Page 62 of The Alpha and the Baker

“ Mija , you did what no one in either of our packs has been able to do in centuries. You beat the fairies at their own game.” Relief flooded through me as I realized that her reaction was positive, not fearful.

Thank God. While I would have understood if some of the shifters were wigged out by watching me ruthlessly poison people, it would have broken my heart.

“I guess sometimes it takes an outsider to see the cracks in the system.”

She enveloped me in a warm hug. Shifters really were an affectionate people, and I had long since realized I was as well. “Oh, carino, you are no outsider. You are pack. Through and through.”

“But I’m already a part of the McCallister pack,” I hedged cautiously.

Although it would be a shame if the pack still chose to be enemies after I had risked so much, I understood that I couldn’t force them to make peace.

They had to decide on that themselves. I’d led them to water, so to speak, but the rest was up to them.

“Don’t matter. Shifters are shifters, and as far as I’m concerned, you’re a shifter.” She gave me a little nudge. “But if things ever don’t work out with that tall fella, my grandson Sal is?—”

“Thank you, Abuelita , ” I cut her off quickly. “We should get these to the fairies.”

“Ah, let them suffer a little. It’s been a long time coming.”

“You’re ruthless, Abuelita ,” I said, already hurrying around her.

“Says the girl who poisoned fairies with cupcakes.”

“I’m never gonna live that down, am I?”

“Are you kidding? It’s going to be a legend, mija. Goodness knows I’m going to tell all my great-grandbabies about this.”

“Oh, jeez…”

Thankfully, she let me go, and I tried not to think about future generations of shifters talking around the campfire about how I’d committed a literal crime.

“Do you think you need another?” I asked Slicked-back as I knelt next to him once again. “I also got you some cool water.”

He took it from me with a furious movement that told me he had to be feeling a bit better, and I did a circuit of all the rest of the fairies before I returned to him. He was sitting up, using the kerchief I’d given him to dab at the corners of his mouth.

“I can’t believe you tricked us,” he said. Strangely, he sounded almost pleased. “We’ve gotten complacent in our old age.”

“Or you’ve gotten complacent after centuries of exploiting others. Maybe it would do y’all well to rethink the way you do things. Friends in truth are much more helpful than contracted help.”

“You’re strange for a human, you know that?”

I shrugged and offered him my hand. “I’ve been told that before.”

With that, I helped him to his feet and handed him another bottle of water. “I assume you’ll want some time to rest before discussing reparations with the Ramirez pack.”

He let out a very dry huff before nodding. “Yes. That would… be much more comfortable for us.”

The twelve of them started to half-limp back toward their SUV, but I cleared my throat before they were halfway there.

“ What? ” Slicked-back snapped, looking at me over his shoulder like I was his middle school teacher stopping him from leaving for the day.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t mind releasing the packs from their contracts. You know, so that way you can’t forget.”

His lip went up like he was going to snarl at me to be patient, but then his gaze flitted to the dozens of shifters surrounding them.

Ramirezes and McCallisters, all of them united.

“Fine.” He waved his hand, and a silent explosion of gold glitter suddenly burst above our heads, raining down over everyone present.

And while I didn’t feel everything, many of the shifters straightened and breathed deeply, as if they had just had a great weight taken off them.

“Use your freedom well,” Cellphone fairy said before they all piled into their vehicles and drove off. We watched them, wondering if it was really done, until a series of yawns sounded around us.

Oh, the humans were waking up.

Suddenly, we were all embroiled in helping humans to their feet and explaining that there was some sort of gas leak that had made everyone pass out. Paramedics and firefighters were called, with shifters slowly trickling out when they could until it was just us main crew.

It was weirdly anticlimactic to sort of play along until the all-clear was given, and once it was, the crowd was much smaller. Probably because it was mostly human.

It had been a fucking long day. An incredible day. However, I was ready to go home. But before I could make my way over to Cas and say goodbye, I heard the crackle of the megaphone once again.

“Uh, that certainly wasn’t an orthodox way for our competition to go,” the announcer said in a rough voice. “But let’s finish it off strong. Would the judges like to announce their winner?”

“Oh, I got this! I got this!” It was the one male judge who replied enthusiastically, bounding away from the paramedics to grab the megaphone. “After a lot of deliberation and truly a year like any other, we decided that our ultimate winner is…”

I thought I wouldn’t care—after all, I’d just had my own personal bake-off with all-powerful magical creatures who were more like CEOs than winged sorcerers. And yet I still felt a thrill of anticipation in me.

“A tie between both of our newcomers! The McCallisters and the Ramirezes!”

A tie? A tie!

It was more perfect than I ever thought, and suddenly I was caught up in hugs, then lifted bodily above the heads of all the tallest McCallisters and Ramirezes.

“Guys!” I called between peals of laughter. “We all won, not just me!”

“Yeah, but it’s because of you that we did,” Cas shouted above the cheers. I’d never been carried around like a queen, and honestly, a girl could get used to it.

However, my favorite moment was still when they set me down and I finally got to embrace Cas and kiss him as deeply as I’d wanted to the entire day.

More cheers and wolf whistles sounded from all around us, but I didn’t feel embarrassed.

As far as I was concerned, I’d earned some serious make-out time.

But we were in public, so I pulled away after a minute or so.

“Hey, Cas,” I rasped, leaning heavily onto him. I was exhausted , but at the same time I was so happy.

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

“What if we skipped the whole dating part and jumped to you being my boyfriend?” I mean, in my head, I’d been calling him my boyfriend since the day after our first date.

He grinned broadly, kissing me once more. “Only if you’ll be my girlfriend.”

The third kiss was just as good as the first. “Sounds good to me.”

Utterly exhausted, I intertwined my fingers with his, so incredibly grateful I had him to lean on.

“Now, how about you take me back to my place and pamper me?”

Another kiss, this time to the top of my head. “Whatever you want, sweetheart, for the rest of our lives.”

I felt myself flush, my mind flying in a thousand different happy directions. “Careful, Cas, someone might think that sounds like a proposal.”

He laughed, picking me up one more time and spinning me around. “Perhaps we should go on a third date first.”

“Well, I happen to be free this coming Friday,” I said, batting my lashes at him.

“Then it’s a date.”

The first date of many.