Page 62 of The Alpha and the Baker
However, I got my answer when steam suddenly filled the air around her, then dissipated to reveal a preteen girl with dark hair and a cheeky smile on her cherubic features.
“Wow,” I breathed. I had just seen my first transformation in person. While most of it had been obscured by the steam, I’d seen the rush of fur moving backward and a joint cracking in a different direction. It was a strange combination of body horror and ballet, which fascinated me.
I wondered if there was a way I could see it more clearly. Maybe the older wolves who had more control over their shifts produced less of the obscuring mist? Questions I would have to ask later, because the young woman was speaking.
“Auntie Siobhan says to hurry up and come to dinner because everyone is waiting.”
“Uh, I need to drive Felicia here home.”
Arietty gave him alook.“Don’t be silly, Uncle Cas. She’s invited.”
Castiel
It’s Just That Easy
My head was spinning.
Spinning, reeling, running around in circles, and chasing its own tail trying to catch up with everything that had happened.
What.
The.
Hell.
Not only was Felicia very muchnota Wild Hunter, but she seemed completely at ease with the revelation that there were entire species of magical folks she had no idea about living among humans. It was hard to believe, but the proof was in the pudding.
Sure, her heart had been thundering when she first pulled up, but once I agreed to walk with her, it had calmed down instantly. She wasn’t scared ofme.No, if anything, she seemed to care a whole lot about my forgiveness.
Insanity. Pure insanity.
Now that the furor of the moment had passed, I was becoming more and more embarrassed about how I’d fled her apartment. I really should have stuck around. But I’d heard somany horror stories about humans going on social media withthe information or turning out to be enemies that I’d reacted before I could think.
Lesson learned. Sometimes I was so obsessed with continuing my father’s legacy that I got far too in my head. But that was only because I took my duty as an alpha so seriously. I cared more for my pack than I did myself, and I would lay down my life for them if needed without so much as blinking. Still, I was overjoyed that Felicia wasn’t a threat to the people I loved.
The question was, however…now what?
Well, I supposed the simple answer was that we were going to dinner. That was just about the last thing I expected and probably not something I would recommend, but if Siobhan said to come to dinner, one went to dinner and didn’t argue about it, alpha or not.
“This is your second family function I’m crashing, isn’t it?” Felicia said, sounding amused, but I didn’t miss the hint of worry in there. As confusing and surprising as the whole situation was, I wanted her to feel assured.
“It’s not crashing when you’re invited,” I corrected gently. “And when you’re invited, youarefamily.”
The little skip in her heartbeat was just as unmistakable as it had been the first time. Words she’d spoken at the reunion and what I had read about her the night before replayed in my mind.
I miss my father.
But my dad is gone, so it is only my mother doing everything.
I miss my mom.
I never had a big family like this.
Some people were loners,and that was perfectly fine, but it was becoming increasingly clear that Felicia would not havechosen that life for herself—neither would her mother have. As such, I felt the growing desire to dosomethingfor her. It didn’t seem fair that someone so kind, and funny, and just all-aroundgoodhad had such a lousy hand dealt to her.
Maybe Gammy McCallister had sensed exactly that, which was why she’d insisted Felicia stick around at the reunion. Or maybe Gammy McCallister was about as blind as a bat and deaf as a log and got her confused with Saoirse or Melodie. Either way, maybe I was getting too into my feelings, but things were beginning to feel a little bit…
Well,meant to be.
