Natalia’s P. O. V

The timer beeped and I put my oven mitts on to retrieve the carrot cake. I placed it on the cooling rack then moved over to the stovetop.

“Are you sure you don’t want any help?”

Kaesha laughed, shooing me away, “No, Ava. You don’t even know the recipe.”

“I can just be another set of hands…” I pouted.

She gave me a look, “I don’t even need my own. Go set the table or something. The food’s almost done.”

“Alright, alright. I’m going.” I sighed, leaving the kitchen as she levitated another piece of meat into the waiting pan of oil.

In the dining room, Hailey was already doing the job of setting the table.

She presented a folded swan napkin with a proud grin, “What do you think?”

“It’s amazing. Where’d you learn to do that?”

“Youtube.”

“Need any help?”

She shook her head, already laser focused on the crease she was folding into a new napkin, “This is the last one. Tim’s close though, so you should probably open the door for him.”

She was right. I went over to the front door to unlock it, just as he was about to knock. He thanked me and took his shoes off, making his way to the kitchen.

“Got the shit you asked for, plus drinks and ice cream.” He told Kaesha, setting the bags down on the counter.

“Thanks. The salad’s already done, you can add the salad cream and toss it for me.”

“Sure.” He complied, washing his hands to do as asked.

I managed to help put the drinks and ice cream in the fridge and freezer, but was left jobless again till Kaesha was done.

“Lunch is served!” She announced, walking into the dining room with the food floating in behind her.

I’d called for a meeting to discuss the land options for our pack. After we’d all agreed to meet over food, Kaesha had said she wanted us to try her cooking this time, asking for permission to commandeer my kitchen for the day.

After the floating spoons served us, she waited for us to try the food.

I took a bite of the rice and my mouth came alive with the flavours, followed by the delayed fire from pepper. Even as my nose ran, I wanted more, and I could see Hailey and Timothy reacting the same way.

Kaesha laughed when we all finally reached for water, “How do you like it?”

“It’s so spicy but I love it. And I was wondering why you had big bananas earlier but they taste so good.” Hailey said.

“They’re called plantains and I fried them.”

“And the rice?” I asked.

“Jollof rice.”

Timothy fanned his tongue, “You don’t taste the pepper in this? You haven’t touched your water.”

She laughed, “I guess I’m used to it. My neighbour used to make it for me back home whenever I visited her.”

Hailey stared at her plate, “I can’t believe Canadians eat food like this…”

“She wasn’t Canadian. She and her family migrated from Nigeria. Since my mom was always away with work and the coven, I spent most of my childhood in their house.”

“Looks like we’re less of a pack and more of just a bunch of Supernaturals who all need therapy.” Timothy quipped between bites.

“Speak for yourself.” Kaesha laughed, a spoon flying towards him, which he caught and sent back to her before it floated back down to the table.

Hailey downed another glass of water before speaking, making sure to avoid Timothy’s gaze, “I mean, he’s not entirely wrong. Some of us might be happier if we just get past our hangups.”

Timothy scowled and the rising tension between the two left us in silence.

After a few moments of nothing but the clanking of utensils on our plates and uneasy glances with Kaesha, I decided to change the topic.

“So, I’ve got the perfect option for our location. It’s halfway to the Lightwood Pack from here, like Hailey, Kaesha and I planned on, and right next to a forest.”

Timothy dragged his eyes away from Hailey, “Sounds too good to be true.”

“Kinda. It’s essentially a ghost town, so we’re gonna have to remodel some aspects and pay the few people that still live there enough to relocate comfortably. The money isn’t an issue but we’ll need somebody to oversee-”

“I’ll go.” Timothy stated.

I glanced at Hailey. She’d stiffened at his statement, staring down at her plate with an empty gaze.

“Are you sure? The process will take at least five months, and what about the things you’ve got going on here?”

“The current project I’m on at work ends in a week.” His gaze flickered to Hailey for a split second, “Besides that, there’s nothing really holding me down here.”

Hailey’s head snapped up and she gaped at him. He ignored her, taking another bite of his food.

Kaesha glared at him and he jumped, I assume from the kick she gave him.

He slammed his fork down, “You think I don’t fucking know what you’re all trying to say? Whatever’s going on between me and Sunshine over here is none of your damn business.”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“At least they care!” Hailey snapped, “They’re not running off to some ghost town just to get away from the things they don’t want to face!”

“You do realise what we’re doing here, right? Don’t you know who we’re fighting?”

She rolled her eyes, “How could I forget?! You only remind me in every conversation.”

The violent scraping of his chair pierced the air as Timothy got up, “Y’know what? I don’t fucking need this!”

“Yeah, run away.” She scoffed, “It’s what you’re best at anyway.”

“At least I’m not desperate for all the scraps of love and affection I can get!” He sneered.

His words drained the steam from her anger, leaving her with tears in her eyes. His own anger flickered out as he realised what he’d said.

Her voice was low and monotonous, “Thank you for the food, Kaesha, it was delicious. I’d love to take some back with me to the dorms. Ari, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading out now.”

Without another word, she got up and left, slamming the front door behind her. A moment later, Timothy followed, cursing under his breath.

Kaesha sighed, and I heard the front door lock, “Damn, those two can’t even make it to dessert.”

“I know, right? I understand why Timothy’s scared, but this is too much. He won’t even be in a room alone with her. I can’t say that it’s worse than being rejected, but it seems pretty awful.”

She stabbed a plantain, “I guess that’s his brand of baggage. I’d be pretty scared of my coven using a loved one against me if I’d had that many run ins with them.”

“Speaking of which, you never talk about your love life.”

She shrugged, “What’s there to talk about, I was too paranoid to date. I just had a couple flings here and there, to scratch the itch when it came up. But never anything too serious.”

