Page 3 of Autumn After

“You can work on it all you want, but it’s because he needs to settle down. He’s longing for pups of his own. Once you see your brother with his pup, it will hit you even harder.”

Wait. Sid was expecting?

I bit back a growl. My wolf wanted to snap. “Well, it’s not like I can go to the corner store and buy one.” I flinched, knowing I’d way overstepped my bounds. Instead, my father started to laugh.

“Okay, but if your wolf gets too far out of hand, you’re going to have to do something, right? It will only get worse unless you address it now.”

And by address it, he meant get mated. Like it was that easy. The alternative would be to come to terms with the single life. “Yeah, I know, Dad. Can we go finish tracking down that deer we just scented? I was more in the mood for fox.”

“I’m serious, Cedric.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “If you feel you need to search for a mate outside the pack, we understand. There are other packs you can visit. We will support you.”

I appreciated that. So much. Only, my wolf didn’t want to leave this pack, not for any reason, even if we would come back once we found our mate. I was rooted here, and this was where we were staying. It wasn’t like I could use logic on the animal—he was illogical.

“I know that. And I am taking it seriously. I promise.”

He nodded.

I felt I should say more, but we both shifted and began our hunt.

Talking through my feelings with my family wasn’t exactly easy. As the oldest in the family, I felt that I needed to remain strong. Sid was the one who could better communicate with our parents and others. Perhaps that was why he was able to find an omega first. Meanwhile, I was alone.

Our hunt lasted a while, I was too distracted with my melancholy thoughts to accomplish much. In the end, we wound up with neither fox nor deer. Instead, a couple of rabbits crossed our paths and were too good to pass up. But we didn’t have time to keep going out, because the pack was starting to get ready for our harvest festival, or as we called it, the Autumn’s Howl Festival.

We arrived back at my home which was on the outskirts of the pack territory, where we hung our catch up. Sid would come later and do the dirty work.

The whole territory was drenched in golden and red leaves as the seasons shifted from summer to fall.

“Are you helping gather pumpkins for the festival?” my dad asked.

I shook my head. “I wish, but I promised Jenks I’d go into town to pick up the supplies he ordered. Janet has some grand plan for a harvest project for the kids. Something that will keep them occupied once the adults start hitting the hard cider.”

He chuckled. “I’m glad you’re helping out. Give a shout to your mom and me when you get back. There’s a storm coming in. I can feel it in my bones.”

The festival was originally an event that celebrated the Harvest Moon, but it had become so much more than that. It had become a massive pack social event, and it mimicked those that the humans had. We’d carve pumpkins, we had apple pies—including a lucrative pie contest, we made fancy candies. We decorated with leaves and pretty corn, and even had a scarecrow contest. Only, instead of crows being in human form, they were all in wolf form. It was a good time to be had by all.

Each year we added new and different events to keep the festival fresh. This year, in order to distract myself from my patheticsingle life, I had joined the committee. Boy, did I learn a lot about how much work it took to make the event what it was.

Being one of the unmated ones, you got to shoulder a lot of that work. It was time to get to it. We only had limited days to prepare. As the event got closer, the to-do list seemed to grow longer and despite my best efforts, it seemed like we were adding more events and activities each day.

Yesterday Janet asked if we could have a petting zoo! Never mind the fact that we couldn’t get one scheduled in time, but we were wolves. Bringing prey animals into the area would be a recipe for disaster. In the end, she agreed that logistically it wouldn’t work out, and instead, we opted to have a photograph gallery. Which was another item on my list—make a space where the photos could be put up.

I ran a hand through my hair and went to my truck. The to-do list wasn’t going to get itself done.

Chapter 3

Willow

I dug around behind my seat and found the last bottle of motor oil, grasping at any straws I could find. I didn’t need to get her far, but I for sure needed her out of the middle of nowhere.

Outside of the truck, I went and around front to pour it in, only to find out that this time her lack of life had nothing to do with the oil—the oil was exactly where it needed to be. It wasn’t overheated either, so water wasn’t the issue. Those were the only problems I knew what to do with, so I was at a loss.

The alternator maybe? Or the flux-thingy? Or was that a made-up part? Fuck, I wish I’d taken more mechanic classes than just the one.

I wasn’t sure what to do, and of course, my huge library of books was back at the house. I pulled out my phone to use Google, thinking it might not be the best solution, but at least I would have someplace to start.

I found a lot of nonsense and even more bad advice, but not what I needed. The reception was spotty, so each link took eons to load.

My gut solidified into a rock, and my throat constricted like I’d eaten fresh bread too fast. There was no hope. Everything it said to try, I already had.

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