JUNIPER
When I’d set out into the forest early that morning, I hadn’t expected to find myself riding on a wolf’s back, but I had to admit it was freaking amazing.
Levi was huge, even by shifter standards, more like an ancient direwolf than the typical timber wolf.
His speed and power shocked me. Even with my weight burdening him, we flew through the forest, my hair billowing in the icy breeze.
It was all I could do to stay mounted and not slide off him.
The storm had moved on, revealing a cobalt sky and a bright sun. Lumps of snow fell from the tree branches as the heat of the sun warmed the surface.
My enjoyment of the experience faded when I noticed how deep into the forest we were.
We had ventured farther than anyone had ever gone.
The legend of Leviathan Cross had become so dark and terrifying that no one would dare come this far in, even in daylight.
Levi didn’t seem to be the monster the stories made him out to be, but the fact that he was leading me deep into the forest gave me a moment of concern.
Then the trees opened up, and I gasped in surprise.
Levi slowed to a trot as we approached the small village.
A few dozen cabins dotted the area, all surrounding a makeshift town center, with what looked like gardens around the outside.
There were small paddocks with goats and chickens as well.
A self-sufficient village, here in the depths of the forest. I never would have believed it if I weren’t seeing it with my own eyes.
What also startled me was the sheer number of people.
At least twenty women, bundled up in coats and hats, had come out of their cabins.
I’d always figured the stories of the Demon Wolf stealing and devouring unsuspecting women and children was bullshit, and this proved that I was right.
There were so many women, though. A few kids here and there, but mostly women.
Where had they all come from? And why did they live here with Levi?
One of the few men I could see—a tall, broad man with long black hair and a matching bushy beard—strode forward, grinning as he buttoned his coat.
“I was getting worried about you,” he said, his voice deep and booming.
Levi lowered himself so I could slip off his back, then shifted back to his human form.
“Storm rolled up out of nowhere,” Levi explained, resting his hand on my lower back. “Found this young lady half dead in the snow. Had to get her warm and dry first before coming back.”
The black-haired man stuck his hand out toward me. “Rainier Carmichael. Good to meet you.”
I shook the massive hand and gave him a hesitant smile. “Uh, Juniper Hollis. You can call me June, though.”
“June, then,” Rainier said with a nod. “Welcome to Hidden Grove.”
“And which pack do you come from?”
Turning from Levi and Rainier, I found a tall, wispy woman looking at me.
Her blonde hair—so pale it was nearly white—was tugged back in a tight ponytail.
She looked at me with dark brown eyes, and what I thought was some sort of aggression or irritation.
Her gaze flicked over to Levi’s hand on my lower back before snapping back to my face.
“Uh, Idlewild,” I said, somewhat thrown by the woman’s intense gaze.
Rainier and Levi shared a look I couldn’t quite make out before Rainier spoke again. “This is Eugenia Rosdale; she’s been here a few years.”
“Hi,” I said, doing my best to smile. “I’m Juniper.”
Eugenia ignored me, instead turning her attention to Levi. “Why didn’t you tell anyone you were going out today? We were all worried when you didn’t come to breakfast.”
My cheeks flushed at how quickly she disregarded me. Levi, ever watchful, noticed it. He smiled at the other woman, but I saw the flash of anger in his eyes.
“I didn’t know I needed to tell anyone where I went, Eugenia,” Levi said, his voice light, but laced with meaning. “I am the alpha. Rainier knew I was going out. Had I gone around the whole village to tell everyone I was leaving, I may not have found Juniper in time to save her.”
Eugenia lowered her head. A few women stood close behind her, their eyes bouncing between Levi and me. I was being weighed and measured. Some weird political thing was going on right in front of me, and I was out of my depth.
“I’m sure she would have done well,” Eugenia said. “She looks strong and”—she glanced my way again—“capable.”
I’d have had to be deaf not to hear the sarcasm in her voice.
