Page 28 of Wishing for a Werewolf (Ferndale Falls Forever #2)

Autumn

By the time the pumpkin carving contest begins at six that evening, we have everything set up on the town green.

Lloyd’s pumpkin stand waits off to one side, ready to sell pumpkins to last-minute shoppers.

The judging table sits in the middle, flanked on either side by tables set up as carving stations.

And just beyond them is my addition to this year’s event: a temporary corral holding five of our friendliest goats. The sign on the front reads:

Feed me your pumpkin scraps!

I love them!

Babybelle scampers around my feet. “I want to eat pumpkin, too!”

“You better get in there, then.” I body-block the gate to keep the other goats inside as I crack it open so my familiar can slip into the pen.

“This is such a great idea.” Hannah walks over to give me a hug. “Even if you don’t have anything else to do with the pumpkin carving contest next year, please tell me you’ll bring the goats again.”

“I cannot agree with Mayor Wylde.” Mrs. Greely walks up and jabs her cane toward the pen. “We’ve never had goats at the pumpkin carving contest before.”

“Just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea,” Rune says, smiling at her with his charm setting dialed up to eleven.

That smile’s so effing panty melting it should come with a warning label! I don’t see how she can take the full force of it without swooning or spontaneously combusting. I’m not standing directly in the strike zone, and my thighs have clenched so tightly they could crack walnuts.

“It eliminates unnecessary waste and gives children a way to connect with animals and nature,” he adds. “Those are both valuable lessons for young ones, don’t you agree?”

Mrs. Greely can only stare at him, her mouth opening and closing a few times, before she gives a sharp nod. “All right. We’ll see how it goes.”

Townspeople start arriving, several of them carrying already prepared jack-o’-lanterns they place on the judging table before heading off to Cake My Day or Grounds for Celebration to get a treat while waiting for the contest to begin. Others buy a pumpkin from Lloyd and start carving.

Riselda brings the twins. Now that they can shift into their upright werewolf forms, the protection spell makes all the non-magical humans see them as human children. Rune gets them settled in with two small pumpkins, and they use the knives with little finesse but a ton of enthusiasm.

The werepuppies are some of the first to take pumpkin scraps to the goats, giggling with delight as the animals lip the slippery seeds from their wolfy hands.

“Me! Me! Me!” Babybelle bounces, begging for attention, and Astrid crouches to make sure her play-pal gets some of the treats.

Then the twins hurry back to their pumpkins and start carving.

“Doing this is good for them,” Rune murmurs as he joins me. “It’s fun, so they don’t realize it’s making them practice their dexterity.”

“I know!” I snap my fingers. “We can get them some coloring books and crayons. Kids love to color.”

He spears me with his intense golden gaze, his voice serious. “Thank you.”

I wave him off. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s definitely something.” Rune catches my hand, swallowing it in his, his thumb stroking over my knuckles.

I lick my lips, my mouth suddenly dry as my heart races and horny Autumn says, I know what I want that something to be.

Shut up, I hiss at her. We’re in the middle of an effing family event!

She chuckles, low and sultry.

“Autumn, Autumn! Come help me with this!” a mother calls out, the wish swap making her think I’m running this event.

“Come on, big guy.” I hook my arm through Rune’s. “You know if it’s artistic, they actually need you.”

“We’ll do it together.”

God, I love the sound of that.

As the carving continues, the children adore feeding pumpkin scraps to the goats, and Babybelle hams it up every single time anyone comes close. When Edam and Cheddar realize the smaller goat’s getting too many of the spoils, they start pushing forward, adding their own bleats to her begging.

More yells of excitement ring out when the tulips race out of the thicket of bushes they’ve been hiding in to gallop across the green. The rolling pumpkins follow, little faces spinning past in a blur as they pick up speed.

“It’s those feral cats again!” Mrs. Greely shakes her cane at the flowers for a second before it droops, and her expression goes from vexed to confused. “And… hedgehogs? Do we have hedgehogs here? I thought they were native to Europe.”

