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"Make yourselves at home."
Nods and quiet mumbles of Thank you, Luna, echoed throughout the front room of the packhouse as the large group of werewolves stumbled in tiredly. We had found the remainder of pack members unconscious and tied up by wolfsbane ropes behind the dungeon. Luckily they were all unharmed, now only just exhausted from the long journey.
"You guys can chill in the living room or find an empty room upstairs to clean up in or rest if you want. There are first aid kits in every bathroom under the sink. I'll make you guys something to eat, you probably had a long day." Thank you's and respectful nods and smiles were sent my way as the group of warriors went into the living room, immediately collapsing on the couches in exhaustion.
I let out a sigh of relief as they all settled down, now rushing to the kitchen as I tried to think of what to make. I was horrible at cooking, the only thing I knew how to make was pie and I didn't exactly prepare in advance to make a feast for 30 werewolves.
"Need some help?"
I turned to look at the voice, sighing in relief as Tyler stood against the door frame of the kitchen looking at me with a smile. I looked at him with a grin of my own, nodding at his question. "Yes please."
Tyler chuckled at my stressed demeanor, walking in and immediately looking at the mess of groceries I had scattered on the counter. He thought quietly to himself, trying to think of recipes that we could make out of the random mess of food I had collected amongst the weeks I spent here. I sighed, looking at the small pile of the actual food I had compared to the bags of chips, chocolate bars, and packets of candy I had.
"Obviously use the rice." I nodded to myself as I set aside the large bag of uncooked rice.
"We can make beans too." Tyler said, pushing the many cans so they were next to the rice.
"Oh!" I said, turning to the fridge to make sure I still had what I was looking for. I grinned happily, pulling out the freshly skinned Turkey my wolf had killed a couple of days ago on a hunt. It was huge and we also had a couple of raw chickens we could cook as well. Wolves eat a lot.
And so me and Tyler set off on our mission of making 30 werewolves an improvised feast.
The album When We Were Friends by the Backseat Lovers played loudly from my CD player, having been a new one I had taken from my friend's room that I never heard of before. I'd been listening to it on repeat for the past few days.
I hummed softly to myself as I danced to the song currently playing, chopping up the carrots mindlessly. Tyler was currently preparing the meat, doing his own little dance to the song playing even though he didn't know it.
"Food! Finally!"
I jumped at the sudden level of excitement Johnny had brought upon entering the kitchen, chuckling slightly as he rushed past me to look at the meat Tyler was preparing.
"Can I help?" He asked excitedly, his boyish nature coming to the surface as I giggled, rolling my eyes.
"You can cut these while I make the rice." I instructed, stepping aside so he could continue cutting up all of the vegetables.
His nose scrunched up as he looked at the pile of carrots I gathered. "Why did you cut them like that Gray?"
I rolled my eyes, walking away. "They're going to get eaten eventually, why do they have to be pretty?"
"So that they're bearable!" Johnny argued. I rolled my eyes, slapping him in the back of the head before turning around to cook the rice.
The energy in the air was lighthearted and full of laughter as the three of us cooked together, enjoying each other's presence and messing with each other every so often. I was having the time of my life, finally feeling alive again for the first time in months. I spent days imagining moments like these and spent nights dreaming of memories where the love between us was as prominent as it was now. I couldn't stop smiling.
"While you were gone, Jordan met this girl that he has a crush on." Tyler chuckled as he began sprinkling seasoning onto the chicken.
"Yeah! Her name is Anastasia but she goes by Asia and she's totally Jordan's type! He kept asking me and Tyler for advice but we're clueless when it comes to girls and we tried to tell him the only one who could help him was you but you were gone and-"
I continued slowly cutting the cucumber in my hand, though my mind wasn't focused on it at all. Johnny's words rung in my head, imagining clueless little Jordan liking a girl and looking to me for help playing over and over. It broke my heart that I wasn't there.
