Page 54 of The Alpha and the Baker

She’d gone extra fancy with German chocolate cake sandwich cookies, complete with a special royal icing design on top.

I’d worried that between the cookies cooling and the icing, she wouldn’t get it all done in time for the first round, but she seemed utterly at peace as she laid down the last lines.

She’d had all her icing bags pre-prepped with the appropriate nozzles attached, but it still seemed a wonder to me that she got it all done.

Maybe she was magical in her own way. After all, thousands of Wild Folk had disappeared over the centuries, either from breeding out with other species, being hunted to extinction, or simply losing their connection to whatever it was that made us Wild Folk exist in the first place.

Yet another thing to explore, assuming I was still the alpha of my pack once everything was all said and done.

“Attention! Attention! Everyone take your seats, and we’ll introduce our amazing competing teams today.

Please, give a round of applause to the people who have donated their time, skills, and baking supplies to this great event.

Given the cost of eggs lately, it’s quite the investment in our community, so let’s show our appreciation! ”

I looked past the man with the megaphone to see the crowd.

I wasn’t surprised when I saw nearly a third was my pack, a third was the Ramirez pack, and a third seemed to be general humans.

Honestly, it was almost a natural makeup, or at least it would have been if fairies hadn’t made it such a big no-no for us to attend human events in any numbers outside of education or work.

“First up, we have the lovely nuns from Sisters of Mercy Abbot! They have won the bake-off three years in a row, and they contribute their success to always leaving a spot on their team for Jesus. Will this be the year someone unseats them?”

There was applause all around as a group of little old ladies tottered out from their kitchenette, dressed as one might expect nuns to dress on a warm, spring day.

Was it a little weird to be competing against holy women?

Maybe, but Felicia didn’t even so much as blink at their introduction.

Man, I wish I had her cool under pressure.

Maybe if I got a bit more comfortable in the kitchen, I would.

“Next up, are the Royal Pitches, the a cappella team from our local community college.”

One by one he went through the list. There were more of us than I expected, with nine teams total. I couldn’t even fathom how much flour the event had required.

And last, of course, were my pack and the Ramirez. A truly raucous cheer sounded from our respective crowds, and judging by the surprised look on everyone’s faces, they weren’t used to such a lively crowd.

Well, they were certainly in for a new experience then, because when we shifters cheered, we cheered. Loud, proud, and supportive.

Some people would call it obnoxious, but they were probably just lonely.

At least that was what I told myself, and that’s what I stuck with as everything began.

“All right, ladies, gentlemen, gentlethems, and assorted goblins, let’s kick things off with a favorite of the kiddos here, the cookie round!”

It was only after the corners of my vision started to go a little sparkly that I realized I was holding my breath.

Shit, I needed to hold it together for my pack, so I reminded myself to inhale and have faith in the people I loved.

Whatever happened would happen, but I would be able to take solace in the fact that I knew everyone within my circle had tried their best.

That worked a treat, and when Felicia walked from our kitchenette with her tray of cookies, I felt more centered. I blew her a kiss, which she obviously couldn’t catch with her hands full, but she beamed at me. Whenever she smiled at me like that, it was easier to believe that we’d win it all.

One by one, the judges passed through, tasting each team’s cookies and giving feedback.

It was a strange sort of torture, and the tension on our end could have been cut with a knife.

Occasionally, the other seven teams glanced over to us nervously, and I tried to give them a kind smile.

Given the mixed reactions to that, I guessed my face wasn’t always as placid as I aimed for.

Oh well. They had no idea what the stakes were, and I was perfectly fine with it staying that way.

Finally, it was our turn. The three judges looked down at Felicia’s beautiful cookies, all smiles and laughter.

I definitely got the impression that this wasn’t some overwrought affair for them, as the three of them were quite friendly and made no effort to hide their interest. That was a relief, as their levity forced the rest of us to lighten up a little.

“Don’t these look decadent?” one of them said, an older lady with blue hair and dressed-up like a red gingham picnic table. I couldn’t help but think that she and Abuelita Ramirez would make quite a fashionable pair if they stood next to each other.

