Fearless (The Willowdale Village Collection #2)

1. Lena Graves

CHAPTER 1

LENA GRAVES

“ I have bad news, Ms. Walters.” The elderly witch straightened up at my serious tone. She was particularly dressed up today, her slim frame outfitted in a dark coat and boots to keep away the spring chill, her hair perfectly curled and her makeup bright and cheery.

“ No , don’t say that.” She scowled, her dark brows pinching together in despair. “I know you have at least one slice of it back there, Lena.”

My eyes went round as I shook my head. It was the only way I’d be able to get away with this.

“I don’t,” I said with a sad sigh, then placed an entire cake box on the counter with a flourish. “ I have an entire cake! The bad news is that you’re going to have to find someone to share it with.”

Ms. Walters barked out a laugh and shook her head. “That nearly ruined my Thursday,” she chided, handing me cash as she took the carrot cake under her arm. The bright teal bow against her dark jacket made me smile. After all, it was my favorite color. “I have the perfect person to share it with. He’s coming over tonight.”

“You don’t say.” I leaned forward on the counter, crossing my arms. “I may have heard that Mr. Adams and you were seeing one another, so I may have put a cookie or two inside the bag as well.”

I had actually included ten cinnamon sugar cookies—Mr. Adams’s favorite—so the two of them were all set for their little date.

“You’re the best,” she responded with a bright smile. “Make sure to close up early today and give yourself a rest; I can feel a storm brewing!”

My nose twitched as she let herself out the door, the scent of ozone thick in the air. Even if I didn’t have the nose I did, I would trust her—witches knew their weather.

“Will do! Have fun on your date!” I called out as the chimes on the door rang, signaling the door closing. With a happy sigh, I put the cash in the register and began to tidy up my shop.

Grabbing a sticky note, I jotted down a reminder to make more carrot cake next week. I wouldn’t have time for another large baking session again until Sunday , but I was already out of half of my inventory. It was really cool that my bakery was successful, but no one prepared you for the amount of time it took to create on such a large scale.

Still, the thought gave me a small thrill. My bakery—Bunny Bites.

I didn’t foresee a time when that wouldn’t be exciting to think about. I may have only been open since Christmas, but the holidays had pushed me into the green—no small task following the investment in the building and the baking supplies. I’d been able to repay my brothers in full—something I was beyond proud of. It had felt nearly as amazing as having something I could call my own. As the youngest of four, that was a rare feeling.

Humming under my breath, I moved around the front of the shop, tidying up the cushions on the two couches and wiping down the coffee tables. Then, after a quick sweep—I’d already cleaned the kitchen when I’d finished baking this morning—I grabbed the last slice of carrot cake I had left for the day, deciding it would be the perfect late lunch. You would think that since I was surrounded by food all the time I would never be hungry, but with how busy the shop could be, I often forgot to eat.

I’d never forget a piece of carrot cake, though. My shifted side—a bright teal rabbit—would absolutely never let me forgo something so important.

Right as I took the first bite of cake, the bell above the door tinkled, signaling I had a customer. With a happy sigh, I put down my fork and walked to the front, where I found a familiar face.

“Carol!” I said brightly, “I didn’t expect to see you today.” She’d come just yesterday and had walked out with several packages. I knew she was hosting extended family this weekend, so maybe it had to do with that…or her relatives had just eaten everything already. It was totally possible; they were a family of wolf shifters, after all.

“I wish I could blame the bump,” she teased, rubbing her round belly, “but I actually have a request from the eldest this time.”

“Really? That’s big.” I straightened up fully. Carol’s eldest daughter, who was around thirteen, had become notorious for being disagreeable to everything and anything her parents suggested. Even when it was something that would be good for her!

“After dinner yesterday, we finished off the blueberry muffins and she asked if I could get more. I hadn’t even realized she’d had one.” She shrugged. “She never asks for anything, so I figured I’d stop by to grab more.”

“I made two dozen fresh this morning, so you’re in luck,” I said, walking to the refrigerated display and opening a box. Offering her a curious look, I asked, “Do you want anything?”

She flashed a knowing smile. “Maybe make one of them a pumpkin muffin.”

“Coming right up.” I packaged the six muffins and then slid them across the counter to her. As she reached for her purse, I shook my head.

“Nope. You’re in here every single day; you aren’t paying for them today.”

“I appreciate it, Lena. Seriously,” she offered sweetly. I liked most people in this town, but Carol had become a true friend over the past few months. Still, I couldn’t help but feel like there was a slight distance between us—probably because our lives were so different.

I was still very single, filling my days with baking and living in an apartment above my self-owned business. I loved my life, but it could admittedly be lonely sometimes. Carol, on the other hand, had an idyllic life. She wore a huge diamond ring on her hand, a symbol of her marriage to her high school sweetheart and mate, and had three kids. Four, in only a few months’ time. Her life was a perfect storybook tale, and I found myself a bit sad that I’d yet to find my happily-ever-after when it felt like everyone in this town did.

I placed blame for those feelings squarely on my bunny. Our annual mating heat was coming up, so it was all baby fever and romance, all the time. It could be difficult to handle, as I didn’t exactly have anyone to share that urge with.

My bunny, though, had strong ideas of who she wanted to share it with…

“Hey—” Carol turned from where she was walking out the door. “Heads up, Sheriff Liam and Officer Ari just pulled up. Looks like they aren’t getting out, but…”

“I got them.” I offered her a smile of gratitude as she hurried out the door, rain coming down in big heavy droplets. I smiled at that and grabbed my jacket, checking my appearance in the mirror. My gold eyes looked bright today, reflective of the amount of sleep I managed to get last night, and my teal hair was a bit messy but looked good enough—especially once I pulled a knit hat over it.

