"Wow…what an adventure!" Addison grinned to herself.

She laid on top of the couch, staring at their manicured version of the wilderness through large paned windows. The soft rumble of the washing machine could be heard as it eradicated the numerous stains on her clothes, just as she herself had removed all of the excess dirt with a nice warm shower earlier.

"I still can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe Willa is actually letting me do this. I mean…what do I have to offer? What if…what if this is all some kind of joke to them?"

Despite the pep talk she had with Wyatt, those doubting thoughts crept back into her mind like a multitude of buzzing gnats. She shifted her gaze from the window to the ceiling, watching the fan spin around. She sighed as the inner swarm whirled around in her head – infesting her with their presence.

However a slight shade change outside caused her to look out to the backyard again. She saw a few multicolored leaves fluttering by along the invisible current, reminding her of her excursion underneath sun filtered canopy – feeling completely at ease with her surroundings.

"No, that's not it. Willa did says wolves like to tease but they wouldn't do something like that – we're friends. And she wouldn't have Wyatt train me nor would he be so serious about it if it was a prank."

Just like that she pounded those annoying gnats to dust with a mental right hook.

"Still…I don't want them thinking that I only wanted to do this just so I can learn some secrets. It's more than that. I mean other than Willa, Wyatt and Wynter I don't know anyone else's name, their culture or what they're like as individuals. **sigh** I wish I knew how to convey that I don't take this lightly and that I really appreciate the opportunity. And something tells me that words won't cut it."

**PING PING PANG**

A familiar chime from her phone interrupted her thoughts. "Ugh…what is it?" she thought as she reached for it on the coffee table and entered her code to unlock it. Sure enough it was who she thought it was – it was her assigned ringtone after all.

"Long meeting tonight. Your father and I won't be home until late. Here's our number if you want to order in. Get whatever you'd like" and right below it was her mom's credit card info. Then another **PING** came through. "Please delete the last message when you're done."

She read and re-read the messages again to make sure her literacy skills didn't suddenly diminish. "…That's new" she thought. It was no secret that her parents worked long hours – being the mayor and the head of the z-patrol will do that. But what was really surprising was that they actually sent a message and made sure that she ate. Not to say she was neglected, but she had to learn how to be independent at a young age. "No chicken noodle soup tonight" she thought as a small grin appeared on her lips. She liked the canned commodity well enough, but just the fact that they showed an ounce of caring about well-being caused it to appear.

"Wait…that's it! Food! I can bring the pack something to eat! Or at least a little something extra. …But what?"

While her parents did say she could order whatever she wanted, she was absolutely certain they would NOT appreciate a massive food bill for possibly over twenty wolves. And besides, what could they eat other than raw meat? Sure they ate pizza and frozen yogurt at Prawn, but that was about the extent of human food that she knew of. Not to mention just buying something seemed…mundane. She wanted this declaration to be special.

All of a sudden an excited gasp came out of her lips and she did a quick search on her phone. "Okay…so long as it doesn't have those ingredients it's safe for them to eat. It'll be perfect! Now I just have to find the recipe."

She got up from the couch and rushed into the kitchen. She went through the cabinet that had all the cook books that they rarely used. "C'mon…where is it? It has to be in he-FOUND IT!" she happily exclaimed when she located a weathered card. It was stained with various sauces, spices, and whatever else they were using to cook at the time, but the words were still legible. "When was the last time we used this recipe?" she wondered. Not long after she spoke those words a stray, almost forgotten memory entered her mind.


A delicious aroma wafted through the entire house as Missy rolled out a large sheet of white dough while a very young Addison watched her every move from one of the bar chairs. Her mother was caked in flour; if she had any on top of her head she'd match her daughter's unique hair color for sure. Addison let out a little giggle.

"What's so funny Addison?" Missy grinned back.

"You look like you lost a snowball fight" she replied.

Missy looked at her clothes and remarked, "Huh…so I do."

"What're you making anyway?" the young girl asked.

"Sugar cookies" she answered as she sprinkled some powdered sugar on top of the dough.

"Sugar cookies?! Sweet!" and Missy chuckled at the unintended pun. "Are they for our dessert?"

