14. Two Months Later
Steel
It’d been two months since Layla’s bond was severed. Since then, Death hadn’t been seen.
And since then, I hadn’t gone back to the cafe.
It was time. The tensions were running high. Layla was not speaking to my uncle B, and no one blamed her. He was doing his best to mend bridges, but that was hard when everyone was pissed off.
It was hard to be around him, but only because the sadness was so painfully clear.
Regardless, I really wanted a latte. I’d run out this morning while Oli was still tucked in bed and sound asleep, and I wanted to surprise my mate with his favorite bread loaf and coffee.
I stepped through the repaired front door, huffing in the scent of roasted beans. Uncle B was working the counter with my cousin Bell and Lucy.
Of all five of my cousins, Bell was the one who always threw me off the most. He was a very chill, fun-loving, sarcastic guy, unless you brought up one of his hyperfocus subjects.
He was a nerd who loved to travel, but under the surface, there was a current of something.
I wasn’t really sure what. It was the same way for Layla, Luca, Jace, and Tana, though.
They all looked human, but without a doubt, they were not.
It made me glad I was simply a werewolf.
“Oh hey, look who it is,” Bell said, raising a brow at me.
His hair was long enough that he wore it in a bun, and it was clear he’d been working out more since coming home.
I wouldn’t be surprised if some time in the next couple weeks he waved goodbye to all of us again and went traveling.
He didn’t like staying in one place for long. “Where’s Oli?”
I snorted as I went to the counter. “What? Am I not good enough?”
Everyone loved Oliver. Despite our worries about our lives meshing together, they’d ended up fitting perfectly. His daughters were cool and we’d already had a few family dinners that ended in nothing but laughter and joy. Both of us were so happy.
Though it was tough knowing I’d gotten my happy ending, while Layla was suffering.
But, every time I was seen without Oli at my hip, he was asked about.
“Oh, come on,” Bell laughed. “Obviously not. I don’t want to talk to you unless your mate is with you.”
“Fucker,” I mumbled. “I was told at some point I will get free coffee here.”
“I’m absolutely certain that’s not true,” Lucy laughed. “But for your mate? Yes, of course.”
The Barista was quiet as he made a latte, his gaze darting between the three of us.
“Okay, well, my mate wants two coffees—one of them with bone broth—and the cinnamon roll focaccia loaf if you’ve got one.”
“I don’t know if we—”
“We have one,” Uncle B interjected, his throat working. “I put it in the back earlier. I had a hunch you might stop by.”
I held his gaze, some of my resentment melting just a smidge. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” He finished making two lattes and slid them across the counter to me. He glanced over at Bell and Lucy, his cheeks turning red. “Steel, I am deeply sorry. I know we haven’t talked since . . .”
“Since you severed Layla’s bond with Death,” I said bluntly.
The Barista opened his mouth, but then a mirror flickered behind him. I frowned as the air immediately chilled. Uhhh.
There was someone in the mirror.
But it wasn’t someone. It was two someones?
Two . . . ghosts? Phantoms? Both wearing masks. Tall, devilishly handsome, and only slightly transparent, stuck in the mirror behind the Barista.
The Barista groaned, his eyes rolling. “You’ve got to be joking. I don’t even want to look.”
Bell crossed his arms at the mirror. “Who the fuck are they?”
Lucy tsked. “Manners. They’re guests.”
“I learned my manners from you.”
“Yes, well. That’s a good point. Carry on.”
The phantom on the left cocked his head, his gaze locking on the Barista. “We’re here for our mate.”
“I am not currently matching,” the Barista growled. “Get the fuck out of our cafe mirror.”
I honestly shouldn’t have been shocked this could even happen, but I still stared, my jaw unhinged.
“He’s grounded,” Lucy said to the two phantoms in the mirror politely. “Creature Cafe is open for coffee and pastries, and that’s it.”
“We do not care what you say you are open for,” the other phantom snarled. “You are matching us.”
“I will not match anyone,” the Barista said again.
“Then we’ll go to the other one.”
“The what?”
All of us were interested in that, but then the phantoms smirked, and I was suddenly really nervous. Surely they didn’t mean . . .
Layla had agreed to not use her powers after much back and forth. Only Luca was on her side, but they’d both apparently been outvoted at a family meeting I’d purposefully skipped out on.
“Didn’t you hear? There’s another reaper in town, and she’s not afraid to match humans and monsters.” Another twisted smile. “So either bring us our true mate, or we’ll go to her.”
Lucy let out a curse, but the Barista held up his hand, his eyes burning like two pits of fire. “Can you only use mirrors?”
“Yes.”
“Fine. Fucking phantoms.” The Barista pried the mirror off the wall. “Follow me back to the cooler, I guess.”
Bell, Lucy, and I watched him cart the glass to the back.
“Well,” Bell said. “So much for Layla saying she wasn’t using her powers.”
I drew in a sharp breath, because I knew why she was doing it. We all knew why. It wasn’t what her parents wanted, of course. Hell, none of us really did.
She was trying to draw Him near. Death.
“Here’s your coffee and loaf,” Bell said, shoving everything into my hands. “Maybe if you ask Dad nicely, he can give you a shortcut back home.”
Lucy was staring off into space, hardly paying attention to us. But then Bell cleared his throat, and he jumped, a frantic look passing over his face, then disappearing.
“Of course,” he said. “Tell Oli we said hi. And . . . I think B would like to talk to him. When he’s willing to speak to him again.”
“I’ll pass on the message,” I said. Oli had been especially horrified by the Barista’s actions. Given we were both freshly mated, the idea of losing our bond was especially appalling. “Thank you.”
I stepped through the portal Lucy created and landed back into the bedroom Oli and I now shared.
Oli lifted his head in surprise, pushing his reading glasses up his nose. “Well, hello there, pup.”
I smirked as I took his coffee to him. “I brought your coffee, Sir. And a message that my uncle would like to talk to you again.”
“Trouble can wait.” He had that wicked look in his electric blue eyes as he pushed the blankets back, revealing his hard cock. “Are you okay with drinking our coffee cold?”
I gave my mate my most wolfish grin. “I absolutely am.”
“Good. Kneel.”
“Yes, Sir.”