Page 19 of Wishing for a Werewolf (Ferndale Falls Forever #2)

Rune

To thank me for helping to store the hay, Autumn insists on spending the next day helping me turn my house into a home.

She picks me up early the next morning and drives straight for downtown.

“I thought the stores we’re going to are out by the highway?”

“They are.” My fire shoots me a mischievous grin. “But first…”

She pulls the car over and parks on the curb at the lower end of Main Street.

The town green spreads out in front of us, bathed in slanting bars of morning light, the walking tulips still dozing in their flower beds.

We’re in front of one of the shops I’ve never seen open before.

Although it was a faded-peach color only yesterday, it’s now freshly painted a rich burnt orange with deep-green trim.

The windows are so clean they gleam in the morning sunlight, and it’s got all the hallmarks of one of the buildings newly restored by shadow fae magic.

“What is this?” I ask as I climb out of the car, a gust of crisp fall air lifting my hair from my shoulders.

“It’s Hannah’s latest triumph! The town’s new coffee shop, Grounds for Celebration.

Come on. The first pumpkin spice latte is on me.

” Autumn grins as she swings open the door, and we step into a shop finished in deep-brown wood.

Golden globes hang from the ceiling, casting a warm light.

An earthy scent layered with milk and the sweet tease of sugar and spice perfumes the air.

Humans fill most of the small tables, but there’s one wood nymph in the corner, and a blur of glowing blue dots swirls wildly above another table.

One by one, the pixies slow down enough to come to a hover over a tiny white cup filled with brown liquid so dark it’s almost black.

Using a miniature straw, they each take a sip before flying up to rejoin the flock, screaming, “Whee!”

“Oh, god.” Autumn slaps a hand over her mouth to muffle her laugh, her shoulders shaking. “Pixies drinking espresso. As if they needed any help being hyper!”

“Hey!” Blue peels off from the flock to hover in front of our faces, the pixie leader shaking her little finger at us. “Pixies are naturally nocturnal. We need help staying up all day, which is the only time you humans will eat pizza.”

The rest of the flock screams, “Pizza!”

“Sorry.” Autumn pats at the air with her palms. “Anything that helps you make pizza is great.” She sidles past them and heads for the back of the shop.

Behind the counter stands a short human woman with medium brown skin, long straight black hair, and a warm smile. “Welcome to Grounds for Celebration. I’m Devina, the owner. What can I get you?”

“It’s the pumpkin spice latte time of year, wouldn’t you say?” Autumn chuckles.

“They’re a specialty of mine.” Devina smiles and turns to me. “How about you?”

I know less than nothing about coffee and can’t read any of the writing covering the board above her head, so I take the easy way out. Besides, I’m curious about what my fire likes. “I’ll have what she’s having.”

Autumn orders them to go, and Devina bustles behind the counter, working several machines with smooth efficiency. In record time, she sets two steaming paper cups in front of us.

“What do I owe you?” Autumn asks.

“Today’s free. It’s part of the subsidy the town offered me to move here,” Devina says. “They fixed up the shop exactly like I wanted, too, and were unbelievably fast.”

“Unbelievably fast. Yep, that sounds about right.” Autumn’s lips twitch as she shares a look with me, both of us knowing fae magic renovated the building. “Welcome to Ferndale Falls. We’re really glad you’re here. It’s been ages since we had a good coffee shop.”

“I have all kinds of teas, too, and I even blend my chai from scratch using a family recipe instead of buying a pre-made mix.”

“I’ll be sure to get that next time,” Autumn promises. “I love a good chai.”

“Enjoy and come back.”

Autumn takes a sip of her drink and moans. “Oh, I’ll be back. This is the best coffee I’ve ever had.”

I take a cautious sip of my own, remembering how the orcs in Faerie always complained that human coffee is too bitter. But instead, a delightful swell of spicy sweetness rolls across my tongue, reminding me again of my fire’s bewitching scent.

Outside, Autumn downs another gulp and grins at me over the rim of her cup. “Drink up. You’re going to need that double shot of espresso to get you through this next bit.”

“What’s next?”

“Only the biggest challenge of your life.” Her quick steps skip over the ground, her entire being radiating joy.

I move closer, longing to bask in her warmth.

