Page 4 of Wishing for a Werewolf (Ferndale Falls Forever #2)

“It’s time for Spicy Book Club!” a breathless voice says behind me as Skye enters the shop, carrying a wide tray of treats.

My bestie makes the yummiest vanilla cupcakes, moist and light and topped with rich buttercream frosting.

Her platinum blonde hair is in a cute 50s style, which goes perfectly with the red rockabilly dress and retro pumps she wears, showcasing her plus-sized curves to perfection.

Matching lipstick sets off her pale skin, bare of the freckles I’ve been blessed—or cursed—with.

How I feel about them depends on my mood on any given day.

The two of them converge on me, tackling me in a hug from either side, and I relax for the first time since the mess at the Wishing Well. Whatever that was, I’ll figure it out with the help of my friends.

While I start mixing drinks, Skye uses the extra baggies of cereal I brought to add sprinkles to her cupcakes. The group is fairly evenly split between liking my cinnamon crunch cocktails, crunch berry cocktails, and cocoa puffs white Russians.

By the time more of the witches pour through the door, we’ve got the first round ready. I share a secret smile with Skye—this is our thing, making matching cocktails and cupcakes for our friends to enjoy—and the witchy meetings mean we get to do it on a regular basis.

Tall and plump, Kayla grabs a drink and knocks back a big gulp. Tonight’s T-shirt reads: If I look bored, it’s because I’m talking to you. She blows a lock of purple hair off a pale cheek and sighs. “Thanks, I needed that.”

“Long day?” Violeta asks, her tan face making a tiny pout of solidarity. She brushes her highlighted brown hair back over her shoulder, showing off her pint-sized curves.

“Yeah, the new game I’m working on is being a pain.”

“Bitch, you know you’ll work it out.” Jasmine hip bumps Kayla, tall enough to do so easily. Her beautiful brown face breaks into a huge grin, offset by her bright pink shirt and a satin headwrap that turns her dark hair into a fountain of curls on top of her head. “You always do.”

The rest of the gang enters in a rush, and I hand drinks to Willow, Rachel, Abril, Madison, Emily, and Destiny. Then I grab a crunch berry cocktail and matching cupcake and squeeze onto one of the sofas between Hannah and Skye.

After everyone’s had a chance to take a few bites, Hannah says, “I call this meeting of the Witch Bitch Spicy Book Club to order.”

“Anybody got any witchy stuff, or do we actually get to talk about a book?” Skye asks, the librarian in her hopeful about the latter.

Everyone else says no, and Skye pulls a paperback from her purse.

“Yeah, sorry,” I say. “But I might have witchy stuff.”

Hannah squeals, “You got your power?”

“Maybe?” I give a quick grimace. “I’m not sure.”

Jasmine leans forward. “Spill, girlfriend.”

So I tell them all about making wishes at the Wishing Well and the rush of magic that made me swoon.

“You fell?” Hannah asks, concern filling her voice.

“No, Rune caught me.”

“Oh, my god,” Skye gasps, stars in her eyes. “That’s so romantic!”

I tamp down my body’s memory of being held against his firm chest and focus on what happened after. “Yeah, well, it sure wasn’t romantic when he accused me of casting some kind of spell on him.”

“Did you?” Naomi asks.

“No!” I blurt, chopping at the air with my hand.

Kayla lifts an eyebrow. “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

“Nice Hamlet reference.” Skye offers Kayla a fist bump.

I huff and slump back against the couch. “Okay, maybe I did. But if so, it wasn’t on purpose.”

“Any idea what kind of spell it was?” Violeta asks.

“Zip. Zero. Zilch.” I take a big bite of cupcake, letting the sweet, sweet buttercream coat my tongue and take away my problems for a hot second.

“One of you needs to make some kind of magical-power detector.” Jasmine’s head swivels as she eyes everyone. “Just saying. Sure would be handy right about now.”

“It does feel like the fae should be able to do that,” Skye says. “You know, wave a crystal over us and see what color it turns or something.”

“Trust me, if the fae had a way to determine magical abilities, Severin would totally have done it for me.” Hannah gives a wry smile. “It would have made the bride trials so much easier.”

Because he’s a king, my bestie had to win a magical competition to prove she was “worthy” to marry her shadow daddy. She’s deliriously happy with Severin, but give me a working-class guy any day.

“Rune’s fae,” Skye says. “Couldn’t he tell what kind of spell it was?”

“He’s a shifter.” I shrug and take a sip of my drink, the fruity sweetness completely disguising the taste of the rum. “He says that’s the only kind of magic he has.”

Hannah grins and bumps her shoulder against mine. “Sounds like it’s your turn to go through magical bootcamp to figure out what your power is.”

I shoot her a mock glare and toss a crunch berry at her, which she catches and pops into her mouth with a triumphant chomp.

“I’ll get out all of the magical history books in the morning for a research sesh,” Naomi says.

“I made copies of the best interlibrary-loan books on witches,” Skye adds.

“I can bring all the magic wands that Severin gathered from Faerie,” Hannah says.

Kayla pulls several out of the small backpack she wears as a purse. “And I’ve got some human-made ones.”

“It’s decided then. I’ll see you in the morning.” Naomi drinks the last of her cocktail and stands. “But for now, it’s time I got home to my husband. Close up the shop for me?” she asks Hannah.

“You know I will.”

After a quick round of hugs, Naomi blinks out of existence, teleporting north to the waterfall that gives the town its name.

It’s also the location of the door to Faerie, where she lives in an adorable orc village with cottages made out of living trees.

She might technically have the longest commute ever when it comes to distance, but her magical power makes it one of the fastest.

The rest of us linger a bit, finishing our cupcakes and cocktails more slowly. One by one, everyone says their goodbyes and leaves until it’s just me, Hannah, Skye, and Kayla.

The door opens, and Finn races in. The fox familiar runs straight for Hannah, talking in excited yips only she can understand.

“Yes, I saved you one.” She tosses a crunch berry toward him, and he snaps it out of the air.

“He wouldn’t leave me alone,” a deep voice says from the doorway, where Severin stands, all long flowing black hair and dark tattoos covering his pale skin. In black leather pants and a majorly unbuttoned shirt, the shadow fae looks like a fantasy bad boy come to life. “Finn missed you.”

Hannah jumps up to go over to her husband, a knowing smile playing over her lips. “Is he the only one who missed me?”

“Goddess, no.” Severin’s shadows leap from his tattoos, racing out to coil around her waist and legs as if they can’t go a single second more without touching her. The two come together in a kiss that quickly edges past PG-13 and waltzes into the vicinity of an R rating.

Which of course means the rest of us can’t tear our eyes away.

“So romantic,” Skye breathes.

Kayla gives a wolf whistle, and I yell, “We’re all still here, you know.”

Instead of stopping the kiss, Severin sends his shadows billowing outward to form a screen between us and the happy couple. Soon Hannah’s chuckle turns into a gasp of pleasure.

Damn, they’re so deliriously happy.

My heart wish echoes through my mind: “I wish for someone to love me, really love me, like head over heels, totally gaga love.”