I can’t just lie here and stare at my phone.
I slip out into the hallway, bare feet, heading to the kitchen. The snow outside throws enough pale light through the windows that I don’t need to turn anything on.
I open the pantry door and grab flour, sugar, vanilla extract, baking powder, cranberries and chocolate chips.
Those aren't great survival food on their own… but they're perfect for what I need.
* * *
Thewhoomphof the gas oven catching is more grounding than it has any right to be.
Bowls. Measuring cups. Whisk. I move on autopilot. The smell creeps up slowly at first, then blooms, warm vanilla, sugar, and the first hint of chocolate. For the first time since I got here, this spot feels like home.
I move on to folding cranberries and chocolate chips into the dough, the spoon dragging through thick batter.
Hmmm, that’s gonna be—
"What are you doing?" Light suddenly floods the room.
I jump, nearly dropping the spoon. Batter drips from it onto the counter.
I spin around to find all three alphas there, squinting in the light.
Liam is leaning on the doorframe, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand, hair flattened on one side. Felix is just behind him, T-shirt rumpled, hair doing some kind of anti-gravity experiment. Silas is barefoot in sweats and a worn hoodie, arms loosely crossed, gaze fixed on the disaster zone that is the counter.
Flour dust. Open bags. A streak of batter on my wrist.
"I couldn't sleep," I say, my face heating. "We weren't exactly planning to use the baking supplies, so I thought I'd… make something."
I hear how defensive that sounds and wince internally. I’m in their kitchen at two in the morning, covered in flour. Great.
Silas’s eyes move from my face to the bowl in my hands. “You’re… baking.”
“Yes.” My chin goes up a notch. “Scones. Cranberry chocolate chip.”
Behind him, Felix inhales deeply, eyes closing for a second. “Oh, wow,” he says. “Okay, that smells like my grandmother’s kitchen and a bakery had a baby.”
Liam sniffs too, his shoulders dropping a fraction. “I'm… intrigued."
Felix nods, stepping fully into the kitchen. His shoulder brushes mine as he leans over to peer into the bowl. "Honestly? Good. Pretty sure those ingredients have been decorating the pantry for months now."
Silas lets out a long breath through his nose, somewhere between a sigh and a laugh. “Still, you're depletingourdecoration,” he says. “At two in the morning.”
The words are dry, but there’s less edge than I expected.
"Helps clear my head," I say, ducking my gaze. "I couldn't sleep, so I figured baking beats staring at the ceiling. And you'll get breakfast out of it."
He watches me for a beat longer, the smell of vanilla and chocolate wrapping around all of us.
“Well,” he says finally, pushing off the doorframe and heading for the cabinets. “If I’m up, and you’re baking, I expect to get fed.” He pulls down a plate and sets it on the counter with a small clink.
The knot between my shoulders loosens a little.
Liam moves to the stove, filling the kettle and setting it on a burner. “Chamomile?” he asks the room at large.
“Yeah,” Felix says. “And maybe coffee after the sugar high.”
He comes to lean against the counter beside me, close enough that our elbows nudge when I reach for the baking sheet. “You need a tester?” he asks, eyes bright.
