Chapter 113 - What Are Those Strange Noises Coming From The Kitchen?

"Xavier? Xavier," Adrian called, looking for Xavier, wanting to ask him something of utmost importance. 

To his surprise, Xavier and Madeline were still in the kitchen.

What were they doing that was so time consuming? Cooking didn't usually take this long.

After hearing some strange noises, Adrian took a peek in the kitchen, only for his jaw to drop to the floor. 

Xavier and Madeline were… 

Having a food fight?

'Are my eyes working properly?' Adrian asked. 

'You know what, I should just leave. Come to think of it, I could always ask him later.' 

Now, one would be asking. 

How did Adrian go unnoticed by Xavier and Madeline? 

Adrian was extremely skilled at being silent. He was agile and stealthy. 

Unfortunately, Xavier noticed Adrian peeking in the kitchen out of the corner of his eye. 

'What?' He asked Adrian as he shielded himself from the flour that was just about to hit him.

'Nothing, I'll leave now. Don't go too rough on her.'

'You—'

Just like that, Adrian vanished. 

And by vanished, one meant he left.

Xavier stared at the door before he heard laughter coming from Madeline.

"Alright, I lost. I definitely lost," she admitted, being a good sport about it. 

"You win," she said next. 

"So you admit defeat," Xavier said, a smirk now plastered on his charming face. 

"I do, and what are you going to do about it?"

Xavier felt his heart quickly pick up speed. 

The heck was with it all of a sudden? 

'What is up with me today?'

He placed a hand on his shoulder and managed a teensy smile. 

"Good game, partner."

"Partner?" Madeline questioned.

What was up with him? And also, was he smiling?

Her breath was caught in her throat.

"We made good partners before a fight ensued, don't you think?"

"Yes, we did. We didn't succeed in making the tortillas we originally intended to make though," Madeline pointed out.

"And we still have the kitchen to clean," she said, staring at the kitchen that would take hours to clean up.

Xavier scanned the kitchen. 

"You're forgetting one thing," he said to her. 

Then, he zipped around the kitchen, cleaning everything before returning to the exact spot where he had just been.

"Problem solved."

[Author's Note: To those that might wonder why Xavier can speed clean but is unable to speed work and simply finish piles of work in a matter of seconds or minutes, just think of it this way. Work obviously requires a lot of brain power and requires Xavier to have to practically speed read thousands if not millions of words. And he has to do this every day, so that's not an option.]

"Wow," Madeline said in awe. 

'Of course Xavier can do that. Haha, if only I had super speed. That'd solve most of my everyday problems.'

She chuckled, "You're so cool, you know that?"

"Every werewolf can do this," Xavier said to her.

"Including me?" Madeline asked hopefully.

"Not so sure about that," Xavier admitted, taking sudden interest in the floor.

"It's alright," Madeline said.

"If you say so," Xavier said to her, looking over at the now clean kitchen. 

"We should get to making lunch now," he reminded her.

Madeline pursed her lips.

She trailed off, "And after making lunch…"

"Hmm?"

"I'll tell you later," Madeline said.

The two of them hastily made lunch out of anything they could find from the kitchen, and an hour or two after, they sat on a spot far away from whence they came, overlooking Eudora, having a picnic. 

"How did you come to know about this place?" Madeline asked. 

"It was a place I found when looking for places to build the cabin."

"Ah," Madeline managed. 

"Well, this view is amazing," she said with a smile, taking a bite out of a deviled egg. 

"Yum," she said, enjoying the food whilst enjoying the view. 

In a couple of hours, she had managed to make deviled eggs, chicken sandwiches, and sparkling strawberry lemonade.

"Try it," Madeline insisted.

"What is this?"

"Sparkling strawberry lemonade."

"Sparkling?"

"Yes."

"Why should I try it?" Xavier asked.

Madeline wondered how Xavier wanted her to answer that question.

"I'll try it," he said after a couple moments of silence passed by. 

He nodded. 

"I'll try it," he repeated. 

