Page 1 of Cherry Moon

PART 1

CHERRY OBSESSED

CHAPTER ONE

AKIRA

Chocolate sponge cupcakes with a pistachio frosting and filling?

Whoa. What a combo. And what a moist sponge.

“Damn, I’m good,” I declared.

Massive chef’s kiss to me, cheers and thanks. Because these flavors were making my taste buds weep.

I did a little happy dance around the kitchen, singing along to my own made-up ditty. “Baking wizard, that is me. Whipping that mixture like a busy bee.” Reaching my limits lyric wise, I threw out an, “I think I might be a genius.”

When it came to baking, I rocked, so I had the right to be a cocky bastard. Well, a tiny bit cocky. You know, just enough for me to do the hair flicking, but staying away from full-on arrogance.

Being a dickhead about it would force karma to give me the smackdown. Probably in the form of sinking my next soufflé along with my pride.

Okay, enough of blowing my own horn.

For now.

I examined my thirteen baked masterpieces—baker’s dozen for the win—the green icing perfection, sprinkled with chopped pistachios I’d dipped in edible gold. Just to give them that cheeky bit of bling.

Sunlight broke through the overcast morning, sunshine piercing the cottage windows at the same time my chest swelled with gratitude. The same gratitude I’d always carried with me through my baking journey, from my humble beginnings to running my online business, Aki Bakes, which I ran from my busy kitchen.

I was mega grateful for my baking skills. They were an escape, a release, tools to clear the mind and soothe my soul. The moment I picked up a spoon or whatever, my creative juices got to flowing, setting me free from my anxieties for a while.

And oh, did I have plenty of those to go around.

I put the cupcake down with the rest of the batch. “Welcome to the world,” I told it.

I leaned on the white marble kitchen worktop, nibbling on glacé cherries, thinking about Gabriel’s reaction when he got home later.

He gave the best reviews. No bullshit, always honest, and when they were good, well, it got me sticky.

Gabriel, also known as G. My fiancé, my world, my everything. Former beta werewolf to my late father, an uber wolf, and the greatest honey bunny to ever exist.

My honey bunny.

I loved him beyond love. That word didn’t do my feelings for him justice.

“A proper diamond geezer,” I whispered, picking up another cherry.

For sure. The man had saved me in so many ways. And kept on saving me by sharing my life, a bed, and everything else. We were meant to be, written in the stars, all of that stuff. Being without him would be like having no oxygen.

Impossible.

I held up the glacé cherry, completely addicted to them now. They’d replaced my former obsession with chocolate-covered raisins. Ha! I didn’t think those choccy yummies would ever be dethroned, but here we were.

“Usurper,” I told the red orb.

The morning continued to brighten, the sky blue, the sun really going for it now. Blimey. I hadn’t checked the forecast yet, but had been expecting gray, gray, and more gray.

Clearly not.