I jumped as I felt a hand on my shoulder. Johnny looked down at me with a sad look. It was clear they had been through a lot in the past couple of months and that my absence had taken a toll on our little group. After Lance's departure, it was hard enough. And then I had to leave.
"Don't feel bad."
I looked over Johnny's shoulder and up at Tyler, who was giving me a sympathetic smile. "I do feel bad. I left you guys." I said before turning back around to continue cutting the vegetable, though I was really just trying to conceal the sadness on my face.
"You were dealing with more shit than any of us could've ever imagined, Gray." Tyler said, taking the knife from my hand and turning me so I was facing the both of them. I turned to look at them with a deflated demeanor.
"You had to make impossible decisions, Gray. You've been through so much, more than any of us and you were doing your best. Now that we understand everything, we don't blame you at all. You had to leave. We understand." Johnny said, rubbing my back comfortingly.
"The last thing you should be worried about is us, Gray." Tyler assured. "We have your back 100%. No matter what. Yeah, it hurt for a while. But you told us everything and you're here now. That's what matters."
I nodded, looking down at my hands as I let out a heavy breath. "Jordan probably hates me now."
"Jordan doesn't hate anyone. He's hurt, yes. But once you tell him about your superpowers he'll be brand new!" Johnny said animatedly.
I giggled, rolling my eyes as I pulled the both of them into a hug. Our mess of limbs gathered together, the tension in the air now gone and the weight on my chest just a bit lighter. "I'm sorry for leaving guys."
"All is forgiven, as long as I get to have the Hershey bar."
"Hey! That's mine!"
"Not anymore!"
In no time the energy in the kitchen was back to normal. Johnny was dancing around to the song playing and even Tyler was moving his hips a little. I was currently singing into the spoon I was using to cook with, occasionally busting out a move or two.
I was just tip-toeing to reach the sugar on the top shelf when I felt a hand gently grasp my hip and a warm body press up behind me. I barely had time to process anything through the bliss of the gentle touch currently on my skin before I tilted my head to see my mate effortlessly grabbing the sugar and setting it on the counter.
Noticing his body was still close to mine I looked up at my beautiful mate with a shy smile and laughed nervously. "Th-Thank you."
"Anytime." He let out a small deep chuckle, a hint of a smirk on his lips as he stepped away, seemingly loving the effect he had on me. "Can I help with anything?"
"I-I- uh- pie."
I blushed even harder as Tyler and Johnny covered their mouths to keep from laughing at me aloud, my mate's smirk widening slightly at my flustered demeanor.
"You're making pie?" My mate asked with a raised eyebrow. Yummy.
"Y-Yes?"
"You sure? You don't seem too confident about that." My mate teased.
"What Gray means to say is that she is making pie and could use some help since me and Tyler are busy cooking the meat." Johnny intervened with an amused smirk.
I held up a thumbs up and a shaky smile. "Yup."
My mate chuckled, shaking his head before nodding. "Guess we're making a pie then."
"You're doing it wrong!"
"No, you are!"
I let out a huff as my mate cut out another piece of crust that wasn't symmetrical, my incessant need of perfectionism kicking in immensely. I was glad Tyler and Johnny had joined the rest of the pack in the living room otherwise I'd be subject to them bickering with me about my uncoordinated talent of chopping carrots and my incessant need for perfect pie crust.
"It's not even even, Caleb!" I pointed at the crooked piece of raw dough.
"It's going to get shit out anyway!" He argued, continuing to cut another piece the exact same way.
I felt my eye twitch, my hands gently placing down the knife. I took ahold of his hands, carefully showing him how to cut it so that it was perfectly straight. "See, perfect." I smiled at the now perfectly straight piece of raw dough, looking up only to see my mate looking down at me with soft eyes. I blushed at the look he was giving me, turning back to my pile of dough to continue making the pie.
"Never knew the big almighty Alpha Johnson knew how to bake a pie." I chuckled, pouring the mixture of prepped peaches and strawberries into the pan of chilled raw pie crust.
