This had to be the coolest thing ever. Not only were they getting to meet new people, but Wiatt got to try all this new food!

It all started when Sophie's brother came to visit. He had heard about her brother before. Sophie was a lot older than him, but she talked to everyone, especially the other omegas like him. She tried to comfort the ones who were insecure about themselves. She even helped Wiatt out a little bit when she first came to the pack. He was really young then. He loved to help her out whenever he could, although there wasn't much someone his age could do in a bar. He really just liked her stories. She had so many of them about her old pack as well as her other adventures. His favorite were the love stories that she would tell.

"Alright, Hiroko," Nick gave the woman a playful look. "Are you ready for the spice contest?"

"Spice contest?" Sophie looked curiously at her brother. "What are you going on about this time, Nick?"

They were all at a restaurant then. He was there with Jett, Shiro, and a mixture of people in town who were all there to meet Nick and the few that had visited from the Crescent Moon pack. Jett thought it would be a nice place for them to all get together. He had invited them so that they could meet Shiro and start relations with the Reverence Pack. It was his way of thanking them for all the other packs that they had helped them meet. Hiroko knew so many of them!

Hiroko laughed and went over to give Nick a quick hug.

"It's nice to see you again," she told him. Then she turned to look at the rest of the crowd. "It seems as though I've already met your brother, Sophie."

"What packs haven't you visited?!" Jett frowned. He looked so annoyed Wiatt had to hold back a snicker. Shiro looked like he was enjoying Jett's reaction too. "It seems like you know everybody."

"Not entirely," Hiroko giggled again. She was always so happy. Both her and Shiro, but he was a quiet happy. "The Crescent Moon pack was the last one I visited, actually."

"We had a blast with your visit!" Nick said. "You were the only one who could shock Martha. She told me that she had never seen someone so small throw a beta across the room like that." He looked so happy to be there. Wiatt liked talking to him. He was a lot like Sophie, but more dramatic. And he absolutely loved talking about food, which was Wiatt's favorite subject.

"I still feel bad for doing that to your mate," Hiroko shook her head. "He really is a great fighter."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Nick waved it off. "He said that it was worth it to see Martha's reaction. The old battle axe was talking about it for at least a month after that!"

"She really seems like an amazing woman," Hiroko smiled. "I'm honored to have met her."

"So, I take it you finally found your mate?" Nick asked. He was having too much fun talking with all of them. He didn't bring his mate with him, which made Wiatt sad. He wanted to see just who was all the person that Sophie always teased her brother about. He really just wished he could go and visit this pack. It seems like it would be so fun, but he knew his parents wouldn't let him. His mom especially.

"He was right under my nose the whole time," Hiroko winked at him. They started talking about all the things that they missed out on in the short time since she had visited. But his favorite part of the conversation was when Nick started talking to her about spicy food.

"Sophia!" Nick got his sisters attention. "She can actually handle mom's curry!"

"What?!" Sophie looked shocked. "I haven't found a single soul here that could handle it!"

"I could handle it!" Wiatt smiled proudly in his seat. "I love spicy food!" He had been dying to try the curry that Sophie talked about. She never made it because she said that no one would eat it.

He had been dying to try more spicy food, actually. It was hard to get around these parts, which was strange because it was the best to eat in the winter. He loved putting hot sauce in the soups he had. It helped with his sinuses too.

"Perhaps our chefs could treat you to some of their spicy food," Shiro offered to Nick. "I hear that the Dynamic Pack has some dishes that are spicy as well."

"It's not hot enough," Wiatt pouted.

"Maybe we should have a spicy food contest," Hiroko told Nick. "That might be some fun for the whole town."

Those famous words would go down in history. At least, it would for him. That started the week of cooking and prepping for the whole town. Everyone except for the Noble pack were in on the cooking competition. They didn't really do anything with spice, and most couldn't tolerate it. Wiatt heard from Alex that he was going to try and drag Luke there, with Teddy's help, just so they could torture him with all the foods.

