CASSIE

The following day, I did my best not to think about what had happened in the bakery the night before.

I kept busy and was grateful every time one of my regulars came in to buy some baked goods. As they got their coffee and pastry, they offered a bit of small talk and then they would go on their way.

Thank goodness I had found a local supplier who delivered fresh pastries daily. I had never been much of a baker and would have surely tanked the business if I had had to rely on my awful baking skills.

As happy as I was to keep busy, I found myself inexplicably disappointed every time a new customer came in. I would look up expectantly, then fought to hide my disappointment when I realized that it wasn’t the scary hot werewolf.

Which was crazy.

He may have saved my life — a fact that I had finally accepted — but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t just as easily end my life. He was more of a wild beast than a man and I had seen proof of that myself.

When I wasn’t serving customers coffee and baked goods, I would wander out to the back porch. I stared at the garden, half-expecting the boarder’s body to somehow rise up and finish what he had started.

Satisfied he hadn’t come back from the earth, I went back into the shop and began to go through my aunt’s vials and potions. It would take me months to figure out which did what, not that I expected to stick around that long. Certainly not long enough to be an expert.

But if a few more customers came in looking for magic, then I had to know enough to be able to help them. I wasn’t in a position to turn anyone away. I needed money if I planned to go back to Atlanta.

A younger werewolf came into Cookieville wearing a sheepish smile and trying hard not to blush. He approached the counter and awkwardly asked me for a potion to help with his thinning hair.

“I have hair everywhere except where I need it,” he joked as he ran a hand over a thin spot of hair. “Can you help?”

“I have just the thing,” I said, hoping I wasn’t lying.

After he was on his merry way, more customers came in looking for potions and spells to help them with their problems. I had to consult my aunt’s spell book a few times, but I was able to help everyone and get some much needed cash in return.

Later, I got a text from Bonnie. She was the owner of a local greenhouse who had helped me get the garden up and running. She was around my aunt’s age and very sweet.

You should stop by soon. I can make us tea and treats.

As tempted as I was, I couldn’t afford to leave the bakery. Not only did I not want to miss out on sales, I was also scared of who I would run into while out and about.

VON

I stepped out from the ice-cold stream and took a deep breath of fresh air.

The shock of the cold water had reset me. I felt better than I had in days. I had made it through the latest full moon, and now there would be a few less ferals to track and kill.

Many called it mercy killing to end a feral, but my guilt about my actions continued to grow. I knew that mercy wasn’t that drove me to do it. I took too much pleasure in each kill to pretend that I was helping anyone.

Though the full moon was behind me, my wolf continued to act out. I could feel him pacing within me, his need growing.

He had been restless ever since we had laid eyes on that incredibly alluring woman who had hid behind the guise of an old crone. The fact that she was a witch only stirred my imagination more.

That morning, I had woken up lusting for her in my fleeting dreams. It only gave me more reason to take a cold plunge. I had to cool the heat of desire she had stirred up within me and my wolf.

Was it a mistake to leave the body with her? I wondered.

It hadn’t been her fault that the border had gone feral. That was a werewolf problem. I was glad that I had been there to kill the boarder before he had killed her, but I should have disposed of the body myself instead of leaving her to do it.

But I knew that I couldn’t risk staying a moment longer. I had to get away from her.

I got away, but will I be able to stay away?

With a sigh, I rolled up my sleeping bag and packed up the rest of my things before getting dressed. The more I tried to get the witch out of my mind, the more I thought about her.

Why was I still even thinking about her? I had never been attracted to a witch before. Hell, I could hardly stand being around them. They weren’t the kind of creatures anyone could trust.

Yet there she was, haunting my every thought. She was like some kind of itch that I couldn’t scratch.

I remembered how nervous she had been. It was obvious that she had been in over her head, inexperienced and more than likely incompetent.

Still, since I had taken the potion, I hadn’t thought about Willow hardly at all. But…I had been thinking about Cassandra. I could not stop thinking about her no matter how much I tried.

I remembered how she had looked at me when I had revealed myself. It wasn’t just fear I had seen in her eyes, but desire. She wanted me and I could sense it.

An alarming thought began to take hold. What if she purposely gave me the wrong potion? What if she gave me something that would make me crave her?

Hell no.

Before I realized it, I was on my bike and racing back towards Konowa.

CASSIE

I was sitting behind the counter, staring into space while lost in thought. I wondered why the scary hot werewolf had come back to save me. He had seemed eager to leave, but he came back and killed the boarder.

And I don’t even know his name.

The once-sunny day had become cloudy, and I thought about taking a nap. I hadn’t had any customers in hours and was pretty sure nobody else would be coming that day. Suddenly, the sun peeked out from behind a cloud and caught on something in the parking lot.

Odd. Nobody’s here right now, I thought.

There were no customers in the bakery and there were no boarders upstairs. Curious, I stepped outside and froze. There was a lone motorcycle sitting in the lot. My heart started to pound as I looked around.

How did it get here? Where’s the rider?

I took a closer look at the bike and saw a Cobalt insignia on the side bag. Then it hit me. How could I have been so stupid? The bike had to have belonged to the dead werewolf. And there it was, announcing to the world that he had gone missing as it sat in the lot.

There was no time to find a masking spell and no way to send it back to the earth like I had the boarder’s corpse. I had to think fast. Every second that it sat out there was an invitation for someone who might be looking for him — someone from the Cobalt — to come knocking on my door.

And the last thing I needed was someone as deranged as the boarder coming to see me.

I grunted as I pushed the heavy bike into one of the sheds adjacent to the bakery, then pulled a musty tarp over it. I shut the shed doors and dusted myself off just as I heard another bike approaching.

Shit.

My blood froze as the rider dismounted. He had the Cobalt insignia on his back. It was just as I had feared. He was looking for the boarder who was buried in my garden. I braced myself for his rage, but he just asked for a few croissants and a coffee.

After he left, I wondered if I was going to feel that same kind of panicky terror every time someone on a motorcycle came by. Would I think of every stranger as a potential menace?

Finally, the day came to an end, and I was all too happy to close the bakery. I went home to shower and once again thought of the scary hot werewolf as soon as the hot water hit me.

The way he looked at me was all I had been able to think about. His confidence, his powerful hand around my neck and his muscular body made me burn hot with need.

God, I want him…

I suddenly felt like I was being watched. Pulling back the shower curtain, I glanced around but saw no one.

Grabbing a towel, I dried off, but I still felt like there were eyes on me. I peered out the window and saw a silhouette. I knew instantly who it was. There was no mistaking it. I would recognize his dark, menacing presence anywhere. Throwing on a robe, I charged out of the house to confront him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” I yelled.