Chapter Two
Lana knew Kingston had teleported them directly to his mate’s bakery before she even opened her eyes by the enticing scent of the sweet, sugar-laced air.
The Sweet Spot was located close to the Trifecta University campus and had become a favorite gathering place for students, professors, and anyone with a serious sweet tooth.
The interior décor somehow balanced between playful and elegant without feeling overdone.
Pale pink walls were accented with sleek black trim and polished chrome fixtures that reflected the soft lighting overhead.
Chrome café tables with pink and black chairs filled the seating area, while glass display cases stretched along the counters like sparkling treasure chests overflowing with macarons, cupcakes, fruit tarts, and elaborately decorated cakes.
The back counters were lined with pink boxes arranged with near-military precision, and floating shelves displayed canisters filled with colorful toppings and shimmering edible glitter.
Rising from the center of the café floor was a magnificent cherry blossom tree that stood as a testament to everlasting spring.
Its dark, polished trunk twisted upward toward the high ceiling before exploding into a wide canopy of soft pink blossoms. Tiny crystal lights had been woven through the branches, making the petals glow like they’d been kissed by moonlight.
Small pieces of paper had been tied to many of the branches.
Some were delicately folded, while others were rolled tightly and tied with ribbon to prevent anyone from reading them.
A few hung freely for anyone curious enough to steal a glance.
Each piece of paper carried a wish, a dream, or a worry written by one of the many customers who frequented the bakery.
Students from the university scribbled desperate prayers for passing grades and scholarship approvals.
Young couples left hopeful promises about love, while heartbroken individuals left petty requests for payback.
Parents wrote quiet wishes for sick children, and others requested better jobs or a little relief from mounting bills.
Some notes were lighthearted and silly, while others carried the unmistakable weight of heartbreak and loneliness.
The wishing tree was quickly becoming a local legend in the city of Mystic.
Customers whispered stories over coffee and cupcakes, trading rumors about impossible coincidences and miraculous turns of luck.
Some swore their wishes had come true within days of hanging their notes among the cherry blossom branches.
Then, there were a few who had completely forgotten about the wishes they made until they came true months later.
A struggling student claimed she received an acceptance letter to her dream graduate program after tying her wish on the tree.
An elderly man reportedly reunited with his estranged brother after leaving behind a handwritten apology he never intended anyone to see.
An abused mother and son had begged for a way out, only for it to be granted hours later when their abuser had gotten a taste of his own medicine.
Even skeptics found themselves lingering near the tree longer than intended, staring up into the soft pink blossoms as though hoping something inside them might shift.
Some insisted there was nothing supernatural about it at all.
They claimed anonymous good Samaritans occasionally took the notes from the branches and quietly helped however they could.
Rent money would mysteriously appear in an envelope.
Job opportunities arrived through unexpected phone calls.
Lost pets somehow found their way home. Fresh flowers and encouraging letters occasionally appeared beside especially heartbreaking wishes.
No one ever caught the mysterious helpers in the act, which only fueled the growing mystery surrounding the tree.
The truth was a mixture of all of the above.
The wishing tree had been created by the Goddess of Revenge to help her access more people who might need her particular area of expertise.
But in doing so, it also attracted other powerful supernaturals in the area who were looking for quick fixes.
Some helped for altruistic reasons, while others acted out of pure boredom.
“The wishing tree really did turn out better than any of us expected.”
Lana blinked as a gorgeous female with bronze hair and glowing gold eyes suddenly appeared in front of her. Before she could speak, the Goddess of Revenge grabbed her in a brief hug that squeezed the breath out of her.
“Hi, Lana. Don’t be nervous. I’m sure everything is going to work out well today. Kingston will make sure of it,” Autumn assured.
Her mate chuckled. “If my mate says so, then I guess I will have to make sure it does.”
Autumn laughed brightly as she danced over to his side, making the flowing skirt of her dark green dress flutter around her legs.
“Damn right.” Leaning against him, she glanced over at the tree. “The wishing tree has become so popular, I even have a small army of supernaturals who volunteer to take care of some of my smaller revenge cases.”
