Page 16 of The Soulmate Bakery

I laughed. ‘It’s Maple Falls – what’s the worst that could happen?’

‘You are way too reckless, Maya,’ Orion said and pushed himself up. A soft shiver ran down my spine at the sound of my name on his lips. ‘I’m dropping you off. Put your bike in my trunk.’

‘Do I get a say in this?’ I asked, eyebrow raised.

Orion sighed. ‘You could argue, but I don’t think it’ll do you much good.’

‘I’m pretty sure this counts as kidnapping. You were right, I should be afraid of being alone at night,’ I pointed out, sarcastically, trying to hide how shy I suddenly felt. Since when did Orion and I tease each other? ‘Fine, lead the way.’

That’s how I found myself, on the first day of summer, riding in the front seat of my best friend’s brother’s car. I thought the journey would be filled with the inevitable silence that came from two people who had drifted apart since childhood. But surprisingly, it wasn’t.

The dragon shifter asked about my classes, the Wishing Well, my summer plans; he asked questions like he actually wanted to hear my answers, and I didn’t hate the attention.

‘Thanks for the ride, Hawthorne,’ I said, once we reached my house and stepped outside the car. He had the window rolled down, so I bent down a little to smile at him.

‘Anytime, Reverie,’ Orion said, as he leaned forward. ‘Seriously, if you need a lift anywhere this summer, just give me a call. I’ll come and get you.’

Something warm flared in my chest.

‘So, you’re offering to be my getaway car?’ A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

His eyes narrowed but there was no heat in them. ‘Don’t go looking for trouble, Reverie.’

I laughed as I turned around and unlocked my front door.

CHAPTER SIX

The building that stood before Orion and me was made out of midnight-blue bricks, with gold lettering that spelled THE WANDERING WORDS LIBRARY. The doorway was arched and a pale-purple colour – it was an entirely beautiful mystical building and usually one of my favourite places to be. Normally, though, I wasn’t trudging up its steps with a know-it-all dragon shifter at my back.

As Orion and I passed by the foyer, my head tilted upwards to scan the ceiling that was held up by dark wooden beams. Lamps lit by eternal dragon-fire hung down, like a million tiny stars.

‘Hey, Maya.’

I turned my head to the right to see a guy manning the front desk of the library.

Rowan Hale.

Every town has a bad boy. It’s like a must-have. And Rowan was Maple Falls’ resident troublemaker. He’s a werewolf, the same age as my sister, and part of the long lineage of caretakers for the library. His grandfather had been looking after the library for most of our lives, and everyone knew he had expected Rowan to take over once he graduated. But no, our town bad boy stayed exactly where he was – manning the library desk, part-time, and spending the rest of the time terrorizing the town with his enchanted motorcycle, throwing wild parties late into the night and graffitiing different buildings. If there’s a hint of trouble in Maple Falls, you’d likely find Rowan right at the centre of it.

But, today, Rowan looked like he wasn’t trying to stir up any trouble. He was resting on his forearms, holding a worn-out paperback in one hand, wearing a light-grey T-shirt, dark-blue jeans and several multi-coloured thread bracelets around one wrist. His face was all sharp angles, with a perpetual pouty mouth and eyes that were the same shade as dark-chocolate brownies.

‘Hi, Rowan,’ I replied as we approached the front desk to scan our library cards. Orion swiped first, giving Rowan a brief nod, before turning away and walking down the shelves. I felt a flash of irritation that he’d just expect me to follow him. With a huff, I scanned my card, but before I could head off in the same direction, Rowan’s voice stopped me.

‘Maya.’ I paused, looking over my shoulder. ‘Tell your sister I said hi, would you?’ Rowan said, with a lazy grin on his mouth – the kind that spelled trouble.

I waited for him to elaborate, to explain why my older sister, perfectionist-to-her-core, mum-friend extraordinaire and all-round stellar witch, would be hanging out with the likes of him. But Rowan didn’t say anything else, so I tucked away this interaction to examine later. Rani was going to have to explain a lot on our next phone call.

I found Orion in the cookbook section, sat at a round table. As I took a seat opposite him, he pulled out a whiteboard and some pens from his backpack and wrote down a spell.

Amore transfige et cor meum liga, Cupido, quaeso, figam tuam reperi.

The spell I cast that got us here.

Orion leaned back in his chair, and I couldn’t help but notice that he had his sleeves pushed up. I felt my eyes tracing over his forearms and dropping away just as quickly before he could notice.

Get a grip, they’re just arms. Lots of people have them!

‘Recite the spell you cast on the cookies,’ Orion commanded, unaware of my brief lapse in sanity.