Page 29 of The Patron Saint of Timber Hollow

Granted, the all-night pizza parties were some of my best childhood memories after Dad died.

The fact that Saint always stocks the fridge at the Cabin with easy meals to warm up—or not, there were fresh sushi rolls in there the other night— might just be the best quality of life improvement of my entire existence. I might quite literally die if I ever have to go back to living without Saint cooking for me.

Only Jay and I are riding to the Packhouse for the run because a certain Mr. Kincayde never showed up to the Cabin after disappearing with Ivy last night. Unfortunately, Saint being up at the Packhouse meant I had to fend for myself if I wanted food this morning. With monumental effort, I made myself a breakfast of a toasted everything bagel topped with cream cheese. It wasnotup to the standard Saint has now set. I barely ate half of it, wearily stuffing a toasted bagel into my sleepy face.

On top of becoming my personal Chef, Saint has made me a fan of breakfast. Like a real one, not just Pop-tarts, cereal, and frozen waffles.What the fuck is up with that?

Tonight, we're hunting moose. The population in the forest has grown over the last few years, and the Alpha wants to take down two tonight. I wasn't paying much attention when I read thePack message over Jay's shoulder the other day, though, truth be told.

I'll join in on the Pack run, but I doubt I will stick around for the whole thing, thehunt.

Sometimes, running with the other Packs out there had been… just plain oldgross.They'd all gang up on one corpse, with no sense of those whoneedit most getting the most. Sometimes, some wolves gorged on a kill, throwing it up mere minutes later. Wasting the loss of life. The small Pack that lived in the Black Hills had been like that. And they'd been the last Pack I participated in a hunt with.

I can't even remember the last time I ran within the ranks of the Timber Hollow pack on a proper hunt.

"What do you think Saint cooked tonight?" I ask Jay, running my thumb along the back of his neck. His hand is firmly wrapped around my leg, fingers indenting my thigh.

"Probably all of your favorites." Jay rumbles, withdrawing his hand to shift gears. I mourn the loss of contact, of Jay's heat, for only a moment before his hand is back gripping my thigh, thumb circling around and around. It's a distraction but a welcome one.

"Why do you say that?" I snort, playing with the ends of his ashy brown hair.

"Because it's Saint," Jay replies without missing a beat.

"That does not make any sense, you realize that, right?"

"Sure it does." Jay quips, sliding a sideways grin my way. "'You're the only one that compliments his cooking anymore since we've all gotten used to it. He's bound to cater to that, at least."

"You're overthinking it." I assert, shaking my head.

"If you say so, Gorgeous." He responds, pulling his hand away to downshift into the lot for the Packhouse. "How long do you think it will take you to get bored?"

"About half as much as you, probably," I reply in a dry voice, barely restraining an eye roll. "They're just soslow,not to mention loud."

"Oh, come on, you used to like them." Jay's arm muscles flex as he shifts gears, parking in the back. Keys are out of the ignition immediately, but he doesn't move to get out of the car.

"Sure, before I realized how loud they are. And everyone talked about Dad." I shrug off old memories of the Pack's elders talking to me about him.A good guy, they'd say.Real reliable. A damn shame what happened. You shouldn't blame yourself.

My wolf paces, and I feel her teeth in my gums, her fur under my skin. We're ready to runnow.To turn on the spot, strip, and be free.

"You can't blame everyone for missing an important member of the Pack," Jay replies, squeezing my thigh.

"No, but I can blame them for making me sad about it. I was just a kid, and they brought up what happenedeveryFull moon. " My chest hurts even thinking about it. But, if I'm being honest, the Hunters in the area have Dad on my mind a lot lately.

"I'll give you that, Gorgeous. I'll follow you when you're ready to split."

"Promise?"

"Always," Jay murmurs against my neck before kissing the hollow of my throat.

My breath comes out in plumes of fog, dissipating into the atmosphere. The full moon is bright, glittering on the frost-covered forest. We only have another hour at most with it. Jay's silver wolf is to my right, the cinnamon fur of Saint to my left. Dante, who showed up just before dark, is on the other side of Jay, his deep brown fur speckled with silver. Standing on the rocky overhang, I can't help but feel a deep sense of foreboding. The air smells different… Off.

And I can't put my finger on what it could be.

Magnus kicked off the Pack run by stripping naked when the little ones were sent away from the party, and the rest of us followed suit. The first bit of the run is always fun. Everyone is brimming with excitement, chasing Packmates through the trees. Aggie and Sam had been at the party, though they'd gone inside the Packhouse with the little ones rather than shifting.

Even with the boys at my side, it didn't take long for me to feel anxious and overwhelmed. When that happened, I split off from the Pack, and the boys stayed hot on my trail. A little while ago, Magnus and Nero had brought down the moose. I'd heard them take the kill down while the four of us traced routes I knew like the back of my paw.

Not long after, I heard what I swore was a gunshot far off and another screech of a dying animal.