Chapter 7 Junie
Junie
That was the worst night’s sleep I’ve ever had. The bed is as fluffy as clouds, yet I could not stop tossing and turning. It could have been because I refused to eat dinner last night. If I were in Silas’s presence again, I’m afraid I would have done something dumb like dare him to kiss me.
I scream into the pillow, frustrated that my refusal to take a break and not work when I knew this much snow was coming landed me in his werewolf camp.
Is it possible for me to stay in bed all day? I would consider it if I didn’t have to check whether the snow had cleared. Stupid adult responsibilities.
I grab my phone from the nightstand and groan when I see the forecast calling for more snow today. That likely means no plow is going to clear my way to town, and it’s not like I’m going to ask if someone can drive me on a four-wheeler.
This vacation couldn’t have been forced at a worse time, not that there would have been a better time.
My mind shifts from yelling at me to check my e-mail to trying to remember all the different timelines of dough needed to be prepped for the weekend.
Sure, the business is in the black, but it’s because I’ve burnt myself out by accepting every client that needed an order of sweet treats.
If I had time to focus on only baking and developing new recipes, I’d be a happy camper. I’m so close to being able to hire part-time help to do the deliveries. That was, until this snowed-in situation happened, because now I have to cancel all of my orders for this week and the upcoming weekend.
Today is Tuesday, and even if I get back tomorrow, it wouldn’t give me enough time to whip up all the pastries needed for the weekend events.
When I lift my phone back up to my face, I notice I have a single bar of signal.
Do I want to call Ophelia and have her bitch at me for spending the night at a werewolf’s house? Not exactly. I already know what she’d say.
“Junie, you know werewolves are temperamental.”
She’d be right. Silas is temperamental as fuck, but I wouldn’t tell her that.
I’d be forced to try to hide my quick attraction to him with every answer I give her, but I would let something slip.
I know I would. It’s hard for me to hide things from her, even more so now that she has become my sister-in-law.
Sometimes I wonder if she uses magic to pull the truth from me, but she wouldn’t make that mistake twice. Using truth serum on accident, one of Ophelia’s latest witch experiments, was how she and my brother got together in the first place.
So, I’m not calling Ophelia.
But I can text her.
Well, text her back, but I’m choosing to ignore the ten messages from last night.
Junie
Hi, I’m alive. Don’t worry.
She texts back immediately.
Ophelia
Where are you? You okay?
I roll my eyes and sit up in bed.
Junie
Fine, Phee. I’m with a hot wolf.
Ophelia
You better be joking, Junie.
Junie
I’m at the Inn. Can you cancel all my orders for this week? I’ll see you soon if the snow clears.
My phone decides to lose signal after that, but at least she knows I’m alive and well. She has all my passwords, so luckily she will be able to help me relay my situation to anyone waiting on an order. The last thing I need is for her to send a search party or use some banned magic to find me.
Now that I don’t have that to distract me, I’m surprised that I don’t hear any noises coming from the cabin. It’s late enough in the morning that I would expect Silas to be up. If anything, I would expect Cooper to be clacking down the hardwood floors once he heard me stir.
After I get dressed, I figure I might as well go out into the main area of the cabin. Not only am I starving, but I really need to know if I’ll be able to leave today and figure out the logistics. I throw on a pair of black sweatpants and a matching black crop tank from the clothes Fran provided.
There’s no sign of Silas anywhere when I leave the confines of my room. His door is open, giving me a view of his bed, but he’s not there. He’s also not in the living room or the kitchen.
I expected to feel relief knowing I wouldn’t have to fight with him this morning, but if anything, my chest is tighter. It doesn’t make any sense.
Before I have a chance to dissect why my dormant feelings are coming to life, three raps come from the front entrance. Is Silas expecting someone?
Upon opening the door, I find an older woman with gray curly hair, thick-rimmed black glasses, and a long black jacket.
