Author's Note: I do not own Teen Wolf or its characters. This is set in an alternate universe.
Winning the War
Derek entered the competition with grim determination. He had a lot to prove and being on Cupcake Wars was a great opportunity for him and the shop. Derek knew he didn't look like what people thought of when they heard the term pastry chef. Lumberjack maybe. Oddly enough, he did have the same sort of look as the Cupcake Wars master carpenters. But even if he didn't look like a pastry chef, Derek could bake like no one's business. Taking a deep breath, he started to film his introduction video.
"My name is Derek Hale and I'm the co-owner of the Sweetwolf Bakery in Beacon Hills, California. Our business actually isn't a new one so much as a revival of an old one. My parents used to run a bakery when I was a teenager before they were killed. It's always been a dream of mine to reopen their business, and we finally got off the ground two months ago. We're currently an online bakery, but we have plans to open a storefront in a few months."
Derek took a deep breath. "My assistant today is my younger sister, Cora. She's a graphic designer and handles the majority of the decorating for Sweetwolf Bakery. Winning Cupcake Wars would not only validate our hard work in carrying on our family's legacy, but also prove that just because I'm a guy doesn't mean I can't bake a mean cupcake. And the ten thousand dollars would definitely help us get the bakery off to a good start."
It was one thing to say that. It was another to be standing there in the kitchen with Cora at his side. Compared to the other bakers, they were dressed a little plainly with dark grey t-shirts with Sweetwolf's logo (a sliver crescent moon with a wolf perched in it) and dark red aprons. The other teams had aprons splattered with rhinestones or other fancy accessories. He was the only man in the room too.
And it didn't help that Derek recognized two of the contestants. Kate Argent and her sister-in-law, Victoria, were well known to the Hales. Not only was the Argent chain of bakeries Derek's main rival in Beacon Hills, but Kate had just been starting the chain about the time when his family's home had burned down with nearly everyone inside. Derek didn't have any proof that she was involved, but there was the fact that she'd tried to seduce him for his family's recipes. Mrs. Stilinski, the local librarian, had put a stop to that being very concerned with how the twenty-five year old Kate was interacting with the sixteen year old Derek. She'd talked to both Derek's mom and her husband, one of the local sheriff's deputies, and Kate had quickly left town. Within a week, the fire had happened and Kate was the only name locally when it came to bakeries.
There were a few too many coincidences there for Derek to be comfortable, but nothing had ever been proved. The fact that the Argents were well known hunters, and the Hales were werewolves just added to the probability that it hadn't been an accident. Derek and his two sisters had left town and hadn't come back until the last year. They'd found that Silver Bullet Bakeries were the only name in the entire county, and that all of their competition had been quickly run out of business. The Hales had decided to revive the family business and take a whack at standing up against the chain.
So of course, beating Kate would be another feather in his cap to go with the prize money and proving his chops as a baker. He had to win the competition first though. Besides Kate and Victoria, his was facing Marin and Julia from Emissary Cakes and Kali and Braeden from Kick Ass Cupcakes. None of them were spring chickens when it came to cupcakes, and Derek had never been good with people. That's actually one of his biggest concerns about being on the show. Most people found Derek stiff and intimidating.
"What's up, bakers? Join me."
As Derek took his place in the line of bakers, he took a deep breath.
"Welcome to Cupcake Wars. You're going to have to bake spellbinding snacks if you want a chance to showcase you skills at a special midnight celebration of the final book in the Midnight Forest series by celebrated children's author, Stiles Stilinski. And if that isn't enough for you, you also will walk away with ten thousand dollars."
Derek felt his heart stutter in his chest. He knew those books. They might be children's books, but like Harry Potter, they had been enjoyable for adults to read too, and Derek had a secret weakness for them. And it didn't hurt that the author was from his home town as well.
"Are we excited folks? Then let's get to it," Justin continued. "Today, there will be three rounds of competition. After each round, one of you will be eliminated. First up as you know is the taste challenge. Now since the Midnight Forest series often plays with fairytales, on our inspiration table you'll find several fairytale foods. Everything from Snow White's apple and Cinderella's pumpkin to spices from the Arabian Nights and Rapunzel's leafy greens. Each of you must choose one fairytale and create a cupcake that evokes the chosen fairy tale and makes our judges feel happily ever after. And since you're only working with one flavor, we're also asking that you provide a decoration that somehow fits the fairy tale as well. Good luck. You have forty-five minutes. The clock starts now."
Derek rushed over to the table with the rest of them, his mind frantically at work trying to come up with the right cupcake. Besides apple, pumpkin, spices, and some kind of spinach, there were peaches, wine, salt, and porridge on the table. Derek didn't want to go with a cupcake that was too safe because in that case the flavors would have to be perfect, but at the same time he didn't want to do something that was too out there either. He headed back to the kitchen where Cora was waiting.
"We'll go with the spices for the Arabian Nights. You heard what they said about a decoration, so I'll leave that in your hands. Just remember it should be edible if possible. I'll get started on the cake."
Cora would come up with something. She always did. Derek was more concerned about getting his batter made and in the oven. He didn't want to be one of those bakers who was panicked at the last second getting everything done. The hardest part in putting together his batter was balancing the spices. He did his best to tune out the other baker's chatter and focused on his sense of smell. Nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and cardamom swirled together and filled his nose. He also knew that he had to give the camera's something, so he tried to be nonchalant as he scooped batter into pale yellow cupcake papers.
