Chapter 39
Furyon
“Gooooo, Roger!!!!” Lemon screeches next to me, her shouts mixing with laughter as our rooster flurries along Main Street, chasing a bucket of chicken feed strapped to a remote control pickup truck. Bebop sits on my foot, watching the race with curiosity, tail waggin’ like crazy.
Main Street is crowded with monsters watching the annual Rooster Race. Roger pulls to the front, and I start cheering too, Lemon held tight between my thighs as I lean against a light post.
Next to us, Bluebell and Oz stand with Bluebell’s bevy of brothers and Hadrian Alkazar. He seems to be a fixture with the Tucker family. Although, I suppose Bluebell’s brother is his best friend. Only makes sense he’d move here to get closer.
Or maybe there’s more to it than that.
I grin as Roger pulls ahead of the other roosters, squawking and flinging his wings wide as his running turns into frantic hopping the closer he gets to the small truck.
Main erupts into cheering when Roger crosses the finish line first, the other roosters scrambling behind him. At the finish line, Sheriff Rygold reaches into the bucket and grabs two handfuls of feed, tossing it to the frantic roosters.
Roger leaps up onto the sheriff’s muscular forearm, his chicken dominance all riled up.
He throws himself at Rygold’s face, clawing up over the big gargoyle’s nose with an angry doodle-doo.
I’m in hysterics, watching Roger get in a couple well-aimed pecks before the sheriff swats him away and swoops up into the air to escape him.
The sheriff’s been far more present the last few weeks, and it’s a good thing. Downtown Pine Gulch is happier. Monster HQ sent a new Keeper, and while I don’t see her sticking around long, downtown hasn’t kicked her out quite yet. Although, it doesn’t bode well that she’s not at today’s race.
Bluebell elbows me in the side, winking. Today her hair’s all hot pink, the freckles matching. “Furyon, did your cock just chase Sheriff Rygold up into the air?” She winks.
Lemon playfully slaps her. “Don’t talk about my mate’s cock, or I’ll bite you.”
Bluebell presses into Lemon’s arms, resting her head on Lemon’s chest. She barely comes up to Lemon’s collarbone.
“Awww, bestie, don’t bite me. Although, I guess it’d feel pretty good, right? Maybe we should try it sometime, sounds hot.”
To my right, Hadrian glances over. He heard what she said, I’d wager. His eyes drop down Bluebell’s figure but snap up when he senses me watching.
I don’t bother to hold back a smirk as he grits his jaw and looks away.
Oh yeah, there’s somethin’ there. Wonder how Bluebell’s brothers might feel about that? I think we’re likely to find out here soon.
The sheriff announces Roger as our official winner of the annual race.
Then Main Street is utter chaos as everyone tries to grab their roosters.
The tiny males are all riled up after the race.
It takes Hadrian and Bluebell together to capture hers.
I don’t miss the way he hands the chicken to her, his fingers resting softly against hers.
And I don’t miss the way her breath catches and she drops the rooster, who scuttles away as she stares into Hadrian’s eyes. He breaks the look first and disappears into the fray to help someone else.
Is love blooming in Pine Gulch? I think so.
Good.
It’ll give the pixie twins someone else to put on the front of their weekly column.
When I look at Lemon and feel her in our bond, it reminds me how different this is from all those years ago when a vampire bonded me by force. That woman took something that should have been my choice, and I retreated from monsters because of that.
But Lemon? She brought the light back into my world, and she shines it into all the darkest corners of my heart. I’ll protect that with body and soul until the day I leave this earth.