Page 17 of Noah (Pecan Pines #4)

Chapter 17

Jackson

Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes had passed, and I was still standing there, staring at the door Noah had walked out of.

The apartment was silent, save for the faint hum of the fridge and the distant sounds of traffic outside.

My mind kept replaying the moment over and over, trying to make sense of what had happened.

I tried to pinpoint the exact second where everything went wrong.

Noah had asked for the mate mark. I had given it without hesitation. In my mind, it had felt so right, so perfect, like something we had been waiting for our whole lives.

But then—he had panicked. Told me it was too soon. That I should have waited. And now, he was gone.

I felt like the world’s biggest fool. I should have been more patient. Shouldn’t have rushed him. Should have thought before acting.

But how could I, when every instinct in me had screamed that it was time?

I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply, trying to push down the frustration rising in my chest.

No. I couldn’t just stand here feeling sorry for myself. I had to fix this.

I grabbed my keys and headed out, locking the apartment behind me. Getting into my car, I drummed my fingers against the wheel, debating where to look first.

Noah wouldn’t have gone far—he needed space, but he wouldn’t leave town. At least, that’s what I told myself.

I drove through the main streets first, checking places I knew he liked to go when he needed time to think. The park. The lake. Even the little bookstore by the café.

Nothing.

My frustration mounted with each stop. I spotted a few of his pack mates in town and pulled over to ask if they’d seen him, but they just shook their heads.

Either they genuinely didn’t know, or Noah had told them to keep quiet.

Eventually, I ended up in front of Griffin’s bar.

If anyone would know where Noah was, it was his brother. But as soon as I stepped inside, I realized the bar was closed.

As I walked back to my car, my phone vibrated in my pocket. My heart leapt—I pulled it out, half-expecting to see Noah’s name on the screen.

It wasn’t him.

Hudson.

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.”

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.”

The moment I said those words, I knew them to be truth.

Hudson blinked, stunned. “What?”

“I’m going to be with Noah. He’s my mate,” I explained.

The words hung between us, heavier than I expected. Hudson stared at me like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Part of me couldn’t believe it either but Noah loved his home.

I couldn’t ask him to move to uproot his entire life to be with me.

Besides, I figured with me being here, I could improve the relationship between the Silver Crest pack and Pecan Pines pack.

“You’re serious?” He asked.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

Hudson leaned back, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’ve been acting different lately. Guess that explains why,” he said.

I let out a dry chuckle. “I love him, Hudson.”

Hudson studied me for a long moment, then let out a breath. “Damn. You really do, don’t you?”

I just nodded.

He exhaled, looking down at his drink. “Well… I guess that means I have to get my shit together, huh?”

I smirked, deciding to throw him a bone.

“Yeah. But I believe in you. You clean up your act, and you’ll be a great alpha. Hell, even better than Dad,” I told him.

I wasn’t placating him, I meant every single word.

Hudson blinked, as if the idea had never crossed his mind before. Slowly, a small, almost grateful smile tugged at his lips.

“You really think that?” He sounded hopeful.

“Yeah, I do.”

We clinked our bottles together, sharing a rare, honest moment. But as I took another sip, a nagging feeling gnawed at the back of my mind.

Something was wrong.

I had no reason to think that, no proof, but my gut twisted uncomfortably. Even my wolf felt unsettled for some unexplainable reason.

Maybe it was because Noah still hadn’t answered any of my calls or texts.

I set my drink down and stood. “I gotta go.”

Hudson raised a brow. “What? We just got to a good place, and you’re bailing?”

I grabbed my keys. “I need to check on Noah.”

Hudson smirked. “Ah. The mate thing is making you all protective and shit, huh?”

I didn’t have time for his teasing. “I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling.”

Hudson’s smirk faded slightly, but he nodded. “Go. And, Jackson?”

I glanced at him.

“Don’t screw this up.”

I gave him a tight nod before heading out. My phone beeped. Finally, a message from Noah, reassuring me was fine and that we would talk soon.

I texted him back immediately, telling him we should talk sooner than later.

No response, but my message was read. The uneasy feeling in my gut only grew stronger as I got into my car and drove back to town.