CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER ONE

FINN

I wiped down the counter top as a customer walked in. The man who approached the counter was an Alpha.

His scent filling up the whole shop. “I would like two creamy buns” His voice boomed in the bakery, almost as if he was shouting at me.

I took deep breaths; my hands shook slightly as I reached for the freshly baked creamy buns in the display glass below the counter.

I handed the Alpha his order, my throat glued shut. “What is his problem?” He mumbled as he walked out of the bakery.

Yep, that was a typical example of my unexplainable anxiety issues. I couldn’t even speak while the man stood there.

Sometimes, I wondered if the moon goddess made a mistake creating me. My phone rang out then, the tone shrill in the stillness of the shop.

“Oh, that is today” I muttered under my breath, my lips lifting up in a slight smile. I couldn’t believe it was two years since I opened up the bakery. My dream.

I had poured every penny I had to my name into bringing the bakery to life; despite my worry about my anxiety and how it would affect my business.

And that wasn’t the only issue. Due to what I was; I could be really…volatile. A slight twinge of pain ran through me at the moment, causing me to lean against the counter for a while.

I breath slowly, waiting for a while before I moved to start prepping the stuffed puffs when the door to the bakery opened once again.

“Good morning, what would you like to order today?”

The customer was a regular; she always managed to get to the bakery at least three times in a week.

“I…I would like a croissant” She mumbled out, her hands twisting around each other.

“I would have that ready immediately” I reassured her, hurrying up with the packing of her order.

“Here you go, have a nice day!” I called out behind her as she left the bakery. She must be extremely shy; I could relate with that.

It was one of the reasons why I had just one friend. The oven dinged then, alerting me to the fact that the buns inside it were ready to be removed.

I wore my favourite pair of muffins, carefully opening the oven; heat enveloping my face completely.

I didn’t mind it at all though; it was worth it. My bakery; Sunshine Bakery was proof of my struggle and survival.

Every piece of sausage or creamy buns that a customer buys brings so much satisfaction to me.

“It’s someone’s anniversary today!” I heard him rumble out before he wrapped his hands around me.

I let out a tired chuckle, shaking my head as I kneaded the dough despite the restriction. “Aren’t you meant to be in the pack house right now?”

I questioned, trying to wiggle out of his hold. He loosened his hold on me briefly, allowing me to face him.

Oliver’s sun-kissed face shone like it did every single time I saw him. I would be jealousy if not for the fact I knew he always looked like that.

And he was too friendly for me to be jealousy of him. “Are you trying to escape from celebrating this milestone?” He narrowed his eyes at me with false anger, his baby blues growing sharp.

“I never said that, Oli” He ran his hand through his midnight blue hair, looking down his nose at me.

“You didn’t, but I could tell you want to. The answer is no; we are going to celebrate this. You have worked too hard not to do this. For you”

I swallowed, tilting my head slightly to meet his gaze full on. He was right but then again, the little pangs of exhaustion and dizziness I had been experiencing for the past couples of days made me want to sleep in instead.

“And we can't do that at my place?” I offered, rubbing the joint of my wrists into my back.

I only had myself to blame for how exhausted I was; I pushed myself too much. It was only a matter of time before I came down with the flu.

“No, we can go camping. It has been a while since we did that together” Oli grumbled out, poking at me before he took a creamy bun on a plate.

I let out a sigh, while I loved the idea of going out to camp; the fear of me encountering Alphas made me even more reluctant to step out of the safety of my bakery.

“I have everything sorted out already; I know how you get about strange places” I looked at him, the urge to reject his offer anyway was extremely strong.

But I didn’t want to disappoint him. We had hardly hangout together except whenever he came over to the bakery to visit or help with the rush hour.

He deserved at least this much. “Okay” I agreed finally, steeling my mind.

“Really?” He asked, surprise evident on his face at my answer.

“Yeah, or do you not mind staying back at the-”

“I mind; I do!” He interrupted before I could completely my sentence.

