In Reach?

Mira’s POV

It appears that helping out with ‘pack stuff’, means helping out with a lot of things. So, Aubrey is meeting up in some community hall with a bunch of people who are in charge of various basic things around the pack, like catering, sanitation, event management and basic admin of the pack. If you ask me. They’re basically like a community council, keeping things running.

Apparently, they form their own status group within the pack, and are called omegas. Omegas aren’t exactly at the top of the food chain of wolf town, because they prefer the simple and non-violent kind of lifestyle.

They don’t seem like they mind my presence here, as much as others have shown previously. But they look too engrossed in whatever Aubrey and that older lady, from the other night, are telling them. There’s apparently this big event coming up and the omegas need to help plan it. It seems like it’s going to be a pretty big party.

After a while, people start getting up and moving around. Aubrey is still talking to some people, and I’m still sitting in one corner of this hall, minding my own business. It really is fascinating, sitting here and just watching people, especially when they don’t seem to be bothered by me.

I spoke too soon.

That lady is coming my way, and she seems like a happy one with that huge smile on her face.

“Hi there. We haven’t met yet. I’m Charlotte. But you can call me Char.” She takes the seat next to me and gives me her hand.

“Hi. Nice to meet you. I’m Mira.” I might as well give her a handshake.

“That’s such a beautiful name. Did your mom give it to you?”

Damn woman. I just met you and you already getting all deep in my personal business. Nosy people like her grab on to information like it’s currency. I need to stay clear of her.

“Can I help you with something?” I can see she picked up on me avoiding to answer the question.

“Well, you seem to be a mystery around here, and I am just curious.” At least she’s honest about it. “I must say, I was very impressed by the funeral you set up the other night. It was very beautiful. You even impressed Liam, and that is not easy to do.”

“Liam?” She looks at me confused. "You call him Liam? Most people around here call him Alpha.”

There is that smile again.

“Well, I’m not most people. Calling him ‘Alpha’ just rolls off the tongue a bit weird. I mean, I did use to babysit the boy.”

“What?” Now I’m curious.

“Yeah. He used to run around the house like Tarzan in nothing but his underwear,……………until he was ten.” I can’t help but chuckle at the thought. “You can’t really expect me to call him Alpha with a straight face, when I got all of that up here.” She points to her temple.

“So are you family?” I don’t know if I see ‘it’, but I can’t exactly call sharing black hair to be a link.

“Yeah. I’m his aunt, and my dear precious Aiden is my son.” I wonder if Aiden is a momma’s boy. She clearly fits the profile.

But her sudden appearance here might make a bit more sense now.

“So you’re here to spy on me then?”

“What?” She seems surprised.

“Y-e-a-h, they don’t really like the idea of leaving people alone with me. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but people seem to be dropping dead around here lately and it’s apparently all my fault. So, you must be something if they trust you alone with me. My guess is, they’re just trying to test me, by leaving me with Aubrey.”

She smiles at me like she’s impressed. “Well honestly speaking, I don’t really know how to answer your question. I mean, I wouldn’t exactly call myself a spy, but I am very curious about you.”

“I’m sure they already filled you in on me.”

“Yeah. But I want to know more, and from you.”

What is this woman trying?

“Why are you so interested in this? Or do you just like town gossip.”

She catches me off guard when she laughs out loud all of a sudden.

“Ooo, I like you. But no, I’m not a town gossip, but I am a stickler for info. So how about this?” She sits up and leans closer to me. “How about we help each other out?”

“What do you mean?”

“From my understanding, you don’t know how you got here. Well, how about I help you figure that out and all you give me in return is your story.” She says matter-of-factly. And yes, it does sound a bit too good to be true.

“And how do you suppose you do that? I mean, how do I know that you can in fact help me, and that this is not just you stringing me along?”

“The thing is, I’m a member of the wolf council. So I have access to contacts and information which may be inaccessible to the general public.”

“And why share it with me?”

“Your story sounds very…………interesting. It might just add more value if not information to our……….data. I’ve only heard of events similar to yours in stories we would consider mythical.”

She’s a ‘council member’? So I guess she should have resources.

“So, what do you say?” She seems very confident in this.

But something’s fishy about her. I huff in annoyance, as the voice in my head is making me second guess things again. But she seems too eager to let this go easily. And then again, she might be able to help me ‘decipher’ the books. I don’t like the idea of using her, but maybe I can just give her bits here and there.

“Okay. You have a deal.”

She looks like she’s about to squeal from excitement, but manages to turn it into a silent gesture. She looks like a seal wiggling in that chair.

“So,…”

And here it come. I stop her before she can start her 'interrogation'.

“Anyways, Aubrey looks like she’s about done, and we still have some things to do.” I say getting up and waving to Aubrey to get her attention. Her responsive wave is all I need to make ‘Char’ buy my excuse. “See you around.”

I walk straight to Aubrey. “Hey, you still got a lot to do here?” I’m begging in my mind that she doesn’t have to stay longer.

“No, actually I was done a few minutes ago, but I didn’t want to interrupt your chat with Char.” She really is a sweety. “But I think we can go back to the pack house. If you want, we can go fix ourselves up with some lunch.”

