Chapter One Hundred and Sixty Five
"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Leo literally roared, leaning down close to me with a bright red face warped by absolute fury, eyes shining bright yellow. "WHAT THE FUCK POSSESSED YOU TO LEAVE THE HOUSE WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON?! YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TEXTING US TO LET US KNOW WHAT YOU WERE INTENDING TO DO! WE'VE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU!"
I stood there with my arms shaking, full of heavy bags, staring at him with an apologetic demeanor. I didn't really know how to respond since A, I was stunned, and B, the last thing I'd been expecting upon walking through the front doors with a Thanksgiving feast was yelling.
I took a deep breath and let it out. He had a good point and was channeling his worry through a fit of anger, but he didn't have the right to scream at me since I had, in fact, taken precautions... although, I probably should have informed everyone else that I was leaving.
I'd forgotten to do that, which made this whole situation my fuck-up.
"Sorry for leaving without telling you, but we needed groceries," I said, hobbling forward and smacking my face against his chest. He stiffened when I nuzzled his shirt and leaned into him, giving him an awkward hug without the use of my arms.
"What are you doing?" he asked, quiet and confused. "Are you... nuzzling me?"
"Yep," I chirped, looking up at him with a grin; I smiled from ear to ear, chin resting on his abdomen, staring straight into his startled eyes. "I feel bad for making you worry so I'm giving you an awkward Aerin-hug since my arms are a little preoccupied."
He stared at me, blinking rapidly, then glanced up as Horst and Jak came in with their arms full as well, followed by the twins, who were also laden with groceries. He stared at them as they walked past without so much as bothering to see what was going on.
I assumed it was because they'd already heard the argument.
Werewolves and their hearing and all.
Leo sighed, eyes slowly dimming down to a normal amber as he calmed himself, and then going darker as he wrapped his arms around my back and rubbed it, holding me against him. I admit I was surprised by the open gesture of affection, and even moreso when he rubbed my hair.
"What am I gonna do with you?" he muttered, mussing it up. "Du bist so ein Ärger."
"What?" I asked, startled. "Was that German?"
"Yes," he confirmed, pulling back; after a long, flat-faced look at me he bent down and abruptly snagged most of the bags out of my hands before lumbering off. "Come on. Let's go, Schnucki."
"Uh, what did you just call me?"
"Don't worry about it," Leo snorted, shaking his head as he led the way to the kitchen. "Come, let's just get the food put away... and while we do so, tell me what possessed you to get so much of it."
"Thanksgiving," I promptly told him, and he paused, actually giving me a look of surprise. "I'm going to be cooking a huge yummy feast for everyone with Jak, the Nereid twins, Horst, and anyone else who's willing to lend us a helping hand."
"Why?" he asked, turning a bit more with a suspicious stare. "We had plans to go out to eat."
"Home cooked food is better," I pointed out, grinning widely when he blinked at me. "Plus, I don't think going out to eat is such a good idea with Sebastian being like he is since my human family is actually coming for Thanksgiving... and I'm gonna need help not scaring them off."
Leo scowled and stomped forward, shaking his head. "I should have expected as much. I actually overheard some of your conversation with that girl. You gave her our address. You should have asked before doing so since this is our home, too."
A weird feeling of guilt stabbed through me and I lowered my eyes.
"I didn't think about that," I said slowly, "but you have a good point... I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," he grunted. "I understand that you want to connect with your family. I am not angry with you and I don't begrudge your decision since it was logically thought out. Not to mention, after the sort of traumatic experiences that you've gone through lately... I admit, I'm gladdened that you're feeling okay enough to smile and even get a little hopeful about things."
As he spoke, he stepped around Jak and Horst since they both came out of the kitchen; the man gave me a glance in passing, but neither he nor his son said a word as we pushed our way inside. Leo headed over to the counter and set the bags down on it while I put the ones I was carrying on the table. The twins were busy with the bags they'd brought in, so I focused on going through my own, pulling out frozen greens and bags of yams and potatoes and canned pumpkin.
Leo rummaged through everything we'd bought, speculatively, but in the end he wound up putting most of it in the pantry while the rest of it either went into the fridge and freezer. The moment we finished putting everything away, Jak and Horst came in with more bags of stuff.
