Page 69 of Lycans & Lattes

The moment our eyes met, it felt like my chest cracked open. She brought me this beautiful, unending ease, and suddenly I was unafraid of the crowd of onlookers.

Harlow rounded the corner, eyes alighting on the box. Before I could say anything, she hollered, “Everyone, shut your pieholes and get ready to clap!”

Willow wandered over, a questioning quirk to her brow as I got down on one knee. “What are you doing?” she whispered, straightening the engagement ring on her finger. “Didn’t we already do this?”

I reached into the box and extracted a roll of wallpaper, holding it aloft like a knight holding out a sword to his queen.

“Willow Miller,” I started. “I have loved you since the moment I met you, but my soul has longed for yours for so much longer.” The rest of the room melted away as I looked up into Willow’s face. “I’ve wanted to ask you this question every day since I first walked into this café and saw you wearing those blue coveralls splattered with paint. Will you . . . move in with me?”

I was knocked to the floor, kisses peppering my face. “Yes, yes, yes! A thousand times yes.” Willow squeezed my neck, and we rolled until she was sitting on top of me, holding the roll of wallpaper aloft triumphantly.

I was only faintly aware of the cheering crowd as she leaned down to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around her back and sat up, shifting her into my lap so I could ask her one last question. “How do you feel about a maximalist design?”

“With all the crafty gifts people love to give around here, I think that’s a great idea.” She laughed, a tear trailing down the apple of her cheek “I love you, Wyatt.”

“I love you, my mate. My life.”

34

Willow

Planning a wedding in two weeks should have been harder, but with the entire town helping, including monsters who didn’t need to sleep and two professional bakers, everything came together effortlessly. Agnes had even redirected her knitting club to make my dress, a flowing, floor-length gown with a heart-shaped bodice and long bell sleeves like something out of a Stevie Nicks wet dream. And the veil they’d made for me was embroidered with moons and stars in honor of Wyatt and Witch’s Brew pumpkins and broomsticks in honor of me.

The leaf-covered yard of Wyatt’s grandfather’s house—our house now—backed into the haunted wood and made the perfect ceremony and reception space. The décor had been a full-town affair too, with little nods to Maple Hollow everywhere we turned: bales of hay for seating and thick plaid blankets to cover them, baskets of multicolored sunflowers and pumpkins dressing the aisles, and overhead, strings of lights that met at a large brass and crystal chandelier in the center. The witch coven had even cast a good-weather spell.

It was perfect.

I asked Avery and Jordyn to be my bridesmaids, and, of course, I asked Harlow to be my maid of honor. She looked quite dashing in her burgundy suit that matched Jordyn’s dress, a miniature sunflower in the buttonhole on her lapel.

Traditionally, werewolves married under a full moon, then ended the ceremony by shifting and running through the forest as a pack while the other creatures got the reception started. And I vowed to the pack—my pack—that our union would be no different. My wedding dress had even been equipped with tearaway seams so that I could shed my human clothing and run as their new queen.

I never thought I’d ever run naked anywhere, let alone with dozens of other people, but apparently, according to Jordyn, dancing naked under the light of the full moon was a common hobby for everyone in town.

We exchanged our vows perfectly timed to the sunset, and I knew the photos would come out with blooms of pink and orange clouds behind the tree branches. Wyatt and I were beaming and crying in unison as he wrapped his arm around my waist and dipped me for a Hollywood-level kiss. The crowd cheered and tossed handfuls of autumnal leaves in the air at our first kiss as husband and wife.

Then the pack howled as we faced our guests. Harlow appeared at my side, taking my bouquet and unpinning my veil before my bridesmaids hustled the guests not participating in the pack run into the house to nibble on the most grandiose charcuterie board I’d ever seen, courtesy of Ramona.

Daniel was the first to approach us. He clapped his grandson on the back, his chin held high. “I’m proud of you.” He looked from Wyatt to me. “Both of you.” Then he bowed his head in deference to me, and the whole pack followed. My heart clenched. Daniel’s voice rose to the waiting wolves. “It’s my greatest honor to present our new alpha and his queen.” Howls rang out. “Under our sacred moon, we usher them into their power.”

The howling grew louder as Daniel stepped back for Wyatt to address our pack. “On behalf of my mate and myself, I want to thank you all for your long hours and support to make this night so beautiful. And as we embark on our first run, I make my vow to protect and lead you with strength, love, and pride.”

With that, everyone began shedding their clothes, some shifting into their wolf forms to yip and howl in celebration, before everyone took off toward the tree line until it was just Wyatt and me standing under the chandelier.

“Are you ready?” He tossed his suit jacket onto the nearest bale of hay, then started down the line of buttons on his shirt.

I nodded, pulling at the faux seams holding my dress together. “I’ll give you a head start. Just to be fair.”

He grinned, heat filling his eyes. “Oh, I’ve learned my lesson. I don’t need to take anything easy on you.”

“Good,” I snarked back, letting the loose fabric fall to my feet before scooping it up. I tossed my bundle on top of Wyatt’s jacket, then shimmied out of my underwear.

“We’ll run with them for the first mile. Then Eloise will finish the run for us.”

I cocked my head at him. “What? Why wouldn’t we run with them the entire night?”

A cunning grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Because it’s our wedding night.” He prowled closer. “And I’m going to hunt down my mate under the full moon, and when I catch her”—his mouth hovered over mine as he cupped my cheek—“I’m going to show her that I will never hold myself back again.”

His possessive kiss stole my breath and made my knees weak. When he pulled away, I saw the effect I had on him as well.