Hunted (Pack of Dawn and Destiny, #1)(27)

I peeled a shirt sleeve up with a wet slurp. “Yep.”

Rory—who was about five—peered at me as he held Original Jack’s hand. “Did you win?”

I wrinkled my nose. “Nope. I lost. Again.”

“Obviously,” Olivia snorted.

“You’ll win some day,” Rory promised me with the confidence of a five-year-old.

“Awww, thank you. But I’m not so sure about that.” I kicked off my shoes and contemplated stripping off my moist socks as well.

Original Jack chuckled, a sandpapery sound that was also soothing. “You don’t give yourself enough credit, Pip. To be chased by so many wolves and be a challenge for them says something about your abilities.”

“It was only eighteen of them tonight,” I said.

Young Jack took a swig of his drink. “More went to join the hunt. Mom and Dad ran outta here like crazy once the howling started.”

“That’s why we’re organizing a game night.” Original Jack rolled up the cuffs of his long-sleeved flannel shirt—he almost always wore flannel. I’d seen him walk around with flop flops, shorts, and a long-sleeved flannel shirt in temperatures so hot they had me jumping in a lake. “Would you like to join us?” He gave a kind but craggy smile—one that took me years back.

Original Jack was an adoptive father to all the humans connected to the Northern Lakes Pack.

Although his wife was a werewolf, he’d opted not to become one, and as a result he typically took charge of all the children and teenagers the wolves left behind when they went hunting—like Rory and Young Jack, who was named after Original Jack—or left for other Pack activities.

He also arranged housing for the humans connected to the Pack—whether they married a werewolf like he had, or they were adult children of the Pack who had opted not to become werewolves, like Young Jack had decided—and was the human contact to go to.

I didn’t quite fall under his wings like the rest of the humans—I was too much of a supernatural for that. But I’d always thought of him as an uncle, and I was grateful he extended invitations to join in with the rest of the humans. His never-ending patience and kindness made him a great favorite of everyone, Pack and human alike.

(Young Jack was not the only werewolf-born child named after him. Old Young Jack, who was off at college, was also named for him, as was Jackie, who had moved to Boston but still flew back to see her parents at holidays.)

“Monopoly has been banned for tonight’s game night,” Rory told me with great seriousness. “But we’re going to play Clue, Mousetrap, and Ticket to Ride. Unless there’s a game you wanna play?”

I smiled down at Rory and fought the impulse to pat his head like the wolves did to me—he was just too cute with his buzzed haircut and his green wolf shirt! “Aw, thank you for the invite, but I have to pass.”

“Going to join the Pack tonight?” Olivia asked with a hint of snideness to her tone.

Original Jack gave Olivia a side eye that promised he was going to talk to her later about this, but I didn’t let it bother me.

Some of the humans, whether it was the children of werewolves like Olivia, or the significant others like Noah—had a hard time accepting that I was included in a lot of Pack activities they were not.

I’d gotten mad about it as a teenager, but Papa Santos had sat me down and explained to me that it wasn’t really me they were mad at. Rather they were upset with themselves that they couldn’t connect with their loved ones, and as a supernatural I could.

“It’s why the supernaturals have to take care with our human relationships,” he’d said. “It is hard on us, to watch them grow old and die before we do, but it is equally hard on them to watch us go places they cannot join us in.”

His words held extra weight since I’d known all of Mama Dulce and Papa Santos’s kids had chosen to live as humans, and had died before they’d adopted me.

So I tried to be patient with the humans, for their sake.

I smiled and kept my tone light. “Nope—I never join the Pack for hunts. But I have to get back to feed the Bedevilments.”

I held Olivia’s gaze until she nodded in acceptance.

Original Jack relaxed slightly at the lowering tension. “Ahh, yes. How are your cats?”

I made a face. “As overweight as ever.”

Young Jack frowned. “Really? Didn’t you start feeding them diet food from the vet’s months ago?”

“Yeah. I don’t know how they’re doing it. I have them on a regimented schedule, and they stay inside most days, so it’s not like they’re finding mice to snack on.” I pushed a strand of my white hair out of my face. Now that it had started drying, it was frizzing up so it resembled a cloud.

“We’d best let you go, then. If I recall, Prince and Princess can be destructive when hungry,” Original Jack said.

I winced. “Yeah. They shredded some curtains two weeks ago. You all have fun at game night!” I peeled off my socks, then darted inside, padding over to the laundry room where all the more active members of the Pack had lockers to store their weapons/gear.

I grabbed my backpack, but by the time I’d returned to the front door Young Jack, Original Jack, Rory, and Olivia were all gone.

I stuffed my feet back in my shoes and glanced at the rapidly darkening sky—it wasn’t totally black yet, but a smattering of stars were starting to appear—as I trundled down the stairs.