"It's him."

"What is happening?"

"Oh Moon Goddess, I want both of them."

We froze and gave an odd glance at the outspoken teenage she-wolf, who was now blushing furiously when she realized that we had heard her lewd statement.

"How long do you think they'll stare at us like this?" Aleksei muttered to me under his breath as he smiled charmingly at the stunned wolves. I shrugged and studied the mirage of emotions displayed on my pack member's faces that ranged from delighted to disbelief.

Normally, my pack members would bow their heads when they saw me, but today, they were all willing to look me in the eye because of how shocked they were.

I guess it was not every day they saw their ex-Alpha march through the grounds confidently.

"So," Aleksei started, looking around curiously as we headed into the cluster of houses, "Where did my house go?"

"Mom and Dad live there when they visit. I had actually planned to demolish it, but Mom begged me not to."

"Harsh, you really wanted to get rid of me, didn't you?"

I gave him a sheepish shrug, "Can you blame me? I thought you were a pussy and wanted nothing to do with you."

"Well, you are what you eat."

His crude sense of humor hadn't changed one bit over the years, and I hated to admit that I was happy about it.

"If we go by that, then you're a dick and an asshole," I pointed out as we climbed the stairs to his old house.

"And you're a nip–"

"Shut your trap. We're going in," I shushed, unlocking the front door.

We stepped inside quietly and were immediately overwhelmed by the smell of my mother's cooking. Aleksei let out a soft groan, "I've missed her home cooked meals."

"You saw her just a month ago," I muttered as we trudged down the hallway to the kitchen.

Suddenly, my mother's voice echoed through the house, causing us to freeze, "Alrik, is that you? Why is your scent so strong?" 

Apparently, forcing my brother into my jacket smothered his scent enough that my mother didn't recognize the scent of her older pup.

I glanced at Aleksei, placed a finger on my lips, and nodded toward the kitchen, and he tiptoed behind me as we entered. To our luck, my mother didn't look up from the stove as she stirred the pot and tasted her food.

"Hey ma," I greeted casually, "What's for dinner? I was thinking about bringing two very special guests over."

Her shoulders shook lightly as she laughed, "Jaslynn and Reece aren't guests, sweetie. They're family."

"It's not Jaslynn and Reece, although they'll be there too."

"Oh, is it Conrad and Cecilia? The two of them are such darlings. I would–"

"No, ma. Not Conrad and Cecilia."

"Then who? You don't have any friends, Alr–," her words were cut off as she finally turned around to face us.

The wooden spoon fell from her fingers, and she covered her mouth with a shaky hand as her eyes began to water.

"I'm offended that Yerik and I aren't potential guests, mama," Aleksei grinned, walking over to her and sniffing the pot, "And look, you even made my favorite meal. Beef stroganoff."

"A–Aleksei?" She whispered in a trembling voice, raising her hand to touch his cheek with her fingertips as if to make sure he was real.

"Yes, mama. It's me. Your better-looking pup."

Her teary eyes darted back and forth between the Aleksei and me before she sniffled and threw her arms around Aleksei, sobs racking her body. He hugged her tightly and rubbed her back as we both shared a smirk at her reaction. 

Then, she suddenly raised her head and lifted her arm, and I made my way over to her and allowed her to pull me down for a hug as well.

"M–my boys," she hiccuped, kissing our faces wherever she could, "My pups."

My heart clenched with sorrow even though she was letting out happy tears. 

I had realized just how much torment my mother carried in her heart because of the split. She was forced to plaster a smile on her face as she traveled back and forth between her pups and act as though everything was alright when all she wanted to see was her whole family at the dinner table.

It was too late to grieve over what had happened, but hopefully, it was not too late to stitch the pieces of her heart back together.

We pulled away from her, and Aleksei tugged a handkerchief from his pocket and began wiping her tears, "Don't cry, mama. We don't want salty beef stroganoff for dinner."

A small smile lit up her face as she sniffled again and ran her thumbs over our jaws, "The two of you look so handsome. I have missed seeing you stand side-by-side so much."

Then, she looked at me and grabbed my face with both hands, pulling me down to kiss my forehead as if to show to her pride and gratitude.

I beamed down at her, and she shook her head joyfully, wiping the wet corners of her eyes, "Where's Yerik? You didn't bring him?"

"I left him with Jaslynn, but he sends his love. He can't wait to show you his spinach soufflé."

"Spinach soufflé?" I asked incredulously, "He bakes?"

Aleksei snorted with a glint of amusement in his eye, "Of course he does, he's a pastry chef."

I blinked and narrowed my eyes, waiting for him to tell me he was joking, but he stared back at me in all seriousness.

"Your mate, who is the size of both of us put together, is a pastry chef."

It was difficult to imagine the gigantic muscular wolf, who looked like he could pick up a mountain if he wanted to, baking pies or putting little sprinkles on doughnuts.

"He's also a blacksmith. He's in charge of all the weaponry in the pack. And don't talk about his size, he's very sensitive about it."

"You're fucking with me," I said, dodging my mother's slap.

Aleksei snickered and shook his head, "I'm not. In fact, I'll bet you, he's baking something at your house right now. Probably éclairs because those are his favorite."

***

"Watch out, Yerik. My éclairs are going to be better than yours. This French witch knows what she's doing."

He raised his head from his chocolate icing and shrugged, "No one has ever beaten Aleksei's éclairs. His are the perfect length and thickness and his filling is the sweetest."

"Are we still talking about éclairs?"

Yerik frowned at first, but the underlying meaning behind my words clicked, and he threw a towel at my head as blood rushed up his neck. I caught the towel with a laugh and went back to my éclairs.

After Alrik and Aleksei had disappeared and left Yerik in my care, I realized that the quiet man was a lot more vocal once he was comfortable. He had barely walked into the house when his eyes landed on the kitchen, and we struck up a conversation about baking.

And somehow in the process, we got ourselves into a battle of baked goods.

"So are both you and Aleksei avid bakers?" I asked as I began whisking the cream.

"No, Aleksei spent months perfecting éclairs because he wanted to surprise me for my birthday. It's the only thing he can cook or bake."

"That's so sweet," I cooed, imagining Aleksei spending hours in the kitchen with flour all over his face, trying to get the perfect pastries ready for his mate.

"I call him my solantse for a reason. He has a kind heart," he said fondly, his lips curving upward slightly. 

"What does 'solantse' mean?"

"My sun."

I shook my head slowly, "You two are like the perfect couple."

"We've had our issues like any other pair. Reece mentioned you and Alrik recently reconciled as well?"

"It's a long story," I sighed, "But I'm glad we ended up where we are now."

Suddenly, my phone lit up and my ringtone blared across the kitchen, and I excused myself quickly and grabbed it, frowning at the unknown number.

"Jaslynn Beau–"

"Jaslynn, the Minister is dead."