The First Mate

Chapter Sixteen

I wiped the flour from my hands, smiling sheepishly as I gazed at Xavier.

"Just a few more orders, please? We can drop them off on the way home."

Xavier chuckled, looking at Abigail, his Deer Shifter head baker, who stood behind me at the oven.

"Don't look at me, she bullied her way in." She winked at me with her large yellow eyes, smiling. "I just didn't tell her off."

Xavier rolled his eyes. "Rose, you're going to wear yourself out. You've been here since four, I'm sure Annie's bored by now."

I shrugged, setting the dough into the tins to rise for Abby's orders tomorrow. "She's the one insisting I get the last few done." I turned with the tray of already risen dough, Abby taking it and sliding it into the oven.

I smiled at Xavier as he crossed his arms, still in his bakers' whites. "Twenty-three minutes."

He bent down and kissed me. "Brat." Turned to head for the front of the bakery, where the car waited.

It had been a week since I'd found my mates, and every day with them had been a gift.

I'd settled in, finding my place beside them. Dane had allowed me to start learning how to be a Luna, sitting me in on Pack meetings or having me go over paperwork with him.

Theo was teaching me to fight; we spent most evenings in the home gym sparring as I was quick enough to keep up. I wasn't very good, but my speed and size meant it was easy for me to slip and run.

Dane and Xavier had started to join our sessions to help me.

They thoroughly enjoyed teaching me grapples to disallow my movements.

Xavier had taken me under his wing, teaching me the art of baking and cooking, and in that,t I'd discovered a hidden talent, thanks to my enhanced senses of taste and speed from Annie.

I'd run through two shifts at his restaurant in Sparrow Falls called Roughnecks, a once foul term for a Shifter; I'd laughed, only thinking of the SciFi squad from Starship Troopers and the show Roughnecks.

Xavier had smiled, saying it was exactly what it was named after.

As we finished up the last orders, Xavier loaded the car while I said goodbye to the bakery staff, Abby and the two human front workers, Helen and Kim. The drive back to Sparrow Falls was filled with Xavier testing my knowledge of food and kitchen terminology, his questions made me laugh as some of them he hadn't covered with me, but he knew I'd been reading with Theo.

"What's the difference between a boule and a baguette?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with amusement, knowing I'd never made either, but Dane had bought me a book on bread.

I grinned with confidence. "A boule is a round, crusty bread, while a baguette is longer and more slender."

Xavier beamed with pride. "That's my girl!" I giggled.

"Last one, what's the difference between a soufflé and a mousse?"

"Ah," I faltered, Annie just telling me they were both delicious, even though we'd made them both. "A soufflé is a light and airy dessert that rises like a cloud with eggs and sugar, while a mousse is a rich and creamy dessert made with chocolate and whipped cream!" Thank you for nothing, Annie. She stuck her tongue at me.

"Perfect! You've learned a lot this last week." He smiled, taking his hand and squeezing it.

"You've been a very good teacher." I teased, biting my lip at him.

He chuckled. "When you're not being a distraction."

I gave him a false look for hurt. "I have been very good about learning, I wait until Annie's bored."

He laughed. "Well, it's a good thing you're a quick learner. And Annie's senses don't hurt either, I'm sure."

"Definitely not! My sense of smell and taste are so much stronger than I realised." I'd never had access to such wonderful ingredients and produce, Xavier having to actually stop me from crying when I'd tried some of the things we'd made together. I'd never realised how wonderful cooking for the people you loved could be.

He squeezed my hand gently, bringing it to his lips to place a kiss on my knuckles. "So, what do you think of working with me so far?"

"I love it! Your places are so loving and everyone is so friendly and welcoming. And the smells... oh my f**k, the smells are amazing!" My mouth watered just thinking of the smell of Roughnecks.

"I know, right? There's nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread, pastries and meat." He chuckled.

I kissed his hand. "Thank you. I hope I haven't been too much of a pain."

He smiled at me lovingly, stroking my cheek with a finger. "You're allowed to be a pain."

I giggled, settling into my seat; Annie finally calmed enough that I felt the nearly twelve-hour day we'd had in the kitchen.

We still had another hour of a drive, but I was falling asleep until I felt the mental push.

Are you on your way home? Dane's deep voice caressed my spine, I shivered and moved, Xavier raising a brow at me.

I stifled a yawn. "Dane is being worrisome," I mumbled, Xavier chuckling and Dane growled.

I giggled sleepily. We're halfway home now. I soothed, pushing my emotions of love and missing him and Theo the last two days.

He pressed back, echoing the same. We miss you.

I smiled, pushing my words to Theo. I miss you more. I need to nap now, but I'll see you both soon. I love you, my darlings.

They caressed my mind with love and I dozed off, Xavier humming to the Irish singer he enjoyed.

