Page 8 of By the Blood Moon

Chapter 3

Finn

HALLOWEEN AFTERNOON

Back at the house after his second trip to the Silver Dollar that day, Finn grabbed his grocery bags full of incredibly overpriced Halloween candy, plus everything he’d need to make up a quick batch of monster cookies and hot apple cider for them to snack on. Otherwise, Silas would eat all the Halloween candy himself before the kids even showed up.

It’d happened before.

Finn made his way into the kitchen just as the three of them finished cleaning up, all signs of stringy pumpkin guts from their carving wiped away.

“Alright, I have the candy, and enough M&M’s to make two batches of monster cookies. I don’t think we’re going to run out of food to give away tonight,” he said, pulling out a big mixing bowl to start the dough.

Jaime padded up next to him. “Thanks, baby,” he said, before tearing open the candy bags and dumping them into a giant bowl shaped like a jack-o'-lantern. Finn had talked him out of the onewith the creepy hand that grabbed you when you reached in—they’d terrified him as a child.

“Oh! Sam, I brought over some things for us to wear as a costume!” Jaime grabbed his brother by the shoulder and steered him out of the kitchen. “Come on, I want to be ready before anyone shows up.”

Sam grumbled, “Fine. But I’m not going to be the ass-end of some animal all night.”

Jaime’s laughter carried all the way into the kitchen, even as they disappeared upstairs to get changed.

Hearing Jaime laugh so freely with his brother soothed Finn, the sound a balm to his nerves. He hadn’t realized he was anxious about their plans for tonight until he’d sensed Jaime’s worry earlier, lost in thought as they finished decorating the porch. Jaime hadn’t told him what was on his mind, but he had thoroughly communicated howreadyhe was for their game—For Finn.

Jaime’s trust in him, his openness and willingness to share his deepest, most vulnerable desires was heady. It made tonight about so much more than just wild sex. It was bone-deepknowing, and he thanked his luckiest stars to share it with Jaime.

As Finn worked on preparing the cookie dough, he and Silas settled back into an easy rhythm, moving around each other in the kitchen they had shared for so long when he still lived there. Listening to the boys shuffle around upstairs, Finn saw the same contentment he felt mirrored on Silas’ face, his stance easier, more relaxed than it had been in the last few weeks.

“Pass me the M&M’s?” Finn asked, and Silas pulled out of his quiet reverie to toss over the bag. While he dumped them into the bowl of dough along with the chopped dark chocolate—with wanton disregard for the recipe’s suggested amount—Finn said, “It’s good to hear them laugh.”

Silas smiled softly. “Yeah, it is. Things have been… tough, for Sam. I know how much he was looking forward to spending today with Jaime. Thank you for coming, and for bringing everything.”

Finn bumped his elbow into Silas. “You don’t have to thank me for that. I’ll always be here. We’ll always be here for you. Both of you.”

Silas’ eyes turned misty, and he yanked Finn into a fast hug, his breath whooshing out in surprise from the strength in his brother’s grasp. “Thank you, Finny.” He released him, but kept a hand on his shoulder. “I know so much has changed, with you finding your mate and moving out, everything going on with me, and then the mess with Salt Creek, I just… I don’t know if I’ve said it enough. How grateful I am for you, that you’re still here. Still with me.”

It was Finn’s turn to bring Silas into a bear hug. As he released his giant friend, he roughed a hand through his hair, the way he had when they were boys, messing up the hasty bun Silas had pulled it into. “You don’t have to thank me for that. You’re my brother.”

Silas chuckled and pushed Finn’s hand away, fluffing out his hair before pulling it back again. “Still. It’s helped, more than I can say.”

Finn began scooping out giant balls of cookie dough and placing them on the parchment-lined baking sheet. “Have you had a chance to talk to that relative of yours, Connor? Wasn’t he your cousin or something? Was he able to help at all?”

Silas nodded. “A distant cousin, sort of. But yeah, I gave him a call. He actually got married not too long ago, and they’ve started a new pack together. Territories work differently over there, there’s some kind of magic that binds them to the land. Anyway, he was able to answer some questions I had about… well, everything.”

Finn nodded. “Good. I’m glad. And congratulations to him on being married.”

Silas raised his eyebrows. “You would not believe how that whole thing happened…”

While Finn put the first batch of cookies in the oven and began scooping out a second tray, Silas filled him in on his cousin’s bonkers love life and current marital situation.

“Damn. Well, good for them. I hope settling the new territory works out. Also I can’t believe he just spilled all of that to you over the phone.”

“Connor can be a bit of a yapper.”

Finn side-eyed him. “A family trait, then.”

Silas huffed a laugh, and an easy silence settled between them, with only the muffled sounds of Jaime and Sam moving around upstairs.

Finn wasn’t sure if he should ask about Sam. As happy as Silas was to butt in on Finn’s problems, he never seemed keen on discussing that particular topic. But Finn knew firsthand how good it felt to finally share his feelings when they built up, like they had last spring before Jaime had found out about wolf shifters. And Silas had always been there for him when he needed it most—he’d always been Finn’s confidant.

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