Chapter 37
Furyon
I stare at Varek through the bars of the jail cell.
Bishop stands next to me, frowning at the expensively dressed minotaur.
Although, after a night in the jail cell, his three-piece suit is rumpled, the shirt wrinkled and open to reveal his furry pecs.
It’s hot in here, and I told the sheriff to leave the air conditioning off last night.
Let Varek and Letitia fucking sweat. Sheriff caught her packing up her office and, whaddya know, in possession of a Giant Arakna.
They’re illegal to hold in captivity, as they require a lot of resources and space.
Poor thing was traumatized, but Echo’s currently returning the huge spider to the Brazilian haven where she’s from.
Turns out, Letitia had several bottles of the Arakna’s venom stashed around her office.
That alone is enough to send her to Belcastle Prison for decades.
Varek grips the bars and rests his forehead against them, closing his eyes. “I don’t know how many more ways to tell y’all that I didn’t have anything to do with Letitia.”
“Lemon heard you,” I bark.
He straightens and shakes his head. “No. She heard me pressing Letitia for a potion, and I did do that. It just has nothing to do with the animals.”
Bishop growls. “Hard to believe considering their sickness was killin’ the land. You’re the only one in this entire fuckin’ haven who stands to benefit from the land becoming less valuable. We know you’re broke.”
Varek lunges forward, raking his horns over the bars.
They rattle under his impressive weight.
“I want nothing but the best for this haven. I’ve always wanted to settle and be accepted here.
I want to build something we don’t yet have, a smaller community for those who don’t want wide-open spaces.
Destroying this place is the last thing I want to do.
I’m a Gulcher through and through, even though I’m not from here.
” He shoots us a wry smile. “It’s funny how closed off you home-grown Gulchers can be sometimes, given that the whole vibe of this place is a spot for misfits and wild ones to find community, to find themselves. ”
He leans forward, sneering, “I found myself here, and the reason Lemon overheard me with Letitia is entirely personal. The potion I needed has nothing to do with what she did to the animals OR Lemon.”
“What’s it for then?” I examine my nails as I consider his story. My intuitive gift pings. I don’t sense he’s lying, but the evidence against him is piled too high to let him free. And so far, Letitia’s not talking to absolve him of anything.
He shakes his head. “Like I said, it’s personal, and I’m not gonna tell you. Keep me here, I guess, if you have to. I know I didn’t do anything wrong, and I don’t think you’ll be able to prove that I did.”
Sheriff Rygold kicks at the bars. “Couple days in here with no air conditioning might change your mind.”
Varek ignores him but looks over at me. “One of the pit hells bonded to me. She’s out at my place probably begging to be let out and fed. Can you take her to your place and watch over her until I’m…until whatever happens happens?”
If he’s faking, he’s good. But he looks morose. I narrow my eyes but nod. “I won’t let her suffer on account of you.”
He nods and turns his back to us, shuffling to the rear of the cell and dropping onto the singular platform cot.
Rygold turns to me, narrowing his eyes. “Hearth representatives are coming later today to interview and remand Letitia to headquarters for trial. She’ll be outta our hair soon, but they’re likely to have questions for you and your woman.
” His scowl falls a little. “She’s yours, right? You smell different.”
I can’t help the smile that overtakes me at knowing I even smell taken. “Yeah.”
He claps me on the shoulder. “Happy for you, Furyon. You deserve a good woman. Rate I’m going, I might have to hire someone from one of the mating agencies just so I don’t end up alone for the rest of my life.
” He runs both hands through his short, slicked-back waves.
“I been stone-sleeping my troubles away a little bit too much. I need to be around more. Maybe I coulda, I don’t know, headed some of this off at the pass. ” He waves at Varek.
I don’t know the answer to that. But with the vial of Arakna poison stashed in Letitia’s office, Lemon and Rykan have been hard at work on an antidote.
They’re combining what we know about how antihistamines work with reverse engineering the potion from Letitia’s office.
I’ll be real busy the next few weeks getting all the infected animals fully sorted.
My comm watch pings, Lemon’s name hovering above the blue surface. Rygold disappears toward the front of the jail.
Smiling, I lean against the wall. “Mate, everything okay?”
She sighs. “Father and Hunter are leaving today, and they want to have lunch with me. I suspect they’ll try to convince me to go home with them. Come with me?”
I growl at the idea that, even now, after the crash and our claiming, her family would try to take her from me.
“Where?” I grit between clenched teeth.
“Whiskey Business. I’m there now.”
I’m outta the jail and jogging up the street in seconds. Rounding the corner, I move faster, not slowing until I get to the bar’s door. Yanking it open, I look around for my girl.
Lemon stands with fists balled, staring at her father and brother, who are seated at the bar. Weirdly, Hunter’s on one of the saddle seats and looks like an idiot, scowling at her while straddling a western saddle. He’s got his feet in the stirrups and everything.
Heels high instead of down though. I bet he ain’t never rode a horse in his life. Probably thinks you can do it in sneakers.
