Page 30 of Wishing for a Werewolf (Ferndale Falls Forever #2)

Autumn

Rune presses me to his hard body, and heat flickers through me as I gaze up at him. He’s so handsome in his fae form that I never imagined I’d be equally attracted to the werewolf.

But I am. I really, really effing am.

My thighs clench, my panties dampening as my hand latches onto his forearm—his fur-covered forearm, which feels sinfully soft against my skin.

He takes an audible breath, and his gaze sharpens, his tail swishing from side to side. Oh, god, can he smell that I’m turned on? Desire shivers through me at the thought.

The town green is full of light and life on this gorgeous fall evening, but his eyes hold me mesmerized. We might as well be the only two people in the whole world.

I promised I’d stay away from him until I know if what he’s feeling is real, but tonight that’s impossible.

Every time he plays with the twins, it makes my heart melt.

Then there’s the way he keeps reaching for my elbow to steady me whenever a group of excited kids pushes past us.

Or there’s the heated looks he gives me, his eyes drawn to my corset-lifted breasts, my thigh-high clad legs, which he keeps brushing with his tail, over and over until I shiver.

And dear god, the way he keeps teasing me with the word BOO.

I’m no saint. How’s a girl supposed to resist?

And one more time would be okay, right? Since he clearly wants it too.

Little hands tug at our clothes, snapping us out of our daze, and Astrid and Agnar’s voices tumble over each other: “Uncle Rune!” “Autumn!” “You’re missing it!” “Come on!”

We break apart to get pulled toward the center of the green. I come to a stop beside Skye, who’s wearing a golden Belle ball gown that looks amazing with her generous curves.

In the middle of the grassy area, Severin stands with Hannah, ready to preside over the costume competition.

“Oh. My. Effing. God.” My eyes almost pop out of my head. “Did Hannah get Severin to wear a Loki costume?”

“She sure did,” Skye chirps. “Thank you, Hannah.”

I nod. It’s the Loki outfit from the earlier movies with the horn-crown and body-fitting armor, and Severin looks even better than Hiddles, which should be impossible—or at least illegal. Beside him, Hannah rocks a Black Widow costume, her long hair temporarily turned a red that matches mine.

Shadow strolls up in his werepanther form.

Instead of wearing normal clothes like Rune and his family, the big cat sports a finely tailored three-piece suit, the waistcoat a green that matches his eyes.

Only his furry head and hands show, but the contrast between the animal features and the bespoke suit is striking.

He catches us looking and spreads his hands wide. “Yes, I do indeed look magnificent.”

Luke stomps over to us, his horns, tail, and wings on full display.

He’s trailed by a child dressed as a cowboy, who says, “No, you’re a demon!”

“I’m a dragon.” A swirl of smoke curls from Luke’s nostrils, and his red wings snap wide.

Everyone gasps, especially Skye, who clings to my arm to keep herself upright. “Oh, my, they’re so big.”

“I’m sure they are.” I try to bite back my laugh, but a muffled snicker escapes. When my friend turns her wide eyes on me, I hold up two fingers and wiggle my eyebrows, reminding her of how uniquely endowed the weredragon’s supposed to be.

Skye turns bright red, but her smile is radiant.

“Thank you, everyone, for making this year’s Ferndale Falls Halloween Celebration such a success,” Hannah calls out, using her mayoral voice.

“Let’s give a big round of applause to all our downtown businesses, who went out of their way to offer us such a fun and safe trick or treat experience this year!

” She makes a production of clapping, and the crowd joins her, their reaction enthusiastic.

“Now for the costume contest! Would all of the adults who want to participate, please come up here.”

Several people step forward, including a couple of Mandos and Kayla, Violetta, and Jasmine, who’re dressed as the KPop Demon Hunters trio.

Skye tries to get me and Rune to enter as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, but I shake my head and lean over to whisper, “I want to enter the werepuppies. I’d rather the focus be on them. ”

Rune’s tail brushes against me, and I glance up to find him looking at me. “Is that okay?” I whisper.

“It’s perfect.” His tail wraps around my leg in a caress that makes my heart race.

Skye and I cheer when our fellow Witch Bitches win the adult costume contest and strike their best kick-ass pose, Jared snapping photos for his website.

When Hannah calls for the kids to come up, I lean over to Astrid and Agnar. “Do you want to enter?”

“Can we?” they chorus, looking at their mother with pleading eyes.

Riselda asks Rune, “What do you think?”

“I say yes.”

The puppies shove their treat bags into their mother’s hands and go racing forward to join pretty much every human child in town.

They form a whirling mass of kids dressed like miniature KPop Demon Hunters, Wednesday Addams, Stich, and Superman, along with old favorites like Minions and My Little Pony.

There are even a few of the perennial favorite of little ghosts draped in white sheets.