“So, you are outsourcing now?” Lana asked, amused.
Autumn grinned. “I guess so, but I think they agreed to help me simply because they like having a legitimate reason to beat the crap out of people. Who am I to spoil their fun?”
“You have to admit, they are enthusiastic about their work,” Kingston said dryly.
“But we have more violent volunteers than we need at this point. And we have other gods sniffing around here more than I’m comfortable with.
If they truly wanted to help people, you’d think they could handle the groundwork on their own instead of stealing ours from the damn tree. ”
Autumn patted his chest in a placating gesture. “Don’t get worked up. The more people that are helped, the better it is, right?”
“Too bad you can’t put up more wishing trees around the city,” Lana commented. “Or the world, for that matter.”
Autumn opened her mouth, then closed it again as she glanced over at her mate with wide eyes. Lana was used to watching her mated friends have silent conversations as they spoke telepathically to one another, so she didn’t mind waiting until they were finished.
During the long pause, she glanced around the room. Normally, the bakery would be crowded with people this time of day, but it was eerily silent at the moment. Still, she appreciated the familiar setting almost as much as not having to speak in front of the full council.
A section of the bakery had been rearranged for the meeting, clearing a space for a much larger table that looked like it belonged in a corporate boardroom.
Six chairs had been lined up neatly along one side, leaving a single chair by itself on the other.
Lana didn’t need anyone to tell her that the isolated seat was meant for her.
It was positioned under what seemed like a spotlight, set apart from the others in a way that made its purpose painfully clear.
That was the hot seat, and she was expected to take it.
The door to the bakery opened, and a massive male wearing another Mystic Fire Department jacket rushed inside.
His natural black and white hair had been styled in a mohawk fade, and he had a shaved image of a crouching tiger on the side of his head.
He looked like a punk rocker more than a councilmember.
Lana had met Thayer Katz a time or two, and she found him to be affable and kind despite his rather intimidating appearance.
She knew Kingston and Thayer had done time together in the Supernatural Prison.
Somewhere in the midst of all that chaos, they had forged the kind of bond that didn’t break once the cell doors opened.
They’d come out of that place the best of friends, and still remained loyal to one another.
However, their experiences in prison had been vastly different.
Kingston had been wrongfully imprisoned, framed by one of his own brothers for a crime he didn’t commit.
On the other hand, Thayer had openly admitted to his offense without an ounce of regret.
Then again, murdering the evil former alpha of his pack after the male had taken his parents hostage seemed less like a crime and more like a public service as far as Lana was concerned.
Still, she never would have guessed the firefighter was another member of the Supernatural Council, considering his past.
“Glad to see I’m not the last to arrive,” Thayer boomed out in a deep voice. He grinned at Lana. “Surprised to see me here?”
“It is a little unexpected,” she admitted.
That made him laugh. “Honestly, no one was more surprised than I was when they chose me to be a representative of the Shifter Realm. It’s an honor I never expected, but I surprisingly enjoy. Autumn, please have pity on me. I missed breakfast today because I was out on a call, and I’m starving.”
The goddess grinned back at him. “Take a seat. I’ve got that covered.”
With the wave of her hand, the large table was immediately filled with platters of food. Besides a wide variety of pastries and sugary treats, there were pancakes, waffles, and biscuits smothered with thick white gravy. There were also steaming trays of sausage, bacon, and scrambled eggs.
“Thank you, thank you. You are the best Goddess of Revenge ever,” Thayer gushed as he took a seat.
Autumn snorted out a delicate laugh. “I’m the only Goddess of Revenge there is.”
“Stop flirting with my mate,” Kingston grumbled as he sat down next to his friend, punctuating his words with a punch to the arm.
“I’m not flirting. I’m simply treating her like the goddess she is,” Thayer countered, rubbing his arm as he winced.
Kingston rolled his eyes. “Was the call anything serious?”
“Pretty bad kitchen fire, but we tamed the beast before it spread.”