He was so excited for it, though! He wanted to try the spiciest food there. He might be the omega of the family, besides his mom, but he was the only one that could handle spice. Where he got it, no one really knows. His brothers hated him for it because whenever he would get mad, he would slip a tiny bit of hot sauce into their food and watch them freak out. He got in trouble for that so many times he lost count. It was pretty funny though.

He had to run for his life a few times, but it was so worth it.

It was a few days before the contest when he finally met another guest that was staying with them. He had woken up hungry that night. It was easy to sneak into the kitchen for a little midnight snack, and that's just what he set out to do. Every time he got caught, his mom would tell him that he was going to get fat if he kept on eating the way he was, but he didn't care. He ran around plenty anyway.

This night he was expecting the kitchen to be dark like it usually was at midnight. The chefs all needed sleep at some point. But, much to his surprise, it was bright and lit up. He didn't know what was going on in there, but he really didn't want to get yelled at by a chef. That would mean that his mom would immediately find out and race over there just to yell at him.

But it smelt too good for him to turn away.

Too curious to help himself, he took a peek through the doors.

"Dammit! It was supposed to be one teaspoon, not tablespoon!" A man flipped through some pages in a cook book. It all looked like it was handwritten too. Wiatt had good eyes when it came to this kind of stuff. "If I can't get this right, he's never going to let me cook!"

He was tall and looked pretty young from what Wiatt could see through the crack in the door. He had light brown hair that was shaved on the sides. The top was pulled into a tiny bun on the back of his head. He hadn't seen someone with that hairstyle before, but he liked it. It looked cool, even though he'd never get it done to himself. He was half tempted to go in and ask him how he came up with that hairstyle. Maybe he could be a taste tester for him too.

He looked so concentrated, though. It was like watching a movie almost. Or just a cooking show. Wiatt had never seen someone look so focused and determined to cook. He had a bunch of ingredients on the counter, and he used each and every one of them. Soon the smell wafted through the kitchen, all the way to the door that he was still standing by. It made his mouth water, it smelt so good.

As much as the food smelt good, the cook just seemed to be getting more and more frustrated as time went on. With no one else in the kitchen, he berated himself about all the mistakes he made or if his dish didn't taste right. Then, after a while the man sighed in frustration and slunk onto the floor.

"Who am I kidding?" he looked to the ground. "I can't be a chef. I can't even follow a recipe right."

This was the perfect time to sneak in. Even with the lights all on and not much to hide behind, Wiatt knew how to sneak through the kitchen to the pantry. He had done it so many times in the past, it wasn't even funny. He snuck into the kitchen, just like he always did. But before he got to the pantry, that smell hit his nose again. Whether the man had done it according to the recipe or not, that food he made smelt good. And it smelt spicy. He couldn't resist getting closer to it. Piping hot was a way better midnight snack than whatever was in the pantry. Especially now that it was freezing out. Their winters were always freezing. But the snow was fun to play in.

The man was too busy sulking in his sorrows to see him sneak over to the pot that he was working on. Wiatt grabbed a small spoon that was on the counter and filled it with the soup. He wasn't sure if it was an actual soup or if it was just a sauce for something, but he wanted to try it.

He just about died and went to heaven when that spoon met his lips. It was the spiciest thing that he had ever tried, and it was amazing to boot. He couldn't help but try to sneak another bite in.

It seemed like he wasn't going to get away with the second one, though. As soon as he went in for another spoonful, a hand caught his. Soon he was looking in the hazel eyes of an angry chef.

"Who are you, and why are you trying to eat my food?" the man asked. He was kind of handsome, if Wiatt got past the part that he looked like he was going to set him on fire with his intense eyes. Now that he was up close and personal with the guy, he could tell that he was a delta wolf. Which meant that he was definitely stronger than him.

"Uh, hi," he had to try and stop himself from stuttering. He had a bad habit of that whenever he had to talk to hot guys. He had to stop himself from falling for them. They never wound up being his anyway. "I'm Wiatt."

