Page 13 of The Lone Wolf Café
Calm. I am calm.I exhaled gently through my nose.Deep breaths.
“I’ve always suspected the wards are faulty, though,” Rowena continued. The knot in my stomach loosened a fraction of an inch. “A spell is only as strong as the witch that casts it, and our resident warden witch is young and inexperienced. We’ve had issues in the past with the local werewolf pack being able to break through on full moons.”
Local. Werewolf? Pack!?
My stomach was sinking before, but now it had plummeted out of my body onto the hardwood floor – uncomfortable and panicked and scrambling to get away from this place.
This news posed several problems. If the werewolves were able to get through, that explained why I could as well, and it was only a matter of time before I was caught. Plus, I knew my father, as our Alpha, had at least some connections with other werewolf packs in the area. If another werewolf saw me and reported to their Alpha, the news could get back to my father. Not only would I be revealed as a fraud to the witch village, I’d be dragged kicking and screaming back to Hollenboro.
And I knew what sort of life awaited me there. I couldn’t go back.
“It’s mainly just one werewolf though,” Rowena continued. My internal panic had prevented me from keeping up with the conversation, but that sentence immediately snapped my attention back to Rowena. “A large, red-furred one. We call them Big Red. They’ve been causing issues every full moonfor years, breaking through the barrier and letting other werewolves through. There’s been injuries, and… well, never mind. Anyway…” Rowena forced a smile. “I’d love to officially offer you the role of resident kitchen witch at The Lone Wolf Café. I’m assuming you’re still interested?”
Crap. Crap crap crap.
I needed this job. I didn’t know where I’d be able to find another one. Fellow werewolf packs didn’t accept outsiders, witches hated our kind, and humans feared all magical beings. My options for fitting in somewhere – at least not without faking my identity – were sorely limited.
“I… uh…” I stuttered, noting I’d done so numerous times since arriving at this café.
I couldn’t make up my mind. But thankfully, at that moment, I didn’t have to. We were interrupted by the chime of the bell above the door, and Rowena’s attention immediately shifted to her new customer.
The woman stepped timidly through the door, her eyes flicking to every corner of the room. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, and had lightly tanned skin with short, loosely-curled blonde hair pulled back from her face. Her appearance was completely different from Rowena’s, as not a single piece of her outfit was black. Instead, she wore a loose sky-blue dress with a thick, turquoise-patterned shawl slung over it. Bands of necklaces with little skulls and crossbones hung heavy on her neck, and both wrists were adorned with bracelets made from various crystals. But she had one of the most distinctive articles of clothing a witch could wear – a wide-brimmed pointed hat. Except hers was the same color as her dress.
Like Rowena, she was very pretty. But as the witch turned her head, I noticed a set of thick, deep scars trailed down her cheek and ended at her jawline.
My throat clenched.
Those look like… werewolf claws…
“Hello, Rowena,” The witch greeted with a small nod and a wave. I noticed she didn’t smile at Rowena. She seemed strangely cautious of her.
“Hello, Juniper,” Rowena replied with the same stoic greeting. I realized I was still standing awkwardly next to the counter, and I quickly retreated to one of the high-backed chairs near the fireplace. I didn’t want to interfere with Rowena’s business duties.
“Do you have it ready?” Juniper asked, shifting her bag on her shoulder.
“Oh, yes, I do,” Rowena scurried behind the counter, digging through her supplies and pulling out a small cloth bag, no larger than a coin purse. “Ginger and chamomile, just like last time.”
“Goodness, thank you,” Juniper exclaimed. I could hear the relief in her voice as Rowena handed her the bag across the counter. “My migraines have been killing me lately.”
“I know,” Rowena sighed. Based on their conversation, I assumed Juniper suffered from migraines for a long time. “This new batch of chamomile is spelled to help with inflammation. And ginger is an antiemetic, so it’ll help with the headache-induced nausea you’ve been having.”
“I appreciate it,” Juniper smiled faintly. As Rowena scrawled in her notebook and calculated the total for Juniper’s order, I noticed the blonde-haired witch’s eyes were wandering across the room. And because I was being nosy and peeking out from behind the high-backed chair, her gaze eventually locked on me.
“Oh, hello,” Juniper greeted with a shy wave. I tensed my body to keep from looking startled. “Was I interrupting something?”
“Oh, no, not at all,” Rowena replied, setting her pen next to her notebook. “But I would like to introduce you two. Nettie, this is Juniper, the High Priestess of Wisteria Grove’s coven and ourresident crystal witch. Juniper, this is Nettie. She’s new in town, and is going to be the kitchen witch for The Lone Wolf Café.”
I gulped, quietly cursing Rowena in my head.Looks like the decision has been made for me.
“Pleasure to meet you.” Juniper smiled. “You’re a kitchen witch?”
I nodded, careful not to make the motion seem forced or robotic. But on the inside, I could feel my nerves tingling, and it took several long, deep breaths to reassure myself I was fine and my ears and tail werenotgoing to pop out again.
“That’s so exciting!” Juniper clapped her hands together. From this angle, I could see the full extent of her scar. There were three lines across her cheek, each at least several inches long, and deep enough to be shiny and pink. Clearly it had been a gruesome injury, though I didn’t want to bethatperson who stared too long.
“We’ve needed a kitchen witch for a while,” Juniper continued. “Ever since Rune left… it’s been tough. We witches love our sweets! If you don’t mind me asking, what sort of pastries do you make?”
“Well, I…”
