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Prologue - Juniper
Juniper Morgan’s heart thundered in her chest as she tore through the woods. Her feet pounded on the forest bed, crushing twigs and dried leaves as she sped past relentlessly. Her hair whipped in her face and tears streaked down her pale cheeks.
A low-hanging branch slapped against Juniper’s face in her haste. She barely managed to get an arm up before it could do any real damage to her. She felt a sting on her right cheek, but ignored it, jumping over a fallen tree trunk.
Bruises covered her face and arms, and her bare feet felt raw from the running. She had lost her shoes at some point during her flight, but she had no idea when.
She ignored the stinging pains from the tiny cuts on her feet, even as she stepped on another sharp rock. Her dress was a ruinous mess. It was torn in a hundred different places and was covered in mud. She had saved up for it because she’d wanted to look beautiful for the special day. Now it was ruined.
She didn’t need to look behind her to know that she was still being followed. The sound of the pursuing young wolves rang loudly in her ears, reminding her of their presence. Their hooting and mocking cries chased after her, as did the things they threw from time to time—some mud, a tomato, even a rock.
Juniper had been so hopeful. It was supposed to be a happy day. For the longest time, she’d never even thought it possible for her to have a happy day. But this was supposed to change that story.
This was supposed to be a happy day for her, because her life had changed, exactly one year ago, on her eighteenth birthday. This year, she had dressed up nicely for her nineteenth birthday because she was supposed to spend it with the man she loved.
Juniper had never thought that she would find love in Starlight Valley, let alone in Moonwood. She’d never thought love was possible for her in this pack. But, she had found it, and in the most unlikely person.
Now, she fled through the woods to her lover, a complete mess when she had done her best to look beautiful for him.
“How much do you want to bet that she’s lying?” one of the wolves yelled from behind her.
“Ha! Who would take that bet? Of course she’s lying!” another voice rang out in reply. “Why the hell would I take a losing bet?”
Their laughter thundered at that, scaring a flock of birds nesting in the trees above into a squawking flight. They didn’t break stride, and Juniper could hear them chasing doggedly after her.
“Rowan won’t let you get away with this!” Juniper spat back, turning around. She stumbled but righted herself and kept running.
The reply was sudden from the chasing wolves. A large rock wheezed past her head, inches away from her face. Juniper screamed and ducked as another missile went flying by.
A third rock smashed painfully against her shoulder. The pain blinded Juniper and she cried out. There were whoops from behind her as the rock struck her. Her shoulder burned with pain, but Juniper kept running. She had to keep running.
Juniper knew where Rowan would be at this time of the day. She just had to get to him. He was going to make them pay. She clenched her jaw, swallowing her tears and ignoring the pain.
She broke out from the woods onto the highway. She crossed the empty road and ran to the bar on the other side of the road. The neon lights from the signboard which were usually bright at night seemed dim during the day, and soft rock music played inside.
Not caring about her appearance or state, Juniper rushed into the bar without hesitation. Several heads turned to look at her, but she ignored all of them.
She didn’t care about any of them. She scanned around the small room for Rowan and found him sitting at the bar with his friends, the other alphas. He sat with his back to the door, sipping beer from a bottle.
Juniper’s heart started to beat fast with concern. Everyone knew that this bar was the meeting place of the alphas. She swallowed her fears and approached Rowan Zev. Tall, dark, impossibly handsome, and extremely intimidating.
Even though no one knew it yet, Alpha Rowan was her mate.
He had been seeing her secretly for the past year and had promised to bring their relationship to the light, ending the bullying she had endured from the other wolves her whole life.
By going to him, she was violating some of the rules he had set for their relationship early on to make things less complicated. She understood that it was easier on him to keep things a secret. She knew that he needed time to slowly make their relationship known, since the pack didn’t like her. However, she was tired of the constant disrespect and bullying that she had to deal with from the wolves.
Rowan turned around in his seat and his golden eyes widened in concern as he saw her battered state. He stood up from the barstool and took a step toward Juniper.
Juniper’s chest heaved up and down quickly, partly from the fatigue of running as long as she had, and also from the trepidation of being in the room. With Rowan. In the open.
Rowan towered over her, and his golden eyes glittered brightly as they caught the light of the overhead lamps. He had on a lumberjack shirt and jeans with thick brown suede boots, and his muscles threatened to burst through the seams of his clothes.
Despite her distress, Roman’s appearance made Juniper’s heart skip a beat. He was a beautiful man, and no matter how many times she saw him, it always left her awestruck.
Juniper could see the concern on Rowan’s face as his eyes went over her from head to toe. She knew how sorry she looked, and Rowan’s expression confirmed her fears.
Her tears returned and she went up to him. “Rowan…” Juniper saw a slight panic in his eyes as she addressed him by name. He glanced quickly to both sides to see who was close.
