The Alpha And The Baker

I was an outsider, yeah, but I could call a spade a spade. So far, the Ramirez pack didn’t seem all that different from the McCallisters. Maybe the fairies were afraid of all the shifters uniting. Both packs seemed pretty huge to me, so maybe if they combined, they’d have enough might to overthrow the…

He let out a soft little breath and squeezed me a bit tighter. “If I’m being completely transparent, I was also afraid of what you’d think of me. It’s hard not to feel like I should be the hero who solves the whole situation. But I just don’t know how. Especially since Sal’s brother soured…

He grinned at me. “Is that any way to talk to a customer?” “It’s the way I’m gonna talk to you.” “No wonder she knows the McCallisters are wolves,” one of the youngest piped up. “She probably ordered all those pansies to go fetch.” “Don’t talk about them that way,” I said quickly, and Sal…

That gave Cas pause, and he sat down on the one stool I had in the back of my shop. We probably should have had the conversation upstairs, but I really hadn’t wanted to give myself time to procrastinate or chicken out. That felt too much like lying. Even sitting down, he was basically my…

“Sorry about that,” I said, rushing to the front with trash bags in hand. “It’s been?-“ I broke off. It wasn’t a little old couple or a family dressed up in Sunday clothes that were waiting for me. Seven men, ranging from what looked like barely twenty to slightly older than me all stood in…

“Good,” he said, eyes sparkling as he gave me one last kiss. God, we were like teenagers, pasted all over each other. I didn’t care. I loved it. Loved the connection and the thrill of attraction. Loved just unabashedly feeling. “See you then.” “See you.” Neither of us really wanted him to leave, and he…

He shrugged. “You never know.” “So, now that you’ve confirmed I was telling the truth, am I free to go?” “You just gonna let him talk to you like that?” one of the other shifters growled. Talk to him like what? “Hey, not right now. I don’t need a peanut gallery,” Salvador countered, and gratitude…

“You’ve got yourself a deal. The bake-off it is.” And just like that, the challenge was on. “Well, if you don’t mind, I s’pose I better go start getting ready.” “You can take all the time you want,” another scoffed, “but you ain’t holding a candle to Abuela Ayala’s flan.” “I guess we’ll just have…

There was also the matter of timing. I could make all of these in two weeks, sure, but there was no way that they would be fresh and tasty for the day of the competition, even if I tried to plan them in order of what could keep the longest. “You mentioned something about teams?”…

I shrugged. “We’re a loyal bunch. Now that the whole pack knows you’re a safe person and you deliver quality work, you won’t be able to get rid of us.” “Maybe eventually I’ll get that, but right now…” “It’s okay.” I pulled her close for another quick squeeze. One day, I’d be able to go…