Page 2 of Roman (Destined Paranormals #7)

Chapter 2

Beau

“ M mm. You’re going to be amazing at this,” Evan said as he shoved another cupcake in his mouth. I didn’t know how he was able to get the entire thing, and the frosting, in his mouth without getting the blue topping everywhere, but he managed somehow.

“Thanks,” I told him. I grabbed the towel and wrapped it around my left hand before I undid it and then repeated the gesture. I was trying to calm myself, but it wasn’t working. Evan seemed to catch on though, and when he reached out and placed his hand on top of mine, I finally relaxed.

“You don’t have to do this, you know. The council will eventually find someone else to run the bakery. I only suggested that you do it because you love to bake and are so good at it. Even if you use magic to create some things, I don’t think the council will care.”

I shook my head. “You know I can bake everything from scratch.”

“Yes, but you don’t have to. You have the ability to make everything with magic. Did you use magic for anything in these cupcakes?”

I sighed. He knew I did. “Yes, and you know it. I did measure and add all of the ingredients, but I used magic to mix and measure out all of the batter. It was just easier.”

Evan shook his head at me. “Don’t be upset about using magic. We have it, we should use it. Why not? The warlocks use their magic on assignments. It’s why we were asked to join the council: because they needed more that had magic.”

“Has the assignment thing been fixed? Do they know what you’re going to be doing? And are you getting along okay with your teammates now?”

Evan swiped another cupcake. “Yes, yes, and yes. Vaughn was a little standoffish at first, but he’s started opening up. I noticed the other gargoyles in the council are a bit like Vaughn, so I think it might just be a gargoyle thing. Anyway, yes, we know what we’re going to be doing assignment-wise. Benjamin and his team are off on assignment next week, and we’ll be going out soon, but not with Frederick since his mate just had a baby. Well, One, since he’s a warlock.” Evan shook his head. “I don’t know why they can’t call them mates as well, but it is what it is.”

I smiled. Because they didn’t want to call them the same thing as everyone else, I guess. I actually didn’t know if that was the reason or not, but I knew they called their mates their One. I’d read everything I could about how things were in this realm. It was all still new to me, but I was thankful that I’d had the opportunity to come with Evan when he’d been chosen to join the council. I could have been left behind, but I was lucky that the fates that brought us here offered for me to come as well.

It was just me and Evan and had been for some time now, since I was in my early teenage years. Our parents went to visit another village one day and never returned. To this day, we still don’t know what happened to them. They had been searched for, but not only had they never arrived at the other village, but they were nowhere to be found anywhere in a nearby radius. That had been eight years ago, and it had been just me and Evan since.

Did I miss my parents? Somewhat, but I didn’t remember them all that well anymore. Evan had been great to me, and he’d done everything for me that I needed. He’d finished raising me and had given me so much love that I never felt like I was missing out. We talked about our parents often at first, but over the years, that had slowly become less and less. There was only so much you could remember about a couple that had only been around in your life for a little over a decade.

“Are you all right?”

I blinked and then focused on Evan. “Yeah, I guess. I was thinking about everything,” I told him as I looked around the kitchen. I was in the house that Evan had been given when he joined the enforcers. It was so much larger than the little cottage we had lived in in our village. And it was great because Lukan lived on the other side of us on one side while Felix lived on the other.

“I know I’m pushing you, and maybe that’s wrong of me. Maybe I should just let you do your own thing and not push for you to be the one that opens the bakery.”

I shook my head. “No, I need a job. I’m not complaining, but I really do need to do something because you’re gone on and off, and I get bored.” I shrugged before continuing. “I can hang out with some of the other fae enforcers, but they do their own thing for the most part. They don’t really include me most of the time, which is understandable.” I saw Evan’s face change and immediately shook my head at him while holding my hands out. “It’s all right. They don’t have to include me. I’m not an enforcer, and I’m not mate to any of them. That’s why it’s a good thing you’re encouraging me. I need to be pushed.” I did. I knew it just as much as Evan did.

