Althena

16. Darmon

I shower in the morning and make some eggs. Darmon is gone. I have no idea when he left. He never said bye. Chris comes in and rubs his eyes.

"What is that smell? It's burning me."

"Hair strippers. I messed up my hair yesterday and had to get it fixed."

"Wash them out."

"I did. They're intense though. She said it would be a week before the smell goes away completely."

"I'll go get something. You can't be here smelling like that. Nobody will be able to eat."

"I'll open the windows." It's not bothering me anymore but I can still smell it. I guess it's one of those smells a person can get used to. Not that I expect the customers to. I shut the door to the guest area and stay in the back. I get the bread and sandwiches made. Then I package everything.

Mike comes in and smiles at me.

"YOU'VE BEEN GONE SO LONG." I give him a flying hug.

"I missed you too. My mom sent me with the clay. What is that?" He rubs his nose.

"Hair strippers. Chris went to get something to cover it up. How come you're here?"

"I wanted to check everything. You needed clay. Seems like a lot is going on here. I'll probably have to have a few meetings."

"About demontail?"

"How do you know about that?"

I don't know if I'm supposed to talk about the prince. He never said anything but he was hiding. "I hear everything."

He chuckles. "Yea, this place is good for rumors. Rumor has it they're going to attack a main pack. Everyone is weird about it. Nothing for you to worry about though."

Chris runs in. "I got everything. Let's fix this. Mike, put that packaged stuff in coolers. She can't go out there smelling like burning chemicals."

Chris puts something in my hair. It's oily but it smells good. "This is amazing."

"Heavy on perfume. I can still smell the chemical but not near as bad. Mostly you smell like flowers now. At least you won't have to stay out of the shop."

"Thank you for this. So, what happened with you and the sexy man?"

"Sexy he was. Very very sexy. Sadly, he had no brain."

I crack up laughing.

"Nice to look at, a disaster to talk to."

"I'm sorry. We can always spend our days staring at him I guess."

"Yea, that's what I thought. I told him where I work. If he comes in, we can watch him from a distance."

"What was his name?"

"Stewart."

"Oh, that's usually a smart guy name."

"I know. But they were wrong with him. Very wrong. He didn't want to 'water down' his drink with ice."

I scratch my head. "I do that sometimes."

"His drink was water."

We lose it. We laugh for a good 5 minutes.

The rest of the day goes well. A few alpha's come in and talk to Mike. But not a lot. Magicians seem to lurk around the shop all day. I think they're waiting on the new balls to get done. So, after the shop closes and everyone leaves, I work on those.

Then someone knocks on the back door. I open it, thinking it's Mike but it's Darmon again. "You sure hide a lot for being the prince."

He smiles. "Your hair smells a lot better."

"Thank you. Chris got some oil stuff for it. I'm making crystal balls tonight. Not sure how much help you're going to be. But you can try."

"I've heard about these. The magicians like them. Are you a magician?"

"No. I thought it was a fun project. I didn't realize they would do anything. You cook the clay and it ends up, crystal. Completely see thru. A ball is about all I can make. Everything else I've tried, looks like a glob with arms."

He cracks up laughing. "I do have an idea."

"What's that?"

"Cinnamon rolls. I stole the recipe for the castle cinnamon roll frosting. Everyone loves it. And I know you can make a cinnamon roll."

"I don't know why I never thought of those before. I've only done muffins for breakfast. Let me see if I have the stuff." I take the recipe. "It has cream cheese in it? I've never heard of that."

"Trust me. It's amazing."

"I have some. Let's give it a shot while these cook."

He rolls out some dough while I put the frosting together.

He smiles. "You're the one with flour on your face now." He wipes it off then puts the rolls in the oven.

"It happens. So, any new rumors about demontail?"

"No. We can't figure out which pack they're going to attack. My dad has our warriors in nearly all the packlands. Just watching and waiting."

"If I hear anything, I'll let you know. But I don't think I've ever seen any of them."

"They hang out in shady spots. This is more like a safe zone for everyone. I don't see them trying to come here."

"Yea, I've seen people from about every pack in here. They stop in for coffee while they shop. They all seem nice."

"They know they won't be attacked here. I mean hell, you've got 5 pack marks on you. You yourself are a safe zone."

"If anything ever happens to me, they're all going to look here first." I point at moonlit's mark.

"Why is that?"

"Last time I saw them, my uncle put me in the hospital. Mike said he'll kill them if they try to see me again. Conner beat the hell out of their alpha." I point to Crimson's mark. "Things were tense then. Everything is fine now. But Moonlit won't come here. The rest will."

"Mike?"

"Delta for Woodland Pack."

He smiles and nods. "The promise to your mom."

"Exactly." I frost the rolls. "If these are half as good as they smell, I'm going to eat all of them."

"I guess I can rub your belly for half the night. I'm only hiding anyway." He takes a bite. "I'm going to need a minute to hide these from you." Then he moves the pan away quick.

"JUST ONE. I NEED IT." I half climb him trying to get one.

He sits the pan down and laughs. "You need it?"

"I've been smelling them for an hour. Yes. I need one."

"Alright, one. It has a lot of sugar. I think they would make you sick if you tried to eat more than that."

3 cinnamon rolls later, I'm about to die. I lay on the table.

He laughs. "I told you. But you didn't listen to me. And now look."

"Ugh. They are so good though." I try to sit up and lay back down. "I don't regret it."

He picks me up. "I'll carry you up there. You can't sleep on the table."

"I'm sure I'll be fine."

He stands me up in the living room. "Are you good from here?"

"I'll make it. So, who were you hiding from anyway?"

He smirks. "I wasn't. I wanted to see you again." He steps against me and his lips touch mine. He gives me the sweetest kiss. I love it. And he feels so good in my arms. He's so warm and strong. "I'll be back when I can." He gives me another kiss. Then he leaves.

I stare at the door for the longest time. Then I jump up and down. I can't believe the prince kissed me. My first kiss was with a prince. I can't believe he likes me or knows who I am. He's so sexy. I am the luckiest person on the planet. And he's going to come back. I want him to come back now. I want another kiss. I have a celebration with myself for a few minutes. Then I run down and check the door. He locked it.

I smile at the door. He even likes my hair. And he's such a good kisser. I miss him already.

I forget all about my stomach ache and go to bed. I lay there and smile. I cannot stop smiling. He's amazing. I toss and turn for a while then eventually fall into a happy sleep.