Page 92 of The Lone Wolf Café
But what if I transmitted that stability to her?
I had only done it once before, when my sister Alice was having a temper tantrum at five years old. It worked like a charm, but I’d felt so sick and guilty about it I never repeated the process again.
But now I had no choice. I had to stop Rowena.
I waited until I was certain she wasn’t looking, that her focus was entirely on Juniper, and grabbed her waist from behind. She let out a faint squeak of surprise, and the vines crawling up Juniper’s neck began to falter, curling in on themselves like rotten fingernails.
“What are you–”
I pressed my hand against the back of Rowena’s head, digging my fingers into her scalp before she could sputter out another word. I hated doing this to her. It felt like a violation of our relationship. Our trust.
But then I took a deep breath, steadied myself, and began to think.
I thought about our time together. Two women, wayward souls sitting in a cozy café, sipping coffee and tea by a roaring fire. Two women opening their hearts to each other, revealing their deepest secrets, declaring their feelings for one another. Kissing, touching, exploring… all of it ending in our unclothed bodies wrapped up together in bed.
Most importantly, I thought of the sunrise, just a few hours earlier, and how it felt like we were on top of the world. Like no one could stop us.
Happy things. Peaceful things.
Calming things.
Calm, Rowena. I breathed in through my nose, and out through my mouth.Calm down.
You can do this.
I believe in you.
I believe in us.
With my arms still wrapped tightly around her waist, I could feel the rigid tension of her torso relax under my grasp. Her outstretched fingers shook, her posture growing softer and looser until her arms began to lower.
And, finally, the vines began to recede from Juniper’s body.
Once I was convinced Rowena was calm, that she wasn’t going to immediately resume her vicious spellcasting once I let go of her, I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the kitchen door.
She understood what I was doing. We had limited time until the vines receded from Juniper’s body. And we needed to be far away from the café by then.
Rowena threw the back door open so swiftly its hinges rattled. She closed it with a similar frantic motion, her metallic keys fumbling in her fingers as she locked the door.
Then she was the one to grab my hand. She pulled me away from the café, and we ran.
And ran.
And ran.
We were much slower in our human forms, but we still managed to bolt across the village and back to Rowena’s cottage without anyone noticing us. A deep, unsettling ease crept into my belly when I realized Wisteria Grove was likely silent because the witches were off fighting the werewolves at the border.
Holding back the battle I’d caused.
I panted as we burst through the door, resting my palms on my knees and taking deep, heaving breaths as Rowena locked up the cottage. First the front door, then the back. She checked everycurtain to make sure they were drawn, and checked every light to make sure they were turned off.
Once my pulse had returned to normal and I stood up, I noticed Rowena running her hands across the front door. I heard dry snapping sounds, like twigs rustling, on the other side.
Rowena was covering the door in vines. So no one would get to us.
She finished the front door, then went to cover the back one. I timidly perched myself on the couch, unsure of how to help. Rowena seemed to be a master at barricading her house, ensuring no one knew she was home.
I knew why. And it broke my heart.
