Page 12 of Timber Hollow

12

Hunters Moon

one day to full moon

" Y ou coming, Artemis?" Jay asks me from just outside the door to my room. I left it open once I'd retreated inside with my book, several hours earlier after waking up and taking a shower.

I ignore him, turning the page. The story is admittedly very dirty, and right now is the absolute worst time for interruptions.

"Artemis," Jay repeats my name, and I lift my eyes from the page for one moment, seeing him above the edge of the book. I give him a glare that says leave me alone , returning my attention to the page before me. "Are you really going to ignore me?"

When I say nothing, Jay climbs across the bed, gripping me by the hip. Then he tugs me down off the pillow. It only takes a second, and I shriek with surprise, unable to stop him as he snatches the book from between my hands. With a firm grip, Jay holds me still with my thighs bracketing his hips, his groin flush against me.

Every single thought flees from my mind as I blink up at him, my heart racing.

"What are you reading, baby girl?" Jay asks as he easily finds my place in the book, and begins to read it out loud.

"Oh, you're doing so well for me, Little Demon." I shift my hips, driving even deeper down her throat. She moans, her shoulders twitching like she wants her hands free.

"I'm going to take this call, and you're going to keep going. No matter what I say. You keep that cock in your pretty little mouth, and maybe I'll let you cum," I tease, pressing the button on the screen to accept the call. 1

Jay clears his throat before he says "I think I'm going to need to borrow that one when you're done with it. Tell me which chapters are your favorite, okay? Book club."

"You're going to read it?" I ask, watching him carefully place my bookmark between the pages, and set the book on the nightstand.

"Yeah. Why not?"

"No reason I guess." I am entirely too acutely aware of the fact that neither of us has moved from our very intimate positioning, how much of our bodies touch. Jay lowers himself a little, resting his weight on his arm, braced above my head somewhere.

"Are you coming to the festival?" Jay asks, changing the subject, his hips surging forward.

My breath leaves my lungs. "I wasn't going to, no."

"Change your mind."

"Why?"

Jay searches my face for something for a moment, then says "Why not?"

"I don't know." Looking up at Jay resting between my thighs makes me feel half-crazed. My skin itches with the urge to touch him.

Jay smirks again, the silver flash giving me the barest of warnings before he picks me up, throws me over his shoulder and leaves the room, holding me still with a large hand banding the back of my thigh. "Jay! What are you doing?"

"Changing your mind."

" Jay Temple put me down."

"Can't do that Darlin'."

"Why?" I practically screech at him, even if I am secretly admiring how easily he holds me up here, how the muscles of his back ripple with each step we take down the stairs.

"Because if you want Magnus to believe you want to rejoin the pack, then you need to be seen interacting with the pack."

Jay barely breaks stride as he grabs my boots from next to the door, exiting the house with me still thrown over his shoulder. I'm thankful, at least that I had showered this morning, and put on more than just a t-shirt since I'm apparently spending the evening out. Leggings, a tank, and a flannel aren’t much better but it is something.

"Really? Not even stopping for me to put on my shoes?" I glare at Jay's entirely too-defined backside as he carries me over the gravel towards his car.

"You're a flight risk, Artemis. Give you the opportunity and I'll be spending all night chasing your tail." Jay's hand flexes against my thigh, sending a shiver down my spine.

"That's not true!" I grouse while being fully aware that he is…actually right. I would have bolted out the door if he'd put me down. Clever rat bastard . Jay tosses me–gently–into the passenger seat.

"You don't fool me, Darlin'," Jay says, slamming the car door after tossing my boots into the footwell for me.

"Rat bastard " I mumble to myself as I shove my feet into boots, lacing them up with thinly veiled violence.

Jay doesn't do much more than chuckle to himself as he backs the car out of the lot, driving us towards the park. Saint and Dante follow in what must be Saint’s Jeep. The setting Sun has painted the entire sky orange and pink. All of the trees surrounding Timber Hollow have already faded to yellows and oranges. I'd forgotten how beautiful the town is in fall.

The air smells like cinnamon and apples, freshly fried dough and crisp fallen leaves. The sky is dark, and since I've been reading all day I haven’t bothered eating much. I'm going to need to get something to eat at the festival, probably several somethings. As we are walking into the town park, Saint and Dante say they are going to go find their families, and catch up to us later. Which leaves just Jay and I to walk the grounds.

