7. Emotional-Support Cookies

~ GENNY ~

"I'm sorry, what now?" I asked, my face full of disbelief.

Emmett let out a long sigh of surrender. "Do you remember a few weeks ago, when you were showing me a report on rogue activity in the neutral zone on your laptop and I asked you to send it to me?"

"Yeah," I drawled hesitantly.

"I never got it. It was weird, especially since I was sitting right next to you when you sent it and I saw the confirmation that it was sent. I checked all of my folders, including spam and trash. Can you confirm it's in your sent folder?" he asked.

I pulled out my phone and opened up my email app, quickly navigating to the sent folder. I didn't want to scroll for too long since it had been weeks since I sent it, so I searched for his email address instead.

I motioned for him to come and sit closer. "Here, these are all of the emails I have sent to your email address."

I pointed to the list of emails and sure enough, ten emails down was the one with the report he watched me send.

His brows scrunched up in pure confusion as he took out his phone and searched for messages from my address. Then he showed me his phone.

Blaring right at us was an empty list and the message: "No results found."

"Can I see what these other messages are? I never received them," he asked.

I handed him my phone and watched as he scrolled through and read each one. This was definitely concerning. Not only are the Ashcrofts close family friends, but the Stonehaven pack is our closest ally.

Having our communications disrupted was highly concerning. It could mean the difference between life and death.

"What the fuck?" Emmett asked, anger lacing his voice.

I leaned over to look at the phone. "What is it?"

"You sent this to me, Ally, and my parents, but no one mentioned it."

"Which one?"

He blew out a frustrated breath. "This one here about the changes to security for the mating ball. These are some serious updates, but they are understandable since the Queen and Crown Princess will be in attendance this year. But we had no idea, nor did we know that we needed to provide additional information and signed documents for all pack members attending."

"Emmett, we need those documents within the next two days or else whoever hasn't provided them can't attend. They won't even be able to get past the barrier. It's non-negotiable," I stated with a sense of urgency.

That's when I remembered it's more than that. My eyes widened in shock before I added, "Anyone who has already crossed the barrier and hasn't signed these documents will be weakened when this clause goes into effect. Not only is there you and your family, but some of your pack members have already arrived and checked into their dormitory to see the sights."

"I need to talk to Ally. Can you get some copies of these documents printed for me? I'll track down the pack members already here and call Evan to handle those who haven't left yet." He stood, heading for the door.

I rose and stopped him. "I'll have Dad resend the documents to Evan. But I do have one more question."

He paused and turned, tilting his head in curiosity. "What's up?"

"Have you sealed up the hole in your wall?"

"No. I have a stealth team watching the site. They have installed some motion sensors and hidden cameras. I wanted to see if we can catch whoever is using it."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, good. When we go out to inspect the cracks, I'm going to focus on the one on our western border next to the neutral zone. It's one of the three larger ones."

He nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea. I'm worried that someone is preparing for an attack here at Silvercrest."

"Yeah, me too. Which is even more concerning with the Queen and Crown Princess here."

Emmett gave me an inquisitive look. "They're already here? Why? They've never attended mating balls before."

I smirked before responding, "Sorry, Em. Royal Blood Oath prohibits me from divulging any information."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Fine. Keep your secrets."

I laughed as we walked out of the office and toward the common area. He was about to turn toward the east wing before turning and heading to the dining hall with me.

"Ally and Darren are in the dining hall with everyone else for lunch. Are you going to be okay with them in there?" he asked.

I gritted my teeth and rolled my neck. "I don't really have a choice, now do I."

Emmett wrapped an arm around my shoulders in a brotherly embrace as we continued down the hall. "Look, I get it. You hate them for how they were back then. But they've changed, and I think they regret pushing you away."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms and mumbled, "I never said I 'hate' them. I just have a very strong dislike for them. But if I find out they had anything to do with what happened, then they will definitely be upgraded to 'hate.'"

He halted and turned me to face him completely, grasping my shoulders as he held me at arm's length. Emmett was taller than the quads, but not by much. At six-foot-six, he looked down at me, his face filled with concern.

"I don't know the full story of what happened, but I know that you were hurt, traumatized even. I don't believe my brothers had anything to do with it. It's just not who they are."

The sound of cautious footsteps approaching forced us both to turn. Alexander slowly stepped closer, looking like an aloof CEO of some billion-dollar empire. He was wearing a custom-tailored suit that fit him perfectly. I recognized the style right away.

