Page 38 of Live Love Lasso

I manage to get a bowl of soup in Furyon before his energy starts flagging. Even though I healed the wound on his neck, he still got good and trampled by the horses, who remain a problem. I don’t even know what happened to them in the end.

All I know is tonight was full of surprises, and I don’t know what to think about it. I’m desperate to talk to Shadow or Oz or Bluebell, but I can’t call them in the middle of the night. What if he wakes up and hears me crashing out about discovering what we are, and it ruins everything?

Since his truck’s somewhere downtown, and I don’t want him to walk, I fly him back to his place cradled in my arms. He’s half asleep by the time we get there, a group of pit hells rushing around yapping. Furyon stumbles through the kitchen, prepping food bowls as the dogs yap and yowl almost like they’re talking.

“Who else needs feeding?” I lean over the counter as he continues to move slowly.

“Chickens.” He points out the kitchen’s singular window to the small coop. “There’s feed in that little shed if you wanna throw a couple handfuls. That’s all they need. Got a couple horses in the small barn out back, too.”

I turn and head outside, lightning still cracking across the sky now and again. It lights up the trees. I don’t even see chickens, but when I open the shed, a wild ruckus starts from the tree line outside. Peeking out, I find the chickens roosting up in the trees. Now that the shed’s open, though, they’re making a shitload of noise and flurrying down. I grab a few handfuls of chicken feed and toss it on the ground in front of the coop.

A big red and gold rooster hops out of the nearest tree and crows as he scurries over to where I am. Other roosters and hens follow. They peck at the feed, but they seem okay. I glance at the tree line and then back at the coop. Surely they should be locked inside there. I don’t know much about chickens, but they seem like easy prey out here in the open.

But if Furyon’s not worried about it, I’ll leave them be.

Next I round the house to a small four stall barn. Only two stalls are filled, and I don’t know what the horses eat but I find some bales of hay. I toss a little bit in each stall, hoping it’ll tide them over until Furyon can come check. Both horses nicker happily at me when I toss the food over their stall doors.

Remaining in the barn for a few minutes, I watch them eat. They seem okay.

Back inside, Furyon’s laid out on the sofa, already snoring. I drop to both knees next to him, stroking stray white waves away from his strong jawline.

Is he really mine? Is this really happening? The physical compatibility needed for my saliva to heal him would only be possible if he were mine. It’s not really something I can deny. I just can’t actually believe it. It’s the only surefire way for a vampire to identify their mate.

The grandfather clock by his front door chimes. Glancing up, I note the time—three a.m.—and groan. Work is going to be an absolute nightmare. I return to Furyon’s kitchen and find the coffee machine. I’m going to make a pot and stay up to keep an eye on him. There’s no way I’ll be able to fall asleep after tonight’s events.

When the coffee finishes brewing, I pour a cup and take it to the front porch to keep an eye on the chickens. They’re still pecking happily at the ground. Lightning streaks across the sky, highlighting downtown in the distance. The hours pass slowly, and I check on Furyon every little bit, but he seems to be getting the rest he desperately needs.

By seven-thirty, he’s still snoozing, but his chest rises and falls steadily. He seems okay, and I’ve got work. Finding a sheet of paper and pen, I scribble him a note and lay it on the living room table with an empty mug for coffee. I refill the pot too, so he’ll have a fresh one when he wakes up. A final glance at him is all I allow myself before I grab my bag and head back toward my cottage.

A quick shower is all I need to reset after last night. My darling clog sandals are full of dust from the last few days, so I make a quick stop at the Buxom Bodice to get real cowboy boots. The beautiful human shop owner helps me pick out turquoise-blue boots with silver tabs on the toes. They’re stunning, and I honestly wouldn’t have thought they were a thing in PG. The Bodice surprises me by having a gorgeous selection. I mention my sparkly pair, and she makes me promise to bring them by sometime to show off.

New shoes on my feet, I head back toward the curve in the road. When I sail through Glimmer’s front door, the feral front desk assistant glowers at me, per usual.

“Good morning, Patti.” I beam at her. Not even Patti’s gonna get me down today.

I don’t wait for her to respond, though, as I head down the hallway, across the potion room floor and to Letitia’s office. When I rap at the door, it swings open on creaky hinges.

Peeking carefully in, I find Letitia seated at her desk with a stack of papers in each hand. She glances at me over glasses perched on the tip of her nose. “Don’t dawdle in the doorway, Miss Denton.”

Grimacing at her use of my last name, I cross the room quietly and stand in front of the desk.

Letitia purses her lips and sets the papers down in a single stack. She makes a point of cocking her head to the side and letting her eyes drift down my body, wings fluttering softly at her back. She steeples her fingertips together.

“Your father tells me you’re a talented potioneer. Rather than continue with the basics any idiot could manage, I’m going to hand you a complicated potion.” She smiles, but it’s sly. “Let’s see what you can do, shall we?”

I’m thrilled she came back around to it after the previously casual mention, so I force my expression to remain neutral. “Of course, Mistress. I’d be delighted to complete whatever you have for me.”

“Oh, it remains to be seen if you can do it,” she says, her tone simpering. “But if you can, it’ll mean we can move on to more complicated things—the things I assume your father sent you here to learn. Gods know he didn’t expect me to teach you the basics.”

I nod, resisting the urge to remind her that I achieved my master’s twenty years ago. “I’m anxious to get started.”

My watch rings, interrupting my response. When I look down, Furyon’s name hovers over the band. I slap a hand over it to halt the noise.

Letitia smirks. “By all means, if you need to take a personal call…”

“I don’t,” I say quickly. “My work with you is the priority.” I’m totally certain Furyon will understand why I couldn’t answer in front of her.

She pulls a sheet of paper out of the topmost desk drawer and hands it to me. It’s a potion with a list of ingredients covering the entire front and a third of the back of the sheet.