“Really? Nothing?”

She thought for a moment, “There is this one guy I flirt with in my teaching building, but we’ve never gone further than that. He’s not bad, but I’m in no hurry to find a relationship. What about you?”

“Besides one very painful rejection, no one on my end. I’ve got too many things to worry about anyway.”

She laughed, “And the only two of us with any interest in love are always at each other’s throats. Looks like Timmy was right, we are just a bunch of Supernaturals who all need therapy.”

I laughed and finished the last of my food, “The food really was great, Kaesha. Thanks for sharing it with us, even if it didn’t go so well.”

She smiled, “My pleasure. I was feeling a little homesick, so I just wanted to be around people I care about, eating the food I love. It’s a shame the others had to run out, but there’s always more left.”

The plates and utensils began moving. She brought two Tupperware bowls from the kitchen and emptied the rest of their plates’ contents into them.

“Your magic is so handy.” I said, as a knife cut some cake for the two of us.

She shrugged, “I guess others would see it that way. It’s really just like another sense or limb to me, like how I assume your wolves are natural to you guys. It just sucks that I have to be careful with it in the dorms.”

“You sure you don’t wanna stay here?” It wasn’t my first time offering.

She shook her head, “As tempting as that it, nah. Maybe if things get really bad financially, but I’m doing okay.”

I nodded and we moved onto the topics of school and our dreams outside of the Lightwood pack.

“I wanna travel.” She said, swirling her finger over her glass, the contents of it following the movement, “I’ve got a list of countries I wanna visit, but I have to graduate and buy a house of my own first, so I’ll always have a place to come back to.”

“You’ll always have our pack to come back to as well, if you want.”

“Thanks, Ava. I know I will, but this is for me. What about you? Your life can’t begin and end with the Lightwoods, can it?”

“Well,” I started. I knew I couldn’t say anything about becoming the Syren queen, “I really want to make something out of myself. It’s what my mom would have wanted for me.”

She regarded me evenly, no longer swirling her apple juice, “Besides your rage at the Lightwoods, I don’t think you’ve spoken much about your family. What was she like?”

“Serene.” I said, poking at my cake, “She was what I imagine peace and calm to be. And she was the most loving person I knew, despite where we were and how we were treated. She did her best to protect me and make me happy. I just wish I knew where she was and why she disappeared.”

She cocked her head, “I’m sorry to say this, but you don’t seem too keen on finding her.”

“I guess not. I just… it’s just that,” I searched for the words, “she’s been gone for almost ten years now, and she never came back or found me. I don’t want to look now, before I’ve done the best I can for myself, and not like what I find.”

Sure, I felt closer to her now than ever before, in this house and among the Syrens, but what if she was dead? What if she’d been taken by something darker than I could fathom? What if Clark had been right and she’d left of her own accord?

What if she didn’t want me?

Kaesha placed her hand on mine, drawing me from my thoughts, “You’ll always have our pack.”

I smiled, “Thanks.”

*****

A couple weeks later, I was walking into Super Banking.

“Good afternoon, Melody.”

Melody smiled, a slight bow to her head, “Good afternoon, Natalia. Mrs Burton should be back in just a moment, you can wait in her office.”

“Thanks.” I waved and made my way to the office.

Once inside, I took in the view from her floor to ceiling window. She had a beautiful vantage point, overlooking an upbeat square from the comforting feeling of the building.

A few minutes later, a frazzled Mrs Buron walked in, muttering under her breath.

“Oh, hello Natalia. I didn’t see you there, how are you?”

I watched her practically stomp over to her desk, shoulders stiff and brow slightly furrowed, “I’m fine, but I think I should be asking you. Are you okay?”

She sighed, “Don’t worry about me, I’m okay.”

“What happened?”

She rolled her eyes, “Just had a meeting with the Hight Court. Some of them really need to watch themselves.”

I cocked my head, I’d never seen her so mad, “Why? What did they say?”

“A whole lot of nonsense. Some of them are getting antsy about not seeing you, while others just outright want to keep you under lock and key, starting to sound like those idiot Insurgents…” She muttered, then waved off the topic, “Don’t worry about all that now, dear. You’ll have plenty of time to deal with their stubbornness after you’re done with school. You said you wanted to ask me something?”

I nodded, “On the first day of class, I found out that all members of Syren nobility get a crest that anyone with Syren blood can see, and I’m worried that could let everyone know my identity.”

“I see. I actually wanted to see you about something related to that.”

She got up and retrieved a mahogany chest from her shelf, “These are for you.”

She handed me the chest and I opened it, inspecting the contents. Inside were some jars of silver powder with a powder brush, a few contact lens cases and spray bottles of a luminescent liquid.

“I can’t believe you’re turning sixteen in just a week.” She gushed, “I wish Aquina were here to see you now.”

“Yeah, me too…” I said over the twang in my chest.

Another birthday without her…

“Oh, I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No, I’m okay. Besides,” I gestured to the chest, “I’m a Werewolf, we both know I won’t need all the things in here.”

She smiled softly, “I know… It’s just that, receiving your concealment kit is kind of a rite of passage for most Syrens about to go through their Uncovering. Your mother told me about how she’d gift her child a concealment kit and teach them how to use it, and be there for their first hair spritz. Even if you aren’t a Syren, I’m sure she’d want you to have the experience. She actually kept the one she’d hoped to give eventually, but I couldn’t find it, so this was the best I could do.”

I cradled the chest, unsure whether to cry or smile. I just knew it hurt to swallow and that I desperately wished I could see her.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I keep saying these things and I’m sure it’s just making you miss her more and-”

“Can you show me how to use them? All of them?”

Tears brimmed her eyes, and she smiled, “It would be my honour.”