Page 1 of Buckle Up, Buttercup

Buckle Up, Buttercup

PINE GULCH EVER AFTER BOOK TWO

HAZEL MACK

Hadrian

Swooping between a giant minotaur’s horns, I push off his head and execute a 720 turn, then land on the turf. Skyball tucked firmly beneath my left arm, I bullet for the end zone with wings lifted high at my back, even as the opposing team’s defense bunches together to stop me.

The Hearth HQ Hellions are a kickass team—I was their star quarterback just last year—but the Punishers are better this season. Especially since I joined.

“Al-ka-zar! Al-ka-zar!” The crowd screams my last name as my offense gets into formation. Dipping to the left, my right-side defense barrels into the opposing team’s, and I duck and roll beneath the fray. The Hellions weren’t expecting that. It’d be far more common for a gargoyle player to leap up and over or take up into the sky as high as the rules legally allow.

Never stopping, I rise and keep sprinting fast as hells to the end zone, where I dive and roll again.

Safe. The skyball ref declares a touchdown, and the crowd goes wild. My teammates crowd around me, lifting me high as the entire arena chants my house name on repeat.

My eyes drift to the sidelines where my former academy coach, Manorin Longhorn, sits with his new mate, Catherine Evrien. Someone else coaches the Hearth HQ Hellions these days, so I know Nor and Cath came to watch me. He tried to recruit me to the small monster haven of Ever, in Massachusetts, but my heart led me home to Pine Gulch and the Punishers. In a perfect world, he’d have taken over the Punishers, and I’d have gotten my dream monster town, dream team and dream coach all at the same time.

I’ll settle for two out of three, though.

A horn blows, and the game ends. Most of my team heads for the lockers, but I head to the sidelines to sign a few t-shirts and more than one pair of boobs.

Nor waits patiently until I reach him, then pulls me in for a firm handshake and a clap on the shoulder, red eyes sparkling. “Great game, kid.”

I resist the urge to remind him that, at thirty-four, I’m not a kid. But if I hadn’t left the Protector Academy partway through my senior year last year, I’d still be there, so I suppose he has a point. To him I am a kid.

He shoots me a wry look. “Still wish you’d come to Ever.”

I laugh. “Building year for you, huh?”

“Or three,” he grumbles. “Give me three years, and we’ll be ready to kick anyone’s asses.”

We part, and Catherine pulls me in for a hug next, gray eyes wrinkling in the corners. She smells like fancy French perfume as her elegant gray waves tickle my face.

“We’re so proud of you,” she says quietly. “Awesome game, Hadrian…”

“I can’t wait to get home,” I whisper with a little laugh.

Catherine and Nor bounce back and forth between the tiny monster towns of Ever and Pine Gulch, where I’ve just moved, and I’m a regular at their place for dinner at least a few times a month. We’re all a touch homebody-ish, and I think that tendency bonded our little trio. Not to mention Nor’s like a second father to me, and Catherine is my cool auntie who’s wholly unrelated but absolutely there if I need something.

I’d have followed Nor when he left the Hellions to build Ever’s team, but Pine Gulch called me in a way nothing else ever really has. There were so many reasons to come back to the Montana-based monster haven.

My best friend, Jasper, is in town. His family. And I love his family more than my own.

Nor, Catherine, and I catch up for a moment before I sense Coach’s eyes on me. Turning, I jog across the field and head to the locker room for the post-game rundown. After the analysis and a quick shower, I’m dressing when one of the other gargoyle players claps me on the shoulder.

“Hey, Alk, we’re headed out to Cattedrale for a little fun.” He waggles his bushy brows. “You wanna come this time?”

Cattedrale. I’ve had a few sexy experiences there, but these days, it’s not for me.

Laughing, I shake my head as I grab my bag and shut the locker. “Nah. You guys have fun.”

He cocks his head to the side. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d assume you have a sweetie, as much as you refuse to come out with us.” He groans. “Or don’t tell me, you’re going to the godsdamned library again for some book.”

“No mate,” I confirm. “No girlfriend. No guy friend. No books this time. I’m just gonna visit some friend friends while we’re here. I promise I’ll come next time, though.”

All lies.