At first, I don’t say much, just content with walking the pathways of the festival with Jay. Many of the displays and vendors are familiar to me, the very same from the festivals of my younger years–or at least they look similar enough. Or maybe all festivals kind of look the same. My stomach growls, making Jay chuckle.

"Shut up, I haven't eaten all day."

"Why?"

"Because I was reading. I didn't feel like getting up."

"Artemis."

"What?" I ask, feigning innocence.

"Let's go get you food."

"I can wait, it's fine."

"What do you want, Artemis?"

"I said I could wait."

"And I asked, what do you want to eat ?" Jay's voice drops into a growl, his face looming over mine. I can not understand why he's so close to losing control of his wolf right now, just over the topic of me eating.

"I-What sounds good to you?"

"What do you want? Not me, not anyone else. What do you want?"

"Um, I guess I could go for a burger?" I say, spotting a vendor selling those just over his shoulder.

"Was that so hard?" Jay asks, spinning around when I nod towards the booth, hooking his arm over my shoulder.

"Yes." I grouse back, annoyed at the entire situation.

Jay laughs, leading us straight up to the food window just as two other customers walk away arms laden with a smorgasbord of items.

"I'll be with you in a moment," the cashier says, breaking open a roll of coins into the cash drawer.

"What do you want?" Jay asks, carefully looking over the menu boards plastered across the exterior of the food truck, arm still slung over my shoulder.

"Uhh, I guess just a Delux." The menu states it comes with cheese, bacon, onions and pickles, a house blend of spicy sauce on top.

"Nice," Jay says, relaying my order, and begins to give his own. I manage to untangle myself and step away from the truck, looking around at the festival. This season is not nearly as wet as some of the festivals I remember from my youth, so the park isn't a complete mud pit.

Tiny victories.

The Moon hangs low in the sky, nearly full. She looks red tonight, tinged with the colors of Sunset over the forest which is full of similarly colored leaves. A vast sea of yellow, red, and orange surrounds Timber Hollow.

Despite the drama with Helena, my anxiety over Ethan finding me— and my dumbassery with Jay at Coyote Bills, I'm glad to be back.

It’s good to be home.

When Jay comes back with a burger, a large soda and a basket of fries I ask "Where's yours?"

"I already ate," Jay replies, stealing a french fry from the basket.

"Jay Temple you mean to tell me, that you dragged me over to get food and you aren't going to get anything?" I ask incredulously, a blush rising to my cheeks.

"No. I'm going to eat the fries you tell yourself you want but you only eat about five of them before you stop." Jay replies, that lazy self assured smile once again stretched across his face, french fry halfway to his mouth.

I narrow my eyes at him, taking a big bite out of my burger.

"That's what I thought, Gorgeous."

"Shut up," I say around another mouthful, fighting the heat rising to my cheeks.

It only takes a few moments for me to devour my meal. Eating more than just five french fries thank you, while Jay and I walk around, watching people throwing softballs at a dunk tank, the kids at the ring toss losing badly. I can't help but notice that Jay hadn't asked me what I wanted to drink but had managed to get what I liked anyway. I toss the remnants of the soda that we'd both shared away in a nearby bin when we walk by.

"Let's go pick pumpkins," Jay says, steering me and my now full belly towards the displays of pumpkins, all grown in Timber Hollow-or so the hand painted sign says.

"For what?" I ask, but let myself get steered that way regardless.

"To carve, obviously." Jay snarks, shaking his head.

"You still carve pumpkins?"

"Yea. When's the last time you carved a pumpkin, Artemis?" Jay asked, swinging his face towards mine. The Sun had set some time ago, but with all the lights from the festival, Jay's face is bright.

I struggle to remember if Jay has always had this effect on me, or if my becoming tongue-tied around him is a recent development. One thing is for sure though, I still like the way my name sounds rolling off of his tongue entirely too much.

"It's been a long time, Jay." I answer, "Probably since before I left."

"Well let's fix that," Jay says, smiling softly at me. I have to look away from his face, which is when I notice Ivy watching me from where she stands in line for Apple Cider.

"That's my boss over there." I say to Jay, "Do you think we're acting couple-y enough?" When I look at him, I can’t define that unfathomable look in his eye, the sliver of his wolf peeking through.

"Probably not. I'll fix that though." Jay replies, that lazy smile stretching across his face again.

