Page 55 of The Alpha and the Baker

“Contestants, you are welcome to do your final preparations for round two, which will be starting in about ten minutes after we announce the winner of round one!”

Ten minutes wasn’t a lot of time to deliberate, but I was glad it wouldn’t take any longer than that.

Even with speedy judging times, the bake-off was scheduled to run until five, meaning we’d have had a twelve-hour day.

Man, those nuns had endurance, that was for sure.

I hoped I was that sturdy when I was the equivalent of their age.

The main bakers and cooks of our team headed back to the tent while Chris and I handed out cookies to those in line. It was actually quite pleasant. Everyone was kind and had something positive to say, even the young humans.

We ended up running out before everyone got one, and the announcer was again using his megaphone to say that everyone who hadn’t gotten anything from round one would be first in the taster’s line for the next one.

Then it was time for the judges’ decision. The rest of our team returned, setting up the pie that Aunt Letitia had made. It was a key lime pie with candied fruit on top. I’d have to sneak a bite when the tasters came up.

It was almost a relief when they took the megaphone just to have a break from the announcer’s voice, even though I wanted to break the thing into a million pieces.

“Thank you everyone for being patient, it’s always a bit of a slow start, but once we find our rhythm, the ball really tends to get rolling! So, in the interest of being expedient, our decision for the winner of the first round is team number eight, the McCallisters!”

Wait, the McCallisters? That was us!

“Yes!” my mother cried, surprising me. But not so much so that I missed the opportunity to give her a high five. “You did it, Felicia.”

“We did it all together,” Felicia said. God, I wanted to kiss her so badly, but figured I should wait.

Didn’t need to distract her when the stakes were high.

“Every step of this process was a team effort, and we wouldn’t have been able to get this all done without each other. That’s why community is so important.”

Why… why did it feel like she was trying to after-school-special us? It wasn’t like anything she said was wrong. So, I nodded along as we went into the second round.

I was beginning to fully understand that the vibe of the event was relentlessly positive, because once again every team got good feedback. The harshest critique was for the middle-aged bowlers who made up the fifth team. Apparently, their bottom crust was soggy and underbaked.

Naturally, when it came to Auntie Letitia’s pie, the reviews were glowing, including words like “perfectly tart” and “sinfully decadent”.

The third judge thought it was good, but admitted she wasn’t partial to sour things.

I didn’t really consider limes to be ‘sour’, but maybe I just wasn’t that kind of white.

My stomach sank when it was the Ramirezes’ turn and the judges each tried a bite of their sopapilla cheesecake pie. I didn’t even know what sopapilla was until one of their teammates explained it, and damn, even I had to be real with myself that it sounded delicious.

And apparently it was, because two of the judges took a second bite, which they really weren’t supposed to.

Uh - oh…

Even more elaborate phrases were used, like “a perfect combination of rich, sweet, and creamy”, “tastes like my childhood” and “this is the kind of pie that makes me want to dance like I still had young knees”.

I shot Chris a worried glance as the judges tottered off to deliberate, and he sent one right back my way.

However, we didn’t have much time to worry about it, because our bakers were returning to the tent for round three while Chris and I cut the remaining pie into small, bite-sized squares to get to as many people as possible.

It certainly wasn’t as easy as giving out the cookies, but at least it meant more than seven people got to try the pie.

Unfortunately, I did have to give up the piece I’d planned to take for myself. I figured I could request Letitia to make a pie for me anytime, whereas this was likely the only time the people in the crowd would get a taste.

Or at least that was what I thought until Letitia returned and helped us hand out the bite-sized pieces.

“Is there a place where we can purchase an entire pie?” asked a middle-aged woman who reminded me a lot of Polly. “I love key lime pie, but ever since I moved to this city, I’ve had the hardest time finding some place that actually makes it tart enough.”

“Yes, actually. I’ll be making five of these biweekly, which will be sold at our team captain’s bakery. Here, I have a business card for her right in my apron.”

At that, Auntie Letitia pulled a small rectangle from her front pocket with a flourish and handed it to the woman.