"Are you from this pack, or are you a guest?" the man asked. Those hazel eyes looked at him curiously. It was probably his orange eyes that he was wondering about. That was the one thing that he had inherited from his dad. Everyone inherits the eyes from the alpha.

"I-I'm from the Valor Pack!" he said. "What pack a-are you from?"

"Why are you trying to eat my food in the middle of the night?" he ignored the question.

"Why are you making food in the middle of the night?" he blurted out. It was probably going to make him even more pissed off, but he was too curious as to what the man was doing. And he really wanted some more of that food. His stomach was in complete control of him.

"That's not an answer," he squinted his eyes at him.

"Well, you didn't answer my question," Wiatt said. His hand was still trapped, spoon and all, in the man's hold. He liked the warmth that came from the man. He was starting to freeze now that he was staying put in the kitchen. He only had his PJs on.

Those hazel eyes stared at him for a second or two before sighing and shaking his head.

"I'm from the Crescent Moon Pack," he said. "Now why are you stealing my food?"

"Would you really consider a bite or two stealing?" Wiatt gave him a sheepish smile. The guy was having none of it. He had the most serious look on his face after he asked that question. His shoulders fell as he gave into the man. "I wanted to try it."

"You should learn to ask before," he let go of his hand, moving it away from the pot that was still on the stove. The burner was turned down low just so that it would stay warm.

"But then you would have said no."

"And why do you think I would?"

"Cus you said that you couldn't follow the recipe and the food wasn't good enough to impress whatever chef you're trying to impress," Wiatt spoke fast as he reiterated the things that he overheard the man talking about himself. Then he gasped. "Wait! Are you trying to impress Nick?!"

"You don't really like to mind your own business, do you?" the man shook his head and started cleaning up his work station.

"But you totally could!" Wiatt told him. "This is amazing! And it's super spicy! It'll be perfect for the contest!"

"No, it won't," the man shook his head. "It's nothing but a failed attempt at the best dish ever."

"But it's really good!" Wiatt said. He felt bad that the man was so willing to just throw the dish out. "You should enter it this way."

"It's not according to recipe," he shook his head again. "It's nothing but trash."

"Why are you so obsessed with it being just like the recipe?" Wiatt asked.

"Because it's supposed to be," he told him. "This cook book has been handed down in my family from generation to generation. All the women in my family have been able to cook it to absolute perfection, everything done in perfect precision. If I can't get it right, I'll be disgracing my family and my great, great grandmother who first made it."

"But every chef has their own way of cooking," Wiatt said. "A dish is never going to taste exactly the same every time you cook it. And it's good to have your own signature when cooking. That way people know that it's your dish, not just a dish."

He had talked to the chefs here too much. He loved learning about cooking and food, even though his mom would never let him near a stove and its dials. She was too worried that he would burn himself or something. She was always worried about him. It sucked trying to do anything with her being around. He was glad that his dad could convince her to let him do most things that every other person his age did, but the kitchen was one thing that she was adamant about.

"You sure know an awful lot about cooking for a kid," he raised an eyebrow.

"I just like food," Wiatt gave a shy chuckle. "B-but you really shouldn't give up on this dish. I think that this one is going to be the winner."

"I doubt that," he said. "Chef Nick is going to be making his mom's curry for it, and there's no way that this can beat that."

"Then I can help you make it spicier!"

"Do you even know how to work an oven?"

"Well, no," he admitted. "But I make a great taste tester!"

The chef laughed a little at that, then sighed. It was nice to see him a bit relaxed. "The issue with adding more spice to a dish is you run the risk of it overwhelming the actual flavor of the food. It's not as simple as the people who make all these hot chips or peppers to challenge themselves to see if they could handle more heat. It's an art."

"Then I can help make sure that you don't overwhelm it!" Wiatt bounced. "I'm probably the only one here that can handle all the spice anyway."

"You really want to help me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because this is really good!"

The man paused one more time, staring at him. Those intense eyes seemed to calm down as they looked into his. After a second or two, a smile crept up on his lips.