The car stopped and Xavier woke me gently.

It was foggy and raining, covering most of the area but I saw the lights of the soup kitchen/hotel and sat up, Annie perking up.

We're at the kitchen. I sent to Dane and Theo, feeling their shared relief.

"Did you want to help me carry the orders inside?" Xav asked quietly as I yawned and nodded.

"I need to get the order list from Maintenance." He gave a soft chuckle and helped me out of the car.

I stretched and took one of the boxes he held out of me.

I waved at Byron, Dane's Beta who'd pulled up beside us in one of the Pack trucks.

"Hey, Luna!" He smiled, waving back as he opened the back of his car for Xavier.

I rolled my eyes. "Is Elsa on?"

He smiled brightly at his mate's name. "Of course, why else would I come out in this s**t weather?"

I giggled. "It's just rain, you big baby."

I ducked inside the carpeted and stone entrance hallway, the reception counter to the left of me, a hallway down it that led to the warm soup kitchen I could hear filled with Shifters, the stairs leading up to the bedrooms and bathrooms for the people who stayed here and a door to the right that led to the common rooms, gym, basketball courts and the outside bar that was opened on weekends.

Annie picked up the sweet smell of vanilla, making me turn to see Elsa come out of the back office beside the reception.

She stopped, saw me and smiled. "Rosa!" Her voice trilled with a Spanish accent that made me giggle. She was a Coyote Shifter, with large yellowish-green eyes, long black hair she had tied back, tanned skin to die for and a curvaceous body, though she was only a few inches taller than me without her heels.

"Hola, Elsa! ¿Cómo estás?" I smiled brightly at her; she commonly slipped into Spanish when she became flustered, so over the week I'd been here, and she'd visited, I'd picked up a bit.

She giggled. "Ah, Rose, amor! I'm good. ¡Bien, bien! What brings you here today?" I smiled, knowing the words for love and very good!

"I need the maintenance orders, please." I stepped to the desk and placed the box on it. "This is also the pastry order from the bakery."

She waved me around the counter, and I followed her into the office.

"Okay, pero first, let's practice your Spanish. What's the word for 'orders'?" Annie giggled. Pero means but.

Hush.

I thought for a moment, more back to when Elsa would bilingually mutter under her breath. "Pedidos?"

She turned from the filing cabinet, smiling. "Exacto! Pedidos. You're getting better, chica! Now, let me see... Ah, sí! Los pedidos de mantenimiento... Ah, here they are!" That was exacto the way I'd learnt the words for orders and maintenance. She pulled out a folder for me and held it out smiling.

"Gracias, Elsa!" I looked over it, checking it had the right signatures and we headed for the front again.

"De nada, corazón." She smiled, stepped behind the counter and pulled out the guest book; the chime over the door sounded, and Xavier stepped in, Bryon behind him.

They both smiled at us and we smiled back.

Elsa giggled, nudging me. "¿Cómo te va con ellos?" My mind translated, 'How's it going with them?'. I smiled, my heart thrumming at the thoughts.

"It's great! They're teaching me so much about... about everything."

She laughed, grabbing my hand. "Ah, ¡eso es maravilloso! I'm sure they are." She gave me a wink that made me laugh, rolling my eyes at her.

"Those three are always up to something." I giggled, looking at Xavier as he spoke with one of the Wolf cooks from the kitchen, Sebastian.

Elsa opened the box, the smell of fresh baked goods filling my nose. "¿Y cómo te va con la cocina? ¿Te gusta cocinar?" And how's it going with cooking? Do you like cooking?

I giggled and nodded. "Sí, me gusta! I love cooking. Xavier's been teaching me all about baking and..." I struggled to find the right words in Spanish: "Um... cosas del horno."

She laughed. "You just said oven things." She waved off my pout laughing. "You keep hanging around me, you'll be a pro in no time, chica. I'm glad you're enjoying it." She squeezed my hand, and Sebastian stepped beside me to grab the box.

"Hey, Luna." He grunted at me, he looked exhausted.

"Hey," I greeted, seeing him trying to retreat quickly; I grabbed the back of his shirt and turned to my mate and Byron.

They raised an intrigued brow at me as I held Seb in place.

"When did he last sleep?" I knew Byron would know the answer as Seb lived in the Packhouse, and Xavier kept tabs on his workers.

"It's been at least two days," Byron admitted. "Kid's been hiding here and working flat out. It's the other reason I came, Dane wants him to sleep."

I felt Seb sigh. "It's fine, Luna." I knew he only said my title because he couldn't say such a thing to Byron, not if Dane had given orders for Seb to get sleep.

But me, he could try.

I tugged his shirt, making him step back to face me. "It's not, Seb." I scowled. "Is it the insomnia?"