"My sister used to love baking." Caleb said, eyes softening as he thought of the memory. I looked up at him, interested in the new fact. "She always used to make pies with Colin for my birthday. And on Colin's birthday, we'd always make one too. Me and Colin tried to make one on her birthday once and we ended up starting a fire. Layla made sure to help us from then on."
The both of us laughed at the thought of little Caleb and little Colin starting a bunch of trouble as young kids. "Sounds like you were a troublemaker." I said, unable to contain the smile on my face.
"Definitely." Caleb nodded. "Me and Colin were always starting trouble. Beth tried to keep us out of it for a long time but once she was gone nobody really kept us in check."
I nodded, smiling softly. "She's probably watching you right now trying to tell you to stop making crooked pie dough pieces." I nudged him, chuckling at the horribly uneven piece of dough in his hand. He laughed at my words, shaking his head.
A comfortable silence fell over us for a little bit as we continued to carefully cut the dough into long strips to create the lattice pattern for the pie.
"One of my old pack members, her name was Mrs. Manalo." I began quietly with a small smile on my face, my body swaying gently to the song playing from the CD. "She taught me the pie recipe that she said my Dad always used to make on special occasions. It's really the only thing I know how to make other than basic shit. Not really the best in the kitchen. Some Luna, huh?" I laughed at myself.
"You'd be an amazing Luna." Caleb shook his head in disagreement. "Before my Mom died, she was the same way. She couldn't cook for the life of her and she didn't depend on other people for stability. She knew she was much more than her ability to cook and her ability to bear pups, she was the person our people looked to in times of darkness. She was a beacon of strength and loyalty and integrity. Even after she died." He hadn't once looked up from the cutting board but I hadn't once taken my eyes off of him, too entranced by his words.
"The idea of a domesticated Luna died a long time ago Gray, nobody looks for that anymore. Our people need a strong, dependable, powerful Luna with a good heart. You're exactly that."
My cheeks burned at his words but I could hardly feel it through the adoration swelling in my chest. My mate's words resonated with me perfectly, easing all of the self-doubts I had in seconds. Looking up at him now, my beautiful mate in all of his glory, I felt admired and I felt desirable and I felt like a Luna.
His head turned to look down at me, the proximity between us suddenly close to nothing. Our arms brushed against each other in an innocent notion of skin-to-skin contact, though that interaction alone was enough for me to notice how close his face was to mine. Our height difference was more prominent now, the top of my head barely reaching his shoulder but none of that seemed to matter as our breaths mingled together, our lips just centimeters apart.
"Thank you." I whispered, swallowing nervously as I tried to resist the temptation to close the gap between us.
"Don't thank me." Caleb whispered, his dark eyes gentle as he looked down at me. "But I do have to ask you to stop looking at me like that before I lose control."
"Lose control?" I whispered in confusion.
"You are the most frustratingly irresistible being I have ever encountered, Gray." Caleb chuckled deeply. "Since I met you I've had to resist the temptation of sweeping you off of your feet and making you mine forever." His words made my stomach swarm with butterflies. "And right now, our relationship is in a position where you aren't sure of what your next step is. So even though I so badly want to kiss you, I won't because I know you're not ready. And that's okay. I've waited for you for almost a year now, and I can wait another 50 years as long as it means that I get to spend the rest of them with you."
My eyes burned with tears as I looked up at my mate with an overwhelming amount of love swelling in my chest. I set down my knife and put down the stupid scrap of dough I had spent the last 5 minutes trying to make perfect. I threw myself into my mate's arms, digging my face in his chest and nearly crying out in relief at the bliss that came with his touch. I felt his arms wrap around me tightly, desperately grasping my shirt as if he was afraid I'd vanish any second now. I hugged him and put every ounce of love I had for him into my touch, hoping to communicate without words everything I was trying to say.
I'll always come back to you.
I won't leave.
I'm here.
