Page 13 of Winning the Wolf

Fairy lights twinkled to life, illuminating the sunken table area. The floor was wooden with fake painted rugs that represented each animal symbol in the wolf spirit world. Not that anyone other than the werewolves would know their meaning.

“Wow, so he knew about this dream of yours before…? It’s a pretty amazing place you have here.” Caleb ran his hand along the fake wolf skin rug that hung on the wall. “Homely.”

Swallowing, I headed to the small kitchen area on the left hand side of the room. It was an open area with sinks, small ovens and plenty of coffee machines. My sister had ordered her brands of ground and bean coffee from all over the world, trying a different flavour every month. It had been her passion since she’d started drinking it at fifteen. The simple things we’d loved had transformed our lives into a comfortable and happy existence. And yet, it hadn’t been enough for Nyla.

“He helped us design the building. He loved drawing ideas of buildings, often scribbling on scraps of paper. We found this in his room after…”

Turning each machine on, I fired them up, grateful that our assistant had cleaned them on her last shift. At least I could just serve coffee and cakes without having to think too hard about much else.

“So, you honoured him by having your combined dream made into reality?”

Fucking tears, popped straight into my eyes again. “Yeah.”

Caleb walked over to the fridge and opened it, checking the dates on each carton of milk. I smiled despite the grief that had gripped me. “You look like you’ve worked as a barista before.”

“I had to make some money to get me through uni.”

Pausing in my setting up, I stared at him. “You went to uni? I didn’t think werewolves were allowed to leave Cheddar.”

His gaze danced around mine, looking everywhere else but at me. “Erm, I think the rules for you changed after everything that happened.”

A spoon clattered to the counter as I dropped it, clanging loudly in the small area. My heart pounded in my ears, reverberating through my brain. Leaning on the edge of the till area, I sucked in a breath and clasped the edge of the side.

“I’m sorry,” Caleb said, his presence beside me making me jump. “Killick told me to not say too much. I… I just didn’t agree with him.”

“He told me that our fathers had invested him, thinking he was to blame for my brother’s death,” I said. “How much more don’t I know? I feel like a fucking idiot.”

The ring of the front door bell made me stand up straight and shake off my self-pity. The first customer of the day was here and I had a job to do.

“If you’re going to be my keeper for the day…” Handing him a tea towel, I smiled. “…make yourself useful.”

Heading out from behind the counter, I paused when Caleb grabbed my hand. My skin warmed where his fingers cradled mine.

“You’re not a fucking idiot,” he said, his gaze sincere, “you’ve just been lied to, a lot.”

A bolt of hot anger fizzled in my stomach as I inclined my head and pulled out of his grip, leaving him to go and see who had come in.

“Oh,” he called, keeping his voice low, “and I’ll show you how a real barista makes coffee.”

Dismissing him with a wave, I greeted our first customer of the day. She asked if I had any beeswax candles before buying a big pack and settling for a coffee.

Caleb was true to his word, working fast as more customers came in for a morning coffee. I was busy at the tills, selling my wares and pretending that everything was okay. After eleven, several wolf pack members arrived, staring at me as they sat. The Cheddar Pack was pretty huge, and although I knew several of the members, I had kept myself away from the society I had grown to hate. And who hated me too.

The whispering continued as I joined Caleb and helped him to make coffee. It was strange not working with my sister, side by side, day in, day out. That had always been our routine. Until, suddenly, a sexy man had taken her place.

“Ignore them,” Caleb said, taking a cappuccino out of my hand and going over to serve the group from the pack.

I turned away from the stares and washed the cups, so engrossed in my job, I didn’t hear the doorbell go.

“Need a hand?” Killick’s deep voice slunk under my skin and jolted electricity through me.

Looking over my shoulder, I raised my eyebrows. “You? The mighty alpha-heir. Washing cups?”

His gaze traced down my arms to where they rested in the soapy water. My hair was tied up, swinging in a ponytail to avoid the purple strands getting into everyone’s drinks.

“I was thinking more about serving the queue at the till.”

Glancing past his bulk, I swore under my breath. There were three people waiting patiently by the till, all with several products in their hands. Balls.

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