Alexa’s Point Of View
It’s been a week.
We thought Riaz would be back within two days but two days turned into three, into four, into a week. Akira is getting angrier by the minute and Ace is drowned in worry every day. We all set out to look for him yesterday but it was futile. We couldn’t find him. He seemed to cover his tracks well.
“You should go in and rest. Ace will be back,” Raya, the maid assigned to me, said.
“He’s been gone since midnight! What if he also doesn’t come back?”
She sighed. “Master Ace can take care of himself,”
“With Riaz missing, I don’t think he can. He’s been out of it all week,” I said as I turned to her. “And besides, he’s dear to Akira. I don’t want Akira to lose another person dear to him,” I said and she smiled.
“It feels good to see you worry about our alpha.”
I batted my eyelashes and flushed. “W… worry?”
She nodded. “It only means you’d be a good mother to the pack,”
I thinned my lips trying not to smile. I felt so proud of myself but I tried not to show it.
I shrugged. “Thanks, I guess,”
My head snapped forward when I heard approaching footsteps. It’s Ace! He’s back!
“Ace!” I beamed as I ran toward him. I topped in front of him and took his hand.
“How was it? Did you find him?”
His head fell as I asked this question. His dejected face told me he couldn’t find him. I sighed frustratingly and let him go. My eyes widened in horror as I saw the state his body was in.
“What happened to you?” I asked him. His clothes were torn like he was clawed by a wild animal.
“A tiger,” he replied simply as he walked away. I stood on a spot as I followed his retreating figure with my eyes.
“I feel like he’s going to leave,” Raya said and I turned to her. When did she reach here?
“What do you mean?”
“Master Riaz is the only person I’ve seen him care for so much. I’m sure he’s going to leave to search for him.” She said and I reasoned with her. I wouldn’t be surprised if he left. I looked up at the window to Akira’s room. He’s been in there all day. The whole palace has been gloomy since Riaz left. I never knew a person could have such an effect.
I turned to Riaz. “Um… what does Akira like to eat?”
She raised her brow. “That’s surprising. You wanna know what alpha likes to eat?”
I tutted. “Don’t give me that face. I just… wanna know,” I said and she grinned.
“Let’s go then,” she said as she led the way.
“Alpha really loves sweet things. If it were possible he’d put sugar in everything he ate.”
I smiled. “Sounds like someone I know,”
She turned to me. “Really?”
“Yeah. I have a… a friend. A childhood friend. He also liked really sweet things. There was a time he ate a jar of strawberry jam on his own.”
“Strawberry jam is very sweet,”
“It is,” I said as I chuckled. “I called him crazy the day he ate it. I thought he would develop stomach ache but unfortunately, he didn’t,”
“See how big your smile is while talking about him. He must be really dear to you,”
“He was,”
“Was? Are you not close anymore?”
I smiled bitterly. “It would have been better if that was the case but it isn’t. I just don’t know where he is. I don’t know if he’s alive or dead.” I said.
“He got lost?” She asked and I nodded.
“I hope so.”
I hope he’s alive and doing well.
“Do you plan to find him?” Her question made me stop in my tracks. If I wanna find him, I’d have to leave the pack. To leave Ace. To leave Akira.
My heart ached at the thought of leaving Akira.
“You look hesitant,” Raya said. “You don’t wanna look for him?”
“I do…”
“But…?”
I shook my head. “There are no buts. I’m gonna find him. I have to find him.” I tried to sound determined but rather, I sounded like I wanted to convince myself.
“Will you leave?”
“I thought you wanted to teach me something?” I asked, dodging her question. Thankfully, she didn’t press on.
“Yeah. Let’s go to the kitchen,”
***
“For dinner, alpha likes taking chocolate bread and iced tea.”
“That can’t be hard to bake.”
“True. But he only takes the bread made with the flour from the West Empire,”
“West Empire?”
That’s where Raven Pack is situated.
“But isn’t that where…”
“Yeah.” She said. “no one knows why he likes the flour from there. He wouldn’t eat any flour that’s not from there.”
I frowned in confusion. What could be the reason for his obsession?
“The thing is the flour from there is not easy to mix,”
“But you can mix it, right?”
She nodded. “But I don’t think you’d be able to mix it.”
“I’m quite talented in baking, you know?” I said confidently and she chuckled.
“Okay.”
She went over to the cabinet and brought out a jar of flour. She poured some into a mixing bowl and proceeded to bring out the remaining ingredients. She poured the wet ingredients into the flour and started to knead.
“You mustn’t mix it too hard but you mustn’t be too soft either.” She explained as she demonstrated. I watched in fascination as she kneaded the flour to a fine consistency. “Now you try,” she said and I nodded.
I rolled my hand into a fist and began to knead it, just like she demonstrated. I was so happy that I was doing a good job. I kneaded for about twenty minutes.
“It’s okay,” she said and I stopped kneading.
She covered it with a thin foil and said, “we’ll leave it for one hour to rise.”
“That long?” She nodded and I huffed.