“Are you going to keep staring at me, dear? It’s freezing out here, and this is heavy.”
“O-Oh, yes, sorry. Come in?” I back away from the door to let her inside.
She’s carrying a gigantic tote, but there’s a lid on it, so I’m not sure what’s inside for it to be so heavy. I cross my arms and watch her walk into the kitchen and set it on the table.
“Is Silas gone for the morning?” she asks.
Once her jacket is off, she unfolds a muted red checkered apron, placing it around her neck and tying in a bow around her back. Then, she pulls out another, this one dark gray with small green leaves, and throws it to me.
“Um, I think? I haven’t seen him.” I have no idea who this woman is, but I am very intrigued.
“Well, put this on, child.” She tosses me the fabric. “We have muffins to bake before the pack gets violent from hunger.”
I do as she says, figuring I’ll ask questions once she stops staring at me like I’m a small child disobeying a parent.
After putting on the apron, I walk over to her as she opens the tote. I can’t help the smile that blooms when I see there’s everything from flour to chocolate chips neatly organized inside.
As we begin to bake muffins, I learn her name is Mauve. She’s been part of this pack for many, many years and has taken on the roles of chef and baker. Like me, she’s self-taught. We don’t talk much more than that, and I’m thankful because I don’t normally yap when I bake.
Baking is therapy for me. It’s what I do when I have too little and too much on my plate, seeking something to do to take my mind off of everything going on in the world.
I didn’t realize how much I needed this until my hands were mixing ingredients and pouring batter into the muffin tins, something I could do with my eyes closed. Easy.
It’s barely been twenty-four hours since I was stranded in the fucking mountains.
“Oh, Mauve, is the snow cleared?”
She places the last tin of muffins in Silas’ surprisingly modern oven and turns to me, brows raised. When I don’t answer, she puffs out a laugh. “Oh, you’re serious?”
I nod.
She stands, wiping her hands on her apron. I don’t like the look on the face, the grimace, the pursed lips, the doe eyes. It tells me the answer before she looks me in the face and says, “I’m afraid you’re stuck here for a few more days.”
“Days?” There’s no way I’ll last days with Silas. I barely got through my first night.
Mauve nods. “There was more snow last night, I’m afraid.”
Shit. I would love to ask her if there was another place for me to stay, maybe beg to stay with Fran, but I don’t want to cause them trouble, nor admit that I can’t stand their precious Alpha.
If I’m going to have to stay here for the rest of the week, or until the snow clears, I’m going to need something to do.
“Hey, Mauve?”
“Hmm?”
“Are there extra ingredients I can have so I can bake when you’re not around?” Please say yes.
“Oh, this whole tote is for you. Silas told me you might want something to do.”
“He did?” I don’t mean to ask, not wanting to sound like a pathetic rescue, but that is the last thing I expected. Considering last night, when Silas could hardly look at me and then insulted me, I would have predicted he’d send me to stay with someone else.
Before I have the chance to work up the courage to ask Mauve questions about Silas, the door to his cabin is thrown open.
Two (thankfully clothed) men walk in. The first is a foot taller than me, with ruby red hair and deep brown eyes.
The second is a little shorter, but with black hair and golden eyes.
Looking at him is like staring at a younger version of Silas.
“Ah, boys, have you had the pleasure of meeting Junie?” Mauve asks, walking to greet them, freshly baked muffins in hand.
“We haven’t had the chance,” the first one says.
“Someone told us we weren’t allowed, but we couldn’t resist the smell as we walked by,” the second one says before he turns to me and winks. “Hi, I’m Kyrian, the more handsome brother.”
The redhead laughs, nearly choking on a bite of muffin. “You wish.”
Kyrian pushes him. “This is Matt. Ignore him.”
I don’t know how many people are in this camp, but I don’t expect three more people to enter the door, not even thirty seconds later. They introduce themselves as Drea, Seth, and Lila.