Every time one of them parades past Hannah and Severin, Rune leans close and growls a wicked “BOO” in my ear, setting my entire body alight.

By the time all of the kids have presented their costumes, I’m squeezing my thighs together, my skin prickly and hot and wanting to be touched.

Rune’s looming presence behind me only makes it worse, the hair on the back of my neck raising as I shiver with awareness of him.

The werepuppies, being actual werewolves, blow all the human-made costumes out of the water, which kind of isn’t fair, but Astrid and Agnar are having so much fun I don’t feel too badly about it.

My brilliant bestie rescues the situation, giving a “resident” prize to a miniature human Wednesday Addams and giving a second “visitors” prize to the twins.

The werepuppies come racing back over to us, carrying a plastic pumpkin filled with treats between them, chattering a mile a minute about how they won.

I glance at Hannah and mouth a “thank you” and give Skye a quick hug goodbye as she gets ready to read a kid-friendly spooky story.

The twins jostle toward the front, fascinated by my friend’s ability to do all the different voices.

“What do you want to do next?” I ask Rune and Riselda. “I think some people are heading to The Thirsty Tusk, but it’s not kid-friendly.”

“You two can go,” Riselda says. “Don’t worry about us.”

“How will you get home?” I ask.

“We’ll run.” Riselda tips her head toward the hyper pups. “They need to burn off some of this sugar, or they’ll never sleep tonight.”

“You’re sure?” Rune asks.

She shoos us away in answer.

Rune doesn’t hesitate, wrapping at arm around my shoulders and steering me across the green toward the pub. Only we don’t make it that far. As soon as we pass the first large clump of rhododendrons edging the green, he pulls me into them, hiding us from sight.

I gasp as he crushes me to him, his snout burrowing into my neck and licking at my skin. “Fuck, Autumn, your scent. I can smell your wetness. I can’t take it anymore. I need to taste you.”

A moan slips from me, my fingers digging into the fur at the back of his head, holding him to me.

A tiny voice whispers that Rune might still be under the effects of the wish swap spell, but horny Autumn yells for it to be quiet.

I can’t argue, my body burning with desire.

Every one of his growled BOOs, every touch of his tail, every heated glance of his golden eyes have combined to destroy every bit of restraint I’ve been clinging to.

“This short scrap of fabric barely covers you.” He sinks down my body, his clawed hands lifting the hem of my skirt, sounding offended. “It’s driven me mad the entire evening. I keep waiting for a gust of wind to lift it.”

“Yep,” I say, my voice breathless. “That’s the whole point.”

“Others could have seen,” he growls, his hands tightening on my thighs, the claws just starting to dig in.

“I didn’t wear this costume for anyone but you,” I admit.

He groans, his snout sliding up the crack between my thighs until he reaches my already damp panties. “Fuck, you smell exquisite. I nee—”

Several kids cry out in surprise, reacting to Skye’s story.

“Oh, god, we can’t do this here. Anyone could find us.” The thought’s a little exciting if another adult spotted us, but a kid? No way I want that.

Rune reluctantly lets me go, and I stagger back out into the open, my steps quickening into an almost run as I head for my car. Screw the pub. I want to get him alone now.

“By the goddess, my fire,” Rune growls from right behind me, his voice full of frustrated longing. “You’re going to kill me. If you truly expect me to wait, you can’t run from me like this.”

I come to a halt on the sidewalk between two of the shops on Main Street. “What do you mean?”

“I can’t help myself if you run.” A groan tears from his chest, the front of his pants tented with obvious arousal. “If you run, I can’t resist—I must chase, especially in this form.”

Oh! Primal chase, just like the book… I swallow, my mouth going dry in the same instant my panties drown in wetness. God, I effing want him, and I want him as a werewolf.

I want him to chase me, catch me, take me to the ground…

The heat of his gaze burns away any second guessing. Panting with excitement, I spin and run between the buildings, heading for the woods just beyond.

Rune growls once, and that’s all I hear over the pounding of my feet against the leaf-covered ground and the even louder pounding of my racing heart.

The full moon hangs huge overhead, lighting the way as I race along a faint trail, moving as fast as I can.

Rune could have caught me by now, but he doesn’t.

He draws out the chase, which only makes me more excited.

Will it be now… or just past that tree… or maybe now?

The tension ratchets higher with every second, the uncertainty driving me wild until I feel like I’ll come out of my skin if he doesn’t catch me, touch me…

He’s so quiet in the woods that I chance a glance back over my shoulder to find him pacing right behind me, his eyes glowing gold with reflected moonlight. He’s shirtless and barefoot, his inky fur blending into the darkness of the night and making him hard to see.

I gasp with excitement and put on another burst of speed, my heart pounding, my panties soaked, the hair on the back of my neck prickling with awareness of the wolf closing in.