“She almost froze to death,” Levi snapped. “Had to strip her down to dry her clothes off and warm up by a campfire. I’d say she needed me there pretty damn fast.”
Eugenia’s eyes flashed again, this time with hurt and surprise. “Stripped—you mean, uh…well, I think it’s best if we help this new girl get acclimated.” The emotion in her voice told me that was the last thing she wanted.
Had I not been desperate for Levi’s help, I would have already been thinking of leaving this place.
As warm as the welcome from Rainier had been, this ice-queen reception from Eugenia was not pleasant.
What had I done to make her look at me like I was a threat? I’d barely been here for five minutes.
“Juniper?” a voice cried out from the back of the crowd as more people came out of the cabins to trudge through the snow.
“Yes?” I said dumbly, addressing the whole crowd. The voice sounded vaguely familiar.
There was a rustle of movement as a small woman pushed her way through the front of the group. My jaw fell open at the sight of her. Linnea Johnson beamed at me as she ran forward to embrace me.
I wrapped my arms around her. “Linnea?”
The woman had vanished nearly five years ago after the arrangement ceremony.
The elders had paired her with a man named Bronson Douglas.
They’d said she’d refused the pairing and run off to join a different pack.
We hadn’t been friends back then, but we’d known each other in passing, and she’d frequented my grandparents’ store.
She released me, and held me at arm length, smiling at me. “Oh my gosh, it’s been forever.”
Blinking in confusion, I said, “You—you’ve been here the whole time?”
Nodding, she gestured to Levi. “He found me wandering in the woods. I tried to use them as a shortcut to Loveworth. He asked if I wanted to come live here at Hidden Grove. I said yes. Been here ever since.”
“I need to speak with Rainier,” Levi said, interrupting. “Linnea, can you help get Juniper situated?”
She put a protective arm around me. “Of course.”
When Levi handed me off to Linnea, I had a strange feeling of melancholy. I’d felt so safe when I was with him, and now, that protective bubble had burst. I wanted to argue and stay with him, but I shoved that urge down, determined to show him I was an independent person worthy of his help.
Eugenia glared at me before she touched Levi’s arm.
“You and I need to talk,” she said, letting her fingers linger on his forearm.
“Later,” he said, stepping out of her reach.
He departed, talking in hushed tones with Rainier, leaving Eugenia looking hurt and sullen.
“Come on,” she said, waving to the women in her little entourage. “We need to go churn the butter.”
Churn the butter? It was like I’d stepped back in time. At least there were some electric lights on in the cabins. Also, I didn’t notice anything that looked like an outhouse. That was good, I suppose.
“Let’s get you a spot,” Linnea said, leading me toward one of the cabins.
“This is crazy,” I said, tearing my eyes from Eugenia’s departing form. “How long has this place been here?”
“Years,” Linnea said. “Decades. Levi started it a few years after he was exiled from the Idlewild pack. You know he was the alpha there over a hundred years ago, right?”
Every kid in Idlewild knew that. It was something we’d brag about to the other packs. The Demon Wolf himself came from our pack, don’t mess with us, etcetera, etcetera.
“And it’s all people who ran away from their packs?” I asked, as she led me into a cabin.
It was set up almost like a college dorm.
A hallway with doors, and through each was a small bedroom.
Most looked to be occupied, but Linnea led me to a room that was empty and sparse.
The bed looked like it had been handmade, but a real mattress and pillows sat upon it.
The desk and chair in the room also looked like it had been handmade.
“Almost everyone here was a reject in one way or another. They either rejected their pairing, or they were rejected themselves,” Linnea explained.
“Many of them entered the forest looking for Levi.” She grimaced.
“Sort of a suicidal idea, I think. Most grew up believing the old stories and decided a quick death by the Demon Wolf was better than a life of misery. Lucky for them, Levi isn’t a monster.
In fact, he’s very kind. Quiet, sullen, anti-social? Yes, but he’s kind.”
