Looking To Belong (A Runt's Story)

Chapter 26

We were about halfway done cleaning the mushrooms when Will mindlinked me, "Where are you?"

He had been mindlinking me every hour or so all day, checking on me to see if I was doing all right. His calmness meant that he likely had not been informed of the rogue yet – and I certainly was not about to tell him.

I replied, "In the kitchen, helping clean the mushrooms."

I could feel his relief that I was in the pack house again. "Did you find many?"

I sent my amusement down the link along with the image of the two guards having to walk carefully to avoid spilling their overloaded bags of mushrooms. "Quite a haul actually. Expect mushrooms with supper. We even found a few truffles, although I had to dig halfway to China to get the one."

I felt his amusement as he found the image hilarious. I could almost picture him shaking his head in disbelief. "All right," he said, "as long as I know you are okay. I am going to chase this new batch of trainees around the field a few times."

"Have fun."

I felt his amusement. I guessed that the trainees were younger wolves who were just starting their training, and they were not going to be considering this as 'fun'.

~

       We were just finishing up when the Alpha mindlinked the entire pack, "Please keep close to town and keep your eyes open. We have found one dead rogue in the western forest, and we have not yet discovered who killed him."

I was not surprised. I also doubted that they were going to find Jisk. The only way they would find him is if an Omega with a strong wolf-sensing ability was nearby or if he let himself be found. He was the one who had taught me how to use the forest highway and how to mask my scent properly. He had been like a brother when I was growing up in no man's land.

Will's worried voice entered my mind as he immediately checked on me. "You are still in the pack house, right?"

"Yes, still in the kitchen with a dozen others in the same room." I replied, my voice calm to keep him from worrying.

His voice carried relief. "Please stay in the pack house. If you want to leave, please let me know. I have to go see if we can track down whoever killed that rogue, and we have no idea where the killer went."

I reassured him, "I will stay here and call if anything seems amiss. One perk of my small size is that I can fit in that gap under these cupboards, and no one else can get to me back there. That is, if they even think to look down there."

He sighed faintly. "Just don't leave until we get things sorted out. The Alpha is waiting for me, so I have to go."

"I'll stay here. In fact, I think I will see if someone will help me bake. Stay safe."

I felt his wordless acknowledgment as his mind touch faded.

~

       Four of the people in the kitchen were willing to help me bake if I could let them take notes on the recipes that resided in my memory. They had a cook's love for new recipes and experimenting. I still didn't understand how to set the oven properly. There were over forty buttons on each stove. Whatever happened to the simple on and off, temperature, and timer buttons?

We made banana cream cakes with graham crumb bottoms and real bananas. The trick with this dessert was to sprinkle vanilla over the crumb base and bake it for five minutes before adding the other layers.

It was a really easy dessert to make, and in no time, we had around thirty pans cooling in the walk-in fridge. We moved on to cutting up the salad in preparation for tonight's meal as we chatted away. The other four were quite talkative and more than happy to talk about how the pack house and meals were arranged.

I was surprised to learn that this pack house actually had three kitchens. The largest one was in the basement and sent food up in elevators or dumbwaiters. We were in the smallest one meant for individuals to cook or experiment in. I guess that explained where all of those mushrooms had disappeared to.

It was almost time for supper when Will and the others returned. I picked up his scent before he entered the room since I still had my shields up. My headache was almost gone, but lowering my shields would probably undo some of the progress I had made. I turned to grin at him as he entered the kitchen.

His eyes lit up when he saw me, and he quickly came over to give me a hug. He breathed in my scent with a contented sigh. "I am glad to see you," he said. "We have no idea who killed that rogue and haven't made any headway in locating a scent. So it was likely another rogue masking their scent. Please don't go anywhere without talking to me first, okay?"

I could hear the worry appearing in his voice. Pulling back to look up at him, I said, "Don't worry, I will let you know. Don't forget, I was a rogue for years. I would probably know if one was around before anyone else did."

He reluctantly nodded, accepting that detail as truth. "I know that in theory, but facts don't mean much to the mate bond. And I have an odd feeling that some of the scouts aren't telling me all of the facts, particularly the two that were helping you."

I grinned as I tried to distract him. "They are probably trying to hide the fact that I nearly drove them crazy. Honestly, asking two experienced fighters to accompany a slow runt out to pick mushrooms? What were you thinking? After that experience, they are never going to want to accompany me again, let alone even look at a mushroom."

I wasn't dumb, and I knew that the two he had asked were fighters with experience under their belt. He grinned as he got caught. "I figured you would have realized that they were fighters. Actually, Ruby mentioned that she would like you to show her how to hide her scent and how to recognize a masked scent. In fact, there is a group that are hoping you can give them a session on it eventually."

I had never thought that I would ever be in a situation where I could help train someone. I asked, "Which one was Ruby?"

He replied, "The black-haired one."

I made a face as I now pinned a name to the fierce and focused black wolf. "I have no idea how you managed to convince someone like that to go and gather mushrooms. She is the standoffish type that only focuses on fighting or defensive strategies. She is somewhat creepy."

He made a wry expression. "It took some talking, but she owed me a favor, and I was pretty sure that you would surprise her in one fashion or another at some point. When she came back to help track that rogue, she told me that I had been right. It takes a lot to take her by surprise or pique her interest, and you managed it, so that is pretty impressive."

I didn't really understand what exactly had surprised her. "All I did was run around and grab mushrooms. I think she only spoke once the entire time." I had no idea how to tell him that it had been me who picked up the rogue's scent in the first place. This was also not the time or place to try. It was better left hidden until we were alone.

He shrugged, dismissing the aloof warrior. "That is Ruby for you. But I smell supper, so let's go see what they made today."