"Special delivery!" the hybrid yodeled, dropping the bags in front of me. "Thanksgiving meal, at your service!"
"Goofball," I snorted, patting his arm. "Are there anymore bags?"
"Yep, about one more trip's worth," he explained. "Pop and I will grab 'em while you guys put everything away."
"Before we do, though, I'd like to know something," Jak noted, giving me an odd glance. "When do you intend to start making this meal? Judging by the amount of food we bought, it would take at least an entire day, maybe more, to start preparing it. It's possible that we would even need to start preparing now, a few days beforehand."
I paused, thinking about that with a sinking feeling in my stomach.
It was past midnight, around five in the morning, officially making it the 26th of November.
Thanksgiving was on the 28th, two days away.
I looked down at my hands, doing a bit of mental math, trying to piece together how long it would actually take to make all the food we'd bought. I felt a weird feeling go through me and immediately pulled out my phone, googling the recipes of all the things I wanted to make.
I paused to look around, absently gesturing at all of the appliances Sebastian's kitchen had, from the stylish stove and oven to the crockpot sitting on the counter to the portable mini-stove that looked big enough to make a small meal. I added up all the time the recipes would take.
Stared at my fingers.
Felt myself go a little cold.
"Hooo, boy," I squeaked, mortified. "That's not good."
"What?" Leo asked, frowning at me. "What's not good?"
"We have seven turkeys and five huge slabs of ham!" I squeaked, hopping around and tugging on my hair. "The turkeys are all about twenty four to twenty eight pounds, which means they'll need at least five to six hours to be properly cooked or roasted! Making them one at a time would take about forty two hours! And hams need to be cooked a different way, too! It'll take about five to six hours to make them, too!"
"Eh?!" Horst squawked. "No fuckin' way!"
"It's true!" I hissed, instantly pacing around the kitchen and chewing on my thumb nail in aggravation as I thought through everything. "Even if we use the oven and the crockpot at the same time for the turkeys, it would only halve the time to about twenty hours, which is a full day and night. Not even mentioning the time it'll take to stuff and season them beforehand."
"That's... not good," Jak said lowly, frowning as he took in the appliances as well. "We don't have enough room to make all of the food you want to in this kitchen."
"Worse, there's actually no way to keep it all warm and fresh for Thanksgiving day," I whispered, horrified. "Turkey tastes weird when its reheated--"
"There's a way around that," Rachel suddenly said, drawing my eyes with a snap. "We know several delicious ways to keep roasted meats from drying out even if they need to be reheated."
"Really?" I asked, shocked.
"Yes," the twins chimed at the same time. "We do."
I immediately felt a wash of mild relief settle over me.
"That's good," I muttered, going back to pacing as I thought things through. "One problem taken care of, but that's still a lot of time to make this food. Even after we properly make and prepare the roasts we'll literally have to refrigerate it after its finished--"
"Have you forgotten that there's another place on this property with a stove?" Jak asked, and I paused to glance at him. "That cabin you went to with Sebastian has its own appliances and even a full-blown kitchen which was remodeled sometime within the last three years."
"Oh, right!" I exclaimed, clutching my cast in shock. "I forgot about that! Good thinking, Jak! We could focus on making the turkeys and the main courses here while another group gets the hams done over there! We can make everything in two places to halve the time!"
"I make a mean potato salad," Leo noted, and I glanced at him. "And I'm also good at making cheesy scalloped potatoes, among other things"
"Want to get in on the cooking?" I asked, bouncing with glee. "That would be a good addition to the meal! We have a fuck ton of potatoes, I bought like fifteen bags of them."
"You're gonna need all the help you can get," Leo snorted, looking at the clock. "We'll need to start cooking now if we want to have any remote chance in hell of having this ready by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. So, yeah, I'm in. Let's get everything we just put away back out and start planning on what we're doing so nobody fucks anything up."
"Can I help?" a quiet voice asked, and everyone turned, including me... but I admit, I was a little surprised to see Kip nervously peering at us from behind the kitchen door. Only a sliver of his eye was visible and his fingers were squeezing the door frame.
"Of course!" I chirped, waving him in with a cheerful smile. "If you really want to, that is!"
