Chapter Eleven
Ladon
“Daddy, the bus is missing.”
I glanced toward the layover stop on the other side of Main Street where we caught the bus on days we visited The Chicken Place to pick up dinner before heading home.
I was surprised it wasn’t yet there and that Kirin said something to me other than asking about Blaze.
“I guess it’s running late. We’ve got time. ”
It was my son’s birthday, and while I had brought treats and a cake for him to enjoy with his friends at day care, I’d promised Kirin we’d also go out for supper.
As much as I didn’t want to hear about how he’d used his “blowing out the candles” wish to ask for a chance to see the firefighter I’d had sex with again, I couldn’t deny my son a special meal for his celebration.
It wasn’t as if we had any family who would show up to honor his birthday.
When the light across the crosswalk indicated it was safe to go, we hurried across the street. Yet, when we arrived at the stop, there was still no sign of the bus.
“This stop is temporarily closed,” an alpha said from the doorway of the barbershop while a cigarette bobbed between his lips. “There was some kind of accident. You should have checked the app before you came here.”
“And you shouldn’t smoke.” Kirin glared at the man and crossed his arms before letting out a chuff of smoke.
“What the—”
Placing my hands on Kirin’s shoulders, I turned him around then took his hand so we could get away.
Quickly. “Let’s go. We’ll walk there.” I didn’t need anyone questioning why he could produce smoke all on his own.
Plus, The Chicken Place was only a few blocks away.
We usually took the bus to save time, but that mattered less than not giving anyone a chance to figure out what kind of shifter we were and claim we were a danger to society.
As soon as we turned the corner, I slowed down and released my son’s hand. “Kirin, you have to stop chuffing. If you want to be a firefighter, you can’t go around setting fires.”
He stomped his foot. “I didn’t start a fire. I didn’t even breathe fire. I only chuffed some smoke because he was rude to you.”
My heart melted a little and I couldn’t be mad at my son for trying to stand up for me. “I appreciate the gesture, but chuffing smoke is only going to cause us problems. There are other ways to handle alphas like him.”
Kirin knocked the toe of his shoe into the nearby post. “Next time, I’ll kick him.”
I chuckled, not sure that would be appropriate either, but I loved my little protector. “Let’s go get some chicken.”
For the next two blocks, Kirin spent half of it in front of me and the other half behind when something would catch his attention. The area wasn’t too busy, so I didn’t insist he remained at my side, but I still knew exactly where he was.
When we reached the end of the block, I took his hand again.
The restaurant was to the left with the firehall Blaze worked at on the right.
With one of the trucks parked out front, it looked like they had recently returned from a call.
I hoped Kirin remained focused on getting chicken instead of asking to go see Blaze.
As soon as the walk sign changed, we entered the crosswalk. We had to cross twice at the intersection before walking a bit farther to get to The Chicken Place. We were almost halfway across when a loud cracking sound filled the air. Then the ground shook.
“Daddy, what was that?” Kirin’s voice shook.
I didn’t know whether to stay still or run, sure it was more than just an emergency vehicle coming down the road. Lifting Kirin into my arms, I held him tight and rushed to cross the last four lanes of traffic.
We didn’t make it.
The car beside us nose-dived into a sudden hole before the ground disappeared beneath my feet. We were falling.
Down, down, down.
I closed my eyes and braced for the moment we crashed into the bottom.
The bottom never came.
Suddenly, something grabbed me from above and jerked me up. There was a sharp pain in my shoulders, but it was better than the crunch of bones I’d expected. I gripped Kirin tighter, fearful of dropping him.
Taking a chance, I opened my eyes to see what had a hold of me, what had rescued us.
I gasped when I saw talons embedded in my shoulders and the stomach scales of a large beast above me.
I’d never been happier to see a dragon in my life.