Family dinner

Family dinner
Their thirty-minute nap was more like an hour. But Bella figured that they both needed it. She had decided they should make some pasta with classic tomato sauce. Simple but always a hit, and it had been the first thing they had eaten together.

This time, she would make it fancier by adding a salad, some garlic bread, and brownies with ice cream for dessert. She cheated by asking Arana if she could send up some ready-made dough for the bread. Bella knew that the kitchen always had a batch of dough on proofing for every meal. She also sent a list of ingredients that were missing from their kitchen to Arana and then sent Graham down to pick it up.

“You know that you could have asked one of the kitchen staff to bring this up?” he said as he came back with a basket full of things.

“I know, but they are in the middle of prepping the pack’s dinner,” Bella smiled and got started.

She delegated all the chopping to Graham, which he liked since it kept her away from sharp objects and made him feel useful. They worked together in the kitchen and Bella got a flashback to their first evening in her kitchen in the city.

Graham turned around and placed a kiss on his mark on her neck. She smiled at the tender gesture.

“What was that for?” she asked.

“You were humming. I couldn’t help myself. I love when you hum,” he said. She smiled and gave him a quick kiss before ordering him to set the table.

Maybe she was bossy, Bella thought as she saw a smiling Graham happily set the table. Five seats were set, it was the most they had set at their table. She smiled again.

“Happy?” Graham asked as he was done, and pulled her into a hug.

“Verry,” she nodded.

“Good. You know, this reminds me of that first evening we spent together,” Graham smiled.

“It feels like a lifetime ago,” Bella smiled.

“It’s only been a little over two months,” he said.

“I know.”

“Any regrets so far?” he asked.

“Other than not kicking Mark in the balls sooner, none,” she said, making Graham laugh.

Just as Bella took the bread out of the oven, there was a knock on the door and Graham went to let their parents in. They all sat down at the table and enjoyed the food. The conversation was kept to lighter subjects, and the parents enjoyed swapping stories about Bella and Graham as pups.

Bella enjoyed it. She could even appreciate the more embarrassing stories from her childhood. It felt like a normal family dinner.

“I hear that there are plenty of fish in the lake,” James said.

“That’s true. I was thinking we could head out sometime this week. The weather is still nice and ever since Bella put the idea in my mind, I have been craving to go fish,” George replied.

“That sounds like something I can’t refuse. It has been ages since I tried fishing somewhere other than my regular fishing hole,” Bella’s father smiled.

“Graham, would you like to join us?” George asked.

“No thanks, dad,” Graham said, looking a little uncomfortable. Bella giggled, and James smiled.

“There is a story here,” Lilly smiled.

James told them the story about him taking Graham fishing and they all laughed while Bella got the dessert. The evening continued the same way. Graham’s parents were the first to say good night. Bella’s father was about to do the same, but Bella asked him to stay a few minutes.

“Dad, Jessica has been working really hard with Mavis and has gone above what we asked her to do. Graham and I would like to thank her by inviting her over for dinner later this week,” Bella said.

‘Ellie, what are you up to?’ Graham mind linked, as they hadn’t talked about anything like that.

‘Hush for a while,’ she replied.

“I think she would appreciate that,” her father nodded.

“You have gotten to know her a bit. Would you mind joining us? It can be a little daunting for a pack member to have dinner alone with her alpha couple. I’m sure she could relax better if you were there,” Bella asked her father.

“Oh. Sure, I could do that,” he agreed.

“Thanks, dad. Could you invite her when you see her tomorrow? Let’s say six o’clock on Friday. I will ask some of Thomas’ friends if they can’t babysit for a couple of hours,” Bella said.

“Sure, that sounds fine,” her father nodded.

After he had left, Graham drew her into a hug and kissed her.

“What are you up to?” he then asked.

“Talk while we do the dishes,” she smiled up at him.

Graham offered to do the dishes while Bella helped him to dry and put the leftovers into containers.

“I think my dad likes Jessica,” Bella told Graham as they worked.

“Like as in like?” he asked.

