The Alpha Twins and their Runaway Witch

84

Ariel returned to the cottage she was sharing. Checking her phone. There was no message or call from Binh. Ariel went inside and could tell instantly that he wasn't here. She was starting to wonder if he had left her, without giving her a chance to say goodbye. Denied her the opportunity to know it was the last time she would see someone.

She thought he understood her enough to know that when he needed to move on from babysitting her, that he would do her the kindness of giving her a goodbye. A reminder for Ariel to not place unspoken expectations on anyone.

Ariel's brewing melancholia was interrupted when she smelled something heavenly cooking in the kitchen. Binh could still come back to give her a goodbye. No assumptions, meant not inviting a concern that might not come to pass. She followed her nose towards the kitchen.

Ariel found August sat at the breakfast bar, glasses on and a laptop open as he typed on the keyboard. Alex turned from the stove where several pots and pans were all working at once. Alex smiled at her, "I hoped to have lunch ready when you arrived." Sounding a little disappointed she was back before he was ready.

August closed the laptop. "Did you enjoy your morning? Alex is making chicken parm sandwiches, they are usually very tasty." August told Ariel, revealing the menu and teasing his brother in one go.

"August is forgetting to mention that he begged me to make these." Teasing his brother back in kind.

"You make them like mom makes them." August admitted.

It was Ariel to who next interjected. "August only asked because its a meal that feels like home to both of you?" Her voice inflected on the end indicating it was a question, not a statement.

Both brothers nodded towards Ariel. Overlapped voices muttering that yea, it was a meal that tasted like home and they both wanted to share it with her.

Ariel in a moment of boldness went to sit at the kitchen breakfast bar beside August. "I would love to have a taste of your home for lunch." Pausing until Alex met her eyes. "Alex." turning to August, waiting for his eyes to find hers as well. "August." Each time they met her eyes. Ariel felt a flurry of emotions and reactions in her body. She took out the notebook, and tried to put the thoughts and feelings into words in her notebook.

At first it had felt strange to try and arrange her thoughts into words she could write out in her journal. But as Alex continued to work in the kitchen. The space warm and full of inviting smells. August re opening int he laptop he had been working on, checking emails and various files and excel documents regarding pack activities and updates.

It was a form of silent, mutual demonstration of trust. Ariel could look over and see the documents related to pay and benefits for pack employees. How Golden Green constantly strove to ensure all jobs on the packlands paid what was truly a living wage. While August could have peaked at Ariel's messy handwriting to get a view into her unspoken mind.

After trying to put down in words how she felt when she walked into a comfortable home, to the smells of rich delicious cooking smells; to have someone cooking for her and trying to bring her a joyful taste of their home through a home cooked meal. Ariel read and reread her own words.

They loved her. Really loved her in a way she hadn't ever known and did not know how to handle or respond to appropriately. She was immensely glad for the gift of the pen and notebook now. She could clearly see, written by her own hand the truth. And her truth, was that she greatly enjoyed the way they made her feel when they took care of her.

When a towering sandwich was placed in front of her in short order, Ariel's eyes nearly boggled out of her head. The buttered and toasted bun, holding a breaded, seasoned, fried chicken cutlet, smothered in a rich herby tomato sauce, then broiled with cheese on top until it was the perfect ooey gooey pulling cheese. It was rich, and decadent and indulgent and so good Ariel wasn't certain she took a breath the whole time she was eating.

After Ariel had inhaled one half of her sandwich in only a few bites. August cleared his throat. "The family thing tonight is pretty relaxed, if you felt like you had time, Alex and I could show you around the main pack village before we all get ready for the family barbeque?" Ariel looked up and took a breath.

August rose seamlessly from the table, and let Three Hours Past Midnight in. Who immediately joined Ariel at the table, and demanded his serving of meat. Ariel did her best to stay focused. "I would love to be shown around your pack this afternoon before the family barbeque." Ariel heard her voice say, and was shocked when she actually was certain she meant every word.

Lunch was rich and heavy, but Alex had portioned everything well. Ariel felt like she had over eaten, but not incapacitated. She spent a few minutes freshening up in the main floor washroom after lunch. Before she announced she was ready to be shown around the village and the pack.

Ariel had gotten ahead of herself. She wanted to be brave enough on her own, but she wished that Binh would show himself and be her person. Just reach out in some way to give her closure. With Alex, August, and Three Hours Past Midnight standing at her back, along with the new support from Razzak, Ariel found the lack of Binh mostly manageable. The notebook that fit into her pockets with the pen attached was also proving useful. Giving her a chance to write out her thoughts, and see and reread them clearly back to herself was more useful than she had first thought possible when Razzak had given the gift and suggestion.

Lumi had already reached out to Alex and August, letting them know that Pandora was going to be occupied the entire afternoon until the barbeque tonight. Along with a promise to keep them updated if anything changed.