My eyebrows scrunch together. "What do you mean you'll fix tha-" Jay doesn’t let me finish my sentence before he grips the back of my head and pulls me to him. For a second, I am too stunned to do anything. With Jay's mouth on mine, and his hands in my hair there isn’t any room for thought or objections.

So I kiss him back. Thread my fingers through his hair and meet his ferocious kiss. Jay kisses like he is dying. Like he's never getting the chance again. His warm hands grip me around my ribs, crushing me to his chest.

The moment shatters when Saint walks up next to Jay and me, knocking shoulders. "Hey, there you two are. Was starting to wonder if you guys had run off to shag ." He laughs, Dante chortling along with him.

"Nope. Artemis just told me she hasn't carved a pumpkin in like fifteen years." Jay says, turning to face the arrangement of pumpkins.

"Well we can't have that," Saint says merrily, striding over to choose his gourd. "We'll have to have a pumpkin carving party."

"A pumpkin carving party?" Dante jeers, rolling his grey eyes. "What are we, twelve?"

"Don't be a sour puss, Dante." Saint teases, thoroughly examining every pumpkin for flat spots, bumps and lumps. "Did you two love birds pick them out already?"

"Nope. Didn't manage it before Jay here decided to swallow my face." I tease back, smiling up at Jay. He is already looking at me, his lips pulled into a soft smile. Saint and Dante laugh, moving around the display.

"You gonna pick a pumpkin or what?" Jay asks, even if he hasn't moved an inch, either.

"Yeah, I guess," I reply, and it seems as if time itself pauses for me, halts on this one moment where Jay's eyes are focused on me. And then I move, and it’s over.

The arrangement of pumpkins is only the beginning. Behind the shed hundreds of the orange gourds are lined up according to size, making it easier for customers to select their own. Unsurprisingly, Saint and Dante are already congregating around some of the larger ones, hemming and hawing over which one would make the best carving.

I make my way towards a small grouping of greyish pumpkins, the white sign staked into the ground before them showing their name, "Jarrahdale squash".

"That one. I want that one." I say, pointing to the largest of them in this pile.

"Miss, I'm sorry I overheard your friends-' the shop keep says, her hand outstretched towards me. "You're carving pumpkins, right?" Jay nods. "The Jarrahdale isn't very good for carving. They are best used in recipes."

"Oh. Well alright." I say, moving towards the rows and rows of orange pumpkins neatly lined up, on my way to find something similarly sized.

Jay lingers with the shopkeeper, talking to her in hushed tones. I can’t even begin to contemplate what about. His friends are loudly debating the merits of seasoned pumpkin seeds, Saint firmly on team ranch, Dante on spicy. Then the overgrown puppy and his shadow both hoist their entirely too large pumpkins up, walking over to the shed where the cash register is to pay. I'm kneeling in front of two pumpkins, looking them over for flat spots and weird knobby bits when Jay reappears, his hands empty.

"Did you find one?" I ask Jay, selecting the better of the two pumpkins to buy.

"I found the one," Jay replies with smug confidence.

" Sure you did. Jay Temple found the best pumpkin in the pumpkin patch. What else is new?" I snark, rolling my eyes, even if I am smiling. Jay doesn't say anything back, just follows me and my pumpkin over to where Saint and Dante are still paying.

The shopkeeper finishes the transaction with the boys, saying "I'll open the shed for you boys in a moment, when I'm done with their transaction," motioning me forward.

Jay says "Add this one to mine." as soon as we're in front of her. The lady nods her head appreciatively, entering numbers into her register.

"Twenty two even." She says, Jay putting twenty five in her hand.

"Keep the change, ma'am. Can we store ours in the shed until we're done walking around as well?"

"Sure thing sugar. Just write your initials on the tops of this one and I'll handle the rest."

"Are you sure? We can carry it-"

"I've got it, you two kids run along." The lady replies, a soft smile pulling her lips up.

"Thank you, we really appreciate it," Jay says to the lady, and she walks away, pumpkin under an arm. I pretend I don't notice when Jay slips another ten into the check slot on the cash register.

"So now what?" I ask him as we walk away. "We've eaten, we've picked out pumpkins, what's next?"

"Ice cream."

"Ice cream?"

"Yea, you got a problem with that Gorgeous?" Jay asks, his face split by a wide smile, and that twinkle of mischief is back in his eye.