“As in romantically, yes,” she nodded.

“And you are trying to set them up?” he asked.

“Maybe. Jessica is sweet and has a good head. She would be a good fit for my dad,” Bella said.

“She has never found her true mate,” Graham told her.

“I was wondering why she was unmarked. That is sad,” Bella said.

“Is this a way to make your father stay? Because that could backfire, even if they like each other and decide to mate, they could decide to move to his pack,” Graham reminded her.

“I know, but at least then he wouldn’t be alone,” Bella said.

“He isn’t alone now either, sweetheart. He has his friends,” Graham pointed out as he wiped his hands.

“I know. But it isn’t the same as having family,” she smiled.

“No, it isn’t,” he agreed, and gave her a kiss.

“Can you run down to the communal kitchen and put the leftovers in the fridge?” she asked.

“You won’t let me keep them?” he said, almost wrapping his arms around the containers to protect them.

“If you want them, they are yours, Gray. But when would we eat them? We eat ninety-eight percent of our meals with the pack,” Bella smiled.

“I may need a midnight snack or something,” he said.

“Fine, we will keep it here,” she nodded and kissed him on his cheek.

“Are Logan and the warriors leaving tomorrow?” Bella asked.

“Yes, before lunch,” Graham said.

“Okay, we need to be there for Mickey. It’s the first time they will be away from each other for that long,” Bella said.

“We will take care of him,” Graham promised.

The next morning was spent getting the warriors ready for their trip. Logan would take twenty-five of their warriors down south. The Blueridge pack would host all the warriors from the different packs. The other packs saw it as their punishment for letting the rogues set up camp in their backyard.

Bella stuck close to Mickey. She could see his anxiety rise with every passing minute. He tried to keep out of the way of the preparation work and was as close to Logan as he could.

“Have you decided what to do tonight?” Bella asked as she walked up to him and took his hand.

“I’m going to bury myself in one of his shirts and curl up in our bed,” Mickey said.

“Yeah, that usually helps. Need company?” she asked.

“No, it’s fine Bee. No need for both of us to suffer. I’ll be fine,” he said.

“Okay, but you will eat your meals with the pack. No brooding in your apartment. And if you need company, any time, or any place, you mind link me and I will grab Lotte and come over,” Bella said.

“I promise,” he nodded.

“Good,” she said. They stood in silence and watched the preparations.

When the warriors were ready to leave, they all gathered in front of the pack house. There were a lot of goodbyes happening. Bella watched Logan and Mickey in a tight embrace before sharing one last kiss.

As Logan walked to one of the cars that would take them to the airport, Bella opened up her arms and Mickey walked right into them. They stood there, hugging, as they watched the car disappear down the road.

“I hate that he is heading out into danger, and I’m sitting here safe,” Mickey said.

“I know the feeling. It sucks,” Bella agreed.

Graham put a hand on Mickey’s shoulder.

“He will be okay. Is there something we can do for you?” he said to Mickey.

“Thank you. No, not at the moment. I’m going to try to get some work done,” Mickey said with a faint smile.

It had been two days since the warriors left. Mickey was doing better than expected and Bella wasn’t as worried about him as she had been.

Logan reported back that they were narrowing down on the rogue’s base. All together, they were around two thousand warriors from different packs that were canvassing the area. Logan said that the cooperation between the packs had been surprisingly smooth. Everyone involved knew what was at stake, that motivated them to work together.

Bella had found the last two days relaxing. Even though she had a constant nagging worry about Logan and their warriors. Things at home had returned to normal, almost. She had had two uninterrupted workdays. No drama, no nerve-racking news, or crises to deal with. It was a pleasant change of pace.

She was sitting in her office, snacking on pickles and dip and looking over a suggestion to upgrade the pack’s nursery. Her phone rang, and she almost jumped. She barely used it any longer. Bella looked at the display and saw that it was her father that was calling.

“Hi dad, what’s up?” she said.

“Hi, peanut. I think you need to come down to Thomas’ house.” Her father said.

“I’ll be right there,” she said.