"Dad's gone," my cousin's voice was barely above a whisper. "You must come home for the Evaluations," she uttered and the phone line went dead.
*****
After Keri's Uncle - the Alpha of the Silver Bullets pack - loses his battle with cancer, the young...
I've got a Christmas present for you and no, I don't mean this chapter. My present is the Alec/Riley one-shot which is available on my blog. The link to it will be given in the first comment and as an External link.
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The familiar jingle of the bell above the door greeted me when I stepped into the Milk & Cream. Riley smiled and swirled around, working on my coffee before I'd even taken a seat.
"Hey." Winnie - Riley's human friend and colleague, gave me a nod in acknowledgement as she strode by with two serving trays. I smiled at her while taking of my black leather jacket and putting it on the empty stool to my left.
"Lots of cream, no sugar," Riley recited as he turned and pushed a large mug towards me. "A tough Monday, huh?"
"Just the usual," I shrugged and took a picture of the coffee art he'd created before I sipped my drink. This time he'd gone for drawing me two coffee beans.
The patron who was sitting to my right pulled a couple of bills from her purse and left them on the bar.
"Keep the change," she insisted as she got up. "And thanks for the flower; it was really pretty."
"My pleasure," Riley beamed at her.
"What kind of flower did you draw her?" I asked after the woman had left.
"A rose," he replied. "Because she told me her name is Rose. It's the first time she comes here, but she's really nice so I hope I'll see her around. And she tips well," he added, when he saw what the brunette had left him.
"Are you still saving up for a present for Rhys?" I took another sip of the rejuvenating brown liquid.
"Yep." He left me for a couple of minutes to serve a middle aged man who sat down at one of the tables after taking his drink. Even though at least one waiter or waitress was present at the café at any given time, it was common for patrons to order at the bar when Riley was on shift so they could actually watch him 'work his magic' as Rhys had put it.
I wholeheartedly agreed.
Observing Riley's fluid motions and slight flicks of the wrist which always resulted in a coffee art masterpiece was entertaining to say the least and straight out mesmerizing when he did a complicated design.
"There's over a month until Valentine's Day," I noted once my newest friend was back.
"I know, but I want to get Rhys something really nice, something he'll absolutely love like how I loved Luna when he brought her home."
I'd gotten really excited when Rhys had told me he'd be getting a pet for Christmas - it was a puppy; who doesn't love puppies? - but I was totally unprepared for the cuteness overload that was their Luna. That Golden Retriever cub had the sweetest temper, made the most adorable sounds and had won many Silver Bullets hearts from the first moment they'd laid their eyes on her.
