‘Tis the Season (The Pumpkin Spice Season)
Ella
Monstrous
“Michael, did you know there’s an entire subculture dedicated to pumpkin spice?” Ella stared at her mate until he looked up from his phone, his expression caught between confused and amused. “I’ve seen candles and lattes and cereal that’s pumpkin spice flavored. It’s incredible.”
“Yeah, El. Pumpkin spice is a thing.” Michael tucked his phone into the back pocket of his jeans and gave her his entire attention. “Have you tried any of the pumpkin spice coffees yet?”
Bouncing forward onto her toes, Ella nodded. “Yup. Ari brought be one from Hobbs. It was incredible.”
The mound of pumpkin spice flavored whipped cream on top had been the single most divine thing Ella had ever tasted. At times like these, she cursed her wings because it meant she couldn’t drag Michael out to the bakery to get one.
Man, the thought of all that glorious pumpkin spice goodness was making her salivate.
Her mate, perceptive wolf that he was, cocked an eyebrow at her. “Do you want one now?”
“Oh, GAWD, yes. I would kill for one.” Well, maybe not kill. She’d definitely brawl for one, though. You know, to first blood.
Michael flashed her an amused smile and dug in his pocket for his keys. “One pumpkin spice latte coming up. Anything else?”
“Do you think they make their cinnamon rolls glazed with pumpkin spice frosting?”
There was a long moment of silence as Michael thought about it. “I don’t know. I’ll ask. Do you want a regular cinnamon roll if they don’t have a pumpkin spice one?”
“YES! Please.” Just imagining how the cinnamon-y sweetness of the cinnamon roll would complement the coffee had her wriggling in excitement. “Ooh. Get a regular cinnamon roll and a pumpkin spice one. That way I can see which goes best with the coffee.”
Her mate nodded. “Good plan.” Leaning in, he smacked a kiss against her mouth. “See you when I get back.”
Hot damn, she loved her man. He was the type of mate every man should aspire to.
“I love you,” she trilled at him as he left. She sounded like Ari on a sugar high, but she couldn’t help herself. She was so excited about the mere thought of both coffee and a cinnamon roll—fingers crossed they’d both be pumpkin spice flavored—her wings were vibrating.
Now she just had to wait. It took almost fifteen minutes to the bakery, a few minutes getting the order, and another fifteen minutes back. Thirty, thirty-five minutes tops.
She could make it that long.
She could dooooo it.
Gods above, she was starting to sound like Ari.
Forcing herself to sit and calm down before she vibrated the feathers right off her wings, Ella perched on the edge of the couch. Her knee started jiggling as soon as she got her wings settled and a laugh bubbled up.
Okay. Maybe she was more like Ari than she thought. When it came to pumpkin spice, at least.
Who knew that such an innocuous sounding thing could inspire such passion in a person? Not her. She’d never even heard of pumpkin spice anything when she’d been in the nest. This was…well, it was a cornucopia of delights.
A wonderland for her taste buds.
Magic and the mysteries of fall all rolled into one.
A shiver ran down her spine and Ella flopped forward until she was stretched on the couch on her stomach.
The wait was going to kill her.
Absolutely kill her.
Thirty minutes shouldn’t have the power to rend a person incapacitated, but Ella had the feeling she was going to be useless to herself and the rest of the world until Michael got back.
That damn drink Ari had given her had done something to her. It had addicted her to the taste of fall and now she was destined to go through the rest of her life craving the pumpkin-y goodness.
The fact it was a seasonal flavor was something she’d deal with later. Much later. After she’d drained the spice out of everything she could get her hands on.
Ooh. Ari had told her about copycat recipes. She’d have to find one to make pumpkin spice syrup. She could add it to everything, literally everything if she had an endless supply at her fingertips.
Another shiver worked its way down her spine and the tension Ella hadn’t realized she’d been carrying melted away.
Wow. Just knowing she wouldn’t have to give up pumpkin spice after fall calmed her.
Yeah. She was good.
Totally cool.
She could wait out Michael’s return without jittering herself to pieces.
Totally.
Heck, she should go grab Ari’s laptop now and start researching those copycat recipes. That would keep her mind occupied until her darling wolf got home.
Feeling centered, Ella wriggled to a sitting position and set out to do just that.
She had a clearly defined goal to focus on. She could hold out until her wolf brought her treats.
Absolutely.
The End
Want to meet Ella for the first time? Monstrous Matchmaker: The Complete Series introduces us to her. (Or grab Operation Werewolf if you prefer to read it as a serial.)
Missed any of the other shorts? Check out the Series Shorts page and get caught up.
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