“I just want you to have an opportunity to do something that I know you love. You used to love working in the village’s bakery.” Evan glanced down at the counter before he looked back at me. “For a bit, I thought you were going to stay in our village and not come with me.”

My eyebrows lifted in surprise. “What? Why? You are everything, Evan, and I wasn’t even considering staying behind once I was offered to come. Why would I stay? There is nobody left in our village for me.” Most likely, I would never find my mate unless I managed to go traveling at some point. I already knew that none of the current enforcers or other employees at the council were my mate. That was frustrating, but there wasn’t anything I could do to change it.

“You left something you loved.”

I didn’t know why, but I just started laughing. It went on and on until I had tears running down my face. When I finally was able to stop, I swiped at my eyes and cheeks before looking at my brother. Was he serious?

“Ev, I am going to be doing the same thing here now. How is it any different? It’s just somewhere else. Obviously, the fates knew I would have this opportunity.” Why had I resisted? Maybe it was just that it was a lot all at once? I didn’t know for sure, but when I thought about it, even thinking about not taking this opportunity and running with it was dumb. “I’m going to do this, Evan. I need to. It’s going to be wonderful for me,” I told him.

Evan smiled at me. “Good. I’m happy to hear it.” Evan reached for another cupcake, and it disappeared in seconds. I smiled while shaking my head at him. That was at least the fourth one, and I was certain he was going to end up with an upset stomach if he didn’t eat something substantial soon.

I turned around and went back to the list in my notebook. I was trying to finalize what would be offered each day of the week. Since I didn’t have much help, only two other omegas who were mated to someone on the mountain, but I’d not been told whom, I was going to be working a lot of hours. The council had offered me Mondays or Wednesdays off, and I was still deciding which I would prefer. I knew that even with the use of magic, I would need to have a day off. My body would need time to rest, and I would need time to do other things.

“What’s that?” Evan asked as he leaned over my shoulder.

“Basically, it’s a menu. I know I need to offer certain things every day.” I pointed to the plate of cupcakes that Evan had been eating. “Cupcakes and cookies, obviously. But what else should I offer daily? I’m not sure what all they like here? I’ve realized that some of the things we ate in our village aren’t things they have here.”

“True. Have you asked what they had before?” Evan picked up the notebook. “This is a lot, Ev. Are you sure that even with magic, you can handle all of this every day?”

“Is it too much?” I leaned closer to look at the notebook. “We did something similar to this in the bakery in our village.”

Evan shook his head and then sighed. “Sure. But there were four of you. Four of you with magic that could do all of this. This is a lot of magic for you to be using every day. And even if you only use magic to do half of these, it’s still a lot since you would have to make the other half like someone without magic.” Evan gave me a serious look. “You said you were going to have two others to help but don’t know who they are. Do they have magic?”

I shrugged. We all knew there were warlocks and other fae on the mountain, but yeah. I didn’t know who would be helping me. “I have no idea,” I replied. “I’m not even sure if they know how to bake.”

Evan took several deep breaths before he set the notebook down. “Well, I still say you should do it, but definitely cut the daily amount down by at least two-thirds.” I wanted to argue, but Evan knew it was coming and stopped me with a hand on my mouth. “Wait,” he said, raising an eyebrow at me. “Just until you know what it’s going to be like. From what I’ve seen of the enforcers, they like things they can take with them. Cookies, small hand pies, rolls, things of that nature.”

I nodded. “I can do that.”

“Full cakes, full-sized pies, loaves of bread, things like that are what the mated enforcers are going to take home. Maybe have the ones that are going to be helping, have them work on those? I wouldn’t think you would need as many of those first thing in the morning.”

I nodded. I reached for the notebook, and after turning to a new page, I started taking notes. Evan had good ideas, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything. “What else?” I asked once I had that jotted down.

