Page 69 of The Lone Wolf Café
“We’ll have to figure it out as we go. But for now…” I stepped toward the door. As I went to open it, my palm landed on the teeth marks gouged into the metal handle. “We need to get to the café. Or else we’ll be late.”
Rowena’s smile when I walked through the back door of the café nearly tore me in half.
I was ten minutes late, and was panting steaming breaths into the chilly morning air by the time I arrived. My hair was a mess, my face was blotchy and puffy from not sleeping, and even Aria seemed concerned about my bedraggled state.
But Rowena? Her smile was as bright and warm as it always was, laced with a hint of affection and what I’d always hoped was attraction. It was a far cry from the shy, polite smile she’d given me on my first full day at the café. I remembered the way shehid behind it like a mask, her dark eyes curious but her facial expression hard as stone.
I knew the pumpkin carving contest had changed everything. I’d chosen to find her instead of spending time with the rest of the witches. It was the first time we’d opened up about our pasts. I remembered her fingers running through my hair, how she admired it like spun silk. How she made me feel like being a redhead, which kids had teased me for on Hollenboro, made me unique. Special.
Beautiful.
Rowena had just emerged from the Mount Katahdin portal — I could tell because there was a container of cream in one hand. She’d fetched it for my coffee like she did every morning.
I felt my throat closing in on itself. She didn’t know what happened. What I had seen inside her cottage. Which was good, because getting caught could have resulted in my death. But it still made my stomach boil with nausea and guilt.
Why are you like this?I scolded myself.You’re feeling guilty about discovering the truth? That she’s a werewolf hunter? That she kills your kind? It’s a good thing you snuck into that cottage and found the cage. Or you could’ve ended up in it.
Tortured.
Dead.
“Nettie, are you alright?”
I snapped out of my sickening panic and locked eyes with Rowena. Her affectionate smile had morphed into doting concern.
“You look a bit ill,” Rowena continued. She walked across the room, black boots clicking on the hardwood, and set the creamer on the counter. “It’s awfully cold out today. Do you need to sit by the fire for a bit? I can make your coffee for you. I’m pretty sure I know how to do it now. I was such a fool before, putting the coffee beans in there whole. I–”
“I’m leaving.”
Dead silence. It was deafeningly painful. Rowena was astonished, completely lost for words, and it felt like the whole kitchen could collapse at any moment.
Even Mavro, who sat on top of the wood-burning stove, was motionless. I swore the flames that made up his body froze in place.
“W-what do you mean?”
I could hear the thinly-veiled panic in her voice. The way she tried to fight it down, to keep her composure. I knew how powerful of an emotion heartbreak was, and that it was impossible to keep down. Impossible to hide.
“I’ve decided…” I paused, struggling to swallow.Deep breaths. Remain professional. She is your employer, after all.“I’ve decided I’m ready to leave Wisteria Grove. Therefore, I will be officially resigning from my baker position at The Lone Wolf Café. Would it be possible to get my final paycheck tonight?”
Rowena opened her mouth, then closed it again. She did this several times, the hint of a syllable occasionally rising from her throat, until she exhaled sharply and planted a palm on the kitchen counter. She leaned over it, using her other hand to cover her nose and mouth.
She was silent. It only lasted about thirty seconds, but to me it felt like an eternity.
I wanted to speak up. To say something. To throw all my cards on the table, tell her what I saw in her cottage, and beg her to explain things. For her to tell me I had it all wrong. That she wasn’t a monstrous traitor to the magical community that killed creatures like me.
Maybe there was another explanation.
But I couldn’t take the risk.
“Rowena…” I paused, my lips slightly parted, unable to say the things I so desperately needed to get out. I knew it was myaffection shining through, like sunlight forcing its way through grey clouds, but I couldn’t let my feelings for Rowena quash my self-preservation. Nothing would change what she was. Just like how nothing would change what I was.
“Yes.”
“What?” I startled, unsure if I’d heard her correctly.
Rowena lifted her hands from the counter, standing upright and facing me. “Yes. I can have your paycheck ready for you when the shop closes. Don’t worry about baking anything too fancy today. Focus on saying your goodbyes and getting everything in order for your departure.”
It sounded so formal, so robotic. It was exactly the same as how I’d told her I was resigning, and I could feel our affections for each other slipping away. We were back to where we’d started – employer and employee. Nothing more.