"I'm making a spiced cupcake with brown sugar nutmeg frosting," Derek kept his eyes trained on the cupcakes he was scooping rather than the look at the camera.
The cupcakes went into the oven with plenty of time to bake and cool, and Derek started on the frosting. He could hear the chaos in the other kitchens around him. The frosting came together without any problems, and the taste was perfect. He checked on the cupcakes and found that they weren't done quite yet. Which left him nothing to do but check in with Cora.
"How are the decorations coming?"
"Almost done. The cupcakes?"
"Should be ready to come out of the oven any minute now."
The cupcakes looked beautiful when he took them out of the oven and quickly stashed them in the freezer. He wanted the cupcakes to be in there at least five minutes before he attempted frosting them. He was double checking the frosting in the piping bags when Cora brought her decorations over.
"All right. What do you think? We've got a sugar lamp painted gold and some silver spun sugar to sort of mimic a genie appearing."
Derek smiled at his little sister. "They look great."
"Are the cupcakes ready to frost yet?"
Derek shook his head. "Almost."
"Five minutes!" Justin called out.
Derek had the cupcakes out of the freezer within moments of that. Derek frosted the cupcakes while Cora carefully arranged the decorations. When the final time was called, the two of them stepped back, and Derek couldn't help the smile on his face. The cupcakes looked fantastic, and Derek knew they would taste just as good. It wasn't a bad start.
Even so, Derek was nervous when he lined up with the rest of bakers to present his cupcakes. None of the other bakers looked the least bit nervous, and from what Derek could see, all of their cupcakes looked good as well. That meant nobody was really safe. As much as it was a mean thought, Derek thought it was easier when it clear that someone had a really bad cupcake. The higher the bar was set in this first round, the higher it would be in the other rounds. And while Derek was perfectly willing to step up to the challenge, he wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't have a nervous breakdown in the process.
"What's up, bakers? Today you were asked to create a spellbinding cupcake with fairytale flavors. Let's see how you did. You already know Candace and Florian. Let's meet our guest judge the acclaimed writer and author of the Midnight Forest series, Stiles Stilinski."
Derek's heart skipped a beat as the young man joined the judges at the table. Stiles was tall and lanky with whisky colored eyes and a bright smile.
"Hey folks. I'm looking for magical cupcakes that will help me celebrate the release of my final book with kids from all over the country at a special midnight party."
Justin took over once again. "Hello, Marin. What did you bake?"
Marin stepped forward with a confident smile. "We chose Snow White's apple as our fairytale flavor, so what you have is an Dutch apple cupcake with vanilla bean cream cheese frosting that's topped with a caramel drizzle and a fondant red and green apple."
"Candace?" Justin asked.
"While I think that the apple was a pretty safe choice, I have to say you really nailed the flavors. They're clear, crisp, and delicious."
"Florian?"
"I liked this cupcake. I think it could have done without the caramel drizzle, but all in all it was a good cupcake."
"Stiles?"
The author grinned. "It reminded me more of an apple pie than a poisoned apple, but it was delicious."
"Hey, Kali," Justin smiled at the next woman. "Tell us about your cupcake."
"What you have in front of you is a vanilla bean cupcake with a salted caramel filling. It's topped with a salted caramel frosting, caramel drizzle and sprinkled with pink sea salt. It also has a golden fondant cup to represent the fairytale Love Like Salt."
Derek watched as the judges dug into the cupcake. Their expressions were hard to read.
"Salt might have been the challenge ingredient that you used, but this cupcake has way too much salt. It and the caramel overpower every other flavor, and it's just a little too much," Candace told Marin.
"This cupcake is too salty to eat," Florian said.
They moved on to Kate. She stepped forward with easy confidence. "So, I chose the red wine out of Little Red's basket. What you've got is a dark chocolate cupcake that's filled with a Boudreaux infused ganache and topped with a Boudreaux mascarpone frosting. Little Red's basket in chocolate finishes it off."
Candace's eyes lit up as she bit into Kate's cupcake. "This is delicious. Well executed all the way around."
Stiles' feedback was a little less positive. "It's a great cupcake, but I'm not sure the kids would really like it. The parents would though."
Then it was finally Derek's turn. Justin turned his attention on him.
"Derek, my main man. You're the only guy in the kitchen today. What did you bake us."
He took a deep breath. "I took my inspiration from the Arabian Nights, so what you have is a spiced cake topped with a brown butter nutmeg frosting, a lamp and some spun sugar smoke. Please enjoy."
Derek did his best not to fidget as the judges tasted his cupcake. Candace smiled at him.
"I have to say that this is a fantastic little cupcake. I love how light and fluffy the cake was, and you did a great job of blending exotic and comforting flavors."
"I have to say I am impressed by your sugar work. I am a big fan of the decorations being edible," Florian told him. "Your cupcake is very simple flavor wise, but it is executed extremely well."
Stiles offered him a bright smile. "I loved it. It's definitely a magical cupcake and really fit well with the fairytale."
"All right, bakers. Our judges need some time to discuss. We'll meet you back here in a few."
Derek followed Cora back into the waiting room and settled on one of the couches. He was not one of the bakers pulled aside to do an interview segment at this point, so all he has to do is wait. Thankfully, his sister knows how to deal with him thanks to years of experience. She just let him think in peace while they waited. Derek wasn't too worried. He'd gotten all positive comments from the judges which was more than some of the others could say. He had gone with a safer choice, but he'd done it well, and hopefully, that would let him survive to the next round.
