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Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.”

Gary Snyder

After more than two hours of class instruction, I managed to convince Rae to have a little mercy on our poor, beaten-down students. Most of their bruises had already healed, but one girl had a broken leg. I’d shot her a sympathetic look as she hobbled off to the infirmary.

“It’s just a broken leg,” Rae rolled her eyes as we cleaned up after class, “She’ll be fine. I told her to widen her stance, didn’t I?”

Well, I can’t argue with that logic.

As I picked up someone’s discarded water bottle, I noticed a figure in the distance approaching the field.

“Hey, heads up,” I said, “Hudson’s coming our way.”

Rae immediately straightened up, whipping her head around like a deer caught in headlights. “What? Why?” she asked, “He never comes to visit us on the field.” Rae began brushing away imaginary wrinkles on her yoga pants as she spoke.

I hid my amused smile as Hudson finally reached us, smiling wide. Hudson was only two years older than me, and most people could tell we were siblings immediately. We shared the same chestnut brown hair, freckles, and green eyes. Hudson was much taller than I was, even towering over Rae, and his bulky stature made him look every bit like the Beta he was.

“Hey, guys,” he greeted us, glancing over at me, “It feels like a fever dream to see you up before noon, Ollie.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Not all of us have the same bedtime as an eighty-year-old man, Hudson.”

“Well, when I’m eighty and I look like I’m forty because I’ve been getting my beauty sleep, we’ll see who’s laughing about bedtimes,” Hudson shot back. “Anyway, class go okay?”

“Yeah, it went great,” Rae said, and I could tell she’d gone into Hudson-mode. Hudson-mode, as I called it, was what happened whenever Rae was around Hudson. She’d go all starry-eyed in his presence, and whenever she talked to him, her voice would be soft and light. It was about as close to love-struck as Rae could get.

Rae denied that Hudson-mode existed no matter how often I pointed out her odd behavior. She also refused to admit she had a crush on him – even though she’d been acting like a shy schoolgirl around him for years.

“Good, I’m glad,” Hudson said, “I know you guys are doing storytime today in place of Luna Baila. I just wanted to come down and say thanks – I’m not sure what we’d do if you hadn’t volunteered.”

“Oh, it’s no problem,” Rae replied.

I glared at her out of the corner of my eye.

Yeah, no problem for her to volunteer me without asking.

Still, I bit my tongue. I’d miss that nap, but with the warriors and Alpha Roman off fighting, it was all hands on deck. We all had to pitch in where we could – even if that meant dedicating most of the afternoon to a room of screaming kids.

Plus, I can’t ruin Rae’s moment in front of Hudson.

“I’ll see you both at the pack dinner tonight, right?” Hudson asked, glancing between us. We both nodded.

As if I’d miss out on Luna Baila’s mac and cheese.

Hudson nodded, and then glanced over at me. “Oh, Ollie,” he said, “I’m sending Jason out on a supply run. I’ll tell him to get some of that sleepy-time tea you like.”

I grinned at him. “Thanks, Huds. I was almost out.”

It might’ve seemed like a small gesture to some people, but that’s how Hudson took care of me – with small thoughtful gestures like changing the oil on my car or making sure I had enough tea to sleep restfully.

He’d been doing it for years, ever since the death of our parents ten years ago. I’d only been eleven when the attack on our pack happened, and Hudson only thirteen himself. He’d been just as much of a kid as I was, and yet, he hadn’t hesitated to step up. He’d been taking care of me since the moment we’d put our parents in the ground, and the day he turned sixteen, he took up our father’s old position in the pack too – Alpha Roman’s Beta.

Suffice to say, I had all the admiration in the world for my older brother.

Even if he snores so loud that you can hear it miles away.

“You need anything, Rae?” Hudson asked, glancing over at her. “Jason hasn’t left yet, so if you’re low on food or anything else, I can let him know.”

“No, no,” Rae said, and I could practically hear her heart beating out of her chest, “I’m okay. Thank you, Hudson. That’s really sweet of you to ask.”

“Well, I’ll see you guys later then. I think I’m going to go check on Luna Baila,” he said, giving us another wide smile before he made his exit.

As soon as he was out of earshot, I turned to Rae with a teasing smile. “Thank you, Hudson. That’s really sweet of you –”

Rae’s swift punch to my arm shut me up. “Okay, I do not sound that corny,” she growled.

“You do,” I shot back, “I’m surprised you weren’t making literal heart-eyes at him.”

“For the last time, I don’t like your brother,” she rolled her eyes, “I just…respect him. He’s strong, and I admire strength. He’s going to make an amazing leader one day.” There was reverence in her voice that I’d never heard for anyone else, not even Alpha Roman. She took off for camp before I could grill her about it anymore, and I had no choice but to chase after her.

Oh, she’s definitely in love with him.

Despite how often I teased her about it, part of me understood why Rae didn’t want to admit her feelings for Hudson. It wouldn’t do her much good. They weren’t mates, so a potential relationship would only prolong inevitable heartbreak when one of them did meet their mate.

It’ll be just my luck that Rae and Hudson get their happily ever afters, and I’m still mateless when I’m forty.

I’ll just have to become one of those cool aunts and take up some obscure hobby that will occupy my time. Maybe knitting? Woodworking? Collecting antique dolls?

No, I already deal with too many nightmares for that last one.

In the back of my mind, I could feel my wolf stirring like she always did when I thought about my nonexistent mate. Not that I liked to think about it very often.

Thinking about my mate – or lack thereof – usually only led to unpleasant thoughts. I’d end up wondering when I’d meet my mate – if I ever would. I’d end up thinking about the possibility that maybe I’d already lost my chance, that my mate had died in some horrific way.

My wolf let out a whimper at that thought.

It’s okay, I told her. I’m sure he’s still alive and out there somewhere. He’s just taking his sweet-ass time to make his way to me.

She stopped whimpering and settled down a little bit at my reassurance even if I wasn’t completely convinced myself. But I knew it did me no good to dwell on the worst-case scenarios – not when I had enough going on already.

As Rae and I entered the main part of our pack territory and camp, I buried the mate thoughts in the back of my mind.

Like most of the Nightwalker territory, our camp was in a heavily forested area. Our camp was several miles into the forest, and it usually took a good workout in wolf form to even make it to the main road. I didn’t mind the isolation though – the thick cover of oak and evergreen trees provided coverage and plenty of room to shift. If you walked far enough west, you’d make it to the lake. We called it the Nightwalker Lake, although I’m sure the humans called it something else.

Rae and I walked past a couple of teenagers standing guard at the entrance of the camp, and they waved us in.

The actual camp was just that – a camp. Several of our pack members lived out of large tents, campers, and RVs. We had a few wooden cabins too, but those were usually reserved for the daycare and nursery, the pack house, and Alpha Roman’s home.

It wasn’t much, and it paled in comparison to what our territory had been a decade or two ago. Before the attack, we’d had a school and a convenience store. Now, we had to send pack members out into the human world on supply runs, and ship the older kids off to public schools for an education.

But it’s home.

As Rae and I made our way through camp, Mrs. Butters waved at us from her camper. Even from a distance, I could smell the hotdogs she was cooking up for the pack dinner later.

Sitting outside their big yellow tent, I could see Mr. Waits strumming his guitar and feeding the fire. He was letting a couple of kids roast s’mores over the flame, and I could hear him lecturing them about proper fire safety.

Those same kids were trying to rope one of the guards on patrol into their game, but he wasn’t having it.

It’s home.

That’s what matters.

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