Hexes & Howls

When magic goes awry, fairytales come to life.

The beautiful, curvy witch’s spell goes astray and snares the big, bad wolf. One second I’m happy with my solitary life then, boom! I feel like I’ve been clobbered between the eyes by a two-by-four. She turns my world upside down, and my cravings for the little vixen roar out of control.

Her godmother's crystal ball is wrong. It’s telling her there’s no way a grumpy wolf and free-spirited witch are mates. My wolf knows she’s mine and I have my work cut out for me. It won’t be easy to convince my stubborn little soulmate to see the truth but this stubborn wolf loves a good fight.

Look out little witch, your growly wolf is coming for you.

My cat godmother prances out of the bedroom before the sun rises, shocking me. After stretching, Nanny Eloise strolls over to the faded floral sofa and hops up. She digs her claws into the fluffy cushion while arching her back. I ignore her loud purrs and continue working on my spell. I almost jump out of my skin when invisible fingers tap me on the shoulder.
Spinning around, I glare at the sleek black cat. “Why do you insist on doing that?”
“It’s too early for subtlety.” Her voice echoes through my mind. “I needed your attention, but you insist on ignoring me.” My ornery godmother continues before I’m able to respond, “Esmeralda chattered all night long and I didn’t get a wink of sleep.”
Her crystal ball’s “chatty” nights usually mean trouble for me. Nanny Eloise isn’t going to let me finish this until I hear her out. Sighing, I glance over at her and raise my eyebrow. “You insist on keeping her on the side of your bed. I told you to put her in the extra room.”
The feline body housing my godmother lifts a paw and licks it for a few moments before shrugging. “Well, we need to discuss what I found out.” She’s acting like this is life or death or something. “I thought you’d want to know that Cupid’s next assignment is you.” Fuck my life. “Crystal ball can’t believe Cupid would attempt to match a wolf and witch, but I told her to keep her opinions to herself.”
Shock rolls through me. I didn’t see that coming. That blasted jerk, God of Love, is on a tear. Not long ago, he matched my best friend and boss with one of the most powerful paranormal beings in Celestial Falls. A dragon of all things. Luckily for the little asshole God of Love, the mating went smoothly, and the two of them are disgustingly in love. It’s sometimes hard to control my gag reflex when Blaze Fier comes into the bakery to see his wife. Their public displays of affection turn my sensitive stomach. Even the sweet pastries we sell can’t disguise the happy, mating scent emanating from the two of them.
How did I end up in Cupid’s sights? Refusing to take this bit of news lying down, I head to the kitchen to grab a few ingredients. After mixing my potion, I glance over at Nanny Eloise and shrug. “I’ll just make a banishing spell to ward off his attempts to saddle me with some pain-in-the-ass he-man shifter.”
The black cat actually sighs before hopping down to stroll over to me. As she rubs against my bare leg, little sparks of soothing energy flow through me. “Now, darling,” she sits at my feet and stares up at me, “I know your parents had a rocky mating.” Boy, is that an understatement. “That doesn’t mean you won’t find true love.” In my mind, it does. My warlock-fae dad and adorable, white witch mother were a match made in hell. “Your stubborn mother refused to listen to reason.” No kidding. I’ve heard this story countless times throughout my life. “Cupid’s pairings are very successful.”
Successful or not, I refuse to bend to the will of a man. Years of living in a family that puts the “fun” in dysfunctional taught me a hard lesson. My parents’ marriage was a horror story instead of a love story.
My mother met my father and fell instantly under his spell. Unfortunately, dear old dad was not only powerful but also ambitious and unscrupulous. He knew the quickest way to move up the coven ladder of success was by marrying into one of the oldest, most influential families. He set his sights on my dear, sweet, gullible mother and the rest was history. A long history of unhappiness and fights. If you look up unsuitable in the dictionary, there’s a picture of my parents.