His arms wrapped around my waist and held me with just as much vigor, the desperation in his touch conveying exactly what I needed to hear.
I'll always wait for you.
Don't leave.
I'm here.
It was a bit longer of us holding onto each other desperately until we finally decided to let go, faces at ease and small smiles replacing the frowns we walked in here having.
"Sorry, I got a little flour on your shirt." I giggled, pointing to the flour now smeared all over the front of his black shirt.
Caleb looked down at his shirt before looking down at me with a playful glare. "It's okay." He said, grabbing a small pinch of flour and flicking it on my black shirt. My jaw dropped as I looked up at him in disbelief. "Now we're even."
I let out a dark laugh, shaking my head. I took a large handful of flour and chucked it onto his shirt before he could even blink, my jaw dropping even wider at the damage I did to his shirt.
"I'm going to kill you."
I let out a squeal as I immediately dashed away from him, knowing I was about to get it by the determined look that gleamed in his eye. Our laughter echoed throughout the kitchen as I ran behind the counter, looking at him across the island.
He smirked at me from the other side of the counter with a bag of flour in his hand. "You can't outrun me, Gray."
"Oh yeah?" I smirked, pulling out my own cup of flour behind my back. "Watch me."
I ran out of the kitchen, laughing loudly as I saw him immediately run after me. I took him through a maze, my advantage being the fact that I knew this house like the back of my hand and he had no idea where he was. I laughed evilly as I lost him behind another pillar. I quickly ducked into a nearby closet, my smirk widening as soon as I remembered the hiding place I discovered when I was 7.
I pushed all of the coats to the right side of the closet, smiling victoriously at the big square piece of wood that had a small crawl space behind it. One that led right to the living room. I pulled the wood away from the crawl space, glad that I was still of smaller height, or else I would've struggled immensely. There was absolutely no way Caleb could fit in here.
Regardless, I put the piece of wood back before making my way through the tight space. There were a few bugs here and there that I ignored and a couple of spiders that scared me to death but for the most part, everything was the same. As expected.
Once I had reached the entrance to the living room, I pushed the wood open slightly to see if Caleb was out there. Luckily, it was just all of the pack members relaxing and watching a movie on the big screen. Johnny and Sherri were cuddled up on Mr. Abadi's favorite recliner and Tyler was lying on the floor, resting his back against the couch. The rest were lounged about on the floor or the couches, either talking loudly or watching the movie. I let out a sigh of relief once I saw that Caleb wasn't there.
I gently pushed the wood from the wall and pulled myself out of the crawl space, standing up with a bang as I brushed all of the dust off of me.
"Where the hell did you just come from?" Johnny asked, making all eyes fall on me. I pointed to the small crawl space before picking up the wood and shoving it back onto the wall.
"Have you seen Caleb?" I whispered, looking cautiously around me as I rushed to hide behind Mr. Abadi's recliner.
"No?" Johnny replied in confusion.
"What're you doing?" Sherri asked curiously as she leaned to look at me behind the recliner.
"Hiding from Caleb, I may have gotten a little flour-"
"Have you guys seen Gray?"
I immediately dashed lower to the ground as Caleb's smell washed over me, the smile on my face growing as I tried to contain my laughter.
"N-No?" Johnny stuttered, making me roll my eyes. He's the worst liar I've ever met.
"I can smell her." Caleb deadpanned.
"That's me." Johnny said with a horribly acted fake laugh. "I'm trying out a new perfume."
Sherri facepalmed, doing for me exactly what I wanted to do to myself. Oh Johnny, always a genius.
Deciding I was cornered and I should make my move now, I jumped up from behind the recliner and jerked the cup of flour towards his face in a span of seconds.
Caleb's eyes flew shut as the powder scattered his face, hair, and his shirt. My jaw, along with everyone else's in the room, dropped as we all tried to contain our laughter. Caleb trailed a hand down his face, successfully wiping off some of the flour only to end up pushing it onto his shirt.