"A few of them can be, but these are for my constituents. The people that helped me with my campaign for mayor."

"Really? That's a lot of people. Wouldn't it have been easier just to buy some?" she asked.

"It would have. But remember that lemon cake I brought home that one day?"

"Yea! That was sure good!" She licked her lips remembering that ultimate taste explosion.

"Mrs. Ferguson made that for me as a thank you gift for helping her with a fundraiser. When I told her how much we loved it, she was so pleased. That's when she told me that anything that comes from the heart will shine through and be appreciated, no matter what it is. So that's why I'm making these cookies; I want my appreciation for my team to shine through. Plus this recipe got five stars on Food Network" making her daughter laugh. "Would you like to help me cut them out?"

"Okay!" she enthusiastically replied before hopping out of her seat and grabbing one of the circular cookie cutters.


Addison smiled at one of the bright spots of her childhood. They made over five dozen cookies that day and they were a hit. It was the perfect launching point for her mother's landslide victory into becoming the mayor of Seabrook. But then her lips dipped into a small frown. "…Why'd it have to go downhill from there?" she quietly contemplated, but shook it off. "No, this is about the pack. To let my heart shine with appreciation for them" she resolutely stated and got to work locating all the ingredients. Thankfully they were fully stocked on everything.

She called up her favorite sandwich place and ordered herself a large roast beef hoagie. She shot a quick text to her parent to see if they wanted anything from there, but got a in return. She deleted the text that contained the credit card info before she forgot.

"Alright then, let's get started!" Much like her mother all those years ago, she looked like she lost a snowball fight. But at least there was plenty of dough.

**DING DONG** "Must be dinner" she thought before washing her hands. The delivery zombie chuckled a bit at the state she was in when she answered the door. "Here you are ma'am" and he handed her the bag.

"Thank you" she smiled.

"If you don't mind me asking, what're you making?"

"Sugar cookies" she answered.

"Sweeeet" and she did a double take before giggling at the unintentional pun. "Well you have a good night ma'am" and he tipped his baseball cap.

"You too, thank you!" and gently closed the door. She ate her dinner while she waited for the oven to preheat. "That hit the spot. Okay…now where are those cookie cutters" she thought as she looked through the drawers. "Huh, that's weird. I know we haven't made home-made cookies in forever, but they should've been in one of these drawers. Hmmm…maybe in the closet?"

She goes to the storage closet where everything is neatly labeled and organized. "Let's see…cookie cutters…cookie cut-huh? Halloween? I didn't think we had anything for Halloween."

Halloween in Seabrook was treated with extreme caution because…well…they lived next to zombies. Though now that everything's changed hopefully she'll get to experience trick-or-treating for the first time, even if she was considered too old for it. Or at the very least go to another underground party with Zed, Eliza and Bonzo. Curiosity consumed her and she took out the bin. When she opened it she saw the standard items: jack-o-lantern carving kit, felt bats, stiff paper witches, etc.

"What's in here?" she thought as she pulled out a smaller, wooden storage container. "What?! Cookie cutters!?" Needless to say she was astonished – she didn't think her parents were into making Halloween shaped cookies. Though they were well kept, they were definitely older compared to the plastic ones found in stores nowadays.

But a discovery within the wooden box made her smile split her face. "A howling wolf! Perfect!" she exclaimed. She took it out and put everything else back where she found it. There wasn't any grime on the relic tool, but it got a thorough washing anyway. She coated the edges with powdered sugar so it wouldn't stick to the dough, and soon she was making wolf cookies like a machine. Before long the first two batches were in the oven. The cutting, cooking and cooling process continued until the last crumb of dough was used. In between each batch she cleaned the kitchen a little at a time so she wouldn't have a massive mess to deal with at the end.

"There we go. Good cook, clean kitchen" she praised herself and patted herself on the back. But the gratifying action caused a little flour cloud to arise and go into her nose. "AH-AH-ACHOO! **sniff**I'd better make myself a clean cook too. But first things first." She washed her hands, grabbed one of the cooled cookies and took a generous bite.

