Page 38 of Wishing for a Werewolf (Ferndale Falls Forever #2)

Autumn

Excitement skitters through me. My own shop! I know Rune’s doing this to satisfy one of the wishes of the wish swap, but I’m still amazingly grateful.

When Devina starts frothing the milk for our drinks, he leans over and murmurs, “Shadow fae are arrogant. She’ll try to force you to accept the first thing she offers. Don’t take it and don’t back down. You’re just as good as she is.”

I nod, determination filling me. I can play hardball if I need to.

Devina hands our drinks to us with a warm smile, and we head to the table by the window where Gwenfrie waits.

“Rune tells me you’re opening a shop here in Ferndale Falls?” I slide into a chair.

The other woman pulls out a silencing candle and lights it, and the sounds of the rest of the coffee shop fade from hearing.

“King Severin has offered a permanent home on Earth to any shadow fae who can open a viable business.” Gwenfrie sips her coffee and makes a surprised face. “This is quite good.”

Rune grunts in agreement, and I fight down a grin. Everyone loves a great PSL.

“And you want to open a soap shop,” I say.

“Not exactly. I’m a spellcaster who can encase spells in candles and crystals so that other people can use them.”

“You mean like this silencing candle!” I smile and point to the flickering taper standing in the middle of the table. “I use those all the time at Slice of Life, so I can talk about witchy stuff with my friends without the non-magical humans overhearing.”

“Exactly.” Gwenfrie nods. “I make candles spelled for silence and other purposes. I embed longer-lasting spells in crystals. I’ve been making a lot of translation crystals lately to help fae read human languages.”

Rune grunts. He must have one of those.

“So what do you want with my soap?” I ask.

“I need the shop to sell something non-magical humans will accept as normal. Then I can sell my enchanted candles and crystals from behind the counter. I like the quality and craftsmanship of Rune’s soaps and think they’d offer credible cover.

I’m willing to buy several batches to get the store started, and I’ll restock as necessary. ”

“Why don’t you just sell regular candles?”

“My candles aren’t pretty or scented or any of the things people find attractive in a regular candle.

” She gives a one-shoulder shrug. “And I’m more interested in devising new spells than spending my time trying to make a candle a non-magical human would want.

But Rune’s soaps are both pretty and nicely scented. They’ll be the perfect front.”

I drum my fingers on the table and stare out the window, rolling the offer over in my head.

It’s closer to my dreams than anything else has ever been, but it falls short.

I don’t want my soaps to be nothing more than a front, sold by someone who doesn’t care about them.

I meet Gwenfrie’s eyes and channel Rune’s advice to stand my ground.

“Yeah, I’m going to have to say no to that. ”

The shadow fae protests, “Rune, surely this is your decision.”

“I defer to Autumn on business matters,” he says without skipping a beat.

I shoot him a thankful smile before turning back to the shadow fae. “Here’s my counteroffer. We run the shop together. It’ll still be as you describe: my soaps out front, your enchanted candles and crystals behind the counter. But we’re partners.”

“Partner with a human?” The other woman sounds affronted.

Oh, hell no! She did not just say human like it’s a dirty word.

Before I can retort, Rune growls, “A human witch.” His lips curl back to show his fangs. “One with powerful magic.”

I shoot him a grateful glance, and he grips my knee under the table in a comforting squeeze. My heart pinches with a bittersweet ache. No matter why he’s doing this, his support means the world to me.

“Prove it,” Gwenfrie snaps. “Prove you’re powerful.”

Rune’s hand tightens on my leg, his entire body tensing.

“It’s a valid request.” I pat his hand, then look straight at Gwenfrie as I knock my coffee over.

The rich scent of cinnamon fills the air as the pumpkin spice latte splashes across the table, splattering the front of the shadow fae’s Faerie silk dress in little orange-brown spots until it resembles my freckled skin. “Oops.”

“How dare you!” The other woman’s chair slides backward with the scrape of legs against floor, her shadow tendrils seeping through her clothing to show for the first time.

I fling my hands up in a dramatic gesture and intone in a ringing voice, “I wish my pumpkin spice latte had never spilled.” Hey, a girl’s gotta work the razzle-dazzle sometimes.

Magic surges outward in a sizzle of electricity. The splotches of coffee lift from Gwenfrie’s dress, leaving it spotless, and fly back toward the ceramic mug, which rights itself. The remainder of the coffee lifts from the tabletop, pouring back into the cup in a milky brown wave.

I pick it up and take a casual sip, then lift an eyebrow. “Satisfied?”

