Page 6 of Violet Moon
Wilma beamed under the attention.“Thanks.I’m still learning, but I’m pleased with the results so far.”
The bell on the front door rang and Sera instantly switched from Beta to bakery manager as Wilma waved and slipped into the back.
The steady stream of customers kept her hands and mind occupied for most of the day, but every now and then it’d drift to thoughts of the Crooked Creek Pack and their new Alpha situation.She’d never known a new Alpha before.The ones she knew had been around for decades, even centuries.A new Alpha with aggression issues seemed like a cause for alarm, even if life was continuing like normal around the whole situation.
Whatever Jason chose, to remain with his pack or break off and begin a new one, it would forever change the Crooked Creek Pack.Any changes in a pack always shook even the firmest foundations.Welcoming Jo to the Pitch Mountain Pack a few months ago was the right decision, but it didn’t mean the balance wasn’t upset for a little while — or still was.Parisa spent a lot of time helping Jo acclimate to both being a wolf and to pack life which meant more fell on Sera’s plate, which also meant Wilma had to pick up more slack when Sera’s messy binder and brain meant some things fell through the cracks.
“Do you have anything you’d recommend?”
Sera startled out of her customer service autopilot mode.A man on the other side of the counter focused on her.
“Are you in the mood for something sweet or savory?”
“Someone like you seems sweet, so why don’t we go with that?”
One of those types, then.Sera kept her eyes from rolling.She painted on the smile that was reserved for times when the situation demanded civility, but Sera wanted to be petty.“The daily fruit tartlet assortment is always popular, as are our ‘wolf-sized croissants,’ but thesheermalis our specialty and we only have it three days a week, so best to get it before it sells out.”
The man laughed and leaned over the counter.“Going to have to tell me what that last one is.”
“Persian sweet bread.The owner made today’s batch with rosewater and saffron, like always, with added raisins and pistachios.”
“I thought you were gonna give me something sweet.”
“There’s always fruit tartlets,” she said and welcomed the rush of relief she felt when he finally picked something, paid, and sat down.He was still in her eyesight, but at least he wasn’t talking anymore.
“Want me to kill him for you?”Lock snuck behind her and laughed.
“Don’t even joke about that,” Sera hissed, but she was torn between being professional and laughing.
“Look, I’ll cut you a deal.I take care of that one for you and then I get to chase down the tourist who asked me what my ‘spirit animal’ was today while you turn the other way.”Lock, full name Amos Locklear, was built like a brick wall and was everything that someone would assume a werewolf should look like, but he was probably the gentlest one in the pack.
“Isn’t your shift over?”Sera changed the subject.
“Covering for Olive in front of the house.She’s got finals coming up.”
“Don’t you, too?”
“Yeah, but I’m fine.And this is, like, my fourth degree.Who cares about As at this point?”
“That’s awfully kind of you.”
“What can I say?I’m always this kind.”He winked before ducking back into the kitchen.
“Excuse me.”
Sera snapped her head back towards the front counter.A young boy who had to stretch to peek over the surface caught her attention.Her heart clenched.He had brown hair like her own and dots of sun freckles across his cheeks.
“Can I help you?”Sera forced out the words and smile.
“Three curry hand pies, please.”His little hand shot up, holding a fistful of money.He dumped it on the counter.“It’s my birthday so we get to have lunch not at my house and mom says I’m big enough to buy the pies by myself now.Some of this is my money.”
“Happy birthday,” she said around the lump in her throat.He had freckles and rosy cheeks.Her vision tunneled.Her heart beat in strange, staccato bursts and there was a ringing in her ears.The past collided with the present and she was back in a seaside town in a well-loved kitchen telling her younger brother to wait for the cookies to cool before he had any.
“Just three, please,” the boy said.
Sera pulled herself back to the present.“Do you want anything else?”She started boxing the three hand pies, starved for anything else to think about.
The little boy looked over his shoulder at a table with a woman and a disinterested teenager scrolling on her phone.The woman shook her head.
