Page 11 of Screwed by the Minotaur in Hallow’s Cove (Hallow’s Cove #6)

The inside of Cool Beans always smelled like heaven—cinnamon, espresso, warm pastries, and the waitress at Ted’s had been right.

The first time I’d stopped by, I’d been expecting sticky plastic tables and a generic menu, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Cool Beans had a funky, eclectic mix of furniture, a sofa in the corner covered in patchwork throws, mismatched tables and chairs, and a display case full of monster-themed pastries like blood orange scones and tarts filled with black cherries and “witches’ fingers.

” The chalkboard menu on the wall offered herbal teas with names like Ogre Away and Ghostly Ginseng.

Cozy didn’t begin to describe it. It felt like the kind of place that would ruin me for grocery store coffee forever, where regulars gathered daily, knowing exactly what they’d get with each visit.

I was scanning the menu, a bit overwhelmed by all the choices, when the cashier approached—and my brain momentarily short-circuited.

The man behind the counter was a wolf. Not a man with a beard.

Not a guy in flannel with a scruffy vibe.

A literal wolfman—tall, broad, covered in thick brown fur, with sharp eyes behind his glasses and a smile full of slightly too-long teeth.

A little voice in my head said, get a grip, this town is full of monsters, but I wasn’t ready for them to look so monstrous.

And yet, he seemed completely at ease, like he didn’t even know how out of place he’d be in any other café in any other town.

“Hey there,” he said in a deep, pleasant voice that made me stand up straighter. “What can I get you?”

I blinked and, after a second of awkward silence, managed to stammer, “Um, iced vanilla latte and a lemon muffin, please.”

He nodded, unfazed, moving with smooth, confident ease.

No stares. No whispers. This was Hallow’s Cove.

He was normal here. I was the strange one for still getting starstruck, the only one who didn’t know how to play it cool.

I took a deep breath and resolved to stop gawking at every monster I saw.

I headed back to Maisie just as the wolfman finished ringing me up.

When I slid into the seat across from her, Maisie looked up and smiled with a mix of warmth and mischief.

“Oh, good, you came!”

“Of course I did,” I said, setting my bag down and trying to sound more sure of myself than I felt. “I told you I would.”

“I know. But I thought maybe you’d get caught up at your store. Or, you know… chicken out because of Rick.”

I groaned dramatically, sinking into my seat. “Let’s not talk about him before I’ve had caffeine.”

Maisie gave a knowing chuckle and shut her laptop, just as the wolfman returned with my order. He set it down gently in front of me, claws careful not to tear the paper cup.

“Hey, Mitch, this is Lea,” Maisie said brightly. “The new flower shop owner.”

“Nice to meet you!” Mitch’s voice was warm and rumbly, perfectly matching his appearance. He offered his paw—er, hand—and I shook it. His claws were blunt, his grip firm. His palm was huge compared to mine. Like the rest of him, it seemed both untamed and inviting.

“Nice to meet you too.” I hoped my smile didn’t look too awestruck. I couldn’t help it, he was the first wolven I’d met!

“Roan’s over at the art center,” Mitch added. “But if she swings back this way, I’ll send her over.”

I nodded, not entirely sure who Roan was, but eager to not seem like the new kid at school. Maisie seemed to have this whole town on a map; she knew everyone and everything. I’d have to catch up quickly if I wanted to keep pace with her, if I wanted to be more than a fleeting visitor.

I took my attention back to Maisie as Mitch left our table. She looked human sitting in front of me, but I knew she had lengthened canines hiding under her knowing smile.

“What?” I asked, as she continued to smirk at me. “Haven’t gotten used to the monsters yet?” She laughed, nodding towards Mitch’s retreating back.

I blushed. She’d noticed how flustered I was by the wolven.

“Well it was easy to get used to… Rick.” I paused, feeling my face heat.

“But they still catch me off guard when I’m not expecting it.

” My eyes flicked over to where the wolven barista was.

I tried not to let them bug out of my head when I saw him helping a monster that appeared to be…

a yeti? An abominable snowman? I realized I didn’t know the difference between the two.

“You’ll get used to it.” She smiled kindly.

I put my head in my hands. “I should have really spent the weekend getting to know all the locals—rather than one local really well. What was I thinking going home with someone my first weekend here? How could I have thought I could have a breezy one-night stand and not run into him the next day? What a fucking moron.”

“Hey, hey. You’re used to life in the city where you can take someone from the bar home and never see them again—if you don’t want to.” She grabbed my hand to comfort me.

“Ugh. You’re right. And he’s so charming I was completely gone.” I rolled my eyes at myself. Ridiculous.

“What are you going to do about it? You can’t live next to him for the foreseeable future without doing something.”

Maisie was right. I was going to have to talk to him. Just because we wanted vastly different things didn’t mean we needed to be sworn enemies. We could be friendly neighbors.

Friendly neighbors who had one night of mind-blowing sex.