Page 17 of Accidentally Wedded To A Werewolf

“No spa,” Jackson said after a moment. “We have restaurants, cafes, a bakery, a flower shop. Movie theater. Pottery place. We got a lot of beautiful spots if you’re willing to walk. Mountains over there—great for hiking once the snow clears. The ocean’s right over there… I guess that’s too cold for humans right now.”

Luna kept her smile intact. Hopefully, this guy was just bad at pitching. There had to besomethingworthwhile to do around here.

“Everything except the ocean soundsgreat,” she chirped. Then, because she was still shivering despite her thick coat and her skin could really use some soothing, she added, “So, like… not even a mud pool? Somewhere that does body wraps? Facial treatments?”

“We have a skincare store,” Jackson replied.

Luna clenched her teeth. “Alright! Well, thank you somuch. I’ll keep that in mind. So nice to meet you, Jackson!”

“Nice to meet you, Luna,” he replied. He tipped his head up toward the roof again. “Oliver, sure you don’t want to escort this young lady into town? You did say you were going in for supplies.”

“I’m sure,” came the immediate reply.

Luna made sure Jackson couldn’t see her as she rolled her eyes. She strode toward the parking lot, ignoring the warmth in her chest. It ebbed with every step, replaced by a numb cold that the car heater did nothing to help.

Luna shivered as she walked down the sidewalk with her shopping bags. She was bundled up, but the cold in her chest had spread to her fingertips. She hoped Oliver was having fun in his stupid shorts. Why wasn’theaffected by the weird cold that kicked in whenever they were apart?

She pulled her jacket tighter, focusing on the town around her. It was a lot cuter when she wasn’t battling through a snowstorm. Someone had already shoveled the main roads, so Luna had been able to cruise slowly down the street without worrying about hydroplaning. The middle of town was small enough that she could park in one spot and walk around, getting everything she needed without tiring herself out. It was nice. She loved LA, but it was annoying having to get in a car every time she wanted to go somewhere. If the weather was okay, she could’ve walked into town from the inn. Admired the mountains on one side of town, the ocean glittering onthe other. Sure, there wasn’t a lot to do here, but it was pretty damn beautiful.

Luna paused in the middle of the sidewalk. Shopping bags dangled from her arms as she wrestled her phone out, snapping a picture of the snowy scenery. She still didn’t have much data on her phone, but her laptop worked fine if she worked on the side of the room closest to the inn’s router. She could post it to her Instagram later.

She turned back and instantly bumped into a huge minotaur carrying an armful of flowers.

“Crap,” Luna said, barely managing not to spill her bags of clothes all over the cold bricks. “Sorry!”

She shrank back from the minotaur with a wince. He washuge, and his face was so blank she couldn’t tell if he was going to get annoyed with her. Then he opened his mouth, and his flustered tone made it clear she had nothing to stress about.

“No, that’s on me,” the minotaur said worriedly, steadying her with a large hand. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I had these guys in my face.”

He shuffled the flowers around, then paused. “Oh! You’re the human from the party last night. I’m Joshua, and I own the flower shop just over there.”

“Luna,” Luna said, following his gaze to a dinky flower shop that had a sign dangling from the front doors: BACK IN FIVE. She did recognize him now that she looked closely. He’d been holding a vase of lilies, the second one to come in and gape at the hole in the roof.

“Nice to meet you properly,” he said, shifting fromhoof to hoof. “Well, I should get going! These guys aren’t gonna wrap themselves.”

He bustled off, petals falling to the sidewalk behind him. Luna had to stop herself from staring. There were so many monsters out for a morning walk: people covered in wings or feathers or scales, nodding at each other or stopping in the middle of the street to chat. If you stopped in the middle of a bustling LA street, you’d get yelled at.

She readjusted the bags on her arms. She had everything she’d come into town for, plus a few extras. Time to get out of the cold. Hopefully, the ache in her chest would die down when she was under the same roof as that jerk.

She turned back toward her rental car and paused. There was a chocolate shop over the street.Prickles, the sign declared. A chocolate cartoon hedgehog curled up next to the word, smiling out at the street.

Luna headed into the shop. A bell rang over the door, and Luna had a strange thrill.I’m in a little chocolate store in a little town that has a little bell over the door. This is the most whimsical thing that’s ever happened to me.

The store smelled like sea salt and dark cocoa. Luna took a hearty sniff as the hedgehog woman behind the counter whirled around, her spikes skimming the scratched-up chalkboard behind her.

“Oops,” said the hedgehog woman, eyes wide. “Hi! Hello! Can I get you anything? We have samples.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Luna said happily.She stepped toward the bowl that the woman was holding out and paused. She recognized those little wolves. “Oh, hey! These are yours? I had one this morning, and they were delish.”

“Oh,” the hedgehog woman said, flushing all down her muzzle. “Thank you so much! They’re a new recipe.”

Luna popped a chocolate wolf into her mouth and gestured around the empty store. “New business?”

The woman toyed nervously with her apron. “We’re still getting the word out.”

“Yeah? Newsletters, ads, sponsorships…?” Luna watched as the woman’s eyes got wider and wider.

“Um,” the woman said. “Kind of just… posters. We’re not a very touristy town.”

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