When they were called back in, Derek could feel his stomach lurching. Justin shot them all a smile before speaking.
"In this first round you were tasked with creating magical cupcakes to celebrate a fairytale, but with too much salt and overpowering caramel, one of you is going home. Kali, you're done in the cupcake war."
Derek let out a held breath as Kali and Braeden stalked out of the room. Justin continued on talking.
"Bakers, welcome to the second round, but don't get too comfortable. Only two of you will continue on to our final round where you can win ten thousand dollars by creating a thousand cupcake display to be featured a special midnight release party for children from all over the country celebrating the final book in Midnight Forest series."
Derek inadvertently meets Stiles' eyes. The other man's smile widened.
"One of the reasons for the Midnight Forest's success is its unique and memorable characters. So in this round, we want the same. You're tasked with making three cupcakes inspired by the characters of the series," Justin continues on, gesturing to ten portraits hanging from the series. "From Lis the mischievous main character to her best friend Sage or Catherine the villain, we're looking for three cupcakes that taste great and look magical. Remember in this challenge fifty percent of the judges' decision is based on taste and fifty percent presentation. You have seventy-five minutes. Good luck. Clock starts now."
After a quick glance at the portraits, Derek headed over to Cora. He knew exactly which characters he wanted to do cupcakes for.
Cora smirked at him. "All right. Do you know what we're doing? Or should I say who we're doing?"
He shot her a halfhearted glare. "Yes. I'll need you figure out decorations. We're doing a Lis. She's the main character after all. A ginger cupcake with whipped buttercream frosting."
Cora nodded. "I'll do fox ears and a tail for the decoration since she can shift into one. Who else?"
"Lis' mom, the sheriff. We'll do a chocolate peanut butter cupcake for her. And I want to do Deirdre."
That made his sister snort. "Why am I not surprised? She always was your favorite character. I'll do a chocolate sheriff's star for the sheriff. A moon and a paw print for Deirdre since she's a werewolf. What sort of cupcake for her?"
"Anise and white chocolate."
Cora nodded. "Great. I'll get started."
As Derek got to work on his batters, he could hear the others in their kitchens. Marin and Julia were in the kitchen next to him arguing about their decorations while Kate was muttering uncomplimentary things about him under her breathe, but Derek wasn't going to let that phase him. His little bakery had been holding its own against Kate's empire, and he has plenty of support back home too. Kate and Victoria might have a budding franchise they ran with an iron fist, but Derek's little shop had been holding its own. He knew opening a storefront would really put them on the map.
And to be honest, there probably couldn't be a better challenge for him. He was familiar with the books, and he knew he could make fantastic cupcakes that celebrated them. By the time that Justin announced that they only had an hour left, Derek was putting the last of his batters in the oven and starting on the frostings and fillings. Everything tasted right so far, and hopefully there would no problems during the actual baking.
Derek had two frostings going as he started measuring ingredients for the chocolate buttercream. Cora poked him.
"What do you think?" She held out a six pointed sheriff's star that had been lightly dusted with gold lusterdust and read 'Sheriff.' "I've got the moons and paw prints done as well."
"Good. Could you check on the cupcakes for me? I think that they have another five minutes or so, but I don't want to overcook them."
"I think we're good." She called back a moment later.
The cupcakes came out of the oven looking good, though Derek was little worried about the fact that the chocolate cupcakes hadn't risen as much as he'd hoped they would. Still, there was enough cupcake there that he could core them and fill them with peanut butter buttercream. The cupcakes went into the freezer even as Justin announced they had twenty minutes left. Derek started filling pastry bags. Cora brought over a tray with the completed decorations.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked.
"Frost the ginger and the anise cupcakes and then get the decorations on."
As Justin counted down the time, the siblings worked in silence to get everything finished. Derek smiled when he looked down at their plates. It looked good, and he knew it tasted even better, and as he glanced around at the other plates, he was pretty sure that he was going to be tough to beat in this round. He joined the others in line, trying to figure out what to say about his cupcakes. Justin smiled at them.
"Bakers, we asked for you to honor the characters of Stiles Stilinski's Midnight Forest series with three magical cupcakes. Let's see what the judges have to say. Kate, tell us about your cupcakes."
Kate smirked at the judges. "So the first cupcake you have is our Lis cupcake. It's a dark chocolate cupcake with an orange cream cheese frosting and topped with a chocolate laptop since Lis is always on hers researching things. In the middle you have our Kathleen cupcake. Since she's the villain of the books, you have a dark chocolate cinnamon cupcake filled with a Mexican chocolate ganache and topped with a Dulce de Leche buttercream. On top of that there is a marzipan flame to symbolize her desire to destroy the forest."
Derek rather thought that Kate just liked fire.
"The last cupcake is our Leo cupcake for Lis' first and true love. It's a lemon cupcake filled with a chocolate raspberry ganache and topped with a lemon chiffon buttercream. There's also silver glitter and a silver dusted gumball to represent his magical powers."
Candace flashed a smile at Kate. "These are fantastic cupcakes. All three of them taste great. I will say that as much as I love chocolate, there was a lot of it on the plate. Between the two chocolate cupcakes and the ganache in the lemon cupcake I would say that it sort of overwhelmed the rest of the tastes."