“Are you all…” I pause, not sure how to ask the question properly. I wave my hands around in a circle.
“Are we a part of the pack?” Kyrian asks. “If we weren’t, we’d be dead. So,” he shrugs, “Yeah.”
Mauve slaps him over the head, and I have to put a hand to my mouth to stifle a laugh. “There are around fifty of us that live in this area, Junie. Most of us are from the Starview pack, but we have a few groups from the other four packs in the north. We’ve gathered to help as Silas takes over.”
“Oh.” I nod, keeping any further questions to myself.
This group, this family, is so foreign to me.
I don’t spend much time with my family. At least, not like this.
We meet for holidays, but even that has started to feel obligatory.
My spare time used to be spent with Ophelia, watching the latest hit reality TV show, but ever since she married Sam, we haven’t been doing that as much.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for them. I knew one day they would finally admit to each other they were meant to be more than friends, but it’s hard to see your two best friends fall in love and build a life together.
They don’t mean for it to happen, but slowly I’m fading into the background.
If the first few months of their relationship tell me anything, it’s that this will be the new normal for us, and I need to be okay with it.
I have to be.
My own love life might be nonexistent, but I’m not closed off to the thought.
It’s just been hard to find someone who doesn’t mind me working both random and long hours.
Working for yourself is tough enough, so when you add another human to that equation and need to balance building a relationship and your own business, it can be hard to figure out which should take priority.
I was with someone when I first started Forever June. I made the mistake of assuming he’d support me in the venture, maybe even find a way to help me make it successful. Instead, our five-year relationship ended as quickly as it began because he hated that my time for him was drying up.
He didn’t understand what it took to lead a business, and since then, I haven’t put in the effort to find anyone who matches my energy.
If Silas were human and not a were, I think I’d ask him out.
No, I would. I don’t think. I know.
There’s something about him. He’s frustratingly handsome.
I’m lost in my own thoughts when the door swings open, and the handsome devil himself walks in. He’s drenched in sweat, and a long cut on his cheek is bleeding.
My feet move before I’m aware of what I’m doing. I walk past the six people sitting in the living room, ignoring their stares, until I’m a foot away from Silas. His eyes are on me, not his brother, or Mauve, or any of his other pack members.
Only on me.
My hand reaches up to cup his cheek, tracing over the cut that badly needs to be bandaged.
“What happened?” I whisper.
Silas’ dark eyes watch me, bouncing from my eyes, to my mouth, to my body.
“Leave.” He bellows to the room.
“Silas—” Someone, I think it’s Kyrian, says from behind me, but Silas isn’t in the mood.
“I’m not going to ask twice.”
I don’t know if he means me too, and since this is his house and I’m a guest, I drop my hand and turn to fetch my things.
The rest of his pack smiles at me as they exit.
Out of pity? Maybe? A few of them mouth ‘thank you,’ lifting their hands to show me they are taking home muffins. That makes my heart happy at least.
“I just need to grab my jacket,” I say to no one in particular, my back still to Silas.
I take two steps toward my room before I’m pulled to a stop. My gaze snaps to my wrist to find a large hand wrapped around it, stopping me from going anywhere. If I thought my heart beat fast when I first saw him, that was nothing compared to how it feels now.
It’s a bass drum, beating hard and heavy. My head swirls and my breathing quickens as the rough pads of his fingers grip me tighter. Have I eaten today? That’s what must be happening. I’m exhausted. Hungry. This has nothing to do with Silas.
If that’s true, why can’t I pull away from him?
Pull back your hand, Junie. It’s not fucking hard.
How long have I been standing here?
No one else is in the cabin.
Even Cooper is nowhere to be seen.
It’s only Silas and me.
He doesn’t want anyone here; he told us to leave.
“I need to grab my—” I repeat, or try to repeat, anything to get him to let go of me. I can’t breathe with him touching me. My voice stills when his breath is on my neck, hot as a furnace.
He whispers one word. “Stay.”