I suppose I didn’t have to go out there to see them…but it would be the first time in a while that I’d chosen to actively ignore them. Walking up to the door, I eyed the patrol car a few spaces down from the front of my shop and let out a grumble of annoyance, unable to help myself from grabbing a bag of pre-packaged cookies that sat on a table near the door.

Not that Liam deserved any of my cookies. Maybe Ari, but that was as far as I would go.

Stepping out into the rain, I opened my umbrella and made my way to the patrol car in question, the window almost immediately rolling down. My chest squeezed tight with overwhelming emotion, from desire to vulnerability, and my cheeks heated at Liam’s intense gaze.

I swear, the man was always looking at me like he wanted to…I actually didn’t have a word for it. I did know what it did to my body, though, and why I stayed far away from the broody, and insanely protective wolf shifter.

Liam was the sheriff of our cozy town, and he looked absolutely perfect in his uniform. His 6’4” golden, lean-cut muscular frame was always dressed perfectly to code—not a button out of place. His rich brown hair was cut short on the sides, but it didn’t hide the few streaks of silver I saw there, making him look older than twenty-six in the best way possible. I steeled myself for our interaction, knowing that despite our arguing I always ended up annoyingly turned on. It was unfair that he had such an effect on me.

Especially since the way I’d met him had been less than ideal.

I had been going through a rough phase following my parents’ passing and throughout most of high school. I’d just turned eighteen during my senior year when he came into town, having been assigned here temporarily out of the larger station in Galena, our neighboring town.

When a party I was at got busted, I was thrown in the back of his patrol car and brought home to my brothers, where I had to listen to the lecture of a lifetime. In the two years since then, despite being on my very best behavior, Liam hadn’t left me alone. I had a feeling he was waiting for me to mess up again.

“Liam,” I said loudly to be heard over the pattering of the rain and the rumbling sky above. “Do I need to file for a restraining order?”

His gaze sparked with amusement as he looked down at me, the window of the car hitting higher than where I stood around 5’2”—if that. I knew he needed a big car because he was ridiculously tall, but I still didn’t like feeling so freakin’ short. “I mean, you could , but I wouldn’t be inclined to process the request.”

“Because you’re a stalker,” I teased, stepping up onto the running board and looking past him toward Ari. “Hey, you.”

A deep rumble left Liam’s chest, and I tried to resist the smile that pulled on my lips. Ari’s bright, grass-green eyes sparkled with the same level of amusement and affection I had seen for years—ever since he transferred into our school district freshman year. Now, over six years later, the man was as familiar to me as any family.

Although the feelings I had for him were not familial at all…

“Baby girl, you look well rested,” he said, taking off his cap and running a hand through his strawberry blonde hair before flashing me a smile. “Although, I only know that for sure because I was on patrol last night.”

“And because of that you were watching my apartment to see if lights were on.” I scowled at him and returned my attention to Liam, who was way closer than I expected. “This is what I mean! Both of you are horrible. I don’t even know why I’m giving you these.” I tossed the cookies in the center console, shaking my head. “I mean, seriously—what do you expect to happen? Willowdale has nearly zero crime.”

“Nearly,” Liam rumbled as I rolled my eyes. “Careful, Graves,” he warned, making me smile. I loved when he got all serious and used my last name.

Offering him a cute smirk, I shrugged and slipped down off the SUV’s running board. “If you want to waste your time watching me, you’re more than welcome to!”

My tone was facetious, but I truly didn’t mind. I would never admit to it, but it left me feeling safer than I cared to admit.

Ari had been watching out for me ever since we met in school—and I watched out for him. Or tried to. I was less intimidating than a 6’2” wolf shifter and swimming god, but I managed to keep away all the women that clearly had bad intentions…or just recognized what an amazing man he was. I mean, he was far too nice for his own good! He was emotional, open, loyal, and a total sweetheart. So I obviously had to protect him.

Feeling their eyes on my back, I returned to my bakery and put away the umbrella before shrugging off my jacket. With the weather this bad, there wouldn’t be any customers in the next two hours before closing, so I went ahead and flipped the sign to ‘closed’ and decided to take a look at my books for the week so far. That way I wouldn’t be left with a ton to do the next morning.

Sorting through everything I needed and making a neat pile on top of my laptop, I paused as I caught sight of the picture of my family—my parents and my three brothers—that sat on my desk.

When I was only thirteen and Hunter, my oldest brother, was nineteen, we had lost both my mother and father to a human hate group—HAF. Humans Against Freaks.

Our parents had traveled through a neighboring state to meet another Alpha and Luna, hoping to negotiate a safe haven pact—one that Hunter, as current alpha, honored to this day. At the time, with the supernatural community only having made themselves known three years prior, there were very few safe places for people like me. Mostly because of groups like HAF that had been formed with the sole objective to slaughter any supernatural creature they came across.

Nearly a decade later we were in a far better place as a country, but my parents—and many others—had suffered in the process.

Now, I only had Hunter, Dylan, and Luca. They were extremely supportive and caring, reminding me a lot of my dad. For the longest time I hadn’t had such a reminder of my mom, something that had sent me into a spiral of partying and drinking through the second half of high school. Despite that, my brothers had stayed encouraging and understanding, and when I had lost all of my other friends, Ari had stayed by my side.

That was why this bakery was so important to me. Baking was the one thing I could remember doing with my mom every single weekend. It was why I had named the store Bunny Bites, in honor of both her and I being rabbit shifters. It was even why I had chosen the brand colors to be teal and sunshine yellow, like her hair.

I missed her so incredibly much, but I also knew that if she was looking down on me from the other side of eternity, she would be proud of what I’d built here.

Positioning myself on the couch near the window, I got to work on my books—and if it happened to give Ari and Liam a perfect view to watch me…well, that was completely unintentional.