Page 20 of Lycans & Lattes

She took a step out of my touch, cheeks glistening with tears. “But you’re the future leader of your pack, and they need you.”

I hated this feeling, how terribly torn I was between my duty to my family and the woman I loved with my whole heart.

She nodded. “I need some time to think about all of this.” She wrung her hands together, and it took everything in me not to pull her back into my arms. “Don’t follow me.”

I hung my head as I listened to the sound of her fading away.

9

Willow

The next morning, I wandered down to the café from my upstairs apartment, battling a throbbing headache from my emotional hangover. When my foot hit the fifth step, I noticed the lights were already on. Rubbing my eyes again, I peered into the empty café to find Harlow flipping down chairs.

Of course. I internally groaned.

Harlow’s head popped up when she heard the floor creak under my feet.

“Morning,” she greeted, her voice dubiously cheery for four a.m.

“You’re up early,” I muttered as I wandered to the espresso machine. I eyed my younger sister again, noting the extra spikiness to her bleach-blonde mullet. “And you look like you got in a fight with the hair gel this morning.”

“You know I always mess with my hair when I’m stressed,” she replied, adding a cutlery basket to one table before moving on to the next.

“And why are you stressed?”

“Hmm, maybe it’s the fact that you stormed in here crying last night and told me to leave you alone?” she asked incredulously, brandishing her arms in the air for full-tantrum effect. “I left you alone then, but now it’s time to spill.”

Harlow had been waiting up for me so I could give her all the details from my date with Wyatt. But what should have been a sisterly moment of mutual gushing about love and butterflies had turned into a blunt exchange of snippy comments before I’d locked myself upstairs and cried myself to sleep. Not very “eldest daughter who can handle anything” of me, but everyone deserved a mental breakdown every once in a while.

I dug my fingers into the nagging soft spots in my head. “I’m fine,” I grumbled.

“Yeah, you look as fresh as a fucking daisy,” she replied, walking dangerously close to hugging distance. “What’s going on?”

I flipped on the bean grinder and started preparing myself the first of many lattes that I would be consuming to get through the next ten hours.

I glanced up at my sister’s worried face and knew I had to answer her, but the sharp sting of tears filled my throat. “Do you want something before prep?” My deflection came out as more of a rasp than a question.

She rounded the bar and leaned against the countertop, still waiting patiently for me to break. I prepped the double-shot espresso basket and ran the machine. If I could make this one drink, I could do anything.

“If you need the day to rot in bed, I can handle things down here,” Harlow suggested carefully, like I would detonate at any moment.

I focused on swirling the milk in my frothing jug until it hit the perfect bubble ratio, tapped it on the counter, then focused all my frustrations on creating the perfect maple leaf latte art.

I failed miserably.

When I set the small mug down on the counter, Harlow and I both stared at it. The wonky maple looked all too much like a different sort of magical leaf.

I could hear Billy’s admonishments already.

Sticking my finger in the cup, I spun the foam, then grabbed the mug and sipped half in one go.

Through no fault of its own, the messy latte did not cure my heartache or dull the sensations storming through my head. And after several long moments, I couldn’t fight the waterworks any longer. I sniffed, my mouth contorting as if I could suck the tears back into my eyes.

“Oh shit! This is bad.” Harlow instantly closed the distance between us and wrapped me up in a tight hug. “You don’t even cry at those shelter dog commercials.”

My throat strained, still dry and sore from terrible sleep. “I hate those commercials.”

“Yeah, well. I hate whatever is going on with you,” she countered. “You can tell me. It’ll stay just between us.”