Clear Lake

Chapter Twenty-Nine

It's a little after 2 PM and the Sweet Tooth is relatively quiet, since we've missed the lunch rush.

Katie greets me with a hug, and tells me that the new people are starting to "use their actual brain," and getting better. I'm thankful for that, since I know they've had to have been busier this week.

I insist that all of the guys join us for lunch, so we push a couple of tables together and Katie brings us some platters piled with sandwiches.

I go with her to grab some bowls of their homemade chips. "Hey, where's Iris?"

"She's still at the pack house," she answers, checking her watch. "Actually, she should be back soon."

Good. I can't believe we're going to be leaving in two days, and I want to see her as much as I can, before I go.

Our guards are wonderful meal companions. For the first part of our meal, Sofia regales us with some of her family stories. She's originally from a pack in California and has SIX older sisters, who apparently tortured her as a child.

She's currently in the middle of another story. "And she told me, 'Sofia, she's not really our Mom. Our real Mom got eaten by a lion, when she was on a safari. She's just pretending to be our real Mom.'" She waves her hands, as everyone at the table cracks up. "I was seven years old! At that age, I figured adults went on safari all the time! It took me a full month to pluck up the courage to ask Mom about it!"

I have tears running down my face at her expression.

"The good news is that for their punishment, I got to control the TV for the next month, while my sisters had to sit through endless episodes of The Powerpuff Girls," she tells us, grinning from ear to ear.

The door opens and Iris walks in. She looks surprised at the larger group, then spots me beaming at her. I get up to give her a hug, and she whispers in my ear, "It's good to see you bonding with your pack."

Happiness floods me at her words, and I pull her to the table. "Iris, you've met Sam and Paul. This is Sofia, Marcus, and Mason. Iris owns The Sweet Tooth and is my closest family." I give her waist a squeeze.

In immediate treachery, Iris yells out, "Who wants to hear some of your Luna's biggest baking fails?!"

My jaw drops and my head whips over to Iris. I shout "Hey!" at her, all while my new pack members shout out in the affirmative.

Wow. Betrayal all around!

Iris plops herself down in my chair, while I put my hands on my hips and give the back of her head a stern look.

She starts. "Sarah was just apprenticing with me, at first. She hadn't mastered all the chemistry of baking yet, but was desperate to create something of her own." She stops and gives me doting smile. "So I let her have at it. She wanted to make a braided, banana-stuffed chocolate bread. It totally combusted, while it baked. When she pulled it out of the oven, I don't think I've ever laughed so hard - it looked like...what did Jake call it?" She turns to me.

With an unamused expression on my face, my eyes looking at the ceiling, I mutter, "Sasquatch feces."

"Sasquatch feces!" she snaps, remembering.

All my pack members start roaring with laughter, at my expense, and I try so hard to bite back my smile, eventually failing.

I try to defend myself, "But it was delicious, wasn't it?"

"It sure was!" Iris agrees, then mock whispers. "You just had to close your eyes to eat it."

More laughter sounds, as I roll my eyes.