Of course, Xavier had originally expected not to like what Madeline had made, but she made it.

And thus, he had high expectations.

Taking a sip, Xavier found himself pleasantly surprised by the lemonade. It was a tad bit on the sour side, but he was still surprised.

'Wait, it tastes great,' Xavier said, his eyes widening. 

"I like it," he admitted to Madeline.

Madeline felt happy to hear that. 

"See," she said smugly.

Honestly, she hadn't expected him to like it. 

Then again, she hadn't expected that Xavier would even try the drink in the first place but it was great he gave it a chance. 

"Eat," Xavier said to her, taking her by surprise.

"Wha—"

Madeline stared at Xavier, who was holding up a sandwich. 

She took a bite of the sandwich, munching to it contentedly. 

'It's great that we decided to have a meal with each other again.'

A part of her mind told her, 'Yeah, it's sort of like a date. You and him feeding each other and or telling each other to eat. Cooking food and making drinks together.'

Hmm, Xavier would beg to differ. He was simply emotional support when she cooked, occasionally assisting her in grabbing ingredients, or handing her the tools she needed.

"It's nice," Xavier mused.

"What is?"

"The fact that I get to do this and spend time with my…"

He paused. 

"…friend."

Madeline looked at him. 

Yes, she understood that being an alpha meant Xavier could barely have little free time to himself. But she never thought it was that bad at first. 

She wondered if Emilio faced the same problem whilst he was alpha. 

That would explain many things… 

'No, it wouldn't. Being busy and having a packed schedule doesn't allow you to kill the innocent and everything else he did in the past. Sure, he was put under pressure but that makes no excuse,' Madeline reasoned with herself.

She couldn't make excuses for Emilio; she wasn't someone who lost their loved one because of Emilio's previous heinous crimes. Madeline didn't know anything about what it was like to be on the opposite side of Emilio's good graces.

And also, she was his daughter. 

Perhaps that was also a part of why Indiana did what she did in the past. 

Was she also one of those who had lost their loved one because of Emilio?

Madeline hoped not. 

However, if so, there was an apology for Indiana that was long overdue from Emilio.

And if not… Then Madeline reckoned thinking about Emilio this way would only hurt him. 

He was trying to change, was he not? Emilio was trying to turn over a new leaf. And whilst his efforts were much appreciated, Madeline certainly did not agree with his past doings. 

Xavier probably thought her wrong for giving Emilio another chance and wanting to get to know him. Heck, Xavier held a lot of resentment towards Emilio. There was no doubting that. 

Madeline knew Xavier didn't agree with the way she was treating Emilio.

Someone like him deserved to rot in a cave for centuries.

But, he was her father. That one fact gave him a couple of temporary privileges. 

However, when it came to him receiving his punishment. Madeline was sure Xavier would make sure he'd receive the end of it, no matter how long that took.

Did Madeline hate Xavier for it?

No. And that was the truth. 

She found it incredibly difficult to hate him.

At the beginning, she found him cold and indifferent. Maybe a little arrogant as well.

But that was all a facade he placed.

There was more to Xavier that met the eye. 

Once you got to know him, he turned into an adorable little cinnamon bun you wanted to cuddle wit—

'Where am I going with all of this?' Madeline asked herself, her hand on her mouth. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xavier admiring the view. He looked so peaceful. So calm. 

There was no dark aura that surrounded him. No chilly aura that sent shivers and tingles up her spine.

He looked harmless. Serene. Tranquil.

Madeline had been wary of having a picnic near the edge of a cliff, but her worries had dissipated by now. It had been replaced by a sense of content. 

Seeing her friend looking unbothered and calm made her somewhat happy. It was simple, there was nothing more to it. 

Seeing Xavier however… 

There was something else to it.

Something else she couldn't describe.

__

Author's Note: Just wanted to apologize for the one chapter updates. My schedule has been packed lately, and I will publish two chapters daily once everything has subsided. 

Onto the next chapter, love, mari.. Author out.