“If that is so, can you please help me clear out the goods on display then?” There was no way the baked goodies were going to waste.

He ruffled my cap covered head before he picked up the second apron hanging onto the door.

By the time all the baked goods were sold out, I was tired but hopeful. It wasn’t every time i was able to will myself into doing something I wanted despite it triggering my anxiety.

This was something I needed to do; for myself.

“Remind me why I decided to follow through with this again?” I groaned out as we climbed up yet another hill.

“Trust me, it would be fun” Oli reassured me, a bright smile dominant on his face as he dropped sn arm over my shoulders.

I hope camping today would easy off the tension and stress I had been plagued with throughout the week.

Soon enough, we got to where Oliver had prepared. It looked cozy, with the tent and fireplace set up for night time.

It would have been even better if there wasn’t so much heat. I dropped my backpack onto the floor, flapping my shirt against my skin.

“Don’t you feel the heat?” I questioned, my throat feeling parched from the mini hike we took before we got there.

“No, here. Have some water” He guided me into one of the foldable chairs by the fireplace.

“Thank you, I felt as if I hadn’t drunk water in years” I heaved out, relaxing against the chair.

As Oli fixed the few things left for the camp site to be ready, my body thrummed with…restlessness.

I couldn’t explain why exactly that was happening, I had taken my shot of suppressant for the month and i took my pills daily.

Could it be some side effect of the suppressant? The back of my neck prickled, causing me to stiffen for a moment.

The feeling of someone watching us itched under my skin. “Are you sure this place is safe, Oli?”

“I told you already, Finn. It is, I made sure to comb through the woods properly before I brought you here” He reassured me, dropping the marshmallow he was trying to fix on the roast stick, his hand ruffling my hair.

I moved away from his touch, my scalp feeling ultra-sensitive. It seemed the flu was flaring through me fully right now.

Great, now Oli would think I didn’t want to hang out with him. A look crossed his face at my reaction but he covered it up with a bright smile.

I forced myself not to show the symptoms of the flu that got worse by the minute, hoping to hold out until we were leaving.

Oli roasted the marshmallows, pairing it up with hot chocolate, the warmth pooling within me like always.

The sky had gotten darker, the two moons peeking out from behind clouds when Oli broke the silence.

“Do you want to play a game?” I glanced at him, my symptoms fading into the background for a few minutes.

He looked drunk on hot chocolate and marshmallows. But I decided to humour him. “What game? Don’t complain if I win, I won’t be giving anything I win back to you” I warned.

Oli was a sore loser. He always acted like a big baby anytime things don’t go his way.

“You can’t give back what I would give to you if you win” He let out cryptically.

“What is the game you want us to play?” I pressed, curious to what he wants to give to me.

“Hide-and-seek” He stated, his tone showing no indication he was joking.

“You know I would whoop your ass at this, don’t you?” I wince as a slight sliver of pain raced through me.

I would be fine, just a few more hours then I could go home. Oliver and I always played the game while we were younger, with me always emerging as the winner.

“That was only because of your small size, this time around, I don’t mind if you win. I want you to win” His blue eyes had gotten darker, his expression even more intense.

I subtly shook my head, wondering if my vision was starting to get affected too. For a second, I thought I saw Oli’s gaze drop towards my lips.

The flu was truly getting to me. Would I be able to play the game with my suddenly elevated symptoms?

“Come on, let’s play this one game for old times’ sake” Oli collected the mug of half-drunk hot chocolate from me, his palm wrapping around my wrist as he pulled me to my feet.

I stumbled slightly before I righted myself. “Hey, are you okay?” Oli asked, his brows snapping together in a frown.

“I’m good, I must be drunk on hot chocolate” I chuckled, hoping he focused once more on the game we wanted to play.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, let's start the game already” I replied, changing the topic.

Immediately Oliver began counting, I forged my way into the woods. Hopefully I would find a place to hid so well he wouldn’t find me.

The silence was unnerving as I walked past trees taller than I was, my skin still heatung up by the second. If there was one thing I was good at; it was hiding.