Chapter 79
Felix
I trotted through my domain, flower crown perched on my head, enjoying the quiet of Main Street since everyone was still at the Midsummer festival.
I savored the rare moment of peace. Few people understood the true pressures of being the mayor.
The stores were closed, but I still cast my discerning eye over them to ensure nothing was out of place.
My tail flicked as I passed the sunshine omega’s bakery.
I licked my lips, dreaming of another bánh mì.
It was times like these that I wished I had pockets.
Maybe I would ask the smiley flower omega to add some to my next outfit.
The sidewalk past Suns Out Bánhs Out was an obstacle course of construction.
I pressed my face to the dark glass of the empty shop to check the renovation progress.
The interior looked almost complete—the crew had even removed the protective paper from the floor.
All that was left was the final touches on the exterior and installing the sign.
A purr strummed through my chest. This summer would be very interesting indeed. There was just one thing left for me to do.
The Beaufort House wasn’t far from Main Street. I’d never met its original inhabitants, but I was certainly familiar with the revolving door of inhabitants who had darkened its doorway these past years.
I slipped inside. It was time to break the curse.
King of Midsummer, curse breaker, matchmaker…the work of a mayor was never done.
My paws silently glided across the floors until I got to the kitchen, where I’d already stored the supplies I’d gotten from Bibi—esfand, or rue seeds, and a metal esfand burner.
Hmm. My apprentice should have been here by now. Maybe her prank was taking longer than expected. The strawberry massacre had been the perfect distraction for me to slip away. Besides, any opportunity to enact psychological warfare against the town’s alphas was worth taking.
Finally, the front door creaked open and my apprentice hopped inside…but she wasn’t alone. I narrowed my eyes at the firefighter alpha.
“Why did you bring me here?” He scanned the space and did a double take when he saw me sitting on the kitchen counter by the stove. “Fuck, no. All I wanted was a quiet day with my pack, and now I have to deal with this?”
I rolled my eyes. Alphas were so dramatic.
Blossom hopped over to me and I narrowed my eyes. Did she really think I would do something as ridiculous as burn down the house?
I mean, I’d considered it, but decided to try curse-breaking first. Arson could follow if this didn’t do the trick.
To get started, I lifted the small metal lid off the burner with my teeth. I knocked the bag over and about half landed inside the metal container. Good enough.
Now…how to turn the stove on? While cats were superior to humans in all ways, there was the rare moment when opposable thumbs would come in handy.
Alas, I would manage.
“Listen, Felix, I don’t know what you’re doing, but this is not your house…I don’t think. Let’s just go back to the festival.”
I placed both paws on the stovetop’s knob. It clicked, but no flame erupted.
“What the fuck? You’re going to burn down the kitchen.”
Eh, that could be repaired.
“Or singe your hair.”
Huh. He had a point. Fire safety was very important.
Wilder muttered something under his breath and picked up the esfand burner. “Is this incense or something? And you want to burn it?”
Finally he got it. Took him long enough.
“I must be going crazy.” The firefighter alpha turned the knob, and this time the flame caught.
Excellent. I grabbed the wooden handle again and held it over the flame.
Before long, the smell of burnt popcorn wrinkled my nose.
Maybe the idea was that whatever dark spirits lurked in the house would be put off by the smell so they’d leave.
Now I just needed to make sure all of the rooms were purified. I hopped off the counter and carried the burner through each room. Blossom and Wilder followed me throughout the house until we returned to the living room.
I sniffed. Something felt different in the air, although only time would tell if it had truly worked.
Wilder muttered something as he snagged the burner and ushered us out of the house. It was good for alphas to feel useful every once in a while. Maybe that’s why Blossom had brought him along. Clever little apprentice.
Wilder closed the door to the Beaufort House behind us and I stretched luxuriously on the front porch. Blossom gave a little squeak and I rubbed my face against her head. I needed to groom her ears and then it was nap time.
There was an extra pep in my step as we headed back to Main Street. The sun was shining, the air had finally warmed, and my girls were happy.
Three down. One to go.