Page 64 of Noah

I hesitated before answering. “Yeah?”

His voice came through the line, slurred and barely comprehensible. “We need to talk.”

I frowned. “Are you drunk?”

“It’s important.”

A heavy sigh left my lips. Hudson didn’t usually drink—at least, not to the point where he sounded like this.

Sensing impending trouble, I pinched the bridge of my nose and muttered, “Where are you?” I asked.

He gave me an address, and my frown deepened. A roadhouse at the edge of town. Suspicious location, but I had bigger problems right now.

“I’m on my way.” I hung up, gripping the steering wheel tight.

Before starting the engine, I sent one last text to Noah.

Jackson: Wherever you are, just be safe.

No response.

I reminded myself to give him time. Noah needed to sort out his feelings, and he deserved that space. We weren’t kids anymore.

He wouldn’t just shut me out completely… right?

Pushing those thoughts aside, I focused on the road, driving to the outskirts of town where the roadhouse sat on a lonely stretch of highway.

It wasn’t a place I would visit, mostly because I heard from some of Noah’s pack mates that it had a reputation for attracting the kind of crowd that didn’t care much for rules.

The neon sign flickered overhead as I pulled into the lot, the gravel crunching beneath my tires.

I stepped inside, immediately on guard, but the place was practically empty.

Just Hudson, slumped over a table, an old drunk at the bar, and a bartender cleaning glasses like he’d seen this scene a thousand times before.

Hudson didn’t even look up when I sat down across from him. I waved a hand in front of his face. “You look like shit,” I told him.

He grunted, rubbing his temples. “Nice to see you too.”

I sighed, flagging down the bartender. “Beer.”

The glass was slid in front of me within seconds, and I took a long sip before finally giving Hudson my full attention. “So, what’s this about?”

Hudson exhaled heavily, staring at the table. “I screwed up, bro.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re gonna have to be more specific.”

His fingers drummed against the wood, restless. “Dad. The pack. Everything.”

I frowned. “What about them?”

He lifted his gaze to mine, and for the first time, I saw something vulnerable in his expression. “I think I made a mistake.”

That wasn’t like Hudson. He was always the one who acted like he had everything under control. Seeing him like this put me on edge.

I leaned back in my chair. “What kind of mistake?”

He hesitated, then shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Just—” He sighed again. “Forget it.”

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