My eyes widen at the thought. “Of course, I wouldn’t mind.” I nudge her playfully. She knows by now what a foody I am. I love making snacks for myself when no one is looking. She however, seems to always catch me in the act.

“Okay let’s go.”

At the Pack house

Mira’s POV

“So what you wanna make?” Aubrey's at the kitchen counter like she’s waiting for me to take charge here.

“What?”

“Come on. You always make such interesting treats for yourself. Don’t you think you should share some of that creativity?” She looks very mischievous right now.

“Are you really trying to manipulate me into making some food for us? Coz if you are, you know I won’t step down from such a challenge.”

We both just smile with wide eager grins.

“So, what are you in the mood for? Something sweet, spicy, or savoury?”

“Damn. You know, you probably shouldn’t give options to someone who doesn’t know what they want. You decide. But something that’s easy, I wanna help.”

Ooo. This is going to be fun.

“Awesome. How about we make some………..vaul-au-vent?” I say tapping my index finger on my chin.

“Volly what?”

I chuckle at that confused look of hers.

“It’s basically just a hollowed-out pastry filled with………..well anything. How about we have some fun with this. We can make some with chicken or even beef, and some we can make sweet, - like an extra desert treat for ourselves. What do you think?”

“I’m in, all the way. What do I do though?” She stands up like she’s ready for orders.

“Follow me.” I lead the way to the pantry.

After an hour and a half, we’re done. We made some with spicy meatballs, a few with creamy chicken and some sweet ones with Nutella and banana. We have two trays full. One for each. I’m smiling so brightly at this moment. I’m so happy that I might just have found a fellow foody.

“Well, seeing that you couldn’t make up your mind, now we have something spicy, savoury and sweet.” I can’t help but feel proud of my skills seeing that excited look on her face.

“Can we eat now?”

I chuckle at her words. “Of course.”

But just as I say this, we hear talking coming from the front porch. Oh no! In that instant both Aubrey and I look at each other with worried faces. We both know danger is coming. Our food may just be at risk.

The door opens and the chatter fills the house. “Mmmmhhhh! What smells so good?” I hear Noah's voice.

I can practically hear them power walk to the kitchen.

“Nothing!” We both say a bit too loudly as we stand in front of the counter trying to block the trays with our bodies.

Noah and Theo are standing there looking at us suspiciously. Theo looks serious again, a bit different than before. But I’m so awkward in the situation that I’m giving him a smile to try and seem innocent in this. He looks surprised by it, and damn, I think he just got more suspicious.

“Oh really?” Noah is walking closer. “Then what’s that behind your backs?”

“Nothing!” We both reply instantly.

“Okay.” He smiles all mischievously. “Then you shouldn’t mind if we have a look.”

“No really, Noah. It’s nothing.” Aubrey is holding out her hand in an attempt to hold him back.

“Ooo, What’s this?” We hear from behind us. We both turn around and see Theo standing there, analyzing our trays. When did he get there?

I think both of us know what we have to do, because the moment I grab one tray from the counter, she simultaneously grabs the other. We split up as we back up from them.

“This is not for you guys. It’s ours.” I’m not afraid to stake my claim on my food.

“Yeah, do you have any idea how long it took for us to make these?” My fellow foody is backing me up.

“Come on. It’s not like you can eat all of that?”

I raise my brow at the insult. “You wanna bet?”

“Do you want us to race you for it?” He’s smiling again, and that’s when I notice he’s looking at………Theo. Even Theo has a playful smile on his face. That’s new. Does Teddy bear have some tricks up his sleeve as well?

Aubrey follows my line of gaze and sees Theo walking closer to her and I see Noah’s shadow approaching me as well. Oh this is war.

“Aubrey, run!” We scatter in different directions. I know there’s a huge chance I won’t be able to save all my babies. But, maybe I can stall them long enough while I try to stuff them down.

One is the size of my palm, so I won’t be able to shove the whole thing into my mouth. I take one and take a bite, while I make my way around that huge dining table. Noah is on the other end.

“Come on sweet cheeks. Don’t be so stingy.”

I snicker as I shove the rest of the half into my mouth. He looks offended and rushes around the table. My immediate response is to run, and I can’t help but giggle at this childish game. I can even hear Aubrey and Theo’s giggling noises in the background. I see that she made her way to the living room, and is standing on one of the couches as she raises the tray above her head. But Theo is too big, he can still reach it if he just raises his hand, as he is doing right now.

That’s when I hear her shout a 'no' as she tries to run again.

“Come on Aubrey.” I hear Theo say.

I stop when I’m in the foyer. I don’t know which way to go. Shit!

I can still hear Noah chuckling behind me and then a hand reaches over my shoulder and I panic.

I use my one hand to literally keep him at arm’s length, while I hold the tray in my other hand as far away from him as possible.

“You know you won’t be able to hold this up for long.” He slowly takes a step to prove his point as my small body can’t help but take a step back.

“It doesn’t matter. I just have to keep you away long enough.”

He looks impressed as he realizes my game plan.

