Page 95 of The Lone Wolf Café
“Rowena…”
I extended a hand in her direction, and she tackled me like a wolf, both of us sinking into the couch as she wrapped her arms around me. She squeezed me with so much force that I feared my ribs would break, yet it was my own tears that caused me to fall apart in her arms.
“I’ve lost so much,” Rowena sputtered through her sobs. “My mother. Aster. Juniper. My friends. This whole damn town I’ve been trying so hard to win back. Please, Nettie, don’t leave me. I don’t think I can handle any more loss. If I lose you–” She sobbed, struggling to speak through her cries. “–I might fall apart. Everything else around me already has.”
Rowena…
I could utter her name over and over, whispering sweet nothings into her ear about how it would be okay. Utter some jargon about the power of fate and our gods working in mysterious ways, like my father always did.
But it was all futile. This love affair between the two of us didn’t have a happy ending. It never stood a chance. My choices were to leave now and pray I could slip past the prowling werewolves, or surrender myself to be dragged back to Hollenboro. Me staying in this town, by Rowena’s side, wasn’t an option.
It never was.
“I could leave,” Rowena declared. “I could come with you.”
“Rowena, no,” I stated firmly. “That café is your whole life. I won’t let you abandon it for my sake.”
“But I’m willing to. For us. We can–”
“Rowena,” I bit my lower lip. “Please, no. I’ll be consumed by guilt if you give up your café because of me.”
Maybe, in a different situation, we could have done it. We could have packed everything up, leaving the empty building behind, and set up shop elsewhere. But now? We had no time. Either the werewolves or the villagers would catch me before I could even help Rowena pack a single box.
“I’m so sorry, Rowena,” I finally broke down, falling limply into her arms. “I wish things were different. I’ll miss you so much. I–”
“Uh, Nettie?”
I froze. “Yes?”
“Your ears and tail are back out.”
I lifted a hand to the top of my head and felt soft red fur.
“Why does that happen when you’re nervous?” Rowena asked.
I let out a long groan and shrugged. “I don’t know. It started happening recently. They pop out when I’m stressed or angry. I hate it.”
“I think I know why it’s happening.”
I cocked my head, my wolf ears perking up. “Really?”
“Yes. Your witch abilities are interfering with your werewolf abilities,” she explained. “In other words, your emotions are causing you to shift because you’re an empath.”
“That’swhy?” I exclaimed. It did make a lot of sense.
“I think so,” Rowena continued. “Sometimes, when I’m out running in my wolf form, plants will sprout near my paws. I can’t control it. It’s just a part of me.”
“Wow. That’s incredible. I wish I could make flowers bloom at my feet in wolf form.”
Rowena chuckled. “I’d argue what you have is even more incredible, though. And I owe you thanks. For calming me down… I really lost control back there. I’m so sorry.”
I nodded. Rowena imprisoning Juniper in vines was wrong, but I knew how much pain and frustration she had pent up inside her. The incident wasn’t just about me – it was the tipping point for six long years of broken friendship.
“It’s okay. But I don’t think I’m the one you need to apologize to.”
Rowena sighed, her gaze drifting down into her lap. She looked uncomfortable, but she knew I was right.
“I’m just so glad you calmed me down.”
