Becoming the Luna

Chapter 333

Hayden lets Virgil carry him to the kitchen, watching with amusement when he's placed on the counter.

"How am I supposed to cook from here?" He asks patronizingly, bright eyes fixed on Virgil's that's furrowed in concentration.

"I told you I would cook so just relax for me okay?" Virgil says distractedly, searching through cupboards.

Hayden wants to complain but the open earnestness on Virgil's face makes him stop, they're probably going to end up getting food from the kitchen's downstairs because there's no way he's standing for that long for at least the next couple days.

"Baby, the pans are in that cupboard not the cutlery shelf" He finally says after watching Virgil fruitlessly search all the wrong places.

He manages to get a pan out after a couple more fails, looking as in control of the situation as only Virgil can be when he was obviously way out of his league.

"That's a butcher's knife, V." He winces when Virgil choses to make an omelette - of all simpler choices. "You'll just end up smashing the vegetables."

He had to hand it to Virgil, his mate dutifully accepted his correction, his expression far too serious for a simple task such as cooking, it made Hayden want to melt in the buttery sweet feeling swirling around in his middle.

Ten minutes later, it's utter chaos, the empty pan was sizzling wildly on the cooker while Virgil was halfway to a full on crying episode from cutting up onions and Hayden is about to go into a mini panic.

Hopping down from the counter, he quickly put off the stove before the kitchen went up in flames and led Virgil over to the sink to rinse out his eyes.

As soon as Virgil can see again he picks Hayden up with an almost pouty look to place him gently on the counter again, he stops his complaints with a deep kiss, a hand twisting in the soft, light brown locks of Hayden's hair that looks almost bronze in the light of the morning sun.

Tongue dancing gently, until Hayden forgets that he wants to tell Virgil to stop his catastrophe of a cooking experiment before something drastic happens and he's momentarily slipping his hands up and around Virgil's neck to return the kiss, his eyes fluttering shut.

Virgil is the first to break away, "I'll handle it." He insists and Hayden just watches speechlessly, slightly out of breath and unable to come up with a rebuttal.

Well, half an hour later, Hayden doesn't think it's going so bad, the toast didn't get burnt - too badly, Virgil somehow forgot that spices were supposed to go in the omelette and now it tastes like edible foam, the tea is the only the salvageable because its just dipping a tea bag in hot water - even that would be jard to fuck up.

Virgil hadn't allowed him to take coffee and Hayden just giggled at his sternness, it would take at least a week for them to be sure about conception, curiously, now that his heat was fading, he wasn't even nervous. It didn't matter what the outcome would be because he would be content and happy eitherways - he had his loving mate anyway.

Who was now taking a bite out of his gourmet cooking and somehow managing to still keep a straight face. "Yeah, I'll make sandwiches, what filling do you want?"

"Whatever you choose is fine with me." Hayden says, gingerly coming down from the counter again, he just remembered that he needed to call Dream.

The last time he had heard from Dream was just as his heat was beginning, he needed to know if Dream was put at risk just because of him.

"Where are you going?" Virgil asks with narrowed eyes, immediately he notices his mate sneaking away.

"Off to call Dream, I'll be right back." He tosses over a shoulder, hurrying out of the kitchen on bare feet in a flurry of Virgil's sweater and short shorts.

Virgil wastes a couple of precious minutes staring at the door where Hayden had left from before shaking himself out a mini appreciation moment to prepare something that they can actually eat, they were definitely going to need a big lunch after this. 

"Why does cooking have to be so fucking complicated." He mutters under his breath, returning to his cooking.

~

Dream picks up his phone to call his mom, first, his brain coming up with a quick tale to tell, it wouldn't be hard to convince her or Deidre, Darian was the one he had to look out for.

But she calls him first

"Good morning, mom." Dream greets a tad sheepishly after picking up the call.

"Hi, Dream, darling how are you?" She asks with gusto, voice airy and bright.

It instantly eases up Dream's worries.

"I'm good, I'm sorry I didn't come to visit over the weekend" He starts to apologize.

"Oh it's fine, I understand you would want to settle in during the weekend, you know, take a break after a particularly hectic week." She quickly waved away his worries.

"Oh." Is all he manages to get in.

"So how's the new job?" Dia asks enthusiastically.

"Over." Dream is quick to say with a dry chuckle.

He literally hears his mom pretend to be devastated and his smile turns bitter, he knew his mom hadn't approved of his job over at the Dark Moon Pack or Dale and maybe maybe she hadn't been wrong.

Maybe he should have listened to her.

Then he would be in a cottage in the woods, heart broken and possibly pregnant

"So are you coming back home?" Dia asks immediately, not even bothering to pretend like that wasn't what she had always wanted.

"No." Dream says with a level voice.

"Oh." Dia mutters, her voice falling. "I understand but where are you staying now, over at the Pack House?" She asks curiously.

"No, I got an apartment in town, needed a break from both Pack Houses for a while." He excuses vaguely. "How are things down at the bakery? How is Heather?" He asks, settling on the bed to listen to her ramble about what happened over the past week.

Apparently, her and Heather had dinner every night and Dream was just happy that she was happy.

Soon enough though, something calls for attention, no doubt from the bakery and she hurries off the call with a request for him to come visit soon.

He hung up with a small smile, his first genuine one of the day, he would text Deidre and avoid Darian for as long as possible or his older brother would try to wring out where he now lived out of him. He couldn't let anyone but Kieran see him right now, at least not until he knew his fate, then at least, maybe he would be able to face Dale

He winced at the mention of the Alpha's name, sighing in relief when his phone rang again and he reached for it, grateful for the distraction which lasts until a momentary panic when he picks without checking the caller ID.

It's just Hayden

"Hi!" Hayden greets cheerily.

"Hey." Dream greets in return, trying hard to match Hayden's energy and he pats himself on the back for putting up such an impressive front, he underestimated Hayden though because

"Dream?" Hayden calls immediately, a frown in his now worried tone. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Dream is stunned by his perception, floundering around momentarily as he hadn't expected Hayden to see right through his ruse.

"N-nothing I'm fine"

"You don't sound it, where are you? Can I come see you?" Hayden counters, sounding so flustered.

Dream is stunned again, at a loss for words before remembering that he's not at the Pack House again, he didn't want Hayden to find out so soon.

"I am, really and you shouldn't be moving around so soon, your heat is barely over." He cautions, his panic making his words come out slightly sharper than he intended.

Hayden calms down at this. "Fine then but you won't tell me what's really wrong?"

"I'm fine, Hay." Dream insists, tugging on a tangled lock of his hair, although he didn't relate to those words - his skin was still that sickly pale shade and his eyes were puffy and red from spontaneous bursts of tears and perhaps Hayden could sense it because he refused to accept it.

Even though Dream says he's just stressed out with the new job and everything, he can't seem to convince Hayden.

He's finally saved by who has to be Virgil, calling his friend to come eat and Hayden has to quickly end the call with a promise to call again.

He flops on the bed when the call ends, just great, he has to somehow convince Hayden to not pull down both Pack Houses just to make sure that Dream was okay.

He curls up into himself, he doesn't have the emotional stability at the moment to deal with anything, he just wants to curl up on the bed with the shades drawn and stare at the ceiling of his dim room maybe maybe, he would do just that.