Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 26: 25

I mixed the chocolate batter, checking the texture with the spoon.

"Hum... this looks so good," Alexandra commented, lounging in one of the chairs at the dining table, watching me.

"You could grease the molds, it would be more helpful," I retorted, giving her a look.

She laughed.

"My mission is to observe and comment."

I pressed my lips together.

"I'll tell Mihaela you didn't do anything," I teased, satisfied with the texture of my batter.

She placed a hand on her chest.

"How could I not? I'm here, giving moral support."

"I confirm Miss Savannah's story," Nicoleta shouted from the pantry.

Mihaela was offering a picnic for her pack’s students. Alexandra, seeing me bored, wandering back and forth, lost, invited me to join them. I gladly accepted, so I decided to make some cupcakes to serve them.

To me, cooking was a way to express love, care, and gratitude. I liked the pack, I wanted them to accept me, to trust me. This was a good opportunity.

"Hey, Nicoleta, you need to side with me," Alexandra replied, puckering her lips in a sneer.

Nicoleta peeked her head out from the door, staring at us.

"Miss Savannah is making the cupcakes to please her girlfriend’s students. You should help her, since you're interested in pleasing Miss Mihaela."

Alexandra rolled her eyes and huffed.

"I don't need that. Pleasing is part of the art of conquest, and I've already conquered Mihaela." She winked.

"Very arrogant of you to think she won't swap you for someone else, little sister," Andrei said, entering through the open door.

The sun stretched across the entrance, sliding inside. It was very hot, and it was a muggy day. With the oven on to bake the cupcakes, Fenrir’s house became almost unbearable. So, we opened every window and door, hoping it would cool down a bit.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my arm.

Alexandra rolled her eyes at her brother.

"Is this a plot, forcing me to work?"

Andrei stopped in front of me and leaned over the counter. He extended a hand, dipping his finger into the batter and bringing it to his lips.

"Hey," I hissed, pulling the bowl away.

He raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"Hum... this is really good. Hope the pups aren’t too hungry, so some are left for me."

I laughed and placed the bowl on another counter, away from him.

"I hope they like it. It was my favorite when I was a pup. My mom always made it for... my..." I murmured, lost in memories. "Uh... for my cousin and me," I quickly added.

"You have a cousin? So you have more living relatives?" Alexandra asked.

I bit my cheeks, cursing myself for saying too much.

I liked them, but I couldn’t trust them. Not yet.

"I don’t know if they’re alive," I lied. "Hunter killed my parents on the wedding day, I imagine he did the same with the rest of my pack."

The heat in my chest stirred. I didn’t need to look up to know who it was. I was already getting used to my body’s involuntary reactions to him.

At first, I thought it was just my heat reacting to his presence, but then I realized it was my body reacting to him because of the damn mating bond.

"Your fiancé is an idiot," Alexandra shot.

"Ex-fiancé," Fenrir cut in.

My hairs stood on end at the sound of his voice. I had been avoiding him since everything happened. I barely looked at him, we exchanged no more than two words, and I didn’t care to be near him. It was clear. Alexandra, Andrei, and Anton, who were always around, had noticed.

The omega even asked me once what had happened, and I played dumb. If they knew about Fenrir and Marilyn, they were hiding it very well.

I raised my face, looking at him for the first time in a long time. But then the damn she-wolf appeared behind him, walking past his side.

I turned to the counter immediately, ignoring them.

I needed the pack’s approval. I needed them to like me, to accept me, so I could bring my sister. Only then would I have peace. Only then could I live happily.

The pack would keep us safe. We could find work, build a house for the two of us. I would continue ignoring Fenrir, just as I had been doing, and carry on with my life.

Selena, for now, was safe and, above all, free. Fenrir and the others would only know about her when I was sure this place would work for us both.

I wouldn’t let them use her against me, like Hunter was doing, hunting her like a traitor.

She was my weak point. And weak points were to be kept secret.

"I didn’t know you had a fiancé," Marilyn murmured, stopping beside Andrei.

I didn’t respond. We weren’t friends; she didn’t have the right to talk to me as if we had some kind of intimacy.

"One who will be dead soon," Fenrir retorted, breaking the silence that had stretched.

Andrei and Alexandra seemed to sense the tension in the air, palpable since they approached.

I turned to the oven, checking the temperature.

I needed to grease the molds and pour the batter into them to start baking the cupcakes.

"What are you doing?" Marilyn asked in a melodious tone.

With my back to them, I closed my eyes, pressing them tightly. I hated her. I hated Fenrir. I hated both of them. And I hated the situation I was in, having to endure her presence as if everything was fine when it clearly wasn’t.

I tried to hide it, to be as unpredictable as possible, but the constant presence of the she-wolf was making things very difficult.

"She’s making cakes to take to the pups at school," Nicoleta answered, coming out of the pantry with a broom in hand.

I spun on my heels, returning to the counter. Fenrir approached, leaning beside me. I stared at him, swallowing hard.

The silver in his eyes was intense, blending with the blue.

"This is... nice of you," he said, though he didn’t sound particularly convinced, moved, or anything like that, about my actions.

"Didn’t I say?" Alexandra cut in, standing up from her chair. "I thought it was really nice. Mihaela will love it, and especially the pups. It’s not every day they get chocolate cupcakes at school."

I smiled at her, ignoring Fenrir.

"It’s nothing special, I’ve said it. I like to cook, and I do it with pleasure."

Marilyn made a sound of disdain with her throat.

"Are you the type who does things to receive compliments and, when you get them, pretends you can’t handle them?" She winked, fluttering her long lashes slowly.

I tilted my head to the side, glaring at her.

In my mind, she exploded and died in a tragic way, freeing me from having to deal with her presence. But that only happened in my mind, unfortunately.

"Actually, I do things because they matter to me, not because I expect applause. Compliments are nice, of course, but they aren’t the fuel for my actions. I know my worth, with or without them," I cut in, hissing.

I felt like I was on the edge. My wolf, who never got involved in these stupid provocations, was ready to take control. To her, it was an offense to be in the same space as the omega.

Andrei and Alexandra entered into an engaged conversation with Fenrir, as if they were trying to break the tense atmosphere that had settled. Not even Nicoleta spoke up, retreating a few steps and disappearing upstairs as if she wanted to escape the confrontation.

I turned back to the oven, ignoring them, and crossed my arms, staring at the timer, praying it would go off so I could put the cupcakes in the oven. I would go to the lake for a swim and enjoy the warm day. There, there wouldn’t be Marilyn or Fenrir.

The lake and my room had become my favorite places. It was easy to ignore them, and I could be alone with the only book I had, rereading the same story for the hundredth time.

From my peripheral vision, I noticed movement beside me, but I continued ignoring it. When the oven beeped, I sighed, relieved.

Marilyn was leaning on the counter, very close to where the batter rested. I stopped beside her and pulled the bowl away quickly before going to grease the molds and pour the right amount into each one. Then, I took them to the oven, choosing the right time for them to be ready.

I walked away from the kitchen, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Alexandra asked.

"I’m going to get some fresh air," I replied, with my back to them. "I’ll be back as soon as the cupcakes are ready so we can take them to the pups."

She didn’t respond. I only heard the low growl from Fenrir, as if disapproving of my attitude.

I smiled, satisfied.