Her car door opens with a metallic groan as the redheaded witch throws a knowing smile over her shoulder. “Shopping.”

A groan of relief escapes me as I step into my house and drop numerous plastic bags onto the floor.

I long to join them. It doesn’t even matter that the wood is hard and unforgiving.

Lying down sounds perfect. Shopping is strangely wearisome for something that doesn’t require much outright physical exertion.

In fact, I almost feel more tired from all the slow walking than I would if I’d spent the time running.

And when you add in all the confusion and endless decision making…

“Ha!” Autumn steps through the door, lifting her bags high like hunting trophies and making her bracelets chime as they clink together. She’s beaming, totally in her element, her face glowing with happiness and health. “You’re such a shopping newb.”

“By the goddess, I never want to do that again,” I growl.

“You shouldn’t have to shop for so long next time.

This trip was the worst because you had literally nothing.

Trust me, I usually don’t shop for linens, clothes, toiletries, dishes, cleaning supplies, and food all in one day.

” She sets down her bags and nudges me with her shoulder.

“Go get the rest of the stuff from Tank while I put the perishables in the fridge.”

I finally put my full shifter speed to use, hurrying until there’s a mound of bags in the entryway and my heart’s pounding with invigorated life.

Or maybe it’s racing because of the enticing smell of Autumn’s scent filling my home and mixing with mine.

As frustrating as shopping was, it was also amazing to spend all day with my fire, making her laugh over and over as I repeatedly asked what various human contraptions are for. Goddess, I love her laugh, so bright and full of life.

She tosses a load of sheets and towels into the washing machine and shows me how to work it.

While it runs, she goes over how to use all the toiletries and places them in the bathrooms. Wolves are simple—if we get dirty, we lick ourselves clean.

Humans, though—by the goddess, there are aisles of personal care products.

In the kitchen, she shows me where she put all the different types of food.

“It’s pretty easy. If you got it from a cold case at the grocery store, you put it inside the refrigerator.

Same for the freezer.” She opens the door to show the smaller compartment, now filled with “kid-friendly food,” which mostly seems to be chicken tenders and ice cream.

Autumn shows me how to wash all of my new dishes and cookware, and we work side by side, with me washing and her drying and putting away.

Next, the linens go into the dryer, while we take the covers off all the furniture, and she shows me how to use the cleaning supplies.

We finish in my bedroom, where she pulls the dustcover off the otherwise bare mattress.

“Okay, but seriously. Where have you been sleeping? ’Cause it sure as hell hasn’t been here. ”

“On the front porch,” I admit somewhat sheepishly. “In my wolf form.”

“Oh.” She freezes, turning to stare at me for a moment before blurring back into motion, sliding two pillows out of their plastic wrap and placing them on top of the now-dusted dresser.

When the dryer goes off, she shoves all the warm linens into my arms, and I trail her around the house as she hangs towels in the bathrooms and kitchen.

Back in my bedroom, Autumn shows me how to make the bed and finishes by slicking her hand over the blue blanket now spread across the top.

“I think you should sleep here tonight. In your fae form.”

“I will,” I promise. “Thank you for making it nice for me. Thank you for everything. I couldn’t have done any of this without your help.”

“This is really important to you, learning to live like a man.”

“It is.” I finger the soft plushness of one of the pillows. “Yet it’s not just about me. None of the cu sith are familiar with our werewolf or fae forms. The adults are doing the best they can, but the pups…”

“What is it?” She steps closer, concern filling her beautiful green eyes. Autumn hasn’t met any of the other werewolves, but here she is, caring about them. My fire has such a good heart, which makes it easier to tell her my biggest worry, the one I haven’t admitted to anyone.

“None of the pups have shifted. It should be as easy as pulling on a pair of pants—easier, in fact. Yet they’re not doing it.

” I wave a hand to take in the room, the house.

“It’s why I’m here on Earth. I volunteered to create a place for them to learn how to be their full selves.

” My fingers pluck at the edge of the pillow.

“But with as much as I’ve learned, there are a million other things I’m ignorant of.

I didn’t even know how to make a bed, for goddess’s sake!

How can I ever be a good enough teacher? ”

Autumn catches my hand and squeezes until I meet her eyes.

“What you’re doing for them is amazing. You’re amazing.