"Absolutely not. You'll have to tell me what I owe you for food and stuff when we get home though, since you took me out of the house without any time to get my wallet or anything." I say, following his lead down the main walkway of the Hunters Moon festival.

In the earliest years of the Pack's founding, the festival was a way to celebrate the coming of winter. They'd have a glorious party, then a wild run through the trees, hunting deer, elk, moose. You name it. Now, the festival is more for tourists, scheduled the day before the actual full Moon, and Pack run.

"Yea, that's not gonna happen, Gorgeous," Jay replies easily, turning to the sounds of Saint and Dante barreling up the asphalt to where we stand in line for ice cream.

"How dare you guys. Getting ice cream without us? The audacity!" Saint taunts, not even a little out of breath from the sprint.

"What's your favorite flavor, Artemis?" Dante asks, surveying the menu.

"Pistachio in a waffle cone, yours?" I answer, making sure that the option was on the board.

"Fireball, they don't always have it either."

"Yea, and when they don't he pouts about it for days ." Saint chirps, stepping forward as the line moves.

"Well then what's your favorite Saint?" I ask.

"I've never met an ice cream I didn't like, Tiny," Saint replies with a wide grin, waving to someone across the park.

"Fair enough. Jay?"

"Rocky Road." His answer is short, and sweet.

"I'll give you a rocky road bro." Saint says, waggling his eyebrows with a little shimmy shake. Laugher explodes out of me, Jay and Dante's chuckles quickly following my own.

"I'll pass on your quick ride and sloppy finish," Jay says, full mouth pulled into a smile.

Saint orders for us all, happily passing bills over to the cashier and handing out ice creams as they are given to him. Once everyone is armed with a cone, the four of us meander through the vendors, pointing out cool looking nicknacks or art pieces that catch our attention.

Saint may point at everything his eye catches, cooing over details but it's Dante with the mindset of a magpie. He starts off slow, only buying a few things here and there but by the time his ice cream is gone, he has several bags clutched in one hand.

There's a new addition to the festival—well, at least new to me— set up around the hayride and corn maze booth. Two metal bathtubs are set up, full to the brim with icy water.

"What is that for?" I ask, not directing my question to anyone in particular.

"Fundraising. Profit goes to the senior class." Dante answers, adding "You going in?"

"Absolutely not." I quickly answer.

"What's the matter, are you too chicken, Artemis?" Jay teases that lazy smirk on his face once more.

" No. I'm just smart enough to not go in an ice bath in the middle of October, Jay." I snark back, watching as a pair of guys lower themselves in the freezing water, teeth chattering instantly.

"I bet I could stay longer than you." He says, giving me a sideways glance as he also watches the guys hoot and holler about the cold.

"Pft. You wish." I immediately reply, even if it was all bravado. There is no way I am going to get in that ice bath.

"Nope. I know it."

" How , could you possibly know that?"

"I just do." He replies, that self assured smirk on his face. And I just want to wipe it off.

"Prove it."

Jay raises an eyebrow at me. "Prove it?"

"Yep," I reply. " Prove it big guy."

"Well, if you insist, Princess." Jay holds a hand out for me to approach the worker stationed at the ice baths.

"Don't ever fucking call me that again," I say to Jay as I walk up to the booth.

"Hi-ya folks. Feel like taking an ice plunge?"

"Yep. Both of us, please." Jay replies, handing cash over to the man.

"Excellent. You can strip in the stall behind me, we have a bunch of big white tees for you to put on to cover up with." Jay nods, going over to pull the curtain back, ducking inside the small changing stall. He emerges moments later, now only wearing boxers slung low on his hips.

Mother of god, Jay looks fucking amazing . The rat bastard.

He holds the curtain open for me to duck under as well. I don't say anything, not trusting myself that something absolutely asinine won’t come out as I move under his arm. Like the employee said, there are stacks of shirts in various sizes on a table, Jay's discarded clothes to the side of a bench.

I quickly change into one of the white tees that still has the starch from the manufacture on it, leaving the little stall, thankful that it’s not colder than it is tonight, or this experience would be positively miserable. Jay is already next to a tub, waiting for me. Still looking entirely too good for my health.

The worker goes over some safety things, like what to expect when you first go in and how your body will react. I can't pay attention. I catch a few things the instructor says, but not much in between drinking down the sight of Jay Temple, wearing nothing but boxers in the middle of town.

Gray sweatpants have nothing on what those boxers are doing for his…well him.

