Page 22 of It All Started with a Bite

“You’re newly turned,” he said quietly.

Surprise shot through me. “How can you tell?”

Ellie was too busy examining pastries to hear our conversation.

Virgil’s expression turned sympathetic. “You haven’t learned how to mask your scent yet. You smell like stress and rage.”

I died a little inside.

“Anything for the doggie?” Virgil asked with a friendly glance at Bo. “He can have a muffin, on the house.”

Bo’s tail thumped the floor. “Thanks, bro.”

“No problem.”

I blinked. “I, er, thought you’d be more surprised by the talking dog.”

Virgil and the witch gave me strange looks.

“Most supernatural creatures can communicate with familiars.” Virgil reached under the counter and produced what looked like a perfectly normal blueberry muffin. “Don’t worry, no brains in this one.”

Bo’s tail wagging intensified.

I made a face. “He’s not a familiar.”

Virgil startled. “He’s not?”

“No, he’s just a regular dog.”

“I might be part werewolf,” Bo added helpfully around a mouthful of muffin.

“Which part?” the witch asked warily.

I could feel ears pricking around the coffee shop.

Bo became the subject of intense stares. Not that the glutton noticed.

Virgil suddenly leaned in and sniffed me. He stiffened. “Are you with the Hawthornes?”

I hesitated. “Why, do I smell like them too?”

“What’s going on?” Ellie asked. She’d stopped examining the cakes and was looking at us curiously.

“Nothing,” I said. It wasn’t nothing, but I knew instinctively now was not a great time to go into details.

Virgil had almost looked scared for a moment.

The witch snorted. “Yeah, right. A newly turned werewolf belonging to the Hawthorne pack is nothing.” She gave me a warning look. “Watch yourself. That family plays rough.”

“Penny,” Virgil warned in a low voice.

“What?” The witch shrugged. “Someone should warn her.”

My phone chose that moment to buzz. I fished it out while Virgil and Penny prepared our drinks, still digesting the red flags they’d just mentioned.

It was a text from an unknown number.

I’ll pick you up at 8. Wear something you don’t mind getting dirty. S.

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