The slate blue of the crisp slacks and jacket complemented his ocean-blue eyes. His sandy-blond hair was styled to professional perfection. Not a single hair was out of place.

I just wanted to run my fingers through it and ruffle it all into a big spiky mess. Alexander always liked being in control, so messing up his perfect hair would have driven him insane.

Halting at least six feet away from Emmett and me, he looked between the two of us with concern. "Is everything okay?"

I stared at him with disbelief for only a beat before plastering on my biggest and most exaggerated smile. Then I looped my arm through Emmett's and dragged him toward the dining hall and away from Alexander.

Alexander stood frozen in place, watching us as we entered the dining hall. His face held a mixture of disbelief, confusion, and a hint of guilt. I wondered how much of our conversation he had managed to hear.

As soon as Emmett and I entered the dining hall, I released his arm and made my way to the table my family was sitting at. Emmett went to the table next to ours where the Ashcrofts sat. Alexander eventually followed him.

We were still close enough to each other to be able to have a conversation without yelling. Unfortunately, the quads were facing my usual seat next to Charlie and my father.

I ignored them as I sat down, across from the double trouble twins. Mirabella instantly lit up before demanding, "Mommy, I want bacon!"

Charlie and I chuckled before I informed this tiny trouble, "Mira, you do know that there are other meats to eat. And it looks like you have some yummy chicken nuggets on your plate already."

Mirabella looked at her plate then back up at Charlie and me. "Alright, fine. But I want bacon for breakfast."

Both tables chuckled. Then Aribella made a demand of her own. "Mommy, I want strawberries."

Charlie looked between her daughter's sweet little face and the plate. "Ari, you already have strawberries."

Aribella looked down at her plate. "Oh yeah! I forgot." Then she proceeded to shove a cut strawberry into her mouth.

That brought a genuine smile to my face as I laughed lightly at the exchange. The smile faded as I noticed the quads watching Charlie and me, their eyes darting between us as a plate of food was placed before me.

I rolled my eyes and looked down at my meal. Just by the smell I could tell that it was grilled ham and cheese with truffle fries. But the cheese was smoked gouda, my favorite.

On a side plate sat a few small skewers filled with cherry tomatoes, small mozzarella balls, and fresh basil. Next to the skewers were a few pieces of sliced cucumber.

I knew this meal. I glanced up slowly and my eyes briefly met with Rowan's before he quickly lowered his gaze.

Did he make this for me? Of course he did. He was the only one who had ever made me this meal. But why? What was he trying to do?

My mother clearing her throat broke me out of my daze. "Honey, you need to eat. Benedict said you didn't have any breakfast."

I scoffed as I picked up my sandwich. "Yeah, I didn't get any proper coffee either. Don't get me wrong, the coffee at Oak Lodge isn't bad, but it's not as good as coffee from Spellbound Crumb."

I took a bite and lightly moaned at the flavors dancing across my tongue. From the corner of my eye, I noticed that Rowan was watching me and that two additional pairs of eyes were staring at me. Reid looked almost amused, but Alexander looked offended.

Suddenly, an insulated travel mug was placed in front of me, and a box of my favorite cookies was placed beside my plate. Behind me, I caught the scent of antiseptic and honey.

A smile grew on my face as I returned the sandwich to the plate and looked up into the honey-brown eyes of Benedict's younger sister.

"Bethany! I love you so much right now! You should quit the hospital and replace your brother as my assistant," I loudly proclaimed.

From another table nearby, Benedict shouted, "I heard that! I asked her stop at Spellbound Crumb and pick up your damn coffee and Monkey Box on her way home from Silverstone. So you should be thanking me!"

I looked over at Benedict with a huge smile. The corner of his feigned frown kept twitching upward as he attempted to hide his amusement.

I batted my eyelashes at him and sweetly said, "Thank you, Benny. I love you, too. I don't blame you. It's that stupid owner I blame for closing the bakery in Serenity Falls without notice and denying me my Monk's Tears and pastries."

I grabbed a salted caramel macaron and bit into it. A pleased moan escaped my lips as my eyes fluttered shut, allowing me to savor the moment. With a satisfied sigh, I proclaimed, "Now I feel better."

My family's laughter sounded around me. As I opened my eyes, they were instantly met with Reid's shocked gaze as his eyes flicked between mine and the box of cookies.

I instantly pulled the box into my arms protectively before announcing, "You can't have any. These are my emotional-support cookies."