Just as I tried to dash around him and use his surprise to my advantage, I felt him wrap his arms around my waist and pull me off of my feet effortlessly. My back collided with his chest, our laughter echoing throughout the room as he maneuvered me around like a rag doll.
Suddenly, the bag of flour in his hand was empty and my hair, clothes, and entire face were coated in flour. I turned myself around in his arms, grappling onto him like a koala so I could dig my face into his shirt even more, shaking my head so my hair sprinkled all of the flour onto him. Our bodies trembled with laughter as I finally freed him from my death grip, though his hands still rested on my waist and mine on his shoulders as we finally began to calm down.
"That was way more entertaining than this stupid movie!" Johnny said, making me turn to look at him with a roll of my eyes. "Sherri, I wanna have a flour fight!"
Sherri contemplated for a few seconds, tapping her chin as she thought quietly. Then her eyes brightened and she shrugged with a grin. "Let's do it!"
The couple then ran off to the kitchen, leaving us all watching after them while shaking our heads. They were truly the perfect pair.
"Aren't you supposed to be making dinner?" One of the pack members chuckled in amusement, eyes gleaming as he studied the mess we made.
Then suddenly a ding echoed throughout the house, signaling that the chicken and Turkey were finally done cooking. "Dinners ready." I announced, making everyone laugh.
"You two go get cleaned up, we'll set and serve dinner. Be down in 20 minutes." Tyler said, looking amusedly at the flour coating every inch of me and my mate.
"Sir, yes, sir." I saluted, making Tyler roll his eyes with a chuckle before heading to the kitchen. I looked back up at my mate, my arms still around his neck as he settled his hands on my hips. "I guess we should go get cleaned up."
"I guess we should." He replied, looking down at me with soft eyes. "I have some extra clothes I brought from the pack. The bathrooms next to the kitchen right?"
I nodded with a suddenly shy smile. "Let me know if you need anything." I said, forcing myself to remove my arms from around his neck.
"I will." He smiled gently. "See you at dinner."
"See you." I smiled giddily. He gave me one more parting look of adoration before releasing his grip on my hips and walking away. I damn near swooned as he left, my heart racing so fast in my chest I felt like I was going to have a stroke.
It's official.
He is absolutely the most beautiful person on the planet.
Sorry, Harry Styles.
Laughter echoed throughout the room, candles were lit beneath the moonlight shining behind the open window, wine glasses were full and every heart in the room was even fuller. The smell of freshly cooked chicken and Turkey hung in the air, the steam of the rice clouding the light atmosphere.
I had learned the names of almost every pack member in the room I hadn't met before, either through the stories being told or the abundance of conversations flowing across the table. I was sat beside Caleb, who I seemed to not be able to take my eyes off of the entire night.
I'd seen a new side of him and a new side of our relationship that I didn't know was possible. Our situation was still troubled and it sat heavily on my chest every second of the day, but at least for now, I'd let the both of us indulge in each other's presence until we sat down and talked about everything. The decision was no longer just mine to make. My secret was now everyone else's too and I hoped that meant that I wouldn't be the only one carrying the burden anymore.
"That does not beat this one time with Gray." Johnny said in response to another pack member's story, with food nearly pouring out of his mouth. "It was like last year or something. We were in this small town in Ohio." He paused to swallow the food in his mouth, everyone sipping on wine and paying close attention.
"We had gotten rice and chicken for dinner from this really good Filipino restaurant. Gray got to pick the restaurant since she won a bet. That night when we ate dinner, Lance tried to steal a piece of chicken from her plate and she raged so hard that she and Lance started fist fighting and we had to try and yank her off of him. They both ended up shifting and let's just say we've never touched her food since." Johnny shivered at the awful memory as everyone laughed at the story, though I sat glaring at him.
"It doesn't beat the one time when you got too excited we were going to have cake for breakfast and broke my finger!" I crossed my arms, glaring at him playfully.