"He wants to," another voice sighed, and to my amazement Kip was bumped into view by a set of skinny white arms. He stiffened right up as Louise stepped into view behind him, pushing him into the kitchen with a small smirk on her face. The curls of her wig bounced around her cheeks, wild and unruly, but she looked at us with her hands on her hips. "So, what's the plan?"
"You're gonna help, too?" I asked, amazed. "Really?"
"You guys are giving me an opportunity to beat my cancer," she flatly retorted. "The least I can do is help you make a huge, delicious meal for thanksgiving."
"The ideal thing to do would be to pick two teams," the twins said simultaneously; Rachel then added, "the first group should head to the other kitchen while the second stays here to help with the main courses."
"We're not going to have much help from the others," Jak deadpanned, already rummaging around in the pantry, "so I say we get started."
"Why won't we have help?" Louise asked, frowning. "Are they all right?"
"Tiffany is pregnant and feeling a little off so she's resting," I explained, "and Woody is being... well, Woody. He's doting on her hand and foot because that's just who he is, so asking him is out of the question. Not sure what Darryl and Sam are up to, but Sam's got poor health so he's probably resting with his hubby taking care of him, too. Bash, Cassidy, and Diana are all occupied at the moment, and since Dick and Kyle are having date night, its just us."
"Jun is available, I believe," Leo said, making me pause, "and so are Sandman and the Meyer boys, Rex and David. Rogar, if I'm not mistaken, is already sleeping. He's fairly exhausted."
I felt a sick knot tighten in my belly and immediately said, "you can ask if Jun and Chi if they want to help... and, I guess you can ask Rex and Dave, but first they'll need to apologize for their awful actions when they completely lost control of themselves."
A quick glance to my left told me everything I needed to know.
Jak very suddenly looked venomously pissed and Horst was nervously staring at the ground.
"Fair enough," Leo said, pulling out his phone. "Everyone, let's get the food out on the counters, and once we've gotten that done we'll decide who's doing what."
Everyone immediately broke away to pull things out of the pantry, freezer, and fridge. I felt excitement bubbling inside me and grinned despite myself, flouncing over to the cabinets and pulling out spices, pots, pans, and a bunch of other necessary tools to make everything.
However, I nearly jumped out of my skin when soft hands touched my head from behind.
I tried to turn around but whoever was doing it stopped me by gripping my temples.
"Don't move," Louise said seriously. "I'm gonna braid your hair back to keep it out of your face and out of the food."
"Oh, okay," I chirped; I went back to what I was doing, reaching up to grab more dishes and necessary equipment, and as I did so she followed me, weaving my hair into a tight braid that extended down my back and across my butt. About eight minutes later I heard her struggling with a hair tie and she finally let go, allowing the braid to flop against my lower left thigh.
"Your hair is ridiculously long," Louise noted. "In another four years or so, it'll probably be past your knees. Don't you think you should cut it? It can't be easy maintaining it."
"I like having long hair," I told her, shrugging. "There was a point in time where I could barely grow it out. I was so sick and unhealthy as a kid that I even had bald spots."
"Really?" she asked, joining me in setting everything down on the counter. "I remember that you had a lot of surgeries because of your heart and lung, but I don't think you've ever mentioned that before."
"Wasn't worth mentioning since I wasn't really aware of how I looked until later in life," I said with a shrug, setting everything down. "I knew that people thought I was sick, and even that they thought I was ugly and pale and weird, but those things never bothered me as a kid. I didn't care what I looked like... I was just happy being alive and being a kid, you know?"
"Sounds very much like you," she noted, setting a hand on mine. "You've come a long way since then. Heck, even in the last few months you've come a long way. I still have my doubts about your choice but... I'm beginning to understand, little by little, why you made it."
"Oh?" I asked, giving her a look. "Really now?"
She smirked at me, then playfully tugged on my ear and went back to sorting through the cabinets.
"Jun's agreed to help," Leo suddenly called.
"And Chi?" I called back.
"No phone, but I've asked Jun to invite him."
"Okay. What about the Meyer brothers?"
"They've agreed to apologize and help where they're needed," Leo said. "They'll be here."
"Oh, joy," Horst muttered, instantly clenching his fists. "This should be fun."
Jak seemed pissed, but after a second he looked right at me and his face changed, calming. He took a deep breath and nodded at me before returning to setting all the food out. He was still wearing the neck brace... still hurting, still injured, and yet here he was, helping out.