“Fantastic! Only five, though? How exclusive.”

“Well, you know, it’s a small business that’s still building its client base. But if you’d like to see more pies there more often, they have an online order form. Just check the website at the bottom of the card.”

“The conveniences of the modern world, I tell ya! But I’ll definitely place an order in. Those candied limes on top are just to die for!”

“I’m glad you like it, ma’am.”

I waited for the woman’s child to get his little square before addressing my aunt. “When did this happen?”

She blinked her warm cocoa eyes at me, as if she hadn’t even realized I was there. That’s when I realized that this was likely the most non-pack socializing Auntie Letitia had done in decades. “Oh, did I not mention it before?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Goodness! With everything going on, I suppose it just slipped my mind. Your wonderful mate asked me if I was interested in that when we were doing our testing phase. I was flattered, of course, but initially I turned her down.”

Whoa, there was a lot to unpack in that simple sentence. “She’s not my mate. We’re just dating.”

“And a seedling becomes a cornstalk,” she said, reaching up to pinch my cheek.

Even as an alpha, there were some things that were unavoidable, and that included face pats and cheek pinches by elders.

“But anyway, I figured it would be a nice way for me to contribute to the pack fund and have my own pocket money. You know, in all my years, I’ve never had a single paycheck.

Always thought it was unnecessary, but now that I’m older…

well, it seems like a bit of a novel experience.

” When her eyes flicked to me again, there was an almost sheepish expression on her wizened face and a deep blush on her dark cheeks.

“Me, making money off my pies, can you believe it?”

Realization dawned on me. As much as I tried to be an alpha and leader for all members of my pack, I had lived a much different life than many of our elder members.

Aunt Letitia came from a time when women weren’t expected to have jobs outside the home, when she couldn’t have a credit card in her own name, or own a house.

While shifter culture had never been as restrictive to our women since many of our packs were matriarchal, all of society—both magical and mundane—had come a long way.

Not to mention the sheer wealth of information and technology we had access to. Pretty much ever since I was old enough to read, if I had a question, I could just look it up online. That certainly hadn’t been the case when Aunt Letitia had been growing up, meaning she had fewer opportunities.

So, yeah, it was a big deal that an official bakery was paying her for ten pies a month, and I wanted to recognize it for the huge accomplishment that it was.

“I can believe it,” I said softly, then pulled her against my side.

“You’ve always been incredibly talented, and goodness knows our pack has greatly benefited from the many delicious things you’ve made over the years.

I personally think that you should keep everything you earn.

The pack fund already has plenty. This deal? It’s all yours.”

I heard Aunt Letitia’s heartbeat pick up and her scent bloomed happy all around her. “Keep all of it? I couldn’t!”

“Well, I won’t tell you what to do with your money, but I will tell you that it is your money, so you should only do what you want with it.”

“You know,” she murmured, her voice soft enough that only I could hear it. “Your father would be so proud of you. You’re every bit the alpha he hoped you would be.”

“I…”

The way she said it was so genuine and so heartfelt that I was struck speechless. The kind words snuck right past my defenses to land on my heart, stabbing deep in a wonderfully intense way. Auntie Letitia was about as old school as they came, and if she said something like that, she meant it.

“You think so?” I said eventually, when the crushing wave of happiness finished rushing through me. I liked to think I didn’t need other people’s approval, but it meant the world to me that someone who had always been a fixture in my life saw me doing my best.

“I know so. He worked so hard to undo Barris’s corruption that he didn’t get time to grow and nurture the pack in the way he wanted to. But you? You do that every day, don’t ya?”

I had to be careful. If she kept going, I was going to cry. And while I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the man crying, I didn’t really want that tender moment to be in front of so many humans and members of a rival pack.

“Thank you, Auntie.”

“Of course, dearie. Now let’s win round three!”

“Here, here!”

“Attention, our judges have finished their deliberation for round two and will now announce the winner!” There was the megaphone again, but I was happy to get on with the event.

“For our second round, the winning pie belongs to team nine, the Ramirezes!”

Well, shit.