Page 40 of Lycans & Lattes

The lights inside were too bright, but if I stayed outside, I wouldn’t be able to fight off the shift as easily. Staggering into the living room, I knocked into the wall hard enough to cause a picture frame to crash to the floor.

This was Ramona’s fault. It had to be.

“Could you please refrain from destroying every priceless artifact in my home, wolf boy?” Her voice followed me into the room. “Heists aren’t as easy to conduct as they used to be.”

I shook my head, trying to clear my senses so I could tell her why I’d barged in here in the first place.

“You—” I doubled over. It felt like every tooth in my skull was trying to rip through my gums.

“If you wolf out all over my furniture, I will be invoicing you,” she warned. “And I don’t take payment in the form of scones—or even your sister’s famous donuts.”

I groaned as my body rebelled against me. My nerves were on fire. Every joint was swelling, every tendon was stretched, and every bone ached in preparation for the extra muscle mass of my wolf form. I knew I looked as gruesome as I felt, judging by the disgust on Ramona’s face.

“What the hell happened?” she asked again.

I pulled at the tattered pieces of the collar of my shirt, revealing the bare, now fully healed skin.

“Shit,” she said.

“Yeah, shit,” I growled. “You said your magic was binding. You promised she—I would be safe.” Thinking about Willow sent my wolf brain into meltdown mode. “If anything happens to her . . .”

“To whom?”

I hung my head, swiping my blood and dirt-caked hair out of my eyes. “Willow.”

“Fuck.” Ramona looked to her front door as if waiting for Willow to come running in behind me. “Is she hurt?”

“No,” I gritted out through the shooting pains in every limb. “Not physically, at least.”

“It’s the full moon, isn’t it?” Ramona came to the conclusion finally, her demeanor shifting to pity.

“Yes.” Another assault from my inner wolf clawing his way out.

“The fact you’ve controlled it this long is a fucking miracle. You need to get out of here,” Ramona pushed. “Besides, I just reupholstered my furniture, and the last thing I need is a werewolf humping it.”

If she didn’t do something other than give me attitude, I was going to be her worst nightmare. I was going to eat her alive. I would tear out her throat and give it to one of the hellhounds that roamed the haunted forest.

“Go. Shift,” she added more evenly. “You won’t survive like this. You need to change. Resisting it could kill you.”

“I won’t give in to them.” My whole body shook. “I won’t give them what they want.” I fought back every instinct because I had to. I had to keep fighting.

“Did you catch sight of who it was that broke the sigil?”

“Woman. Not human,” I gritted out. “Supernatural. I tried to chase her, but she evaded me. Jumped me on the way to Willow’s. Tried to fucking stab me. Thought it was a rogue ghoul. It ran when I fought back. I didn’t realize the sigil was gone until it was too late.”

“Esme.”

“Who?” The name wasn’t familiar, but I committed it to memory. I wouldn’t rest until I had Esme’s screams howling from her neck between my teeth.

“A former friend,” Ramona mused, lowering her voice to a deadly arrogance. “And current annoyance.”

Ramona knew my attacker. Was she another demon? Could she be trying to piss off Ramona and I’d gotten stuck in the crossfire? Or was she hunting down werewolves for sport?

No matter the reason, I was going to shift against my will because of her. I needed to get out. I needed to run.

My spine cracked, forcing my shoulders forward. A suffering howl came out of my mouth, surprising us both.

It was too late.