Page 301 of Bride of Choice

“Stupid head.”

“What the hell? Who the fuck is Bibo?” My words were met with gaping silence.

The fourth female, the deeper voiced one, appeared to be the ballsier of the group. “We want make sure Jo knows truth,” she grumbled.

“So you could forgive Bibo and make up and then Bibo could be happy again. He mopes around a lot now and sometimes we hear him sad at night,” Three cut in.

“No, you don’t. Don’t lie. He hasn’t come back home since she broked up with him.” Second gave a sniff. “Not that I blame her after he dumped her first.”

“Mamma said that! You’re just repeating!” First told Second.

“Bibo Jo’s Gopher,” Fourth informed me. “Calls Jo his Jo. Our Bapas named him. Bapas get to name the boys, Mamma says. Papa gets to like it.”

They all giggled like there was some inside joke to that I was unaware of.

“And you are his…?” I was struggling not to curl away from the gaggle of teenage-y back and forth cringy-ness as they randomly broke out in squabbles. “Sisters?” I guessed.

“He’s our Bibo. Our big brother. He calls me sissy, because he likes me best,” Second informed me.

“You sissy because Mamma says you Sissy, short for Celestine,” Fourth grumbled at her. Pointing a long claw at herself, she muttered, “Joelle. Elle.”

Pointing at One, she introduced, “Anais. Isa.”

“Chloe,” Three chimed in with a little wave.

“After Bibo and Amee, next four,” Elle rumbled out softly.

“He’s helping Papa and our Bapas find mates for us,” Second gushed.

Elle snorted but quickly covered it up with a fake cough.

My face reddened as their story continued.

“You snuck back here and followed him?” I wondered aloud.

They nodded in unison.

“Need make sure fluff heads don’t get bride nabbed, eaten by beasts… worse,” Elle grumbled, giving them all a dirty look.

“Elle is really smart,” Chloe offered. “I don’t really listen when Bapas try to teach us stuff. It’s boring. I just want to draw.”

“Uhm…” I had no clue what to say to that.

A loud snarl cutting into the clearing had the girls jumping. “What I say? What Bapas, Mamma, Papa say, huh?” Gopher growled softly down at them. “Again?!”

Spying me in the water, looking like a waterlogged nymph struggling to take this all in, he did a double take, looked about to swallow his tongue, and a garbled purr that made my insides feel gooey rattled his chest.

Siblings one through three, keeping me entertained, giggled at his reaction, but then quickly darted their gazes away when he bared his teeth at them and hissed something.

Elle gave him a long, measuring look and slowly stood. “We be Bibo place, replace bread, stew, and sweets Chloe and Sissy eat.” A soft grunt left her. “You talk.”

“Tattle tell,” Sissy muttered.

“Tail,” Chloe corrected, to a censorious look from Sissy.

“Share next time then ‘stead of hogging all while Elle take Isa use ladies rooms, jes?” Elle quipped.

When I would have hopped out of the water, Gopher dropped down and his hand shot out, offering to help me out.

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