“This will be a test of your problem-solving skills and cognitive functions, which are imperative for any leader. In front of each team is a set of ingredients you will use to prepare a meal for your pack.” Alpha Sirius gestures to the tables set up in front of us. “This may seem like a futile task, but any leader must know what it takes to care for his people. Your luna must be aware of these very same tasks, which is why you’re working in groups of two. On each table are three ingredients that must be utilized. Everything else on the shelves is optional.”
I glance over at Cecelia with a skeptical frown, but her expression is rigid as if she’s confident about the task. I don’t see how anything can go wrong until Alpha Sirius blows his whistle to signal the start of the test.
Cecelia races to the table, her eyes fixed on the ingredients with careful concentration as she lifts the packaged meat and sniffs it. She does the same with the other package, then proceeds to sniff each bag that contains the compulsory ingredients.
“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice low as I watch the other participants scamper around, already starting to rip at their packages to prepare their meals.
Though we’re limited to an hour, I promised Cecelia to take her more seriously and give her a chance to offer suggestions. She kicks the pedal on the trash can and tosses one package away, then turns to me and beckons me closer with a wave of her hand.
“The mushrooms are poisonous,” she whispers in my ear. “They grow near the harbor; I can smell it.”
I nod slowly as I realize that the others are using their mushrooms, noting that we have an advantage over them already.
All thanks to Cecelia.
“We also can’t prepare deer meat and rabbit meat together. I heard Agatha say that when combined, it can give a werewolf white-liver. We also shouldn’t mix honey with deer meat. It causes a running stomach.”
I blink fervently as I step back and stare at Cecelia, lifting my hands in a show of surrender. “Okay, you run the show today. You just give me instructions and handle all the decision-making.”
Cecelia nods curtly, wasting no time in handing out firm instructions to me. From ordering the spices and herbs she needs from the pantry to telling me which way she wants themeat cut, I simply do as I’m told, becoming mesmerized by her authoritative nature.
I’m also highly aware of the way her flowy, floral dress whispers over her body with every graceful movement she makes, and I’m left in awe as she works her magic at our cooking station. When the whistle sounds again to signal the end of this round, I wipe my hands on a kitchen towel as I stare at Cecelia, who holds her chin up high, seemingly proud of our work.
Alpha Sirius, along with a handful of elders, strolls over to our table first. I gulp down my nervousness, then step up to the table as Cecelia pushes the prepared plates toward the front.
“Dominic Rivera and teammate,” he begins. “What have you prepared for us today?”
As Alpha Sirius skeptically takes a look at our plates, I glance at Cecelia and give her an encouraging nod to speak.
She clears her throat as she points to the first bowl. “We’ve prepared a deer meat stew, along with”—she points to the flat plate—“rabbit meat skewers and a honey drizzle to go along with it.”
Alpha Sirius lifts the spoon from the deer stew and sniffs some of the soup. The silence that stretches in the hall is contagious, and my eyes flicker around to the other contestants, who seem as tense as I’m feeling.
Alpha Sirius drops the spoon back into the bowl and turns blue eyes of suffocating speculation on me. “There aren’t any mushrooms in here. Why did you leave it out?”
I step forward when the spotlight of the alpha’s crystalline eyes lands on me. “They were…Poisonous,” I murmur hesitantly, to which Alpha Sirius leans in and narrows his eyes at me.
“What did you say, Dominic? Could you repeat that louder, for everyone to hear?”
“The mushrooms were poisonous, so we left them out,” I say loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear. Though my voice is level, I’m losing my mind with anxiety. But I don’t let it show, remaining calm as Alpha Sirius turns to the left side of the room, where the others wait behind their tables.
“Ah…did you hear that, everyone? Dominic and his teammate deliberately left out the mushrooms that he claims were poisonous. Did anyone else leave out this ingredient from their meals?”
Simon and Amber are the first to raise their hands when all the other teams exchange wary glances and shake their heads.
“Yes, Simon?” Alpha Sirius addresses his son.
“We made a gravy with our mushrooms!” Amber exclaims excitedly, to which Alpha Sirius chuckles.
“Well, I sure hope you didn’t taste your own meals,” Alpha Sirius bellows. Just then, another contender, Alex, and his partner, lurch over the table as they throw up, their faces turning blue.
Alpha Sirius turns to the elders, one of them sighing as he extracts a vial of clear liquid from underneath his coat. He strolls over to Alex’s table and holds the vial in his face.
“The mushrooms were, in fact, poisonous,” Alpha Sirius announces. “Any good leader should be aware of what they’re working with, no matter the circumstances. Whether it’s a battle on the field or a meal prep for the pack, you need to be aware of what you’re dealing with and find ways to work around it. Since you’ve all used them in your meal preparations, you’ve all automatically failed. There will be no points for anyone who’sused poisonous mushrooms in their meals.” He turns to me and throws me a wink as he picks up a rabbit meat skewer. “I bet no one else knew that the two meats couldn’t be combined. It gives one white-liver. Congratulations, Dominic. You’re in the lead with twenty points.”
As Alpha Sirius strolls off toward the exit, I turn to Cecelia as my jaw drops. I wasn’t expecting to win today, but I was at least hoping to catch up. She just exceeded all my expectations and brought me back into the lead.
I throw my arms around her as a broad smile spreads across my face.