I sat on the bed, surprised at how comfortable it was. “Where did you get this stuff?” I asked, patting the mattress.
Grinning, Linnea sat beside me. “If it was up to Levi, we’d be living a spartan existence.
Reading by candlelight, sleeping in hay-stuffed sacks, and peeing behind trees.
Thankfully, some of us were able to talk him into some creature comforts.
Once or twice a year, Rainier or one of the others will head to a human town and pick up some things.
We have one truck stored in a shed near the highway to transport stuff.
Other than that, we’re self-sufficient. Gardens, animals, foraging, stuff like that.
” Chuckling, she shook her head. “It’s actually kinda nice.
No stress, no worry about who you’ll end up with. I like it here.”
Her voice betrayed no hidden meaning or lie. She really did like this place.
“Why are you here, though?” Linnea asked. “What happened?”
I groaned. I’d probably have to tell the story another hundred times. Might as well get started. “The elders tried to pair me with Anders Burnell,” I said.
“Is that bad?” she asked. “When I left, he seemed all right. I heard he was made alpha not that long ago.”
“Let’s just say, he’s not my biggest fan. I still can’t shift, and he looks down on me for that.”
“Ugh. I’m sorry. Was it awful?”
“He rejected me at the ceremony, in front of the whole town. I don’t blame him. He’s the alpha. He’d want a mate who could shift.”
She gave a resigned sigh. “Yeah, true, but holy shit, though. He couldn’t even wait to do it in private?”
“It definitely could have gone better.” Linnea seemed sweet, but I still wasn’t comfortable explaining that the reason I was really here was to get help winning Anders over. I decided to keep that fact to myself.
“You’ll be okay,” Linnea said. “Levi will help you get back on your feet, I’m sure. He’s done so much for all of us.”
Help. That was exactly what I was looking for. I decided to probe a bit and see if I could truly trust Levi to do what he said he would.
“Is he good at that? Helping people, I mean?” I gave a slight chuckle. “All the stories say he’s a monster.”
“I heard the same stories growing up,” Linnea said, smiling back.
“No, he’s nothing like that. Brooding? Yes.
A slavering monster? No. If someone comes to him with a need, he always comes through.
A couple of years back, a human woman lost her child on a hike.
She wandered into Levi’s territory and stumbled upon him.
She asked him—well, I think begged is a better term—to help find the boy.
Levi found the kid in a gully with a broken leg.
He carried him back to his mom, then disappeared into the forest like it was nothing.
Rainier told us the whole story. That’s who Levi is.
He’ll help, even if that’s just giving you a place to live like he did for me. ”
That put some of my fears to rest. If Levi would do that for a stranger, a human no less, then maybe he’d do it for me.
Linnea patted my thigh. “Let me get you some food and fresh clothes. We were finishing lunch when you guys arrived. I think there should be some leftovers. Do you like stew with potatoes?”
My stomach gave a painful twist at the mention of food. “That sounds amazing.”
“I’ll be back,” she said as she stood, then pointed at a small dresser on the far wall. “There should be fresh linens in there, and there’s a shared bathroom at the end of the hall. You’ll find a couple towels in that dresser as well.”
“Thank you,” I said, and I meant it. I needed a little kindness after the way that Eugenia woman had glared at me.
“No problem. We can chat some more when I come back. You can give me all the dirty details about life back in Idlewild.”
I grinned. “Sure.”
With a wink, Linnea hurried out the door. Relaxing, I glanced around my new room. If nothing else, I had a friend here. That thought comforted me more than I thought it would.
Out the lone window, I spotted Levi and Rainier on the front porch of another cabin.
Chairs turned toward each other, heads bent in low, urgent conversation.
I watched them, chewing my lower lip anxiously.
Could Levi show me how to be a real shifter?
And if I did manage to shift, would Anders take me back? I had to pray that would happen.
As if noticing my eyes on him, Levi turned his head in my direction. I yelped in surprise, turning my gaze away. No, he wasn’t a demon, but he was intense.