Page 28 of Finding His Fox

He showed me an unexpected level of trust and confided in me about his family's darkest secrets. I would never betray that trust.

What Nate and I had shared in the backyard of his family home—that moment felt sacred, special.

I merely grunted and placed my cards down when I should've folded. James beamed at me as he scooped up the bills on the table.

Normally, I was good at poker, but tonight, I was distracted. My friends noticed it too. I couldn't hide anything from them.

"There's nothing to spill," I finally responded to James' question. "It wasn't a date. I just helped Nate move. How did you hear about it?"

I directed the last question to Owen, who shrugged. "I stopped by Rory's store this morning for some fishing supplies. He mentioned you coming over," Owen explained.

"Rory's probably just concerned about Nate," I said. "He acts more like Nate's older brother than a cousin."

"Can you blame him? Rory was with Nate that day," Owen said.

I stared at him for a few moments. Owen sipped his beer, and James frowned at both of us.

Owen knew about the wendigo incident, of course. He had been born and raised in Fox Haven, just like me, but James and his brothers had transferred from another fox pack.

"That day?" James asked.

Owen proceeded to fill James in on the wendigo attack that had occurred years ago. I took a pull of my beer and quietly excused myself.

Whenever someone brought up that topic, I had a tendency to tune their voices out.

I didn't want to picture Shawn torn to bloody pieces. Even years later, I could still remember how helpless and useless I had felt that day.

I let myself out of the house and stood on the porch. Gazing at the lake, I momentarily closed my eyes and enjoyed the cool breeze on my face.

It would be even better if Nate were standing next to me.

I wondered what Nate was doing right now and if he was thinking of me. I couldn't seem to get him out of my mind.

Owen soon joined me, and I decided to settle for his company.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought up that old wound," Owen said.

"It happened a long time ago," I replied with a shrug.

Owen knew me better than anyone, so he probably knew I was putting on an act.

"So Rory was there. I never knew that," I said.

After the adults picked us up, everything became a jumbled mess.

"I think everyone involved in that incident had chosen to forget what happened. Cal, you were all just kids," Owen said softly.

I said nothing for a few moments. "Nate's looking for a spot to shoot photos."

"Ian mentioned Nate does photoshoots for his cat. Apparently, Max is famous," Owen said.

James would have probably laughed at that, but Owen's expression remained serious. He didn't care what Nate did in his spare time.

Owen only cared that Nate was important to Ian because Nate was Ian's best friend.

"Max isn't just Nate's pet. He’s also Nate's friend," I said, thinking of Missy's tidy little grave.

Nate must have chosen those stones with care.