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Juniper remembered how it had felt like she had been the one bleeding to her death, and she shivered. Rowan watched her, his face hard and his expression serious.
“Absolutely,” Rowan finally replied. “You’re right. I will be calling for an emergency meeting of the pack as soon as we return.”
Juniper’s face lit up. She hadn’t expected Rowan to take her advice and implement her suggestion. While it pleased her that Rowan took her warnings seriously, it still felt mighty weird to have him in her corner.
She dismissed the thought. Rowan had probably seen the danger for himself and made a decision that was in the best interest of his pack. It would be unwise for her to assume that he was listening to her for personal reasons.
Juniper turned to look at the buck again, and she saw fear in its eyes. This time, she understood what the beast was afraid of. They were afraid of the same damn thing.
***
The hike out of the forest seemed to last only a few seconds. Juniper wondered if it was because they left with more urgency than they’d felt when they entered the woods.
Rowan ordered his driver to go as fast as he could to the town square at the center of town. The driver hit the pedal without questions asked, sending the car careening toward town at a frightening speed.
Rowan shut his eyes and bent his head forward. Juniper glanced at him, wondering if the alpha had dozed off. His eyes came open suddenly, and he turned to Juniper, making her flinch nervously.
It took them a few minutes to get back into town, and they walked to the fountain in the middle. They had not been at the fountain for over five minutes before the other wolves in Rowan’s pack began trooping into the town square from every possible direction.
It shocked Juniper to see so many wolves gather at the same time. She imagined everyone in the town had abandoned whatever they were doing and had come here on Rowan’s command.
Juniper scanned the group and could hear the whispers and murmurs from the wolves when they saw her standing with Rowan, exchanging glances with one another and glaring at her.
“Wait, isn’t that the witch?”
“That deathbringer! What is she doing here?”
“I thought she left never to return?”
She could hear each person as if they spoke directly into her ears. She grit her teeth and ignored the mocking gossip.
Rowan stood tall in the middle of the square, watching the crowd gather. Juniper felt a tingle go down her spine as she watched Rowan address the pack with his natural authority. He was the embodiment of power, and it sent shivers through her legs just looking at him.
“Can I please have everyone’s attention?” Rowan’s voice boomed loudly through the entire square, the bass reverberating in Juniper’s chest as she stood closest to him. Rowan glanced around and waited until the entire square was deathly still before he continued.
“We have a situation on our hands. I hadn’t said anything about it earlier, despite the rangers informing me that they had been finding dead animals in the woods. These dead animals were usually found terribly mutilated, often beyond the point of saving.
“I began to look into it weeks ago, but I couldn’t find what was hurting these animals. On several occasions, I refused to close down the forests, as they are the primary source of our revenue. Unfortunately, that is a risk that I can no longer afford to take.”
Rowan gestured at Juniper, and she suppressed a blush. “I’m sure you all remember Juniper here who left a few years ago. She has been having terrible visions about our town, and that was why she came back. The danger is great. She has seen a direct relationship between what’s happening in the forest and the ghastly visions she’s been having.”
The people bristled at that. Far be it from the wolves of Moonwood to take kindly to hearing anything that involved her.
“How do you know it’s not the deathbringer’s fault in the first place?!” A voice yelled from the crowd, voicing all their thoughts. They all clamored to support it, and Juniper bit her lip.
She did not know who had spoken, but Rowan clearly did as his eyes shot to the man in the crowd immediately.
“I would suggest you refrain from calling her that, Kevin,” he growled. His eyes glowed and she imagined he was putting pressure on them from the mind link giving how everyone was suddenly cowering. “None of you are children anymore. I would expect you to put that baseless nickname behind you and respect our guest.”
“Yes. I am sorry, Alpha Rowan.”
Juniper followed Rowan’s gaze and found the man who spoke. He looked very different now, but she realized she remembered him vaguely. He was one of the teenagers who bullied her. She really had grown… now she did not even remember his face properly, but there was a time he used to be her tormentor.
“I implore you all to please stay away from the forests,” Rowan continued his speech.
The murmurs broke out immediately, loud enough for Juniper to hear. Valid concerns rang through the crowd about how they could hope to live without access to the woods
“We hear you, Alpha Rowan,” one of the older wolves thundered so he could be heard over the din of the crowd. “You say there’s something dangerous and deadly in the woods, that prevents us from going about our lives as usual. Well, it begs the question. What’s to stop this danger from just attacking us in our homes?”