I can’t imagine what it must be like to move to an entirely different world and learn how to live like a man after being a wolf all your life.

The very fact that you care so much means you’re going to succeed. ”

“How do you know?”

Her lips curl. “You’re too stubborn to accept anything less.”

“Thank you.” I brush my thumb over her knuckles, marveling at the softness of her skin. “Thank you for all of your help.”

“Of course.” She grins up at me, her freckled nose scrunched with joy. “You’re going to make me dinner in payment.”

“I don’t know how.” I scowl at discovering yet another skill I lack.

“Don’t worry. Everything we bought is easy to make.

Remember the sandwiches we had for lunch?

Most of those don’t take any cooking!” She leads me back to the kitchen, opens the refrigerator, and starts pointing to things.

“You’ve got bread, meat, and cheese. And over here are mustard and mayo and butter. You can do this.”

“We bought six different kinds of cheese. How do I know what goes with what?”

“Yeah, I probably went a little overboard with the cheese, since I consider it one of the essential food groups.” She gives me a quick smile and a little shrug. “But don’t worry! Cheese is a perfect food. You can’t go wrong with cheese.”

Under her direction, I pull out several ingredients. Soon, I’ve got pre-made tomato soup heating in the microwave and a few different types of sandwiches sizzling in a skillet.

Instead of eating in the dining room, we spread everything out across the kitchen island and perch on neighboring stools.

Autumn slices one of the sandwiches into quarters and slides a piece onto my plate. “Okay, what we have here is your traditional grilled cheese sandwich. Your niece and nephew will probably like this one the most.”

I bite into the crispy bread, butter slicking my tongue, followed by the gooey center of melted cheese. “I like it,” I say. “It’s not as strong of a flavor as the sharp cheddar you served me the other evening.”

She nods. “Try it with a bite of tomato soup.” She spoons up some of the bright red liquid, making a happy hum.

I eye my bowl cautiously. Even though I trust Autumn, I don’t trust vegetables.

“Come on. You like tomatoes.”

I frown and lift my spoon, letting the thick red liquid splash back down into the bowl. “I’ve never had them.”

“Sure you have. They’re what make up the sauce on most of the pizzas the pixies serve at Slice of Life.”

I grunt and take a sip, the flavor bright and acidic. “Not bad.” Then I take another spoonful, just to make sure, and crunch through another bite of sandwich, the soup and the mellower cheese creating an interesting contrast.

“Okay, this next one is more of an adult grilled cheese. We used extra-sharp cheddar and Gruyere for this one.” Autumn hands me a piece.

The stronger cheese explodes across my taste buds, and the filling feels even creamier on my tongue than the first sandwich’s. I grunt. “This is good.”

“It’s my fave grilled cheese.” Autumn’s happy smile lights my world. “But you can use any of the cheeses we got, and it’ll still taste good.” She nibbles on the corner of her piece, her full lips moving over the butter-fried bread in a way that makes my cock stand at attention.

I shift on my stool and jerk my gaze away to eat more of my soup.

“And finally, one I think the meat eaters in your pack are going to love.”

I don’t bother to tell her all wolves are carnivores.

She slices up the last sandwich and hands me a piece. “This is a grilled ham and Swiss on rye.”

Although it doesn’t taste like any boar I’ve hunted, the salty cured meat is good.

And the cheese tastes different yet again, as well as the bread.

“You call all of these things simple, and I know we purchased only a fraction of the items your grocery store carries, but the variety of foods humans eat is…” I trail off, shaking my head.

“Overwhelming?” Her tone’s gentle.

I nod.

“It’s okay to go slow.” She sets her hand on my forearm. “To try only a few things at a time and see what you like.”

My body comes alive as her fingers brush over my naked skin, and I suck in a shocked breath. I can immediately think of one thing I like. Her. My fire.

Autumn snatches her hand back. “Oh, god. Did I hurt you?”

“The opposite.” I capture her hand and bring it back to my arm, my voice a raspy growl. “I’m not used to being a man. My skin’s so sensitive your touch is unlike anything I’ve ever felt.”

Mischief sparks in her green eyes, and her fingers slide up to toy with the edge of my sleeve, leaving licks of fire everywhere she touches.

My entire body comes alive, lips tingling in a way that makes me long to press them to hers, even though I’ve never kissed before.