“This makes no sense.” The fae pulls her shadows back into her hidden tattoos. “With such power, you could simply wish for a store.”

“I could. But if I did it that way, I’d only get my own shop by taking one from someone else.

” I gesture to the surrounding store. “Should I steal Grounds for Celebration from Devina or Slice of Life from the pixies?” The question hangs in the air for a moment.

Then I shake my head and jab a finger into the tabletop.

“No. I want a shop because I’ve earned it. ”

Pride glows in Rune’s golden eyes as he gazes at me, warming me from within. His look confirms that I’m right—I deserve to stand up for myself and fight to have my dreams my way.

Instead of being upset, Gwenfrie smiles. “I have no desire to go into business with a milksop, so you’ll do.”

The next hours become a blur of magic and paperwork.

Severin meets us at the bank, where he pays the shop’s first month’s rent and we formalize all of the paperwork.

The wish swap makes Rune sign as well as me, just as I had to do on the business contract for his security firm.

It’s going to be a lot of work to untangle all of this once Operation Wish Swap is over, but that’s future-Autumn’s problem.

Back outside, Gwenfrie and I choose the empty store beside the bank, which has wide windows and extra gingerbread trim.

Severin has his best spellcasters fully revitalize the outside, and a wave of magic flows over it, turning the siding a deep cranberry and the trim a lovely rich gold.

The shop looks like fall come to life. And when they conjure a brand-new sign that says Your Bubbly Charm, emotion fills my chest, clogging my throat until I couldn’t speak if I wanted to.

We settled on the name because on the surface it sounds like it’s talking about soap, while “charm” hints at the spelled items also on offer.

Inside the shop, another pulse of magic refinishes the hardwood floor and paints the walls in the same warm gold as the outside trim.

New wooden display shelves appear in the front of the store, along with a wooden counter backed by cupboards that can be closed to keep Gwenfrie’s crystals and candles from casual view.

In the back, we get a completely new workroom, with half set up for Gwenfrie’s use, while the rest of the room fills with soap-making equipment. It’s all brand new and top of the line, and I can’t wait to try out the beautiful new molds in a range of fancy shapes.

Gwenfrie heads upstairs with Severin and his spellcasters to redo the apartment, where she’s going to live now that she’s allowed to move out of the shadow fae palace.

Once Rune and I are left alone in the shop, I stand in the middle of the front room and slowly turn in place, taking in the gorgeous store.

“I can’t believe it! All those years of trying to make this dream a reality have finally paid off!

And Severin’s new-business subsidy means I didn’t have to use a single cent of the farm’s money to get started, so my parents have no added worries. It’s a win-win all around!”

“You deserve this, my fire.” Rune picks me up and spins us until I’m laughing, head thrown back, arms around his neck, happier than I’ve been in years.

A whirl of magic surrounds us, lifting our hair until our brown and red locks dance in the air, reaching for each other.

Tingles race over my skin, and a burst of sweet cinnamony goodness saturates the air.

A release of pressure blasts through me as another of the bonds of the wish swap spell breaks, leaving me feeling giddy.

Rune stops spinning and lets me slide down his body until my feet touch the floor. “Operation Wish Swap is a success. We are free.” His big hands remain splayed across my back, his intense eyes gazing into mine. Emotion fills them, an emotion I dearly want to see…

Just as long as I know it’s real.

“You’re wrong.” When I step away, his hands fall from me reluctantly, but I keep moving.

It’s going to be hard enough to admit all of this without him touching me.

Once I finally get a little distance, I say, “The wish swap spell isn’t fully broken.

I didn’t mention it before, but I made a third wish, a heart wish.

I know I should have told you sooner, but it was too personal, too embarrassing.

” My cheeks flame, and I want to press my hands to them, want to spin away.

But I don’t. I stand still and let Rune see all of me.

“I made a heart wish, too,” he says.

There’s a pause, and I keep hoping he’ll continue, but he’s still Rune, still my big old stoic grump.

“Has it come true?” I whisper.

“It has not.” He takes a step toward me, reaching for me. “But it doesn’t matter. I don’t care about that wish any longer. I only—”

“I care.” I hold up a hand to stop him, my eyes searching his face, silently pleading with him to understand. I desperately want him to love me—I ache for it. But I also love him too much to trap him with me if what he feels isn’t real. “I can’t live with the uncertainty.”

“Then let’s get you that certainty.” His voice thrums with conviction. “Together.”

This time when he stretches out a hand, I place mine in it and hold on more tightly than I’ve ever held onto anything in my whole life. “Together.”