Page 34 of Wishing for a Werewolf
I douse my waffles in the new seasonal pumpkin spice maple syrup and dig in, the crispy waffle dripping with melted butter and sugary goodness. “Oh, god. This is perfect!”
Everyone agrees, and we spend lunch eating great food in the company of great friends.
I look up to find Kayla giving one of her rare large grins, while Skye and Hannah laugh. And this is, right here, the reason I’m not more upset we haven’t figured out how to fix my magic yet—I know no matter what, my besties will have my back, and with their help, everything’s going to be alright.
With the silencing candle still lit, we sit and chat until the food’s long gone and we’re all too caffeinated for even a single drop more coffee.
Hannah’s phone chimes. “I’ve got a meeting in ten! Got to run!”
“Yeah, that game isn’t going to write itself,” Kayla says.
In no time at all, it’s only me and Skye left. When we stand, she trails her fingers across the top of the table and gives a wistful sigh. “We don’t do this enough. I wish we could have lunch together all over again.”
Magic swirls through me, buzzing like electricity along my nerves before exploding outward. Hannah and Kayla march backward down the sidewalk past the window. Mybutt hits the chair hard right as Skye collapses into hers. The restaurant door opens, and my friends walk backward across the room with jerky high steps, like stop-motion animation gone wrong. When they reach the table, they spin and plonk into their seats as if maneuvered by a giant invisible hand playing a little too roughly with dolls.
Pixies streak from the kitchen, carrying another round of waffles, which they set in front of us. Their joyful cries of “Pizza!” reverberate within the bubble created by the silencing candle.
But the four of us don’t echo it back, staring at each other in wide-eyed shock.
“Okay. What. The. Goddamned. Hell?” Kayla asks as soon as the pixies leave, shoving a lock of purple hair out of her eyes.
“Magic,” Hannah says.
“My magic.” I wince. “Sorry!”
“No, I’m the one who caused it. I made a wish.” Skye’s frown breaks into a big smile. “But this is great! This means your magic isn’t about swapping wishes—it’s about granting them!”
I try to stand, and a ripple of magic plops me right back down onto my chair, making me let out an indignant squawk. “Are you certain wish magic is so great?”
Kayla leans forward. “Skye, what exactly did you wi—”
Hannah slaps a hand over the other woman’s mouth. “No w-word! You guys have got to stop saying the w-word around Autumn. We don’t know what it will do!”
Kayla mutters a muffled curse and nods. As soon as her mouth is free, she repeats, “What did you w-word for?”
“I said I wi—I mean, I w-worded that we could have lunch together again.”
I palm the tabletop and push upright with all of my might. Magic tingles over my skin, and a giant hand shoves me back into my seat. “Looks like you got your… w-word.”
It’s my magic doing this, so I need to effing fix it. But how?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Rune
My pencil moves over paper, adding shading to the curve of her cheek, the fullness of her lips. Even with my keen fae eyesight, Autumn’s too far away for fine details, so I scatter little dots of freckles over her cheeks from memory.
I meant to sketch the four witches together, but as soon as I started, I drew Autumn, only Autumn. She sits in three-quarter profile, the light of the window catching on her long wavy hair and making it flare like fire.
Goddess, I’m eager to be burned, to run my fingers through her red locks, to catch her by it and tip her head back so I can nip at her neck…
The pencil gives a wooden creak of protest, and I relax my grip before I accidentally snap it in two.
“Not bad, hound,” Shadow says as he slowly appears beside me on the town green. The cat sith are some of theslipperiest fae, since they’re the only ones able to walk the shadow roads. These hidden pathways crisscross all the realms, shortening distances and letting the werepanthers spy on others while remaining unseen.
I grunt.
“Stop scowling. I mean it. You have a natural talent. One I lack.”
