Page 38 of Lycans & Lattes

“I’ve ruled out Jack. He and his husband were out of town last week.”

“And those two are also, like, crazy in love,” Harlow mused. “I can’t see it being him.”

“And there are no other exes in town that I know of,” I said.

“Apart from Aisling,” Jordyn countered.

“Wyatt and Aisling dated?” I asked, surprised.

Jordyn flashed me an awkward smile. “I . . . probably shouldn’t have been the one to tell you that.”

“No, Wyatt didn’t tell me,” I gritted out, folding my arms across my chest.

“It was ages ago, when they were kids,” Jordyn added as if that would help. “They decided they were better as friends, but the whole pack still wants them to be together.”

“So you think Aisling did this?” Harlow asked.

Jordyn lifted the scraps of paper. “One way to find out.”

An urgent knock sounded at the back door, and Harlow and Jordyn squared up as I wandered over to it. Jordyn’s hands flickered with magical light as if she might launch a ball of white-hot magic at whoever was on the other side.

I opened the door to find a bloodied Wyatt leaning on the doorframe, panting as if he’d just sprinted all the way here.

“Oh my god.” I gasped, holding him by the shoulders and inspecting his wounds. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“Are you okay?” His eyes searched frantically behind me. “I could feel your panic.”

“You could feel my panic?” I replied.

“See? This is why you need to tell him, Wills,” Harlow snarked, and I shot my sister a look.

“Tell me what?” Wyatt growled, his voice sounding deeper and more predatory than I was used to.

“Why don’t we go do our location spell back at the apothecary?” Jordyn said, grabbing Harlow by the elbow and steering her toward the door. “Wolf boy can protect Willow.”

“Protect her from what?” Wyatt pushed into the space, shutting the door and locking it behind him. I swore he was an inch taller than he’d been the last time I’d seen him and his shoulders were broader, his eyes wilder. If ever there was a question that this man was human, now it was very clear that he was something more dangerous.

“Thanks for your help,” I called to Jordyn and Harlow as they hastily left, Harlow locking the front door behind her and mouthing, “Good luck,” to me.

“Let me get you some ice for your lip,” I offered, turning toward the kitchen.

Wyatt caught me by the forearm before I could take a step away. “It will heal,” he rumbled. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“You first,” I countered, reaching up to sweep the hair from his eyes.

“Willow,” he pushed. “Why were you so scared?”

“Okay, look, promise you won’t freak out?”

His eyes darkened, and I swore his muscles rippled beneath his skin as if he were preparing to fight an invisible attacker. “Tell me.”

“Someone has been leaving me threatening notes at the café,” I confessed, and his eyes flared. “They told me to stay away from you, but Jordyn’s doing a location spell and it’s all going to be fine⁠—”

His pupils flickered a reflective gold, and an inhuman snarl escaped his lips. “They threatened you?”

“Hey, hey,” I soothed. “I’m okay. Everything’s okay.”

“They—”