"I agree with Candace," Florian said. "I could have done without the chocolate ganache in the lemon cupcake. However, the cupcakes are delicious. My one comment would be on the decorations. I wouldn't have known what the gumball was supposed to mean if you hadn't told me. Other than that, this was a very good plate."
"I like the cupcakes," Stiles offered. "Though I do agree with Florian about the decorations. They look great, but they seem a little generic. And I wouldn't be so quick to declare Leo Lis's one true love. You might be surprised by how things turn out."
"Thanks, Kate." Justin turned his attention to Derek. "Hey Derek, tell us about your trio."
Derek took a deep breath and smiled. "So, we also did a Lis cupcake. What you have is a ginger cupcake with a whipped buttercream decorated with fox ears and a tail. The second cupcake was inspired by Lis' mom, Aderyn, the local sheriff. It's a chocolate cupcake filled with a peanut butter buttercream and then topped with chocolate and peanut butter cream swirled together and a sheriff's star. The final cupcake is for Deirdre, Lis' werewolf friend. It's an anise cake with a white chocolate buttercream decorated with a dark chocolate paw print and a white chocolate crescent moon dusted silver. Please enjoy."
Derek waited for their feedback, doing his best not to fist his hands.
"Let me say that your execution is spot on," Florian said. "All of the flavors come through strongly and mix together well. I especially like the ginger cupcake. Good job."
Candace was nodding. "I agree with Florian. While your flavor profiles themselves are simple, they work extremely well and are completely delicious. Your decorations are fantastic as well and really tie into each character."
"I agree with Candace," Stiles beamed at him. "I love your decorations. They really fit the characters well and so do the flavors you picked. Especially since your Deirdre cupcake fits her perfectly, sweet with a bit of a bite."
"Thank you, Derek." Justin nodded. "Marin, what did you bake for us?"
"So, I based my cupcakes on the three main ladies of the Midnight Forest series. First we have Lis which is an orange cupcake with a cream filling and topped with an orange zest frosting and a fondant fox head. Then we have Lis' best friend Sage in the middle. That's a blue velvet cupcake filled with blackberry curd. On top there is a lemon blackberry frosting and a white chocolate heart since Sage is often the heart of the group in the books. Then the last cupcake is our Jordan cupcake for the bully who becomes Lis' ally. It's a strawberry cupcake filled with a fresh strawberry and kiwi compote and topped with a strawberry Champaign frosting and a fondant frying pan since that's her signature weapon."
Derek couldn't help but notice that Marin was practically wringing her hands as she presented her cupcakes.
"While I like the concept of your cupcakes," Candace started, "I think you had a little bit of trouble in the execution. The best of these was the strawberry cupcake, and even then there was a weird tang to the frosting. I can barely taste the lemon in your blackberry lemon frosting, and the cream in your orange cupcake is too goopy."
The look on Florien's face was not promising either. "I think these two of these cupcakes are over baked. Both the blue velvet and the orange are very tough. I like the blackberry curd, but it was hard getting through the cupcake to it."
Stiles at least offered the woman a smile. "I love the fact that you remembered the frying pan. That was a really nice touch."
"Thank you, Marin." Justin looked at them. "Let's give our panel of judges a chance to chat, and we'll bring you back in a bit."
Derek is the last of the group to leave the room, Cora falling into step beside him, a smirk on her face. He couldn't blame her. He was pretty sure they were a shoe in for the next round. The two of them settled onto one of the couches to wait. Both Kate and Marin got pulled away to do interview segments, but that didn't stop Kate from spending most of them time glaring at Derek. When they were finally called back in, Derek was ready to deal with whatever the judges threw at him.
"Bakers, we asked for three magical cupcakes that would celebrate the characters of Stiles Stilinski's Midnight Forest series both in taste and presentation. Kate, the judges liked your cupcakes but were underwhelmed by your decorations and overwhelmed by the amount of chocolate. Marin, you struggled with technical problems with your cupcakes. One of you is going to get the chance to try and redeem yourself in the next round. However, for one of you, the war is over. Marin, you're done in the cupcake war."
Derek took a deep breath. That meant it was just him and Kate now. He could do this. He'd been racking his brain for display ideas since the event had announced, and he thought he'd come up with something that would work.
"Derek, Kate, you've made it to the final round. Now it's up to each of you to create a one thousand cupcake display to celebrate the release of the final book in the Midnight Forest series that incorporates all of your the flavors and designs. Now, we know you can't accomplish this challenge on your own, so each of you gets a master carpenter to help you build. You also get four baking assistants to help you in whatever way you need. What's up, ladies? You have two hours starting now."
Cora greeted him a smile when he got back to their kitchen. She just had time to squeeze his arm before their carpenter showed up. Derek immediately started sketching his idea for the display.
"So, I want stands for each of the books, with the one for the new book being the largest. At the top of each stand should be the Midnight Forest logo, and then customize each one using cover of the book for inspiration. Most of the guests are going to be children, so keep them low to the ground but not too low. Hip height at the lowest. And I don't want them to be overly tall. I want people to be able to grab a cupcake from any side. What do you think?"
Justin offered him a smile. "I think I'll be busy. I'll see you in two hours."
Derek turned to Cora. "All right. How do you want to divide up the assistants?"
"I need at least two. I'll steal another one if I need her."
Derek nodded. "Get to work then."