“Ooo, what’s this?” Noah and I both look at the voice on the other side.

It’s Mason. Crap. I didn’t realize I was holding the tray out in front of the open front door, where he is standing.

“No!” We both shout as we see Mason holding one and taking a bite. Why the one with the Nutella!?

“Mmmh. This is good.” Just as he reaches for another one, Noah steps in this time, holding Mason back.

While he’s distracted I sneak another bite and turn around. I see Aubrey coming my way with Theo hot on her tracks.

She tilts her head to the side as if gesturing for me to follow her. And I do. We run giggling into one of the doors in the long hallway. She locks it behind her and smiles at me.

“That should keep them a while.” She takes a bite from one of her pastries.

I can’t help but continue giggling at this whole scenario.

It’s a small room, but not cramped. It looks like a storage room.

I barely take another bite when we hear banging on the door.

“You guys aren’t being fair. You clearly made more than enough.” Noah’s pleading is just too amusing right now.

“Yeah, just give us one at least.” I’m surprised at Theo’s part in this.

We just giggle and eat our pastry pies.

That’s when the banging gets louder, and we stop chewing as we realize that the door is not going to hold for long.

Crap. I literally had two left, why did I leave the Nutella one for last. I’m still chewing the meatball and holding it’s other half in my hand.

Both Aubrey and I have one left the moment the door swings open. They look like angry cavemen. I can’t help but gulp. They’re in the doorway and there is no other way out.

Noah is back on his track towards me, while Theo and Mason approach Aubrey. Not exactly a fair fight. But better her than me.

I try holding Noah back, but I get a glimpse of Mason getting closer to Aubrey’s pastry. I just thought of something.

“Noah, go help Aubrey.” He glances past his shoulder. “Mason already had one.”

As if realization hit him, he left me and made his way to help Theo get Mason back. But Theo is a smart one. The moment he spots Noah he looks at me.

I rush out of the room giggling, knowing Theo is hot on my tracks as I hear his slight chuckle. Just as I get into the hallway, I see Liam standing there looking our way all confused. But right now, I need to use him as human shield if I want to put some space between me and Theo.

I run towards him giggling.

“What’s going on here?” He asks but those words definitely fell on deaf ears, as I rush behind him holding him in front of Theo.

Theo rushes over with a determined look on his face, and I’m excited to see how he will get past 'this situation'. That’s when I see Noah rushing out of the room with Aubrey holding the pastry in his arms and Mason following behind. This has really turned into a playground.

Theo is reaching around Liam to get to me, but I’m holding the back of his shirt to angle myself away from his grasp.

But I think Liam has caught on with what is happening, because he turns around too quickly, I lose hold of his shirt as he faces me. But what scares me is that he’s staring at what I’m holding. Crap.

Theo reaches out for me again, but Liam holds him back as he instead makes his way for it with that evil dimply smile of his.

I rush to the living room again and jump onto the couch to gain some height from them. Theo and Liam are practically tackling each other to get to me. This is it. It's mine. I look down at my precious Nutella and banana pastry.

Just as I reach for a bite I hear, “Oh not so fast.” Liam reaches for me, but I jump onto the other couch and pull my hand behind my back. But that’s when I feel it being snatched from me. I look behind me and see Theo holding it with a triumphant look on his face.

Oh hell no. I’m almost his height standing on the couch, I might as well make use of this. I jump onto him, trying to take the pastry, but his quick reflexes has him holding it from me with his arm stretched out.

I reach behind his head to get closer to it, but it was a ruse. With my arm behind his head, I can’t stop him in time as he shoves it into his mouth. I stare at him agape, as I’m still holding onto his shoulder, with my legs wrapped around his waist.

He doesn’t bite a piece off though. He’s holding it in his mouth, and looking at me all arrogantly and snickering. Is he mocking me? How dare he? That pastry is mine. Oh this is happening.

I lean forward to try and get a bite of it, but in a split second I’m grabbed off him and I’m over someone’s shoulder. With these tingles I know it’s Liam. Dammit. It’s like he knew what I was going to do.

That’s it. It’s over. I lost. I huff out of defeat as I dangle upside down.

But my stomach tickles as I feel the deep chuckle coming from under me. I try to look up and see everyone in the living room laughing. I guess Noah beat Mason for Aubrey’s pastry, with him chewing with those puffed up cheeks. She looks just as pissed as me. I can’t help but smile at the scene here.

That’s when Liam leans down and put’s me on my feet. He’s looking at me with such wonder in his eyes. And those dimples…………..a sight to admire.

“I guess you really don’t like sharing food?” Liam says through chuckles.

I look around the room at these apparently hungry men. “You know, you guys really amaze me.” Liam looks at me confused. “I’ve never actually been chased for my food. There is a pantry full of food. If you’re that hungry you can just go and make something for yourselves.” I point my hand backwards towards the kitchen.

“Well,………..we are a pack. We tend to share everything.”

Pfh! I huff out of annoyance for that half-assed excuse.

“So if you don’t like sharing, I suggest you make more next time.” He smiles widely. By now the chuckling fest seems to be dying down.