Chapter 7 - Cooking Lessons
Author POV -
Over at Rival River pack at that very moment, Cassie and Jack were cloistered in Jack's office having just spoken with Dave over at Twin Lakes. Concern is evident in the air at both packs as nobody has heard from the teams sent out to gather intel on the mountains, their caves and Ace.
Jack missed having one of his best friends around all the time and was struggling to add Dave's Beta duties on top of his own, but he was happy for his friend. Happy that he was going to have the chance to show the world what he was truly capable of.
Jack had always felt Dave was meant for more than just a Beta role and he knew that Dave was going to be an amazing Alpha, especially to the Twin Lakes Pack which desperately needed a strong leader after the torment of the past few months. They all knew just how quickly everything can change for a pack, there are many in history that proved that just a few short weeks can change everything. But having his beloved mate closeby helps.
Cassie has taken on the role of the Luna like she was born to it, her skill at managing the day to day running of the pack and more importantly the pack members is a gift to behold to anyone who sees her. Rival River pack members adore their new Luna and Cassie can often be seen dashing from one place to another, trying to assist in any way she can. At this moment however she is curled up in her Alpha's lap, worry is gnawing at her insides as they wait to hear that Brian and Mark are safe, that all of them are safe.
"Cassie, come on love, sitting here worrying isn't going to help, let's go and find something to do hey?" Jack whispers, rubbing a comforting hand over her back while placing his nose in her hair and inhaling deeply.
"Can we go to the kitchens?" Cassie perks up at the thought. She might not be able to cook yet, but she has not forgotten her dream of cooking as well as her mother had before her untimely death.
Chuckling, Jack nods his head, nose still buried in her hair, "Of course love, you know I love to watch you in the kitchen, even if the dishes leave something to be desired." he teases with a sly grin crossing his lips. Heading to the kitchen with Cassie seems like the perfect distraction for them both.
Cassie has been spending some time in the kitchen with the head cook between her Luna duties and her special time with her mate and Jack has had the head chef work closely with Cassie, teaching her little tricks in the kitchen and guiding her as best she can, her cooking has already improved greatly for example Cassie's cakes are now the talk of the pack, everyone comes in for a portion of her double chocolate and cream cakes, however there are certain dishes that seem to be beyond her skill set currently. But the head cook is patient and appreciates how hard their Luna is working to improve herself.
Cassie and Jack made their way to kitchen where Cassie proceeded to make an almighty mess with the pancake mix, but after an hour filled with lots of laughing on Jack's part and swearing on Cassie's, she had a small stack of what appeared to be a reasonably well made batch of pancakes which she presented to Jack with a flourish, feeling positive. Jack dug into the dish enthusiastically but he didn't have the heart after that first bite, to tell her they were the consistency of cardboard, so he ate them all with a smile on his face while the head chef smothered her chuckles with the clanging of pans while she cleaned. Cassie watched Jack eagerly awaiting his verdict, looking like a small child on Christmas day, the anticipation eating away at her nerves.
"They were much better than the last pancakes you made Love, I think you are getting closer," Jack finally says after washing down the pancakes with a fresh cup of coffee that the head chef had just slid in front of him. Cassie's face crumbles at his words but Jack is quick to comfort her, leading her away from the kitchen and from prying ears he works hard and finally coaxes a smile from her as they enter his office again.
His office has changed in the last month, before it was slightly dark, with lots of dark furniture and dark curtains framing the large window, often half drawn. Since Cassie began working on her Luna duties they had actually merged their offices, hating to be apart for such long periods of time. Cassie still had her own office for when one of the other of them had a meeting but Jack had had a desk and chair brought into his office and Cassie's feminine touch could be seen in the lighter curtains and the pale cushion covers, which gave a welcome lightness to the decidedly dark decor.
Cassie -
I have been working so hard on improving my cooking, my favourites have to be the sweet dishes, cakes, pastries, all things filled with sugar, but I have enjoyed helping to make dinner with the girls, working alongside them and I have actually not burnt anything in 5 days, 3 if you don't count the times others saved my dishes. I am not sure why I never tried before, but I LOVE baking, cakes are so easy, I don't burn them, I experiment with flavours, I can do these without supervision…. But pancakes, urgh, the pancakes confound me, I just can't seem to get them right. Bless Jack, he is always willing to taste my experiments, and he tries so hard to enjoy what I make, even the stuff burnt to a crisp, but I know my cakes are good, I know because everyone wants a taste when word gets out I have been baking. Watching the kids push and climb to try to get to my baked goods warms my heart, though I have to tell them to settle down and wait their turn, but knowing they are that excited to eat something I have made from nothing more than milk, flour, eggs and whatever else I fancy adding at the time, that warms my heart and fills me with a sense of achievement like nothing I have experienced before. I wonder if that is why my mother enjoyed cooking as much as she did, the sense of fulfilment when watching others enjoy your hard work.