Call him a control freak, but Derek didn't want the assistants doing much more than the measuring of the batters. It was the best way he knew that he could ensure the flavor quality. He did have them measure out everything needed for each batter, and once the batter was done, he had them do all of the scooping. Twenty-five minutes in, he had all the batters in the oven and had started to work on the frostings. He'd gotten the chocolate frostings done, both the white chocolate and the regular chocolate, when Cora appeared at his elbow.
"I need another assistant for the decorations. Will you be all right with just one assistant for frosting?"
Derek nodded. "We'll be fine. We can't frost until the cupcakes have cooled anyway, so I think we'll be fine. How are you doing?"
Cora frowned. "It's going slower than I like, but we need the decorations to be perfect."
It did slow him down a little. He mostly had the assistant keep an eye on the cupcakes in the oven. Derek didn't want to risk overbaking. This was pretty much his challenge to lose. He'd had very few if any notes from the judges all day, and if he could keep his cupcakes consistent, Derek was pretty sure that he could win. As the first cupcakes came out of the oven looking perfect, Derek began the set up for frosting. He was glad he had kept things simple. As it was he had five frostings and a filling to get on and in the cupcakes. He glanced over to the area where Cora was assembling their decorations. It looked like she had about half of them done, there were trays full of magic lamps and sheriff stars.
Derek started his remaining assistant coring the chocolate cupcakes, so they could be filled with the peanut butter buttercream just as Justin announced the one hour mark. He took a deep breath. They could do this. With the other cupcakes still cooling, Derek started on frosting the spice cakes.
"Cora, the spice cakes are ready to do."
"On it, Derek!"
He moved on to the next tray. His assistant was already filling the chocolate cupcakes with the peanut butter buttercream, so that was on track. Derek moved on to frosting the anise cupcakes. Out of the corner of his eye he could see one of the assistants starting to get decorations on the cupcakes. They had to have at least forty-five minutes left. They could still get this done in time. Derek figured they only really needed ten minutes to load the display. An assistant appeared at his elbow.
"Cora said I should help you now?"
Derek thrust the pastry bag of plain buttercream into her hands. "Frost the ginger cupcakes. They're the tray in the middle."
As soon as the chocolate cupcakes were filled, Derek switched places with the assistant. It wasn't that he didn't trust the assistants, but they didn't have time to redo things right now, and Derek knew that frosting a cupcake with two colors at once wasn't the easiest thing to do. He'd just started gotten halfway through when the commotion of Kate's display being carried in started. Derek couldn't help but smirking a little. He wasn't exactly impressed by Kate's design.
It was a giant tree with a hole in the middle of the trunk where someone could sit and be surrounded by the tree, which wasn't in itself a bad idea. However, it was a pretty tall tree, and Derek didn't think that all the levels would be accessible to children. There wasn't a lot of branding either. There was one small cover shot of the new book on the trunk of the tree, but that was about it. It was a very pretty tree, but Derek thought that his display had a better connection to the Midnight Forest books. He kept frosting.
At least until his own display was brought in. It looked exactly as Derek had outlined. Each of the cupcake stands was the same color as the cover of the book that it corresponded to, and at the top of the stand was the Midnight Forest logo with a big print of each book's cover art. The rest of the stand was decorated with some sort of motif from the title like leaves for Midnight Forest or little clouds and lightning bolts for Thunder Heart. The one for the final book, Star Shower, was the largest. All of them were at the perfect height for kids to grab the cupcakes.
Of course, the arrival his own display meant that Derek needed to start getting cupcakes on it. Cora still had two of the assistants getting decorations on cupcakes, but the other two were free.
"I want a mix of the flavors on each stand," he told them. "Make sure the cupcakes are faced so people can see their decorations."
Justin chose that moment to announce, "Ten minutes."
"Cora?"
"I'm on the last tray now. Everything else is ready to go."
Derek started grabbing cupcakes, two to three to a hand, and putting them on the stands. It was close to chaos all around him. Everyone was loading the cupcake stands from all sides even as there was a countdown going on. Derek knew that he was more than a little breathless and wild eyed as he barked out orders to his team. The finish line was so close that he could almost taste it. Derek just kept going. They had to get this done.
Time was finally called, and Derek stepped back, breathing hard. Cora wrapped an arm around him and gave him a one armed hug. They had done it. Every single one of the thousand cupcakes was in its place on the stands, and they all looked wonderful. Derek was certain it had been one of the craziest two hours of his life, but he had accomplished what he set out to.
"So, bakers, for this final round we asked you to create a stunning one thousand cupcake display celebrating the release of the final book in Stiles Stilinski's Midnight Forest series. So, Kate, tell us what you did."
"We wanted to put together a display that brought people into the magic of the Midnight Forest series. So what you have is a large tree from the heart of the forest that a guest could sit inside. The cupcakes are held in the tree's branches. We also had some revisions to the cupcakes. I toned down the chocolate in the chocolate raspberry ganache. I hope you enjoy."
Justin nodded and turned his attention to Derek. "Derek?"
Derek mustered his best smile. "So, with our display, we wanted to celebrate not only the release of the final book in the Midnight Forest series but the entire series. Each one of our stands celebrates one of the books in the series, with the stand for Star Shower being the center of attention. All the stands are accessible one all sides and are designed to reached by children. I hope you like it."
"All right, bakers. Our judges need some time to confer. We'll call you back when they're ready."
Cora wrapped an arm around his waist as they headed back to the waiting room, and he wrapped on around her shoulders. He felt confident about what he had done today. He'd put out his best effort, and he was pretty sure that his work would hold up. So Derek ignored the way that Kate was smirking at him from across the room. She could smirk all she liked. The judges might have like her cupcakes all day, but they'd loved his, and Derek was pretty sure that he would win out in the end.
