyone nodded, “Okay, good. After that we’ll call it a day and I’ll head back in to check on Fiona.”

“Sounds like a plan” Leona said cheerily, “…Well, get a move on Mike!” Gyrating her hips, Leona slammed her backside into Mike, causing the startled bunny boy to stumble towards the stairs. Rhonda scooped up Steve and set him on her shoulder. The two teams made their way back downstairs and through the kitchen.

This time Mike wasn’t able to avoid detection. The moment they entered the kitchen, Elanor’s nostrils flared. She looked up at Mike, a surprised yet pleased smile on her muzzle. Mike smiled weakly and gave her a half-hearted wave. The exchange wasn’t lost on Rudy, though everyone else, including Leona, had either missed or ignored it. Without exchanging pleasantries the teams filed out into the Dewclaw’s backyard, and began stretching for their second practice session of the day.

………………………………….

Mike flushed the toilet and went to wash his hands.

Practice had been pretty good. Once more Leona had been the one to track him down. Because it was only catch and release this time, he’d been spared being crammed into her gob. Instead they’d rolled on the ground wrestling. For the whole of their one-sided sparring match, Mike’s head had been sandwiched in Leona’s cleavage. Despise losing completely it hadn’t been a bad experience, Mike reflected. The more time he spent with the powerful predator, the more smitten he became. How did she feel about him though? She was very friendly and playful, but was that with everyone or just him?

Turning of the faucet, Mike ran his hands through his fur. Still thinking heavily about his relationship with his lioness teammate, he stepped out into the hall… and into Elanor’s chest.

“Uf!” Mike fell on his keister. Elanor extended a paw and helped him to his feet.

She gazed at him with predatory gleam in her eye, all the talk she’d heard about fucking rabbits had gotten her flustered.

“It’s good to see you again, Mike. Mind if we chat in my room for a while?”

Mike didn’t mind at all; he genuinely liked the older woman. The only reason he’d been uncomfortable in the kitchen was because of Leona’s presence. He knew Elanor had a bit of a crush on him, and she often wasn’t very subtle about it. If something embarrassing had transpired in front of the athletic lioness it might have ruined his future chances at a date, “Sure, Elanor. I’d like that.”

He followed her into her room and she planted herself in her favorite chair. She patted her lap, indicating he should hop on. Mike slid up onto her powerful thighs and wiggled to get comfortable. Because this was becoming routine for the young bunny, Mike didn’t have a clue how much danger he was in.

His brief interaction with Elanor in the kitchen had had dramatic, unforeseen consequences. Rudy, long aware of his grandmother’s infatuation with his rabbit team mate, had finally come to a decision he’d been struggling with for nearly a week. After practice had ended he’d pulled Elanor aside and given her permission to eat Mike at her leisure. Mike had gone from being a teammate to being a gift.

Rudy’s betrayal had been prompted by several things. He knew his grandmother’s hunger (though this time he hadn’t realized there was a sexual aspect to it) and he knew how devoted she was to bringing down her prey. Elanor and Kell had both promised not to eat any members of the prey team during the hunting season, but Rudy had little doubt what would happen to Mike after the last competition had ended. By allowing Elanor to eat Mike now, he was merely speeding up the inevitable. It would probably be for the best. The longer he remained outside of Elanor’s stomach, the more he’d bond with the team. Fortunately, his absence wouldn’t hurt the prey team’s membership. Mike had been looking at internships in the mayor’s office which might have taken him off the team, and there was now a small backlog of prey willing to try out for position on the prey team.

Elanor gazed down at the bunny snuggling into her lap. As she did a small trail of drool unintentionally dribbled down her chin. Though Mike didn’t know it, he was now officially her property, to do with as she pleased. She wasn’t sure what to do with him though. She’d grown quite fond of Mike, he was a good listener, and despite her long accomplished career as a predator, gobbling him down without warning would make her feel a tiny bit guilty. Truth be told she’d much rather fuck him first and decide his fate afterwards, but that was no longer an option for the old wolf gal. Rudy had detected her interest in Mike, so a sexual relationship (like the one she’d started with Mike’s older brother Jeff) was probably out of the question.

So what should she do with the delectable gift in her lap? Devour him or, as much as it would pain her, let him go?

“So what do you want to talk about Elanor?” Mike smiled up at her as he leaned back against her trim belly.