Chapter 51: Mine.

AARON. I walked into the kitchen, trying to control myself. Helena was, simply put….a lot. Her hair was messy, her eyes were wide and piercing, and her skin…gosh. I wanted to take her right there and then. I don't know if there was any way of expressing what she was to me. She was mine, yet she wasn't. Her words that day still echoed in my head, stabbing my heart each time. My resolve was strong however, I would make her mine officially. I calmed down, and walked back to the living room. This woman was already done with both loaves of bread. The look on her face when I gave her the chocolate flavored bread was gold. I had to stop myself from laughing. 'Thank you kind sir." She said as she took a glass of orange juice from my hand. I sat down next to her, and the atmosphere shifted into an uncomfortable silence. Then, I thought of something. 'Why don't we watch a movie? Are you ready to sleep anytime soon?" I asked, leaning towards her. 'That seems fine. What kind of movie?" She concurred, kidding slowly. 'How about horror?" I was already rummaging through the sets of disks displayed on the TV stand. She has different genres, ranging from romance to action, thriller to adventure, horror to mystery, and fantasy. 'It's 2am, Aaron. I'd like to sleep peacefully tonight." She snapped, yawning. 'Okay then, what kind should we watch?" I didn't want to scare her at all. She'd been caused enough trauma by me as it was. She pondered a bit, then smiled and said, 'A romcom?" 'What?" She groaned, then stood up from the couch. She rummaged through a few of the CDs until she took out an entire set. 'They're romantic comedies." 'Oh." This was gonna be fun. ******* 'Alright Aaron, you've done very well so far, and we've come to a unanimous decision. Your probation period is over. You're now an official member of the crew." My boss said, during the general meetings we observe every morning. The sound of everyone clapping and cheering brought me back to reality. Yes, I was thinking about Helena. I shook my head, smiled, and accepted the worker's chef uniform. Everything at The Cuisine was done according to procedure, and it made things a lot easier for me. For example, not more than two chefs should be at one workstation at a time, and only on special circumstances is it allowed. Every order is attended to as it comes, not on the availability of ingredients. 'Congratulations Aaron." My coworker, Linda said, smiling at me. There was something oddly suggestive about it. I returned the smile, and she looked visibly excited. Weird. I got back to my workstation, waiting for the usual ding of the bell that signaled I had an order to take care of. When I told Helena I had gotten this job, I left out the whole probation part because I didn't want her becoming all paranoid about the whole thing. She was sensitive to almost anything. I took time to look at the kitchen. The floors were concrete, instead of tiled or wood, and fume vents were positioned on top of each stove. There was a huge island in the middle of the kitchen, each chef having their own section. A sharp ding in front of my station jerked me towards my stove. I opened up the neatly folded paper. ‘2 sets of Lasagna.' Let's do this. Everyone loved my cooking, even at the restaurant. Silent whispers of a novice chef causing conflict in the kitchen usually got to me. I hadn't gotten to the level of the head chefs, but I was making quite the impression. I dinged the bell, placing the 2 sets of lasagna carefully on top of the pass-through. Around 2pm, I had my break. I sat alone on a stool in the kitchen, where other chefs who were on their breaks were. I pulled out my phone and began scrolling. 'Hi Aaron." I glanced up. 'Hi Linda." I continued my scrolling. 'What are you up to?" 'Nothing." 'Wanna go grab some lunch?" I raised my head and looked at her. She was still wearing her apron, and she had both her hands behind her back. She was tilting her head and smiling. Her position instantly reminded me of Helena. 'No no, I'm fine." I replied, looking back at my screen. Linda sighed, then came closer to see what I had been looking at. Her expression shifted, from happy to confused, then neutral. 'Is that your girlfriend?" She asked, pointing at my screen. I had been looking at pictures of Helena that I had taken the previous night. The romcom was very good, but it made me feel helpless. Helena was right there, but I couldn't do anything. I had to shift in my seat several times. I couldn't even focus on the movie but she was laughing so hard. She kept talking about how the male lead couldn't express his feelings on time, and had to physically fight another guy for her attention. It reminded me of….me. I took random pictures. Of where she was laughing, smiling, emotional, and serious. She looked beautiful in all of them. 'Yes." I said to Linda absentmindedly. 'Oh, okay then." She said, her expression sullen. She walked off, back into the main kitchen. Even weirder. I closed with the rest of the crew that evening, and decided to stop by the bakery for some chocolate bread. I wanted to see that look of satisfaction on her face again. It was 7:06pm. I texted her to meet me at the bakery, and she responded with, ‘Be there in 15 minutes.' It was Friday, and it seemed like everyone wanted bread. I think this was the only bakery in Henley. Fair enough. It finally got to my turn, and I got three loaves. One for me, one for Helena, and coconut bread for Luna. I paid cash, and proceeded to sit on one of the benches outside. The cool evening breeze fanned my face, and I was tempted to switch forms. Hiding as a human can be exhausting. I watched the world. The sun was just beginning to set, and it had this reddish yellow glow. I imagined what it would be like for Helena to take a picture in this lighting. Speaking of her, I glanced at the time. It was already 7:45pm. She wasn't here yet, and that was odd. I called her. Maybe the road wasn't as clear as she predicted. No response. My blood ran cold. I tried again. 'The person you are calling is not answering. Please try again.." The automated voice blabbed. I almost smashed my phone. I took a deep breath, calming my nerves. My inner wolf growled lowly. ‘Calm down'. If I could see the little guy, I'd smash his head instead. I sniffed the air. Her scent was faint, but it was there. I began to run in the direction of the bank. She would have followed this route if she was coming home, so I'd likely see her there. Or so I hoped. I ran all the way to the bank, not paying attention to anything or anyone else on the road. Helena's scent had completely faded from the air, and my heart pounded with anxiety. By the time I got there, it was locked. No one at all. I ran my hands through my hair. Where the hell could she have gone without telling? I mean if she had other plans…. A whiff, faint, but strong enough for me to capture, pinpoint, and follow. I followed the scent, and began walking slowly. The scent was strongest at an alleyway wedges between two large apartment complexes. There were several dumpsters and trash littered on the floor. I could see a homeless man peek at me from underneath come cardboard boxes. 'Let me go!" I heard a muffled scream. Helena. Without thinking, I ran towards her voice. I paused in my steps, dangerous anger seeping into my veins. Three large men stood over her, and she was pinned to the ground by another man. They tied her hands and legs, and gagged her mouth. She struggled on the wet and dirty floor, her brown eyes wide with fear and anger. 'Relax baby doll, we're gonna take extra good care of you." One of the men said lazily. 'That's right. When we're done, you'd just come back for more." He grabbed her chin, and they all laughed. Helena shuddered, recoiling away from his touch. I clenched my fist. ‘Move goddamnit!' my inner wolf whispered. I was rooted to my spot. I wanted to rip them to shreds. Another scent wafted into my nose. Gunpowder. I groaned inwardly. Each of them, or at least two, had a gun. 'Don't worry, pretty thing, when we're done, you're gonna come back for more." The third man said lazily, drawing his hands on her legs and tracing it up to- I lunged at him before his hands could go any further. No one touches what's mine.