That didn't stop the butterflies in stomach from doing the can-can when he stood before the judges again. Justin was smiling.
"Bakers, the two of you were tasked with creating a cupcakes celebrating the release in the final book in the Midnight Forest series. We wanted the cupcakes to be magical and whimsical just like the books. Kate, the judges have enjoyed your delicious cupcakes all day. Derek, you've completely wowed everyone with spot on decorations and simple but delicious flavors. However, only one of you will attend the exclusive party celebrating the release of the final book in Stiles Stilinski's Midnight Forest series. But in the end, it came down to who best captured the magic of the books. So the winner of today's cupcake war is…Derek. Congratulations."
Derek blinked, not sure he had heard right. And then he had his arms full of Cora hugging the stuffing out of him. They'd won.
"All right. We've got a book launch to get to," Stiles announced.
The next few hours were absolutely chaotic. Derek didn't have a moment to breath until the book launch party was well underway. He had to say it was a fantastic party though. And it was even better that it was in his home town. The party was held at The Next Page, Beacon Hills' big independent bookstore, and they had gone all out for the honor. The entire store was decorated like a forest with special stations for crafts and activities set up. There was a fantastic reading area set up with bean bag chairs and pillows, and everywhere that Derek looked there were children.
Stiles had explained how the children had been selected for the party. Children had entered a contest with short essays about what the Midnight Forest series meant to them, and Stiles had selected the best hundred and fifty for the launch party as well as paying for their trip.
"If I'm going to be a rich author," he had said, "I want to use my money for something fun. Making kids who love books feel special is fun for me."
The cupcakes were a hit too. Both with the parents and the kids. Even if there was far more noise and craziness going around than Derek normally put up with. But between his success on the show and the ten thousand dollars, it had all been worth it. They were going to put Sweetwolf Bakery on the map with this.
"So, your sister tells me that you guys are from Beacon Hills?"
Derek startled; he hadn't realized that Stiles had come up behind him. "Yes."
The other man's smile was brilliant. "Good. I've been trying to figure out how to special order your cupcakes from across country, but this means that I can just pop by and pick up cupcakes whenever."
"I'm glad you liked them."
Stiles just shook his head. "Dude, I can't tell you how fantastic it was the your cupcakes were so good. I was really worried that I would have to vote for Kate's cupcakes. That would have been awful. She's been trying to break up my best friend and her niece since they started dating in high school. But she is a really good baker. You're better though."
That made Derek smile. "I'm glad. When I found out she was on the show, I really wanted to beat her."
"Glad to help you with that. Oh," Stiles fumbled something in his hands. "This is for you."
Derek took the book pressed into his hands. A closer look revealed that it was a copy for Star Shower the final book in the Midnight Forest series. It was also signed. On the title page it read:
Derek,
Thank you so much for everything you have done to help make my book launch a success. I know you are a fan of the series (your cupcakes clearly showed that), so here is a copy of your own. I hope you enjoy it.
Stiles
P.S. Deirdre plays a big role in this one. I loved the cupcake you made for her.
S.S.
Derek mostly just wanted to find a corner to curl up in and read the book. He had to know what happened next; the last book had ended on the cliffhanger. "Thank you."
"No problem." Stiles winced. "Looks like my agent is waving at me. I should probably go see what she wants. I'll see you around, Derek."
Derek watched him go, still clutching the book. Part of him was still in awe of the fact that he'd gotten to meet one of his favorite authors and spend some time with him. The fact that he had given Derek a personalized, signed copy of one of his books was just icing on the cake. Cora caught his eye from her station beside one of the cupcake stands and waved him over. Derek sighed. He'd read the book when he got home.
The whirlwind of excitement didn't end there though. Derek found himself getting swept up in the search for the perfect storefront space to purchase. And once they had found it, it needed to be remodeled. Laura and Cora took over most of that though. The only place that Derek really had reign over was the kitchen. That at least was Derek's domain. And there was also the fact that three of them couldn't run the shop all by their lonesome. Well, they could try, but Derek didn't think it would end well.
That meant hiring staff, and Laura had decided it was also the perfect opportunity for them to expand their pack as well. Of their three new betas, Isaac and Erica had taken over working the counter with Laura. Isaac was the shyer of the two, but there was a sweetness to him that seemed to win over customers, and Erica's bold personality definitely attracted attention. Though Derek's biggest concern was the fact that between the three of them he was pretty sure that Laura, Erica, and Cora could take over the world. Boyd, their other new recruit, turned out to an even better assistant in the kitchen than Cora had. His calm personality worked well with Derek's in the kitchen, and he had a knack for timing with the cupcakes that was very helpful.
Of course, with all of that going on plus training the new betas, Derek didn't actually get a chance to read the book until nearly two months after Sweetwolf Bakery had opened its doors. And that was mostly because Laura had put her foot down and insisted that he spend his day off outside of the bakery for a change.
"I get that you want the bakery to be a success, baby bro, but it's called a day off for a reason. There is nothing you need to be doing at the bakery on your day off. If you'd been working for someone else, you would have racked up so much overtime at this point that it's ridiculous. Go home. Read a book. Do something that doesn't have to do with baking. Or else I'm sending the puppies home with you."
