Page 63 of The Alpha and the Baker
Was I crazy? It felt like I was crazy. Especially since I’d thought she was a secret, malevolent hunter of my people just a few hours ago. Anxiety was fickle like that, I supposed.
Still, it did make me feel silly as we strolled the rest of the way to Siobhan’s house. My father had always seemed so collected. Cool as a cucumber. It was hard not to think that was how I was supposed to be as an alpha. It certainly would be nicer not to have the weight of failure constantly hanging above my head.
Maybe I needed to change the way I regarded being the alpha of my pack. Yeah, maybe.
“Just to warn you,” I said as we reached Siobhan’s house on the eastern side of our lands. “Auntie Siobhan had seven kids, and each of those kids has had at least five, so it’s always a spectacle in there no matter what.”
Felicia’s eyes went wide in that cute way of hers. “You’re telling me there’s, like, thirty-six people in there?”
Huh, that was some quick math. That had to come in handy with baking. “Nah, not everyone is here every night. But twenty-five is a reasonable estimate, not counting us.”
“What the fuck…”
I knew she probably meant to whisper that under her breath, but around shifters, you had to be a whole lot quieter.
“You don’t have to,” I reiterated, but I had a strong impression that she wanted to. It never hurt to double-check, though.
Felicia grinned up at me. “I want to. Just trying to get a mental picture.”
“Honestly, like most things with our pack, it’s better to let it wash over you rather than trying to predict it ahead of time. Even if you were somehow completely right, it’s bound to change within ten minutes.”
“Hah! Fair enough. Okay then, lead the way.”
I offered her my hand, keeping my expression neutral while I waited for her to decide whether she wanted to take it or not. I wouldn’t fault her either way, but nothing could stop the pleased rumble in my chest when she took my hand and intertwined her smaller fingers with mine.
Why did that feel so right?
Well, now was not the time to question that. Normally, I would knock before entering someone else’s home, but since Arietty had verbally delivered our invitation, I figured it was fine to walk right in.
And what a scene we walked in on.
It was nothing out of the ordinary for me, but when I opened the door and a wall of sound hit us, Felicia’s eyebrows just about hit her hairline. She flinched at the raucous noise.
She recovered quickly and grinned as we took our shoes off in the foyer and entered the main hall that led to the dining room to the right, the living room to the left, and the kitchen straight ahead. I’d visited enough to remember the general layout. Siobhan had her own personal collection of fold-up tables so that no matter what room we ended up in, there would be seats for us.
“This way,” I said, gesturing to the dining room. It was likely to be more crowded because the young ones preferred the livingroom. And as much as I loved the teens, preteens, and kids, they could be too much. But then again, our reunions were too much too, and Felicia had handled that just fine. Still, it would be easier to observe and ask questions with some of the more chill members of the McCallister pack.
“Oh, look who’s here. I didn’t know we were getting a cake.” Jason, a middle-aged man who traveled more often than he stayed, greeted us first. He’d been sticking around a lot more the past year-and-a-half, but I got the feeling it was because his youngest nephew had recently gone through the big change, and the man was realizing his time as a Cool Uncle™ was about to be eclipsed by the malaise of teendom. Luckily, I’d avoided that fate by always being painfully uncool, and it had worked for me so far. I was a fair alpha, and that was good enough.
“No cake today, not that any of us need any,” Auntie Siobhan said from the very head of the table. “Miss Felicia is here as our guest tonight.”
“Guest?” Another murmur, and I could almost feel everyone’s apprehension rise. I understood why. They were confused and concerned about a human in our midst. Again.
It wasn’t as if my father or I had ever ordered our kind not to interact with humans. In fact, we had several contracts with human service workers who tended to things that were more involved and technical, like issues with our HVACs, or making sure any new structures were up to code.
It was one thing to be kind and friendly to strangers on official business, and another thing entirely to have a random human just drop into dinner like a shifter.
So, I might as well clear the air.
“Don’t worry everyone. Felicia is aware of our nature, and I thought this might be a wonderful opportunity for her to ask any questions she might have.”
If I’d thought it was quiet when everyone realized the baker was there, I had been sorely mistaken.Nowit was dead silent. Even the cacophony in the other rooms had ground to a complete halt.
“Not sure how you knew about that, though, Auntie Siobhan.”
“I have my ways,” the older woman answered with a wan grin before Arietty entered from a side door, her plate loaded up with cornbread, a stuffed Cornish hen, and enough meatloaf to feed a hungry linebacker.
That explained it. For being so young, Arietty truly had a knack for putting her paws in things. I could definitely see her following in her father’s footsteps and being an excellent beta.