“Thank you,” Felicia said. “These are my German chocolate cake cookie sandwiches with royal icing.”

Back before I met Felicia, I hadn’t known there were so many different icing types that each had specific purposes. Now, I still didn’t know many of them, but at least I was aware of just how little I actually knew.

“Don’t mind if I do, then,” another judge said. He was a flamboyant, middle-aged man whose electric pink shirt made me want to put on a pair of sunglasses—it was so bright to my enhanced vision.

“Thank you for your efforts,” the third, a severe-looking, older judge said, her smile thin as she peered over her thick glasses.

They took bites of their cookies.

If I thought waiting for them to approach our team was torture, then watching them chew and trying to study every single micro-expression that crossed their features was pure agony.

It took mere seconds, and yet it felt like an eternity, and I couldn’t decide if I was beginning to like the exhilaration of being in a baking contest or if I hated the whole process and never wanted to be involved in one again.

I supposed I should withhold my judgment until I’d participated in one that didn’t have the threat of fairy punishment hanging over my head if I lost.

Because that was a pretty influencing factor.

“Oh, these are just as decadent as I thought they would be. Moist, but a lovely balance of flavors,” the first judge said, her hand in front of her mouth as she took another bite.

I had no problem with her talking with her mouth full if we were getting good critique.

“Honestly, I’d prefer to have these cookies with a glass of milk since they are so rich, but otherwise, absolutely divine! Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” Felicia said simply, offering her hand, which the first judge shook. “I appreciate the kind feedback.”

“I agree on the richness,” the male judge said, wiping at the corners of his mouth with a ruby-red silk kerchief. “But honestly, I love it. It’s sweet, but not cloying so. I swear I can taste browned butter, and it just adds this lovely depth of flavor that stops it from being too much.”

He could tell all that? And what the hell was browned butter? Was there food coloring involved? More than ever, I resolved to become much more active in the kitchen. After all, my job as an alpha was to provide, and that included making delicious meals for my partner.

And the more I saw how Felicia worked under pressure, the more certain I was that it had to be her.

She really was a person unto herself, and she made me want to be better in so many ways.

I knew there were complications that arose from interspecies relationships, but I didn’t care.

Whatever they were, I was sure it was worth it.

“All right, judges, how about our last group for round one?”

I glanced over at the Ramirezes. Their cookies were rainbow-colored and had sprinkles. I had a feeling they were deceptively simple, however, and had to fight not to hold my breath.

The process was just as excruciating as ours had been, and I had to admit that I was disappointed to still see smiles all around. Damn. I knew it was incredibly unlikely that anyone would bomb any of the rounds, but still… I’d hoped there might be a misstep or two.

“Oh these have such a lovely snap to them! They’re to die for.”

Sal glanced over to me as he smiled. “Maybe they are.”

Cheeky. Very cheeky.

“I’m surprised you actually flavored each colored part of the cookies differently. I would have thought so many different tastes in one small item would be too much, but it’s incredibly balanced!”

It was the severe judge who surprised me the most. “I have to admit, I’m biased toward anything with sprinkles. Little specks of joy, I like to call them.”

And then she let out a giggle—an actual giggle—and I was reminded to never judge a book by its cover. Sure, she dressed like she was a villainous governess from a 1940s sitcom, but sometimes the love of sprinkles was universal.

“All right, everyone!” the announcer said in, and although I knew he needed the megaphone for the human crowd, it was beginning to make my ears ache.

“That’s a wrap on round one! Our judges will deliberate while we invite everyone with taster tickets to form an orderly line to help themselves to the extras!

We also have a comment box where you can leave your own feedback for the contestants.

Please legibly write out what you ate from which team and what you liked about it.

Just so you know, these comments are screened beforehand, so anything inappropriate will not be reaching our contestants!

We do like to protect our community here, and that includes from trolls. ”

Huh, that was nice. And probably a lot of extra effort. I hoped they didn’t get much hate speech, insults, or threats of violence, but it was better to be safe than sorry.