Evan started laughing. “I’m not sure,” he said after he sobered up. “Maybe I should get you in with the council, and you can ask them what all is expected of you. I can’t believe they didn’t say anything.”

I nodded slowly, my mind going back to the very brief meeting I’d had with someone named Alistair. He was a warlock, and I knew he was very important to the council, but I didn’t think he was one of the created ones or anything.

“Umm…maybe they did?” I said, remembering a folder he had given me. “Be right back.” I thought I might have put it in my bedroom. I’d not really thought much about doing the organizing side of things. Baking? Absolutely. But I’d never really actually run a bakery before. I could bake and decorate and make things look pretty and delicious, but the other side had been something others had done in the bakery.

I found the folder on my bedside table and hurried back to the kitchen. Evan was sitting on a stool now, and when I held out the folder, he glared.

“What’s this?”

“I was given it by Alistair when I had the meeting about the bakery.”

Evan sighed before he took it. He quickly scanned through the papers before he looked up at me and shook his head. “Did you read this at all?”

My mouth dropped open, hurt at his words. “Yes, I did. But that was a couple of weeks ago, and I was more thinking about what I would make. Or even if I actually wanted to do it.”

Evan nodded at me. “Do you remember what all is in it?”

I shrugged. “Sort of. I know the pay, hours, general idea is in there.”

More nodding. “How about we go over it after supper? I was thinking about throwing a pan of enchiladas together, and we could eat those with some rice?”

I couldn’t stop myself from grinning. I had never had an enchilada until coming to Treasure Ridge, but I had found that they were quickly one of my favorites. But my absolute favorite was all of the different types of apples they had here. In our realm, there were apples, sure, but there was only one type. Here though? So many, and they tasted quite different.

“I wouldn’t say no to enchiladas. I’m surprised you didn’t eat at the council building though.” I’d been so wrapped up in baking that I’d lost track of time.

Evan’s brow scrunched. “Since when do I have the evening meal at the council? We eat together.”

I shook my head. “You don’t have to.” I went to the cupboard and pulled down a pair of plates. “I was thinking that maybe I would be able to find my own place once I get a few pay cycles. What do you think?”

“Why would you do that? You live here.”

I sighed and set the plates down on the counter with Evan. “Yes, but if I moved out, you wouldn’t feel like you couldn’t be with the other enforcers. You could hang out with them, go out, have fun. Instead, you come home and spend evenings here. I feel bad, Ev. You should be out having fun, enjoying life. You never got to do any of that because of what happened with our parents.” I would forever be grateful for what Evan had done for me. He hadn’t had to. There were several couples in our village who would have gladly taken me in and raised me with their own children so Evan wouldn’t have to. He himself had only been nineteen when they went missing.

“Nope, we’re not doing this now. If you want to move out, we can discuss it later, but we’re not having this conversation tonight. We’re going to eat enchiladas and rice, and we are going to talk about everything that’s in the folder that Alistair gave you. Beyond that, it’s going to have to wait.”

Evan grabbed the top plate from the short stack, and as he slid it across the counter, it was suddenly filled with a pair of rolled enchiladas, and the other half of the plate was filled with fluffy red rice. I took the food as he moved it toward me, offered a smile, and then went to the small table where we usually ate our meals.

Evan joined shortly after, and the sudden appearance of drinking glasses filled with bubbly liquid had me wiggling in my seat. I loved the clear lemon-lime-flavored soda. That was yet another thing that we did not have in the fae realm.

“All right. Let’s go over everything and see what all is expected of both you and the council and how they’re going to be involved.”

“I know I was questioning things earlier, but I really do think I was brought here to do this.”

“I think you should as well. So we’ll see what they expect from you, and we’ll discuss how you should go about asking for more help because I really don’t know that three of you is going to be enough.”

I shrugged. There had only been four of us in our village, but I was beginning to think that the bakery there operated on a smaller scale than what was expected here. I guess time would tell for certain. Right now, I was going to enjoy my delicious supper that Evan had provided for us.