Page 48 of Wrestling With Werewolves

My nostrils flare as I hold back a laugh. “Looks like you brought another friend.”

Lou rolls her eyes and opens her mouth, but before she gets a chance to say anything, Iggy hops off her shoulder and onto my table, bringing a box out from under his free arm.

“Hey, Princess Lola! Lou didn’t invite me, but I invited myself because Dad says we should always help people who need it. And Lou’s sad about things, so I’ve been making her cookies.” He shoots me a proud smile. “I basically adopted her.”

Lou snorts and crosses her arms. “Ignatius Zion, I am just fine, although you’re a damn good baker.”

“Oh,” he laughs, “Dad and Miriam do all the cooking.” He lifts a tiny white box so I can see. “I do all the packaging though.”

Lou flops down in a chair opposite mine and pulls out the one next to her, patting the seat. The gorgeous redhead smiles and sits down gracefully. She’s tall and elegant like most shifter women are, but this must be the black witch, Lou’s niece.

She leans across the rectangular wooden table and extends a hand to me. “Nice to meet you in person, Lola. Abe and I saw you play recently; I’m honestly fangirling so hard right now.”

I take her hand and shake it. Her grip is firm and sure, the handshake of a confident woman. I like her immediately.

Iggy hops across the table, long tail lashing from side to side. He shoves the box toward me and pulls the top open, looking up expectantly. “You want one, Princess Lola?”

I smile and peek inside the box, making a big deal out of examining every available option. Finally, I cock my head sideways and put my face very close to his. “Which one did you work hardest on, Iggy?”

He lowers his voice to a whisper and points to what I think is a chocolate chip cookie, tucked in the back corner.

I grab it and set it on the table in front of me. “Perfect, I’ll have this one.”

He nods sagely and spins around, hip-hopping back toward Lou. He puts the box down in front of her. “Eat up, Lou. Cookies are good for you.”

She sighs and folds her hands in her lap. “If you say so, kiddo.”

A shout echoes from somewhere on the main drag. I twitch an ear to listen, hearing the same kiddos I played Skyball with yesterday. I pat Iggy’s chubby haunch. “Hey, there are kids playing in the street if you want to join them. I kicked their butt at Skyball yesterday with Hana.”

Iggy’s eyes light up, and he lifts off the table, tiny gargoyle wings flapping wildly. He takes off before Lou or Morgan can say a word.

“Thank the Lorrrrd,” Lou whines once he’s gone. “He’s adorable, but he seems to have made me his personal mission to fix.”

Morgan leans over and bumps her shoulder against Lou’s. “He’s intuitive. And gargoyles are protectors; he can’t help himself.” She grabs the box of cookies and picks one out for herself. “Frankly, I’m thrilled to have all of these gargoyle family members. We’ll never run out of food as long as we live.”

Lou huffs. “Snack up, shack up, I guess.”

It’s my turn to snort. “Say what now?”

Morgan laughs, mouth full of cookie. She places her palm over it and chews, rocking side to side as if hurrying herself on. When she’s done, she grins at me. “My sister Thea is married to Shepherd, if you’ve met him. He’s on Ever’s protector team. Anyhow, when we first came here and he started pursuing her, he told us that was the gargoyle males’ motto.”

Lou laughs, pink lips splitting into a grin. “I don’t believe there’s anything official about that motto.”

“Absolutely not.” Morgan shoves another cookie in her mouth. “He’s a comedian,” she manages around a mouthful of the sweet.

A pegasus waiter comes up, handsomely dressed in a collared shirt and tightly fitted vest. His long blond hair is tied in a bun on his head in the way most centaurs and pegasi do. I smile up at him and order a mead. Morgan and Lou do the same.

Lou glances at her niece. “Did Ohken make this, ya think?”

Morgan laughs and looks at me. “My brothers-in-law are multitalented. Ohken does, well, shit, he pretty much does everything. But he’s a great brewer.” She looks back at Lou. “But, no, I don’t think he has anything to do with the mead here. I’m not asking a single thing about it, though, because the last time I asked Ohken about a mead I liked, the magical ingredient was earthworms.”

We burst into bright, joyous laughter at that.

For two hours, we sit and drink and chat about everything and nothing. Lou and Morgan are both so genuine and kind, I can’t bear the thought of our early lunch ending. I don’t have many close friends at home in Santa Alaya. It was too hard to maintain those friendships over the years because I could never come and go like others.

It was always Leo for me, and then Leo and the Lovestruck Lobos. Even then, the actual band members seem to change pretty frequently. Leo’s been the only constant.

But…it doesn’t have to be that way for me. Here in Ever, I think I could make real girlfriends. If I stayed. Santa Alaya will always be home and I love my haven to the ends of the earth and back. But I’m also ready for new adventures. I consider what might happen if I told Papá I simply wasn’t coming back.

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