They are, but the town’s protection spell must have picked hedgehogs as the best animal to use to disguise the animate pumpkins.

Time to get creative. “People bring them over as pets,” I say.

For all I know, it’s not a lie, but this next part sure the eff is.

“A bunch of them got loose and live in the woods near the waterfall.”

The elderly woman humphs, her eyes tracking the pumpkins as they whirl across the green.

Hannah hurries past with Severin, and soon enough, they’ve stashed the walking tulips and rolling pumpkins inside another stand of bushes, contained by a fence of his shadows. My bestie shoots me a thumbs up, and we share a grin. Never a dull moment in our magical small town!

Rune and I continue to circulate around the carving tables, with me pretending to give design advice that actually comes from him.

Everything’s going well until a high shriek of dismay cuts through the air. A little girl stands sobbing over the smashed remains of her pumpkin, which has fallen to the ground.

“We’ll get a new one,” her father promises.

“There’s no time!” she wails.

She’s right. The judging starts in only ten minutes.

“I hate this,” I whisper-hiss. “I wish I cou—” I stop myself from using the w-word just in time, but it makes me wonder. Why do I have this power if I can never use it? Lifting my chin, I say, “I wish her pumpkin didn’t get damaged when it hit the ground.”

A ripple of magic flows through me, spiraling out into the world. The splattered pieces of pumpkin slide toward each other, coming back together like a film run in reverse.

“Hey, look! It’s alright!” I crouch to pick up the now intact jack-o’-lantern and offer it to her. “The grass must have cushioned its fall. It didn’t get hurt at all!”

The little girl’s sobs choke off as she snatches the pumpkin from me, a smile splitting her face.

Her father frowns down at the pumpkin. “But I saw—”

“A trick of the light,” I lie and wave a hand. “You know how it is once the sun starts to set but before it’s dark enough for the streetlights to really seem to work.”

Then the town’s protection spell kicks in, muddling his memory, and his expression eases. “Yes. A trick of the light.”

The little girl throws an arm around my neck and presses a kiss to my cheek before whispering, “I know it was you. Thank you.”

“What do they look like?” I whisper, pointing at the twins.

“Like werewolves! Are they wearing their Halloween costumes a day early?”

“Something like that.” I grin as she turns back to her parents. Here’s one of the next generation of witches.

Then even more delight fills me. I used my magic, and it wasn’t a mix-up or a mistake. My magic did something beneficial. I can do good with it. For the first time since my powers kicked in, I feel a thread of hope.

When I rejoin him, Rune leans over to rumble in my ear, “That was a very good thing you did.”

“I used my magic!” His approval adds to my giddy happiness until I can’t keep it in. I throw my arms around him. “And it didn’t mess up!”

He hugs me close, the firm solid strength of him intoxicating. I want to wallow in his heat, my heart pounding for a whole new reason.

Mrs. Greely calls time from the judging table, jerking us apart. All the last-minute entries hurry to add their pumpkins.

Rune and I walk the table side by side, and I’m so glad he’s doing this with me, because I’d never be able to choose.

As we agreed, he picks several winners instead of only one. I never like the contests with only one, not when there are so many great entries. We dole out the ribbons I made: funniest pumpkin, scariest pumpkin, best children’s entry, and best overall.

The little witch beams at me when she wins the best children’s prize. Jared snaps pics of all the happy winners. Ferndale Falls is too small to have an official newspaper, but he runs a small website that everyone in town reads.

As everyone starts to wander away from the green, Mrs. Greely gives me a satisfied nod.

I look up at Rune. “We did it! We completed your wish to host the pumpkin carving contest.”

He gives a pleased grin. “We did indeed.”

Magic swirls around us, and a tightness releases, making me feel like I can breathe more freely as another strand of the wish swap dissipates.

A thrill goes through me at everything I’ve accomplished this evening. I’m one step closer to understanding my magic, one step closer to breaking the wish swap spell…

And one step closer to discovering if what I have with Rune is real.