"MMMMMM!" Her tongue savored every sweet, delicious morsel. "Yep! Heart shining through!" she beamed as she finished off the rest of the cookie. "I'd better stop before I eat half of these" she thought and went upstairs to her room to take a shower.

After a couple minutes she came back down wearing a darker colored attire and her hair done up in the loose werewolf style. She looked at the clock. "Not too late, it's only eight. I'll be in and out before they know it" she decided before sending her parents a text saying she was going to her friends' house. Thankfully they didn't ask which one, though there were only two options: Bree or Zed. She was just glad that they trusted him enough to allow her to go over to his house. "Soon it'll be three options" she thought before grabbing a few empty Danish butter cookie tins, her father's guilty pleasure, and started packing up the wolf cookies. Soon there were only three left after all four tins were filled to the brim.

"…I think I over did it. Oh well, at least they'll have some leftovers" she thought. She eyed the remaining cookies and ate one of them. "Alright, I really need to stop. Guess I'll pack these up for tomorrow" but another thought shot into her mind like an arrow. "Well…it couldn't hurt" and she grabbed two small flower patterned saucers and put the cookies on them. Then she got a couple of mugs and set them down as well. She took out a pen and a piece of paper from her backpack on the floor and wrote, "Enjoy! Love Addison" in the fanciest writing she could muster. "Never thought I'd do something like this. Well, time to get a move on."

She went back upstairs to empty her cheer duffle bag in order to pack the tins. "Keys, cookies, jacket" and she felt the material – not too heavy and not too light – "and phone. Now I'm set." Slinging the bag across her body, she leaves the house and locks the front door. "Time to test my memory and sense of direction." With her resolve set, she headed towards the forest.


Two hours later…

The sound of a jiggling handle disrupts the silence of the empty house. Walking in are two utterly weary adults whose joints crack with every step.

"I'm going to seriously consider replacing all the chairs with exercise balls. I don't care who you are, no one is meant to sit for that long" Missy moaned as she set her purse down on the living room coffee table and stretched her cramped arms up.

"I agree, but we'll have to at least lay down for a little while to finish this proposal" Dale reminded her as he loosened his tie.

"Don't remind me" she irritably uttered.

"Regular coffee then?" he asked.

"Please and thank you."

"You got it" and he walked towards the kitchen.

Before Missy could walk upstairs to their bedroom Dale yelled, "Missy! Come here!"

"You don't have to shout Dale, I'm right here" she replied while rubbing her temple. Though she stopped her kneading when she saw the sight in front of her. "What?" she breathlessly asked.

"Looks like our daughter left us a little late night pick me up to go with our coffee" Dale smiled. Missy couldn't help but remain in her stunned state of mind; this was completely unexpected.

He picks up his cookie and looks over the unusual shape. "A wolf. Somehow I'm not surprised. I wonder where she bought the cookie cutter, we don't exactly celebrate Halloween here" he commented before taking a bite. Immediately his eyes lit up. "HMMMM! These are amazing!" and he scarfed his down. "If you don't hurry up and get yours, it will be devoured. I can guarantee you that" he semi-threatened and that snapped her out of it. She picked up the cookie and bit off the top of the muzzle. Her eyes lit up just like Dale's, not only because of the exceptional taste but also recognizing the recipe.

"…I can't believe we still had that card" she thought before chuckling to herself.

"What's so funny? Did she put some tickle powder in those cookies?" he joked.

"No, no. I was just thinking if she won or lost the snowball fight" she wistfully answered.

"Snowball fight?"

"I'll explain later. For now I need some coffee. Stat."

"Right away." He got the "late night" blend and put it in the brewer. As the delectable smell filled the house Missy pondered, "I wonder why she made these in the first place?" but decided it wasn't important. Addison actually thought of them. Not only with the cookies, but also with the nice set-up. She couldn't stop the small grin if she wanted to.

Suddenly a **PING PING DING** from both of their phones ended her internal revelry. Dale still had his phone in his pocket and took it out. He entered his code to unlock it and looked at the screen for a couple seconds.

"WHAT?!" he shouted.

"What?!" Missy asked. He handed her his phone and she looked at the message. "WHAT?!"