“What am I supposed to do for one hour?”
“You can prepare the ingredients for the iced tea.” She said and I nodded. I went over to the cabinet and picked out everything she told me to take.
I poured and mixed the ingredients according to her instructions. It was fun preparing the tea as it wasn’t so hard to do.
“The tea will have to boil for thirty minutes,”
“Wouldn’t it get brunt?”
She shook her head. “No.”
I poured the tea into a special bottle and placed it to boil on the stove. I tapped my fingers on the counter impatiently as I waited for the tea to boil.
“It’s done!” Raya beamed as she took off the tin foil from over the bread. She put it in a baking pan and slid it into the oven. She set it to the desired temperature and turned to me. “You should take the bread out in thirty minutes. It must not be late by one minute or it’ll just get burnt.”
“You can count on me,” I said confidently and she nodded.
“I have something to get to but I’ll be back in about twenty minutes.”
I nodded and she smiled at me. “You should also keep an eye on the tea too.”
“Aye aye, captain,”
She exited and I faced the boiling tea. It’ll be done in five minutes. I didn’t waste a minute switching off the stove when it was done. The aroma coming from the tea was so pleasing. I put it down and let it cool as Raya instructed.
“When will you be done?” I asked the bread in the oven like it could understand me. I laid my head on the counter and watched it closely. My eyes were beginning to get heavy.
I batted my lids to keep myself awake but it wasn’t enough. As I was closing my eyes, I slapped myself.
“Ouch!” I cried as I rubbed my stinging cheek. All because I don’t want this bread to get burnt. I went over to the sink and washed my face.
“Get hold of yourself, Alexa!”
I sat back down and rested my chin against my palm. The last thing I saw was a fork on the table before my eyelids shut on their own.
I woke up when I felt a breath on my face. I opened my eyes only to see Akira’s face so close to mine. I jolted back, slipping and almost falling but he wrapped his hand around my waist protectively and pulled me up. My chest collided with his.
“You get startled so easily.”
“I.. what are you-” just then, I remember the bread in the oven.
“Shit!” I exclaimed as I wiggled out of his grip. I ran towards the oven and opened it but I found no bread in it. I turned and I saw it placed on the counter.
“I placed it there. You were sound asleep so I didn’t wanna wake you.”
I let out a breath of relief and he laughed.
“What’s funny?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. You just look cute.” He said and my face went red. This man just has a way with his words.
“So… who were you baking this for?” He asked as he came beside me.
“Who else eats chocolate bread made with flour from the West Empire?”
He smiled amusingly. “Wow. You baked this for me?”
“Don’t make a big deal out of it,” I said bashfully. “you’ve been quite busy with pack matters and Riaz’s disappearance that you’ve not had the time to eat.” I glanced at him. He had his full attention on me. “So I just thought it would be nice to… you know, prepare you something,” I tried to sound nonchalant. “You can eat it or leave it. I don’t care,”
Actually, I care. I care so much. I might cry if he doesn’t eat it.
“You took your time to prepare it so of course, I’ll eat it.” He said as he took a seat. In excitement, I waddled to where the bread was and sliced it into loaves. I served four loaves on a plate and poured tea into a glass. I added ice and placed them all into a tray.
“Here is your dinner, Mr. Akira,” I said as I placed the tray of food in front of him.
“Thank you, madam,”
He took one of the loaves and took a bite. I watched in anticipation as he chewed on the piece.
He took another bite and chewed rather slowly.
“So…?”
He ignored me and took a sip of the tea. “How is it?”
He cleaned his mouth and smiled. “It’s good,”
My eyes lit up. “Really?” I asked and he nodded.
“Yeah. It tastes like home,” he said and I blushed.
“You really…”
He tilted his head, “What?”
“You really have a way with words.”
“What do you mean?” He asked, leaning in. I drew back my head and he smirked.
“You act all tough but you fold anytime I raise a finger,” he said.
“Me? Fold? You’re mistaken.” I said and he smirked. I pushed my stool closer with his leg and my heart almost dropped.
“Are you sure I am mistaken?” He asked, leaning in. My breath got stuck in my throat when our noses touched.
“Yes, you are,” I said, looking at him dead in the eye. He stepped up his game by brushing his lips against mine.
“Are you still sure?” He asked against my lips. It took a lot to stop myself from leaning in and kissing him.
“Well..”
He raised his brow. “well…?”
I gulped, lowering my gaze. He placed his finger under my chin and raised my head with it. “Look at me,”
Like I was under a spell, I locked eyes with him and instantly got lost in them. It was as if he had the universe in his eyes. Thousand of stars danced in them as they gazed at me like I was the only thing in the world.
“See? You fold every time,” he said and I smiled lightly.
“What is gonna happen now that I’m caught,”
“You have to get punished,”
“In what way?”
He gazed down at my lips and I knew immediately what he wanted. In a swift motion, he wrapped his hand around my waist and carried me to straddle him.
“This way,” he said before claiming my lips dominantly.