"Alright," he said, getting his cooking tools out again. "But we're going to have to hurry. There's not much time before the chefs come in to start the morning shift."

It was amazing how he flew around the counters so elegantly. He might be young, but it seemed like he had lived in the kitchen his whole life. Wiatt was getting excited just watching all of this. He only wished that there was some music on or something. He could probably think of a few songs that fit this situation. He loved music almost as much as food.

"So, uh," he hesitated for a second. The chef was still moving, not hesitating one second even with Wiatt talking. "I hate to ask, but..."

"But what?" he asked.

"Well, um," Wiatt let out a nervous laugh. "I didn't exactly catch your name."

"Oh," the chef paused this time. He looked at him again and smiled a bit. "It's Antonio."

"Nice to meet you," he said. He liked that name. It sounded cool. As much as he was angry before, he seemed like a pretty cool guy when he wasn't obsessing about a dish being perfect.

Maybe it was just his body trying to make him think something else, though. He was still super nervous, and it had nothing to do with how angry the guy looked. He was just a sucker for people he could probably never get.

"Are you the Alpha's son or something?" Antonio asked.

"No," Wiatt shook his head. "I'm his cousin. I get that a lot though. We all inherit the same eyes."

"Ah," he said. "Reminds me of the alphas back home. The Locke family all have purple eyes, though."

"Really?!" Wiatt leaned forward in the stool he was now sat in. "Wow! How purple is it?"

"It varies in shades sometimes," he said. "But it's mostly a royal purple. Every one of them inherit it, though."

"That's cool!" Wiatt said. He let it drift off into silence for a little bit after that. Antonio seemed to be completely focused as he added some more things into the pot. After a minute or two, he stopped and brought out a spoon so that he could try it again. When he tried it, he was blown away yet again by the dish. It had gotten spicier, but it was still good tasting, too. The spices danced along with the flavor of the food.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"It's like a party in your mouth!" Wiatt said. "I don't know how you think you can't be a chef, Antonio. You made it ten times spicier without taking from it at all."

"The best thing to do is to make sure that the other seasonings get added into it as well," Antonio smiled proudly. "That way it doesn't get outshined."

"It's definitely going to win this time!" Wiatt said. "I can feel it!"

"I hope so," he sighed, looking at the pot again. He looked a little troubled.

"Hey," Wiatt got his attention. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"What?"

"Why are you trying to impress Nick?" He asked. It seemed like a personal question for him, because he was so serious about trying to do the best that he could.

"Because he's going to be the head chef soon," he told him. "And I'm not going to be able to cook in that kitchen if I don't impress him."

"It seems like there's a little more to it," Wiatt said. He was too curious to stop himself from blurting things out. It was a bad habit that he couldn't seem to break.

Antonio raised another eyebrow at him, but caved after a second or two. "He helped me through a lot. I just wanted to..." He sounded so quiet then. It was like he was Wiatt's age when he talked all of a sudden. Like he was afraid almost.

"What happened?"

"There was just something that happened with my family," Antonio shook his head. "They died from hunters. It was Nick who vouched for me to be allowed into the Crescent Moon pack."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Wiatt said. "That's awful." He could only imagine what it would be like to have that happen. They were glad that they were able to deal with the hunters that came to their city without too many getting hurt. Although, there were some warriors who got killed by them. "I didn't mean to make you bring up any bad memories."

"It's okay," the man shrugged. "It's not something I hide from people. I've just only been in this pack for half a year. Nick brought me with him to try and enjoy myself a little, I guess. I just want to prove to him that I can be useful."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen," he said. "Why?"

Woah. And here he thought that he was talking to an adult already. Wiatt smiled warmly at him. He was glad to have met Antonio.

"He adopted you, didn't he?"

"Not exactly," he shook his head. "Do you know how expensive adoption is? I only have a few months before I turn eighteen anyway."

"It doesn't matter if it's in the paperwork or not," Wiatt shook his head. "He takes care of you, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," he answered. "Kind of."