AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She could see her sister’s face contorted in anger as she yelled over the driver’s shoulder while he kept her away from the building. Juniper strained her ears to make out what she was yelling out angrily, but she could not. Instead, all she heard were muffled sounds.
A frown set on her face as she continued watching through the window. News had probably gotten around town that she was back. Perhaps the girl at the diner had recognized her after all, or maybe she had been seen at the bar and they’d realized that it was her.
Juniper was sure that Elena was here to confirm whether it truly was her that had returned to town, or simply someone who looked like her. She winced and rubbed her head as she felt a dull ache coming on. The loudness of the voices outside coupled with the ache in her head was nearly enough to have her cursing her powers.
This was not how she had thought her return to the Moonwood pack would be.
Of course, she hadn’t expected them to welcome her with open arms. However, she had hoped that she wouldn’t have to deal with the people for a while and could simply get on with her task so she could be off as soon as possible.
Juniper supposed that although that had been what she was hoping for, there had been a part of her that knew that it wouldn’t be as easy as she wanted it to be. These were people who hated anyone who was different from them. People who hated her.
They would never be so willing to let go of their hate easily.
A thought occurred to her and she turned to stare at Rowan with wide eyes before looking back at the window. Now was a horrible time for Elena to see Rowan coming out of her room.
Juniper’s adopted family had been forced to take her in against their will. Her adopted father had been the one to find her at the borders of the town when she was just a baby. He had brought her back into the town with him.
Because witches were so difficult to find, the pack had worried about how they would take care of a witch baby.
Juniper didn’t have any idea who her real parents could have been. Witches were rarely ever born to other witches. They were born to humans. At the time she was brought into the pack, her powers had already been activated. It was possible that this was the reason she had been left behind by her parents. Perhaps they had simply not known what to do with her, or maybe they even feared her.
Perhaps she had been born to a witch who had been gravely injured and had been unable to take care of her. She didn’t know the origin of her birth, but she supposed that now it didn’t matter.
Her adopted mother had just had a daughter around the same time that they were tasked to take care of her. However, her father had taken her in anyway. Juniper remembered him fondly—him and no one else. He had been very kind to her when she was younger until the incident happened.
On that unfortunate day, Juniper had, at the age of five, foolishly gone into the river. She could not control her power and so she had ended up being dragged off by the current that was sweeping through.
Her father had jumped into the river in a bid to save her life, but then the rogue had arrived. He had been an alpha, but when he lost his pack he had lost his mind as a result. He had been trying to cross the border.
Because Juniper’s father was trying to save her from drowning, he had left his post unmanned and had also not been as conscious of his surroundings as he usually was. Her father had been the first person to be killed by the rogue wolf.
The pack had been unaware of the attack and had also been left vulnerable. They had blamed her for the death of the members of the pack and had never forgiven her since then. It was because of this that she had become the target of their bullying.
Juniper sighed as she steeled herself. She dropped the sheet that was covering her body and quickly picked up her clothes. She turned around to see Rowan staring at her appreciatively as she got dressed. Her brows raised in annoyance.
“Get dressed,” she said, and he hurriedly picked up his clothes and began to dress. She waited until he was presentable and then she walked out the door to face the people who had gathered in front of her door.
Elena’s eyes widened as soon as she saw her. Her eyes moved from Juniper to behind her where Rowan stepped out of the room, and just like that, they hardened again.
“You’re back and the first thing you do is throw yourself at our alpha again!” Elena said. She looked at Juniper with hatred mixed in with disbelief.
Juniper felt her heart ache as she took in the people in front of her who had begun to murmur their hatred and disbelief.
She did not turn around when she felt Rowan coming to stand beside her. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could, she spoke, her eyes fixed on her adopted sister.
“I am not here for your alpha, first of all. Secondly, there is nothing between us. We have been discussing business because we are forced to work together. Whether you choose to believe it or not is completely your business and it has absolutely nothing to do with me,” she said before turning away from Elena.
She faced Rowan, who stood looking at her with shock and something that looked like hurt, but she refused to believe that she had managed to hurt him with her words. Also, she was sure he didn’t think that she would simply allow his people bully her like they had done the last time.
“We shall meet at the diner in two hours to discuss how we will tackle the problem, Alpha Rowan,” she said in a voice that was very cold and detached.
Rowan seemed even more taken aback now, but she did not care. Instead, she turned and walked into her room, shutting the door behind her without bothering to spare them or him another glance.
Chapter 6 - Rowan
Once again, Rowan had stood silently while Juniper had been accused. Unlike the last time, though, this time he had wanted to stand up for her.
She had not really given him a chance to do so, however. Instead, she had mounted her own defense, addressing her adopted sister confidently.