I was moving before I could stop myself, making my way over.
He jumped when I set a hand against his back, twisting to look down at me.
"What?" he asked, glancing at my arm with furrowed brows. "Do you need something?"
I shook my head and instead just reached around and hugged him; he stiffened and raised his arms, staring down at me in surprise, but I was already pulling back.
"Everything is going to be fine," I promised, and he ogled me like I was crazy. "Just have a little faith in yourself and keep a level head. You're a total boss. You can handle anything."
I gave him a thumbs up, then turned to walk away: a heavy hand stopped me, coming down on my shoulder, and I turned to see him frowning at me.
"Where did that come from?" he lowly asked. "Why are you hugging so many people?"
"Because hugs make people feel better," I said, then looked at everyone present, locking eyes with them individually. "Nearly every single person standing in this room supported me when I was at my worst. I'm done second guessing myself when it comes to you guys. If I feel like hugging you, I'm gonna hug you! That's all there is to it!"
"Why?" Leo snorted, looking amused but still genuinely curious.
"Isn't it obvious?" I asked, staring at him; when nobody, not a single person, gave me an answer and just stared at me expectantly, I felt a little dumbfounded. "Hello? It's because I love you!"
Jak's brows shot up, Horst smirked, Louise rolled her eyes, and Leo feigned a look of surprise.
"You?" he asked, beating his chest. "Love me?"
I pursed my lips and looked him up and down before saying, "maybe not you."
"Oof," he wheezed, wincing before letting out a quiet chuckle. "You wound me."
I opened my mouth to fire a retort, then froze like a statue. Realization flooded through me when I noticed that the blonde man's eyes were crinkled to match his Cheshire grin. The very first time I'd ever seen him interact with Sebastian in a friendly way, they'd been bantering exactly like this. I felt my own lips quirk up and returned his smile with a radiant one of my own.
My cheeks and ears grew hot but just as I was about to fire back a retort, Jun walked in, dressed in black Batman pajama pants and an equally dark hoodie. His hair hung in wet tendrils around his face and he seemed rather tired, but he peered around with an expectant look.
Not long after, Chi curiously phased through the wall and stepped into the kitchen.
He seemed a little uncomfortable, especially when everyone glanced at him.
"Hello," he greeted.
"Hi, Chi," I said, giving him a friendly smile. "Thanks for coming to help."
"Enough chitchat, where am I needed?" Jun bluntly asked, getting right to the point. "If you really need to cook as much food as you say before the Holiday meal, we'll have to start right now. Especially since more normal human beings will be joining us for this meal."
I paused, then looked at him in surprise. "You're not bothered?"
"If they're important to you they're important to us, Hyung," he explained, giving me an unreadable look. "The rest of Jak's wolves won't be returning until the beginning of next month so we won't have to worry about interferences during your family's stay."
"And, since we're going to be using the old cabin's kitchen anyway," Leo added, drawing my wide-eyed gaze, "it would be a good opportunity to get it spruced up so they can stay there. That way they'll have some privacy and won't feel too uncomfortable being around us."
"You guys are serious?" I asked, amazed. "You're really going to let them stay here for a while without a single complaint? Even though they're normal people?"
"Why would we?" he flatly demanded. "Based on what I know about Sebastian, as well as what I know of the confrontation between you and your nephew at the hospital thanks to Woody, this is the most ideal way of handling things."
"True," Jak agreed, nodding. "Now, instead of worrying over everything that's going on, let us figure out how we're going to do this as well as who is going to do what."
"Depends on what people want to do," I said, looking around. "Who wants to head to the guest house and make sure the hams get properly cooked? If there are any volunteers, now would be the time to speak up."
Everyone was silent for the most part until Jun stepped forward, pushing his hair back.
"I'll go," he allowed, looking around the room with sharp eyes; he pointed at Leo, Jak, and then turned to point at the twins, who tilted their heads. "He may not seem like it but Leo is a decent cook when he puts his mind to it. He also has a good eye for spices. Jak is still healing so doing very little moving would be the best for him. I'll have him be my helper. I will also take the Meyer brothers as they will be rather useful for cleaning the guest house up."