He gave a weak nod, his light brown eyes heavy.

I sighed. "You should have said something." I turned to Elsa.

"Can you grab my kit from the back?" I asked gently.

She nodded and disappeared.

"Is Katie also having issues?" I asked quietly enough only he heard me.

His eyes flared as they met mine before he looked at Xavier and Byron who watched from the door, letting me handle it.

Katie was his little sister, I'd met her twice when I'd been working here. She was a sweet girl, but she often had night terrors I only knew about because I'd found her asleep and screaming in one of the sleeping rooms for staff.

Their parents had been caught in a house fire three years ago, Seb had got Katie out, but he'd suffered bad burns and passed out, unable to help his parents trapped inside.

I touched Seb's arm. "Tell me, I don't want my Pack suffering."

His jaw clenched, the muscles too tight.

"Her dreams are pretty bad." He admitted in a low voice.

I nodded and took a deep breath as Elsa handed me a small black zipper pouch. "Okay," I sighed, opening it to my stash of meds Dr Jones trusted me with for the Pack when he was on call.

I pulled out the two medications Dr. Jones had labelled for Seb and Katie, as well as a few other Shifters.

I grabbed the two strips that would last them a week each and a small bag, turning to Seb.

"Blue is for Katie; white and green are yours." I smiled.

His eyes widened as the bag filled with a bud of green and purple. "Uh," he stammered, looking at Xavier who just shrugged.

I giggled. "It's a plant called Lunis Dentra. Perfectly safe for Shifters, but I know you can't have muscle relaxants, so I asked Dr. Jones for something you could have." I smiled.

Seb looked at me confused. "How do you know that?"

I shrugged. "I care."

His face fell for a moment, not expecting that answer. "Thank you, Luna." He bowed his head.

I laughed. "Don't thank me yet." He raised his head, looking unnerved for a moment at my smile. "Day duties for the next two weeks"

He frowned. "Really?"

I nodded, smiling. "Yup. No excuse not to sleep if you're not on nights." I leaned to the side, looking at Xavier. "Is that okay, boss?"

He laughed, lifting his hands and bowed his head. "I'm not a part of this. This is between a Luna and her Pack member." He threw a thumb at Bryon. "He can help though."

Byron smiled broadly, stepping forward, his hands in his pockets.

Seb coward for a moment, not in fear but knowing Bryon was a s**t stirrer.

"Katie and Elsa can have sleepovers." He leaned down to Seb. "We can snuggle."

Seb growled at him as we laughed. I patted his shoulder. "Fine, one week. But I want to see you and Katie this weekend. Dr. Jones is coming by, and I'm sure he'd like to know about this."

He gave a weak smile and nodded, putting the medication into his pocket. "Thank you, Luna. I'm sure Katie would like to visit you."

I gave him a kind smile. "I'll send Dane if you don't."

His face paled and I smiled brightly, making him give me a 'really' look.

I giggled, pushing him in from of me toward the door. "Go home. Bryon will drive you, hug Katie for me."

Xavier followed behind me, taking the keys from Bryon while he went and kissed Elsa and took the orders to the kitchen.

"Hasta luego, Elsa!" I called over my shoulder.

"Hasta luego, Rosa!" Elsa called back, a bit breathless, making me laugh.

Xavier kissed me as I climbed into the car.

"Such a perfect little mate." He purred at me, I chuckled against his lips, kissing him back.

"Helps I have three perfect examples to learn from." He chuckled, rolling his eyes and climbed in.

Annie perked up when we turned into the mountain range drive.

A looping drive around a hill the house sat on, surrounded by more forest and the lake below.

I loved it here, it was home.

My ears and tail were unleashed as we pulled into the driveway, Dane opening the front door.

He was dressed in a black sweater and jeans, his raven hair damp and messy, like he'd been raking his fingers through it.

Xavier had barely stopped the car by the time I threw myself out and ran to him.

He opened his arms, running to catch me and lifted me high, holding me against him.

"You're late." He growled, nibbling my neck.

"I'm sorry. I was dealing with Pack business." I found his lips and he kissed me passionately as I showed him my interaction with Seb.

He growled with approval, his kiss deepening.

"I missed you so much." I breathed when he gave me a moment as he squeezed me, inhaling my scent and kissing my neck.

"I missed you too." He squeezed my ass and my body arched, grinding myself against him as our lips collided. My ears twitched, and I raised my head, my smile broadening almost painfully as Theo smirked at me from the door.

A grey shirt, a red flannel and jeans, his golden curls messy around his unshaven face.

I reached for him, Dane letting him take me and I kissed him just as deeply and nuzzled into him, purring, something we'd come to enjoy doing.

"Missed me too, I see." He teased when I released him.

I bit my lip, nodding. "Very much."