On Purpose

Chapter 11: Dangerous Pie

———Marcus———

Wednesday, November 20th, 2019

We usually didn't do a big Thanksgiving thing, but Darius wanted to do something more formal since it was Kat and Anya's first Thanksgiving in the States. We decided to have it on Wednesday since Anthony planned to spend Thursday with Ben's family. The pack had a big event that Sarah and Darius would be expected to appear at on Thursday anyway. It was less of a formal sit-down and more like an outdoor festival, with games, smoked turkey legs, and an extremely competitive pie-baking contest. I'd been really looking forward to going to the festival with James, but I guess it would have to wait until next year.

Darius did most of the cooking with Kat's help. She was a bit of a foodie, and they cooked together often. Sarah took over Darius' pack duties and spent most of the day ensuring everything was set up for tomorrow's festival. Anya and I both attempted to help cook, but we were quickly shooed back into the living room, where we played a few rounds of a shooter. Like Kat, she was a natural, although she swore quite a bit more in English and Russian.

Sarah and I were hosting since Darius and Kat didn't have a table big enough for all of us yet. Anthony, surprisingly, volunteered to make dessert. He arrived at the Alpha Suite around 4pm in a foul mood with a giddy-looking Ben in tow. Anthony was carrying a box that I assumed had the dessert in it. He didn't say what he was making, but I assumed it was some sort of pie.

"Hey, Marcus. Hey, Anya," Ben said cheerfully.

"Hey, Ben," I greeted him as I cast a curious glance toward Anthony, who remained silent. "You good, bro?" Anthony scowled at me before disappearing into the dining room with a huff.

"He's worried about the pie," Ben said with a giggle. Anya laughed as she put the controller down.

"It is cute," she said, and Ben nodded in agreement. I rolled my eyes. I loved Anthony, but I would hardly call his moodiness "cute." He lucked out on finding a mate who found his broodiness endearing instead of exasperating.

"When is dinner starting?" Anthony asked as he reappeared in the living room.

"I don't know. Darius and Kat won't let us into the kitchen," I said. Anthony's frown deepened.

"Be patient, bro. Sarah isn't even here yet," I said with a roll of my eyes. Anthony huffed again and dropped onto the loveseat. Ben sat down next to him happily. Anya and I abandoned our game as we talked with Anthony and Ben. Well, mostly just Ben.

Anthony's suffering was short-lived, as we only had to wait about an hour before Sarah got home. She immediately dropped her work bag and stepped forward to hug Anthony.

"Hey, Chickadee. Welcome home," she said warmly.

"You literally saw me yesterday," he grumbled.

"For five minutes. And you've been home for almost a week without properly stopping by," she said dismissively as she let him go. "That doesn't count."

"Sarah? That you?" Darius said as he poked his head out of the kitchen. "Ok, good. Dinner's just about ready."

Anthony practically lept into the dining room. Sarah greeted the rest of us as we made our way to the table at a more reasonable pace. We hadn't eaten together like this since the really disastrous attempt at a family dinner last summer. While everyone (except Anthony) seemed to be in good spirits, I could tell by the slight discomfort creeping into their expressions that Darius and Sarah were thinking about it as well. Anya, Kat, and Ben seemed completely unbothered.