Page 41 of Lycans & Lattes

“This isn’t over, Ramona,” I snarled. “You need to fix this. Or I will end you, demon. Don’t take that threat lightly.”

“I don’t,” she bit out.

Ramona screwed up her face, the wheels in her demon brain working out whatever she needed to survive. In my wolf form, I could damage her human form to the point of no return. She would have to defend herself—and lose—or run for the hills. And after years of not shifting, my wolf would take days to tire out. Ramona would be running relentlessly.

“Iris,” she blurted, and I cocked my head at her, sweat dripping from my brow.

“What?” The word was more snarl than syllable.

My skin started to pull uncomfortably tight, one of the last signs that I was moments away from shifting. I needed to get out of here. I needed to be in the trees, under the moon, and away from anyone I could hurt. I lumbered toward the front door, and Ramona followed.

My fingernails grew into claws halfway down her entry hallway, and to rub salt in the wound, I didn’t stop myself from raking the sharp tips along her walls, tearing the wallpaper as I went. A little something to remember my wolf by. Ramona stayed tight-lipped, though I know she wanted to scold me for the property damage. Maybe antagonizing her would light a fire under her Saint Laurent-covered ass.

Once outside, the cool breeze beckoned me into the night. I sniffed at the air and caught the scent of Gregory and several others roaming nearby. “You better catch the bitch who did this.”

“Oh, believe me, I will,” she said, giving me a determined nod. “Get to the deepest parts of the woods as fast as you can. It’ll be safer for everyone if you get lost for a few hours.”

I took off down the path and through her front gate, not stopping to acknowledge Iris as I shoved past. The only thought repeating in my brain was, “Get to the forest.”

I barely made it to the tree line before my body crumpled to the leaf-covered ground and every muscle pulled tendon from bone. Sinews snapped and reattached, all while I wailed in agony.

And then, like a lock clicking into place after four torturous years, my wolf broke free.

19

Willow

Iwas awakened by the sun streaming through the window for the first time in years. Not my own window, unfortunately.

After Wyatt and I’d had our passionately dangerous moment last night, Jordyn and Harlow had insisted that we have a slumber party over at Jordyn and Iris’s apartment. Iris had her own paranormal situation to deal with, and Ramona had somehow been the connection between us. A connection that was too tangled for my brain to unknot at the moment.

My head was pounding from stress and too much sleep, but it was the marks that Wyatt had left on me that were causing me the most grief. The bite on my neck was sore; he’d hit a nerve just right, and every time I moved my head, I felt the stinging reminder of tooth and claw.

“Here,” Harlow said, appearing from behind the couch I’d slept on. “Jordyn says to drink this.”

I sat up and pulled the blanket to my chin. “Thanks, I think.”

Harlow placed a bulbous mug into my waiting palms. The pottery was rough and looked hand-thrown, and it fit perfectly in my hands, warming all my fingers from base to tip.

I wondered if one of the witches in the coven was selling them.

“Sip it slowly,” Jordyn called from somewhere behind me. “The healing properties take a bit of time to absorb, and Citrine says the crystal at the bottom of your cup needs to steep.”

“Did you tell Citrine what the crystal was for?” I didn’t suspect that the owner of Stars and Stones was the one blackmailing me, but I didn’t want the news getting around either.

“Just a healing crystal,” Jordyn replied. “Didn’t say who it was for.”

I turned to find her sitting at the kitchen table, surrounded by all manner of bottles, candles, and bundles of dried herbs.

I pressed the edge of the mug to my lips and inhaled. The anise or fennel or maybe licorice root hit the back of my palate, making me gag.

“It smells like ass,” I muttered under my breath to Harlow.

“Drink it. It’s going to help you heal faster.” Harlow plopped down on the sofa beside me. “Though, punching Wyatt in the face a couple of times is the only thing that’s going to heal me.”

I rolled my eyes.

“You versus a fully grown alpha werewolf?” Jordyn jumped in. “Let’s not let that idea leave this room, okay, babe?”