Page 65 of Noah

I narrowed my eyes. “You called me all the way out here for nothing?”

Hudson scoffed. “I don’t know. Maybe I just wanted to talk to my brother without our father breathing down my neck for once.”

That… I could understand. Our dad had a way of making everything feel like a power struggle. I took another sip of beer.

“Fine. Talk,” I told him.

I leaned back in my chair, gripping my beer bottle a little too tightly as Hudson finally spilled the truth.

He exhaled heavily, running a hand through his disheveled hair, eyes bloodshot from what was probably a rough night—or maybe just too many regrets weighing him down.

“Last night, me and a few of the guys went out. We wanted to get away from all the pack politics, all the judgmental stares,” Hudson muttered. “Just unwind, you know?”

I didn’t say anything, just let him talk. I had a sinking feeling I wasn’t going to like where this was going.

He scoffed, shaking his head. “Things were fine at first. Just us, some drinks, no bullshit.” Then his jaw clenched. “Then Karl and a few of Adrian’s wolves showed up.”

My grip tightened further around the bottle. Karl. Adrian’s right-hand man was as much of a bastard as his alpha.

Hudson gave me a look. “I don’t know if they came by coincidence or if they overheard us and decided to start something, but it didn’t take long before shit went south.”

I clenched my teeth. “Who threw the first punch?” I had to ask.

Hudson rubbed his face, looking like he hated himself.

“I don’t know. I was drunk as hell. One second, we were trading insults, and the next, fists, fangs and claws were flying,” he admitted.

I exhaled sharply. “How bad?”

Hudson swallowed hard. “One of our guys ended up in the hospital. So did two of Adrian’s wolves. Including Karl,” Hudson said.

“Shit.” I sat forward, rubbing a hand down my face.

I already knew this wasn’t over. Adrian wouldn’t let it go.

Hudson sighed, slumping in his chair. “Dad knows. He hasn’t said a word to me since. Won’t even let me explain,” he grumbled.

I could hear the frustration, the guilt in his voice. I’d seen it before—Hudson’s desperate need to prove himself, only to screw things up.

He was our father’s chosen heir, the future alpha of our pack, but he always felt like he was failing. I didn’t blame him.

Our dad had a way of making you feel like you were never enough.

Then Hudson said something that made my gut twist. “Maybe dad’s right. Maybe you should be alpha,” he muttered, sounding defeated and I didn’t like hearing him like this one bit.

Hudson might be more trouble than he’s worth, but he was still my brother and I loved him.

I stiffened. “That’s not happening.”

Hudson scoffed. “Dad clearly doesn’t trust me to lead. Maybe you should just step up and take it.”

I set my beer down with a dull thud.

“Hudson, you’ve got this all wrong. Dad always intended for you to be alpha. He’s just been pushing me into leadership roles so you’d have someone to lean on, someone to learn responsibility from,” I explained.

Hudson narrowed his eyes. “Bullshit.”

I sighed, dragging a hand through my hair. “Look, even if I wanted to—which I don’t—I can’t be alpha. I’m moving to Pecan Pines.”

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