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SOURDOUGH STARTER

"WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE IT'S ALIVE?"

"Because it is— it is alive."

Nelly stared at the large glass jar that housed Emily's self proclaimed sourdough starter with an equally large grimace on her face.

Most of the pack was at Sam's place that afternoon, the boys starting up a little game of scrimmage after Jared found a soccer ball in the man's garage. Nelly had never been one to play any sort of contact sport (because you better believe the boys implemented tackling into soccer, just 'cause), so she opted to hang out with the Young woman.

Hanging out with Emily was never a hardship, but the dough she was making looked like it was fucking breathing, for crying out loud. "Does Sam know you're dealing with some hefty witchcraft right now?" she asked, severely grossed out.

Emily laughed, using a plastic spatula to mix the dough around a little. "I have to put it in a cabinet so he doesn't have to see it," she said with a roll of her eyes. "He says it gives him the heebies... and yet you animals eat it regardless."

Nelly's mouth dropped. "Have you fed us this creature before?"

"Nell, it's sourdough," Emily emphasized, screwing the lid back on before taking it toward the cabinet above the sink. "What do you think that grilled cheese I made you last week was made of?"

Emily was obviously referring to the heavenly grilled cheese she served up for lunch just last week. Although Nelly knew it was made of sourdough, she had no idea that the bread itself was made the way it was.

"I need to erase that tidbit from my memory, like, ASAP. 'Cause your grilled cheese bangs."

"You're like his mini-me sometimes, I swear."

"Not my fault you've been feeding us bread that's alive."

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When the boys returned, deli sandwiches on plain bread were dished out by the girls. Nelly had just barely given Embry his own when he took it from her hand, and yanked her towards him with that very same hand. She fell onto his lap, one arm fastened around her waist while the other divided up the sandwich into two halves.

Despite the fact that Nelly already ate her own, well before their scrimmage was over, she took it from him with a smile.

Ever since their little date, and the events that happened during said date, Embry and Nelly had been clingier than ever. In a room, they were always nailed to each other's sides, and at least one limb needed to be touching the other person whenever they were together.

Nelly thought it was due to the amount of time they'd missed out on, and though she wouldn't have changed a thing, she was glad they were making up for it now.

After their light snack, those present started up a game of UNO. It was cutthroat, the first game lasting almost an hour before Sam somehow claimed victory. Nelly thought the rest of them subconsciously let the man win, given his Alpha status and all that, but he claimed he won by his own merit.

Yeah, bullshit.

But just as another round of UNO started up, a rematch declared by a heated Jared Cameron, a figure entered the house through the back door. Everyone in the kitchen turned to see one very flustered looking Leah Clearwater.

And had her pores shrunk overnight? Nelly thought her skin was looking flawless.

Jared made a dramatic show of sniffing the air. "You smell like Akira."

A cacophony of sniffing noises were made, just as Brady's head snapped towards Leah. "Wait, what?" he asked, gaze switching between everyone around the table. Half of them were in disbelief, and half of them were hiding laughter behind their hands. "Guys? What am I missing here?"

"No fucking way," Paul said around a mouth full of a muffin he'd found from somewhere in the home. Ignoring the ever so confused Brady at his side, he rose from his seat, fist out in Leah's direction, "nice!"

Leah slapped his fist away, pushing past him to steal the seat he was once sitting in. He made a noise of discontent, but trodded away toward the fridge that undoubtably housed the muffins he was munching on.

She sat, arms crossed over her chest. "What?" she snapped as soon as she realized everyone at the table was staring at her.

"So," Nelly started, clearing her throat. "How'd it go?"

Leah's sharp gaze settled on Nelly. "If you must know, it went fine."

"Really?" that was Sam's voice, hesitant around the edges of his tone. The rest of the pack waited silently, not knowing if Leah would lash out or not.

"Yes," she responded, though she looked at him a little hesitantly; almost like she was afraid of how he'd react.

Only, Sam's foot nudged hers encouragingly beneath the table. "I'm happy for you, Lee."

And the Clearwater girl had a ghost of a smile on her face, nodding in a way that meant thanks. Everyone else that wasn't Sam or Leah exchanged some glances of relief.

Nelly personally thought she was watching history being made right before her eyes, as years of awkward tension between the two exes officially ended.

Nelly didn't even need to know the exact details of how Leah's confessional went, because somehow she knew that she was telling the truth— that it had gone fine.

The white flags were out, waving madly above the kitchen table. Naturally, Brady was the one to break the monumental moment. "You imprinted on my sister!" he gasped, an accusatory finger pointed right at Leah as though he just clocked the information for the first time.

And based on the owlish shape of his eyes, Nelly knew that was exactly what had happened. "You're a bit late to the party, B," she laughed, reaching over to ruffle his curly head of hair.

He swatted her hand away. "Is that why Seth's been inviting me to your place all the time?" he asked, a mock detective hat fastened on his head. "Are you putting him up to this?"

"Seth just likes having people around," Leah told him, shooting him an unimpressed glare. "Therefore I haven't put him up to anything."

"Oh," Brady responded lamely, shoulders hunching.

"Well I think this calls for an honorary beach day," Jared exclaimed after a beat of silence, his chest puffed out with excitement as he clapped Brady on the shoulder. "Y'know, to help Akira adjust to pack life a little."

Leah sunk further in her chair, head in her hands to block their view of her heated cheeks. "I think that's a great idea, Jared," Nelly applauded, drumming his fingers on the table. "Bring Kimmy; oh and tell her to bring the watermelon she was talking about."

Jared's eyebrows furrowed. "What watermelon?"

Nelly merely shrugged, a smirk on her face. "She'll know what I'm talking about."

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[ wyn's note ]

don't yall just love summer!!

updatey spree is my fave kind of spree LOL hope yall enjoyed these three chaps <3 more to come within the week!

all my love xx