"What about that one time when you broke his toe because he called you short?" Tyler interjected, making me look around the room and whistle as if I had no idea what he was talking about. Because I didn't. I never did that...
"Haha." Johnny stuck his tongue out at me, pointing at me like a 5-year-old. I only glared at him harder.
"Johnny, you can't talk. Remember that one time your wolf accidentally ate Jordan's pet squirrel?" Tyler pointed out smugly.
Sherri gasped, slapping Johnny on the arm, who was scratching his head with eyes that said yikes, I did do that.
"That was an accident!" Johnny crossed his arms with red cheeks, embarrassed at the amount of laughter echoing throughout the room at his expense.
"What was the bet that Gray won?" Sherri asked Tyler, making everyone look at him in interest. My eyes widened as I tried to signal for him not to say anything. Tyler cocked his eyebrow in confusion at the question. "When Gray and Lance got into the fight over the chicken? You said she won a bet?"
"Oh!" Tyler exclaimed, finally remembering the nature of the question. I frantically signaled for him not to say anything but he ignored me with a smirk. "Me and the boys bet that Gray couldn't get this one guy's number. She won."
My face burst into flames as everyone began to laugh. I immediately dug my face into my hands in embarrassment, unable to handle the horrid memory.
"So, she got a guy's number?" Caleb asked, making me a peek at him through my fingers to see him looking at me in amusement with one eyebrow raised in question.
"Yup, she flirted the life out of that guy." Johnny continued, making Sherri elbow him in the stomach.
I groaned, nearly wanting to bang my head into the table as the laughter began again.
"So, you have flirting skills, hm?" My mate smirked down at me, turning his body towards me. I pulled my hands from my face in confusion.
"Gray has game." Sherri smirked at me, making me laugh and grin cheekily.
"Only for you, baby." I winked at Sherri, making everyone begin to start screaming and whooping.
"Oh I'm ready, just say the word sweetcheeks." Sherri flirted back playfully, making me smirk.
"Okay." Johnny intervened, glaring at me while placing an arm in front of Sherri.
"You're just mad because you know I can steal your girl." I continued, smirking at the pout now adorning Johnny's face.
"There's nothing to steal, I'm already yours babe." Sherri flirted, ignoring a pouting Johnny as he looked between us helplessly.
"Looks like we have to find new partners, Caleb." Johnny played along sadly, placing a distressed hand over his forehead.
"Looks like me and Sherri will have to fight for your hand, Gray." Caleb joked. "But it's not lookin too good for me honestly. You've never even flirted with me like that before."
"I could." I looked up at him flirtatiously, though the daring look I got in return immediately made me shrink in intimidation, my stomach swarming with butterflies at the twinkle in his eye. He smirked at my reaction, looking away from me smugly. I let out a sigh, unable to handle the way my heart palpitated every time he looked at me.
And so the night continued on, laughter, conversation, and endless wine making the atmosphere lighthearted and vibrant.
Sometime through the night, a feeling of nostalgia passed over me and a bittersweet smile overtook my face as I watched everyone laugh together just as my pack had done just years ago. I was endlessly grateful that I got to share such a vital part of my life with people who were soon going to be big parts of my upcoming chapters and I felt that we were honoring my pack's memory by making such beautiful memories where they had once smiled and laughed the same.
Every time I closed my eyes I saw my old pack members, all embracing each other's presence and reveling in the beauty of our loving family. I relished in the temporary comfort of Mr. Abadi's smiling face and the drunken laughter of Auntie B, Margaret who'd bicker with Luthor over who'd get the last piece of bread, and Anna who would reach across the dining table to steal a piece of food from my plate. And then I open my eyes and see new faces, faces of people who brought just as much comfort and joy.
Tragedy struck and lives were lost but this was life's greatest contradiction. Loss and love. Old chapters turned new. Losing people and losing some more. Good times and bad times.
All worth it for days like this. All worth it for the temporary bliss that came with the pain.