Page 2 of Noah

I leaned out again, cupping my hands around my mouth. “Psst! Jackson!”

This time, his head turned. His eyes scanned the room before finally landing on me.

His brows lifted in surprise, and then a small smile curved his lips. He leaned over to whisper something to his brother, who rolled his eyes and waved him off.

Relieved, I sagged back against the pillar, sliding down to sit on the floor. Thank goodness.

If that hadn’t worked, there was no way I’d have had the guts to walk up to him with his brother and dad right there.

“Hey, Noah,” a voice said as a hand ruffled my hair.

I jolted, startled, and looked up to see Jackson grinning down at me. “Were you trying to be sneaky? 'Cause it wasn’t working.”

Heat rushed to my face. “I—I wasn’t being sneaky! Just... creative. I mean, you’re here now, aren’t you?” I added with a smirk, my confidence returning.

Jackson laughed, the sound easy and warm. “Alright, fair enough. You got me out of there.” He shook his head in mock disbelief. “Where are we going, then, oh fearless leader?”

I grinned back, the worry from earlier melting away. This was Jackson. I didn’t need to second-guess myself with him around.

“Anywhere that’s not in there,” I said, jerking my thumb toward the hall. “I swear, if I hear one more thing about border patrol strategies, I’ll lose my mind.”

Jackson chuckled and extended a hand to pull me up. “I didn’t think I’d get out of that one,” he said, his voice low and conspiratorial.

I smirked, brushing the dust off my jeans. “I was looking for you yesterday, you know. But your pack said you were busy going around with your dad and Hudson.”

Jackson rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish look crossing his face.

“Yeah, they’ve been dragging us to all these meetings. Dad keeps saying I need to ‘take things more seriously’ or something about learning responsibility.” He made air quotes with his fingers, his tone heavy with sarcasm.

I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything. That sounded exactly like something my dad—or Griffin—would say.

Jackson sighed and glanced around. “And since we’re here in Thornebane pack lands and all...”

I nodded. He didn’t need to explain further.

As we stepped outside, the sunlight hit my face, warm and golden against my skin. The Thornebane pack house loomed behind us, its stone façade casting a long shadow across the square.

The place felt quiet—most of the adults were stuck in those endless meetings. A few shifters moved around, their voices low as they set up for tomorrow’s hunt.

I watched as they unloaded crates and carefully laid out markers in the open field. The hunt was supposed to be the summit’s main event, a big deal every year.

The tradition was simple enough: they’d release an animal—a rabbit, maybe a deer—and the older shifters would give chase. Whoever caught it first got bragging rights.

Not that it mattered. I wasn’t old enough to participate anyway. You had to be "of age," and I wasn’t there yet. Not that I’d want to chase down a terrified rabbit or anything…

But still. It was dumb.

I glanced over at Jackson. He was watching the shifters work too, his expression unreadable.

Jackson bumped my shoulder as we walked. “What about you? Your dad making you go to all those meetings too?”

I shook my head. “Yeah. Mostly Griffin, though. Dad says I don’t have to, but...” I trailed off.

Jackson nodded knowingly. “Yeah, I get it.”

For a moment, neither of us said anything, the quiet only broken by the distant clatter of crates being moved. I glanced sideways at him.

His easy grin had shifted to something more thoughtful.

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