"Fifteen minutes is the max time we can allow you to stay in, though most people don't last beyond the one-minute mark. Any questions?" The instructor's voice interrupts my insane thoughts.

"Nope." Jay and I answer in unison. When I glance at him, he’s already staring at me, smirking.

"Alright then. When you folks are ready." The guy says, motioning us towards the tubs. Jay steps towards the one closer to him, muscles rippling. Then, without warning Saint jumps over the edge of the other, leaving me standing here with my mouth flapping open.

Saint, while he's complaining about the cold fishes money out of his wallet, teeth clattering the entire time, handing a couple of bills over to the instructor now by his side. Water splashes out of the tub, condensation running down the metal sides.

"Hah, looks like I don't have to get in, after all. You can compete with Saint." I sass to Jay, crossing my arms over my chest, shifting my weight to one leg.

"Nope my bet is with you, Darlin. Get in the water." Jay orders, motioning towards the tub he stands in front of.

"And what? Share it?" I ask, motioning to the tub.

"Yup," Jay says, smirking.

"No. Just wait until Saint gets out."

"I want in on the action. Whoever lasts longest gets to pick what the punishment is?" Saint chatters, trying to smile.

"You mean if I last longer than you two you will do whatever I say?" I ask, admittedly very interested in the prospect.

"Yea, how 'bout it, Tiny?"

"Feelin froggy, Jay?" I ask, waggling my eyebrows at him.

"For you? Always." He says, stepping into the water. And until that exact moment I hadn't actually thought about what this would mean, that I will have to share the admittedly small metal tub with him, clad only in a big shirt and my underwear.

Well shit . I don't let myself think about it, stepping into the tub after him. This is no big deal.

Jay sits at the back, knees resting on the sides of the metal. As I sink beneath the icy, burning cold water my mind snaps into hyperdrive, even as a sense of calm descends over me.

Immediately, Jay tugs me back against him, arms draping across the top of my chest. "Are you okay?" He asks in my ear, shivering, hugging me tight. My hands grip his forearms, my fingertips turning white in the icy water. All of Jay’s usual warmth has been stolen by the cold.

"Y-yeah," I say, stuttering. Honestly, the water isn’t horrible, now that I'm almost fully under. It definitely fucking sucks but the biting cold of the metal against my bare ass is worse. I shift, trying to find a way to settle without my skin resting on the metal.

"Talk to me, what's wrong?" Jay asks, and I hate how thick his voice is in my ear, how it sends a thrill down my spine.

"The fucking metal is cold, Jay." I snark, wondering how long we've been in for.

"At least you guys have each other. I'm suffering over here." Saint says, teeth chattering even worse now.

"No one told you to join them, idiot," Dante says, rolling his eyes, standing next to Saint's tank. "Let alone told you to go in fully clothed." A bag of kettle korn is in his hand, a fistful halfway to his mouth.

"There was a bet. I had to." Saint whines, Dante just rolls his eyes again, munching on his snack.

"That's two minutes! Longest dip of the night so far!" The guy cheers, adding our time to a little whiteboard.

"You're gonna win," Jay says, his hot mouth against my shoulder now, shifting us so that we sink lower into the water, making me lay fully against him, my ass no longer resting against the frigid metal.

"Why do you say that?" I chatter, feeling every muscle in my body contract over and over again with intense shivers.

"Because Saint doesn't like pain. Neither do I." Jay says, his five-o'clock shadow scraping against my neck.

"Are you okay?" I ask, trying very hard to ignore the rush of heat that spools low in my belly with every word that Jay murmurs against my neck, how he feels pressed against me like this.

"I've got you all wet and laying across me. Couldn't be better Darlin."

"FUCK!" Saint suddenly shouts, jumping out of the ice and spraying the ground around the tub with water. "Fuck, fuck, fuck" Saint keeps chanting, dashing into the changing tent in search of a towel at the attendants direction.

"And then there were two," Dante says, turning towards us with his kettle korn. He takes a fistfull of it, stuffing it into his mouth, apparently content to watch and wait.

"Be nice to us, when you win?" Jay asks, his mouth once again against my neck.

"No promises, handsome." I chatter.

Jay chuckles, kissing the side of my head as he shifts us, "That's my girl." Then he stands, showering me with ice and frigid water.

1. Scene is from the book Mazikeen: Queen of Fate.