Ramirez would most definitely be a pair to be reckoned with. Maybe the universe had a reason for keeping them apart. They’d probably cause an explosion of awesome.
I enjoyed walking around on
Abuelita
Ramirez’s arm. She seemed to take distinct pleasure in correcting anyone who pointed out that I was a human by telling them that I was a human in the know.
Mostly people just nodded and moved along with the conversation, but every so often someone asked why, and an exasperated Sal would say it was the McCallisters’ fault.
There was a brief moment where I had the horrifying thought that Sal would use that against Cas if we lost the bake-off, but I had to put that completely out of my mind otherwise I’d ruin the entire mood. I just had to win, plain and simple. As lovely as the people were all around me, I still was determined to stomp them.
I liked to think I sowed a little goodwill as I met and talked to dozens of people from the Ramirez pack. Just tiny snippets of peace that could potentially take seed in people’s minds. I knew it was probably a long shot, but I figured it was better to take the opportunity than to waste it.
Eventually, the endless procession of new faces ended when the lights dimmed and
Abuelita let out a happy squeal. “It’s time for the number. Come, sit with me. I have the best seats in the place.”
Still arm in arm, she hauled me over to seats right in front just as the lights dimmed. A spotlight lit up, and a beautiful young woman in a truly opulent dress appeared on stage through the velvet curtains. Three of me could join arms and still not be able to fully encircle the bottom of her dress-it was so large and completely covered in crystals. Whew, that must have cost a pretty penny.
A dozen other young men and women in classic tuxedos joined her, and they all began to do a group dance showcasing Aiyana. It was magnificent and made my heart soar.
I didn’t care what crazy magic the fairies had or how airtight their contracts were-I was going to unite these two packs if it was the last thing I did.
There would be peace between the McCallisters and Ramirezes.
I just needed to figure out how to do it.c31Z
Castiel
Dessert Day
The day of the bake-off had arrived.
Where had the time gone? I couldn’t understand it. One day I was organizing a surprise delivery to Felicia’s shop, the next I was driving Gammy McCallister and my mother to the market well before dawn.
“We’re going to do great,” my mother said from the passenger seat, resting her hand on top of mine. Even after thirty years, I didn’t think I would ever take the gentle comfort of her voice for granted. We’d been through a lot, me and her. From being just members of the pack until I hit puberty and was revealed to have the same alpha gene as my father, to my father challenging Barris, to being the lead family of the pack. It had been one transition after another, and yet she’d always been a stalwart force in my life.
I really needed to visit her more often. Sometimes I got so caught up in the tussle between being an alpha and having a personal life that it was easy to let time slip by.
Like, for example, the two weeks before the bake-off.
“Thanks, Mom,” I said, trying to project coolness and confidence. Easier said than done. Tensions were high for pretty much everyone involved except Felicia. Maybe it was just in my head, but it felt like something had changed since she’d baked for the Ramirez party. Despite wanting to give her privacy as well as prove to her that I trusted her, I’d asked her a lot of questions. She told me she’d had a wonderful time, and brought in a massive tray of food from her car, half of it being dessert. She called it “research”, and the two of us ended up devouring all of it that night. It was eye- opening, that was for sure. Sal and everyone else was right to brag about their dishes. The food was just as good as what could be found at any of our parties, and certainly had a lot of different flavors that we didn’t use.
Especially the flan.
I’d always liked the custardy dessert, but the moment I bit into the slice Felicia had brought home, it was like an entirely new world opened up to me.
Whoa, boy.
“Are we gonna lose?” I remembered asking her with wide eyes.
Felicia just laughed, patted my shoulder, and told me everything would be fine.
I supposed I should be grateful for her preternatural calm, but it made me feel like there was something I wasn’t getting. Whenever I tried to broach the topic with any clarifying questions, Felicia said she had complete confidence in what we were planning.
So, that was good. Right?
I tried to convince myself I was just unsettled because of the crazy situation I had gotten us into. Somehow, buying a few pounds of dates for the woman I was falling in love with had turned into a culinary challenge where me getting in trouble with the fairies was on the line. I wasn’t an idiot. I had no idea how Sal had found out about Felicia so quickly, but him knowing that I had revealed this to a human gave him even more ammunition to get me in trouble with the fairies.
All in all, the circumstances were less than ideal. I supposed I just had to try to have the same faith that Felicia seemed to have.
We arrived at the public market without incident, and I helped Gammy McCallister out of the car. With her hand looped through my elbow, we slowly made our way to the long tent that had been set up in what was normally the picnic and activity area. It was enormous-enough to hold one of our reunions-and there were multiple kitchenette stations set up throughout it.
“Isn’t this fancy?” my mother said, holding a tray of her beef wellington. The final touches were still required, but she, Felicia, and everyone else on our team had worked out the perfect timing for when each dish needed to go in the oven. I was truly impressed at the level of coordination, but that was clearly the perk of having a professional.
“It’s certainly nice,” I said, looking around for the others. Chris was driving his family, Jason was bringing Auntie Letitia, Melodie, and Auntie Beverly, while Polly and Penny were bringing their families. I was sure others would show up to support us as well.
I scanned the crowd again, hoping to spot Felicia. I’d wanted to spend the night with her, then come to the event together, but given my mother and Gammy needed a ride and Felicia insisted she needed solitude to do “something special”, we’d decided to come separately. I was anxious to see her. Had everything gone all right? I hoped so.
Because there was still one thing I hadn’t told her, and the guilt in the back of my mind made it hard not to worry. My pack and the Ramirezes were breaking some major rules by directly interfering with a human event. It was a big no-no, and why I’d been surprised the alpha had agreed in the first place. Then again, maybe like me, he’d figured the powerful fairies were too busy to interfere with something as silly as a community bake-off held in a public market.
“Ayo, ready to lose there, gringo?”
I wasn’t exactly surprised to hear an accented voice taunting me. I looked down toward the middle of the tent to see a group of three large men already fully setting up their cooking stations in a kitchenette. Damn it. I’d hoped to get the drop on the Ramirez pack, but it seemed they’d gotten there first.
“Keep telling yourself that,” I called back, trying to sound effortlessly confident and not like I wanted to shift and tear into them.
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