As much as Derek liked their new betas, he didn't really want to be charged with babysitting them on his day off. So after closing up the shop on Saturday, Derek went home to his loft and curled up with Star Shower. It didn't take long at all for Derek to be completely sucked into the story. Dawn was creeping through the windows as he reached the last chapter, and Derek was startled to discover that he'd been reading all night.
He took a brief pause to make some coffee before finishing the last chapter. And as soon as he'd done so, Derek regretted it because all he wanted to do was read it again. The other books in the series had been good. This last one had been great. Derek was pretty sure that some people were going to be disappointed that Lis didn't end up with her initial crush from the early books, but Derek liked the way that it had turned out. The idea that your first love wasn't necessarily your true love was one that Derek didn't see a lot of in books.
And the fact that Lis ended up with Deirdre who was his favorite character was just icing on the cake. All in all, it was a great read, and the perfect end to a fantastic series. Derek was sad that it was over, but he had definitely appreciated the journey the series had taken him on. Derek took a mid-morning nap to make up for staying up all night reading, but when he woke again, Derek found himself restless.
He went for a run, trying to burn off energy. When that didn't work, he dragged out one of his older cookbooks and started experimenting. He rarely had time when the shop was open to experiment with recipes, and he had missed just playing around in the kitchen. By the time that Laura checked in on him to make sure he hadn't wandered off to his shop, he was just pulling out a tray of brown sugar spiced cupcakes out of the oven.
"Those smell good."
He smiled at her. "Do you want some? They're not ready to frost yet, but you could try the cake."
"Have you ever known me to turn down your baking?"
Laura made a fresh pot of coffee and the two of them nibbled on the still warm cupcakes at the kitchen bar. Laura was watching him closely.
"What?" he finally asked.
"Your episode of Cupcake Wars airs next week. We'll probably have a surge in traffic at the store. I was thinking we could also have the cupcakes you made for the show available for purchase since people are probably going to be curious about them."
He nodded. That made sense. And Derek had to admit he wasn't adverse to using those recipes again. He could do without the fancy decorations, but the cupcakes themselves were good ones, and he was pleased with his recipes.
"I was also thinking we could start doing something special for the First Friday crowd. You make that great spiced whisky cupcake, and maybe you could come up with a couple more cupcakes like that. We already get a lot of foot traffic on those evenings, but I want to do something to draw the crowds in. I'm trying to see if I can find a local artist willing to show their work at the shop for the evening."
Derek made a face at that. "Do we have to? The baking should speak for itself. We don't need to cater to pretentious hipsters."
Laura frowned at him. "They're not all hipsters. And being part of the community is a big part of being a successful business. I know you don't like schmoozing with people, but it will pay off in the end. All you really need to do is open up the shop and sell the cupcakes. Cora and I will do most of the talking."
Derek sighed, but he knew that his sister was probably right. Laura's head for business had helped them more than once, and he knew better than to argue with her on it. And he knew that there were a couple of alcohol based recipes he could play around with to suit Laura. She was right that the spiced whisky cupcake was good though, and it had always been popular amongst their friends.
So two weeks later when first Friday rolled around, Derek had trays of spiced whisky, Irish cream, Grand Marnier, bourbon, and Kir Royale cupcakes. Laura had found some local photographer to show her work at the bakery, and Derek had to admit that the photographs were beautiful. They were motley nature shots, but there were a couple with people in them. At least that part of tonight was going to go well, and Derek had no doubt that the cupcakes would be well received. It was just the rest of the evening that he was nervous about.
Still, fifteen minutes to five, a young woman with a bright smile knocked on the door.
"Hi. You must be Derek. I'm Allison McCall. You're hosting my photography for First Friday." She held out a hand to shake. "Pleased to meet you."
Derek shook her hand. "Good to meet you. Is there anything you need to get set up?"
Allison shook her head then bit her lip. She hesitated a moment longer before speaking. "Did Laura give you the head's up about my family?"
Derek blinked and then shook his head. Laura hadn't mentioned anything to him. Allison just sighed.
"So, I'm mostly disowned. My boyfriend got bitten before I really found out anything about my heritage, and I refused to give him up. My mom and my aunt consider me to be a traitor, but they do pop into my life off and on to judge my decisions and make a nuisance of themselves. My dad supported me, and he'll probably drop by." Allison took a deep breath before adding, "My maiden name was Argent."
He froze, all of his instincts telling him to get away from her. But she had taken a risk in telling him all this, and he hadn't sensed any kind of threat from her so far.
"Do you think that Victoria or Kate will show up tonight?" he found himself asking.
Allison sighed. "I don't know. I hope not, but it's always a crapshoot these days. The fact that their televised defeat by you has just aired might make them want to try and regain some face. From what Dad has said, it's yet another blow to their reputations in the Hunter community. But my friends will be in and out all night, and all of them know to call the cops if Mom or Aunt Kate start something."
Derek nodded. He could handle that. It wasn't like he hadn't dealt with having hunters in his shop before. When they had first opened, several known hunters had dropped by the bakery. They hadn't done much besides look around, though some had made threatening noises. However, being respectable parts of the community and the fact that the local sheriff's department had a sweet tooth had so far protected their establishment from much in the way of harassment. The one time they had been hit by graffiti (which had featured slurs about dogs and beasts), the sheriff's department had been extremely helpful, and the two miscreants responsible (a pair of teens whose parents happened to be in the Hunter community) had been doing community service for the next six months.