"The first of many decent punishments," Jak grimly noted.
"And us?" Rachel asked, smirking at him in a way that was not at all childlike.
"I intend to take only one of you, presuming you are okay with that," he said simply; the twins shared an amused glance and let go of each other's hands.
"Why wouldn't we be?" Ray inquired, stepping forward until she was standing before him; I watched as she clasped her hands, looking up with a girlish grin. "It is not as if we are fused at the hip. We may be twins, but it is not like we cannot live without each other."
"We just prefer to stay close," Rachel proffered, taking a seat at the table. "It is settled. We will both help you where you need it. I will stay and my sister will go."
"Good," Horst chirped, grinning. "It's settled then. Me, Aerin, Louise and her brother, the Sandman, and Ray--or is it Rachel? Uh... sorry, I have no idea which of you is which--will work on making different types of food here while you guys cook stuff over there."
"I can act as a runner between the houses," Chi suddenly said. "If one of you needs something, such as spices or supplies, I will deliver them back and forth."
"Great idea!" I exclaimed. "We should probably get the stuff we bought sorted for the group heading over to the guest house--"
"No need, I've already done it," Jak snorted, snagging the stuff he'd been piling on the counter and stuffing it into the grocery bags we'd brought home with us. Horst helped him, and all I could do was watch as hams and greens and potatoes and spices were stuffed away.
"We'll get going, then," Jun said, turning and walking away. "We've got a long few days ahead of us, but Aerin?"
"Yeah?" I asked, startled. "What?"
He turned to look over his shoulder, smirking at me.
"Don't forget to make some food for yourself, too," he said quietly. "Its Thanksgiving. You should be able to enjoy eating with the rest of us. It's been a while since you've last eaten anything."
I blinked, then smiled sadly.
"I would, but Bash isn't here," I explained, and he raised an eyebrow, "and... well, I dunno, it would feel like cheating on him in a weird way if I let someone else use their blood, you know?"
I heard a cough behind me, followed by a snort and a muffled giggle.
"Cheating?" Louse deadpanned, staring at me with half-lidded eyes. "So, what, you mean to tell me that you consider taking blood--aka, your source of life--from anyone other than him is the same thing as cheating? Honey, no. Just, no... if someone wants to give you blood, you have every right to take it."
"Bash wouldn't like it," I mumbled.
"No, you're wrong," Jun said, surprised. "It's not the blood, Aerin. He's fine with you taking blood from someone else if you really need it and he isn't available. He just has a problem with the idea of you biting anyone other than him. From what we've heard between you, your bites feel similar to a werewolf's mark. That thought is why he has an issue with you biting others."
"Oh," I said, amazed. "That's why?"
"Probably," Jun muttered. "If anyone wants to, just let them do it. You deserve to be included."
Without another word, he and the others left the kitchen.
I smiled to myself before rolling up my sleeve and patting my cast.
"Okay, everybody!" I exclaimed. "We've got a lot of turkeys and dishes to prepare, so let's preheat the oven and the hot pot and get cooking!"
I knew even when they wholeheartedly agreed and started puttering around that this was going to be extremely time consuming and exhausting, but I was determined to shoulder my way through it and come out on top. Especially since I was holding out hope that Sebastian's rut would end earlier than everyone had initially believed it would.
I wanted to spend Thanksgiving with him and my family.
My entire family.
But first, we had to make sure that our Thanksgiving dinner turned out okay.
Gonna do my best, I told myself, seasoning the meat with Horst's help and adding a light honey glaze over it because of Rachel's coaching. We've got this.
And we did.
We could handle this.
That knowledge alone made me feel like I could forget all of my troubles... but in the back of my head, the truth loomed over me and shadowed my mood. Someone was stalking not just me but my descendants, the only living traces of my humanity that were left on this planet.
I would be damned if I let anyone lay a hand on me or my flesh and blood, ever again. However, now was a time for celebration and joy, so I buried those feelings behind my optimism--telling myself that everything would be okay, that things would be fine, all while trying to bury the bubbling frustration that lingered just beneath an ocean of hope.
Thanksgiving.
A time to express everything I was grateful for.
No time for losers, no time for hate, no time for anger or stalkers or spite.
Just family time. Friend time. Love time.
Anyone who felt otherwise could suck it.