“I’m not going back with you,” she says, her tone steely.
I pick my way across the bar, calling on my larger form until I loom over her by about four feet. I’m suddenly thankful I opted for custom clothing that can expand with me. Hunter blanches at seeing me, although her father is as icy as ever.
They might’ve helped save Lemon, but I’m not entirely sure they did it out of any sort of love for her.
“There is far more opportunity for you at home,” he says, tone imploring.
Lemon shakes her head and leans against me.
“I’ve been offered a role here at Glimmer now that Letitia’s gone.
I’ll have to work my way up through the ranks since I’m the newest, but there’s real opportunity for me here working with a Rykan, who’s a senior master potioneer.
Honestly, it’ll be good for both of us to remove me from the Denton family equation. ”
I slide a hand up her back as her brother and father absorb the news.
When her father opens his mouth again, she lifts a palm. “I’ll be dropping the Denton name immediately. There’s no reason for us to be connected at all while you work to rebuild trust with your clients. It’s better for me not to be involved.”
Hunter scoffs, and her father gasps aloud.
I put a finger beneath her chin and turn her just enough to look into those beautiful crimson irises. Gold and silver flecks sunburst away from the black pupil. Like every time I look at my mate, I’m fucking obsessed.
“I got a name you can take, city girl, if you’ll have it. Lemon Knox Zayle has a nice ring to it, don’t it?”
She beams and sinks against my chest, seemingly oblivious to the irritated vampire males beside us. “I’d love that, mate. Can we do paperwork today?”
Above our heads, the bar’s ceiling beams shimmy and shift. She’s excited for us.
I laugh. “Oh yeah, baby. We’ll go right after lunch, assuming you still want to eat.”
Her father stands, balling his hands. “I’ve lost my appetite.” He backs away from Lemon and frowns. “Are you really doing this, Daughter? I’m disappointed.”
I loom large enough for my horns to scrape the ceiling. Bending down, I get in his face.
“Are you talking to my mate right now? Because all I hear is a fucking mosquito buzzing and irritating me. I swear to all you find holy that if you are insulting my woman, you will regret it.”
His eyes go wide, but smart man that he is, he shuts the fuck up and skirts toward the door.
Hunter slides his feet outta the stirrups and awkwardly dismounts the saddle. “Well, Lemon, I guess this is goodbye.”
She wraps an arm around my waist, although she can’t get it all the way around me when I’m this big.
“Hunter, I…I appreciate what you and Father did at the tracks. I appreciate knowing you were in my corner when it came down to it. There’s always been a divide between us, but maybe you and I can work to heal that if I’m not in such close proximity to you all the time.”
He smiles at her, maybe the first smile I’ve seen on him since we met.
“I’d like that. I’ve always been jealous of you, Lem.
You’re so naturally good. I didn’t mean to fuck up that potion for Serafina Nerazar, but I wasn’t really sorry when it happened.
And that was a really asshole way to be.
I… Seeing you almost die did something to me.
I’m sorry, actually sorry for my part in what happened.
” He waves up at me. “Even though it kinda worked out for you in the end.”
She snorts. “Are you really apologizing and also crediting yourself for finding my mate?”
He laughs, sliding his hands into his pockets. “I can only change so much in twenty-four hours.” The smile softens. “I’ll try, though. Keep in touch, would you?”
“Yeah, for sure.”
I don’t know if they will or not, but as I sink back to my normal size, I know that, no matter what she wants, I’ll see to it that it happens for her.
Hunter sidles toward the door, and neither of us watch him go.
Lemon beams up at me, slipping her hands up my shirt to rest on my pecs. “I haven’t done karaoke yet today. Any desire to sing a song with me, mate?”
“Hells yeah,” I croon. “What’re we gonna sing, city girl?”
She curls one dark blonde brow upward. “I was thinking ‘I Feel a Sin Comin’ On.’ Do you know that one?”
Joy and adoration flood our bond as I burst into laughter. I spin her in my arms and plant a kiss on her exposed shoulder as I push us toward the karaoke stage.
“Gods, you’re beautiful,” I breathe into her skin.
She looks up over her shoulder at me. “I know.” Crimson eyes glitter with mischief.
I bite my way down her shoulder, pulling her sleeve partway off to get better access. “You know it too, don’tcha?”
She lifts her chin. “I do.”
Pressing my mouth to her ear, I growl softly. “I’m gonna fuck you in those pretty pink boots tonight, mate. You’re my little blood slut, and I need to beast out on top of you.”
She shudders against me, hand tightening over mine. “Not to mention my chickens are probably starved to death and missing me.”
That pulls a laugh from me, my city girl worrying over the chickens.
“Don’t forget Roger and the pit hells,” I say with a laugh. “Bebop’ll have a heart failure if he thinks you’ve forgotten him.”
Not to mention I’ve got a little surprise I’ve been workin’ on out back of my house. I cannot wait for her to see it.