So if Derek had put up with one evening of nasty remarks and veiled threats from Kate and Victoria Argent, he would. Now if they came sniffing around his pack or his home that would be a different story. Besides, part of him wanted to show off a little. He had won and his bakery was proving to be quite a success. The Hale pack was once again strong, if a bit young. They were still in Beacon Hills. They had persevered and thrived, and Derek wanted to show the world that, show people like Kate that they hadn't been broken by what had happened to them. Of course other times Derek just wanted to wrap his pack up in cotton and keep them safe from the world, but for tonight he figured he could put his protective instincts aside.
Allison's arrival seemed to herald the arrival of everyone else. Cora and Laura were just checking in before heading out to enjoy First Friday and hopefully directing some traffic in the Sweetwolf Bakery's direction. Erica, Isaac, and Boyd were hanging around to help out with any customers. Besides, both Erica and Isaac were better at small talk than he was.
He wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Laura had once dragged him around on a First Friday once, though he'd spent most of it trying to avoid people who kept flirting with him. Of course, this time it would hopefully be different, and all he would have to talk about were the cupcakes.
The evening started off slowly with a few customers trickling in but not much in the way of real traffic. Mostly just folks on their way home from work pleased that the bakery was still open. However, as twilight approached, traffic picked up, and Derek found himself with his hands full passing out cupcakes and answering questions. Isaac was doing brisk business at the register, and while there were more questions about Hollywood and his romantic availability than about the bakery or the cupcakes, Derek had to admit that they were certainly seeing a lot of people that hadn't ever come to the shop before.
Erica is clearly in her element, flirting with customers and selling cupcakes. Even Isaac, who could be shy around crowds of strangers, seemed to have struck up an easy rapport with Allison's husband. Boyd was busy at the coffee machine filling orders for drinks. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, and the cupcakes were disappearing rather quickly. They had already run out of the ones topped with the Sherriff's tar as well as the Kir Royale ones.
The only thing that really was a problem for Derek was all of the flirting. He could really do without that. No one seemed able to get the hint that Derek was not at all interested in hooking up with someone at the moment. That didn't mean that Derek was completely opposed to the idea of a romantic relationship, but most of the time he wasn't being asked out for dinner, just to hop into bed with someone, and Derek had no interest in that. And to be honest, he'd like to have dinner with someone who seemed interested in something besides his looks.
So he did his best to avoid extended conversation with anybody and busied himself instead with things like refilling the cupcake stands and refilling the carafes of milk they had provided as drinks. The excuse that he needed to go take care of something made for an easy exit from most conversations. Derek had seen a few familiar faces pass through the bakery, but for the most part he didn't know the people milling around his shop tonight. Most of them weren't regulars, but at least just about everyone seemed to be enjoying the cupcakes.
Derek was just putting the last of the Lis cupcakes out when a pair of familiar eyes caught his from across the room. Stiles Stilinski grinned at him and began weaving his way through the crowd.
"Are those the Lis cupcakes you made for my book launch party?" Stiles asked as he sidled up to Derek. "Those were my favorites."
He grinned and offered Stiles one of the cupcakes. "I'm glad you liked them. Though I have to admit that the Sheriff ones have been the most popular tonight."
"Well, it's hard to go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter." Stiles bit into the cupcake with a sigh. "I knew I should have come in here earlier. I forgot how good your cupcakes are. Ally definitely lucked out when it came to her First Friday venue."
"You know Allison?" Derek asked.
"Her husband's my best friend." Stiles blinked at him. "Oh! I was meaning to follow up with you. What did you think of the book?"
It wasn't until he heard that click of the lock on the front door that Derek realized the bakery was mostly empty. He scanned the room to find Scott helping Allison with her coat while Isaac finished wiping down the counter. Erica and Boyd were in the kitchen cleaning up. Beside him Stiles let out a groan when he check his phone.
"How is it already eleven? I could swear I just got here." Stiles ran a hand through his hair and made a face. "Can I get a rain check on the rest of our conversation? Maybe we could grab coffee tomorrow or something?"
"I'd like that," Derek smiled.
"Great. Give me your number. I'll text you tomorrow."
Derek entered his number into Stiles' phone and snagged the last two cupcakes that were left in the store. "Here. You might as well take these home too. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Definitely." Stiles took the cupcakes and his phone with a grin.
Which was how Derek found himself being regaled with stories of Stiles and Scott's adventures over fantastic coffee from a hole in the wall place Derek had never heard of before. He was still getting to know Beacon Hills again now that they had moved back here, and coffee this good was definitely worth finding out about.
"So, I would have come by earlier, but I've been swamped with the book tour," Stiles said, "but I really did mean to come by and see you."
Derek just shook his head. "It's fine, Stiles. I wasn't expecting you to immediately show up on my doorstep."
Stiles rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm done running around the country signing books for now, and I was hoping you'd let me take you out to dinner sometime. I mean, I know that we've barely met and most of our interaction was on a reality TV show which probably isn't the best place for a relationship to start, but you seem like a really great guy and I'd really like a chance to get to know you better, and you like my books and don't seem to think that they're just dumb kiddies stuff like-"
"I'd like that. Would next Thursday work?" Derek interrupted him.
Stiles' smile was bright enough to light up the room. "Awesome."
As their conversation turned to favorite restaurants, Derek sat back and smiled. The money and fame from Cupcake Wars was nice, but he had the feeling that meeting Stiles was going to be the most important thing to come out of it in the long run.