19. Juniper
JUNIPER
After the disaster with the painting and the Red Maw assholes, Levi put a halt to the seduction elements of my lessons.
“We should focus on other things for now,” he said the morning after rescuing me.
It made sense. We’d both done things to strain the strange mentor-mentee relationship we’d begun. That didn’t make it any easier to hear, though. For one, I really liked the physical nature of our relationship, so it made me embarrassed all over again for sneaking into his place.
“All right,” I said. “Like, what kind of stuff?” I’d be happy to go ahead and start something new. Maybe then we could leave this whole dumb situation behind us.
“Well,” he said, taking a sip of coffee, the morning sunlight angling through his living room window. “You said you wanted to understand what it takes to be a mate. I thought I could teach you the administrative side of things.”
I frowned. “Administrative side?”
He chuckled as he put his mug down. “Yeah. It’s not all group pack runs, sexy nights, and elder meetings. There’s a lot more that goes into helping an alpha run a pack.”
“Okay,” I said, patting my thighs. “What’s the first step?”
Reaching behind him, Levi grabbed a small stack of papers. “This,” he said, plopping the stack down on the coffee table.
“And this is…what?”
“Trade logs we use when exchanging items with other packs, credit lines we use at stores that need to be assessed and paid, supply lists for the pack that needs to be itemized and categorized, and also the pack bank accounts that need to be balanced.”
“Bank accounts?” I asked dumbly. “You guys use a bank?” I picked up a few of the papers. “Who the hell do you trade with? None of the packs I know have any idea Hidden Grove is even here.”
The smirk he gave me should have annoyed me, but anything was better than that angry expression he’d had the day before.
“We trade at a distance. I don’t want trouble around here, and I’m sure if everyone knew where all the runaway and exiled shifters were, we’d have trouble.
Rainier has a truck. He goes to other packs and sells our excess produce and eggs, as well as some of the crafts we make.
The handmade baskets, woven blankets, and so on.
And yes, we use a bank. I don’t keep the pack money under my mattress. ”
As I looked at the papers, I felt a little anxious.
This was a lot, though, for the most part, it was similar to what I did at my grandparents’ store.
I’d taken on the heavier load of administrative duties as they grew older to take some of their stress away.
I was positive I could do this. Anders would have stuff like this he’d have to deal with, and as his mate, I’d have to help with it.
Though, the more time I spent away from Idlewild, the less I was concerned with what Anders wanted or needed. But I was still desperate to stay with my family and friends and not be turned out as an exile, and the only way to do that was to be Anders’s mate.
“What do you think?” Levi said, watching me flip through the papers and files. “Think you can have all this handled by dinner tonight?”
“Tonight?” I yelped.
“It’s got to be done. Time waits for no one.”
Was this some sort of punishment? Some minor way of him getting back at me for invading his privacy?
“Uh…okay. I think I can get this all sorted out by then.”
“Great,” he said, standing up. “I’m heading out. I’ll be gone most of the day. I’ll see you tonight and answer any questions you have. If you’re up for it, we can try getting you to shift again after dinner. I have some other ideas we might try to get you there.”
“All right,” I said, gathering the papers and standing. “I’ll head back to my room and get to work on all this.”
Levi put his hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay if you can’t get it all done. There’s a lot to deal with. Remember, this is a learning environment. I said tonight just because that’s when I’d be back. I only want to see how much you can get done.”
“Sure,” I muttered. “See you tonight.”
I hurried back to my room, only throwing one glance over my shoulder to see Levi sprinting into the forest, his fur fluttering in the breeze. The snow was still melting, nearly all gone now, which made the walk easier.
I settled on my bed and flipped through the pages to get a sense of what was happening here. What I found surprised the hell out of me.
Hidden Grove wasn’t just a little village tucked away with no one’s knowledge; it was extremely well-functioning and self-contained.
There were electricity and water bills, which told me the water wasn’t from a well, and the electricity wasn’t stolen from a nearby pack.
The bills came from Harrisville, which was the closest human town.
That was nearly thirty miles away. It must have been a hell of an undertaking to the dig the water and power lines that far.
Not only that, but he had contracts in Harrisville to buy fertilizer for the gardens and feed for the animals. It looked like he’d done all he could to keep Hidden Grove off the map from other shifters.
Sighing, I pulled out a pad of paper and pencil and started working on balancing the pack’s bank account. Two hours later, Linnea knocked on my door.
“What are you doing, girl? It’s the nicest day we’ve had in weeks out there,” she said. “Come enjoy it. The high is going to almost get to fifty today.”
“Ah, yes. A balmy forty-nine degrees. Let me put on my thong bathing suit.”
She huffed and leaned on the doorjamb. “You know what I mean. Come on. Some of us were going to go for a hike later. Join us.”
I remembered the hungry eyes of the Red Maw men, and a shiver ran up my spine.
I didn’t even want to think about venturing into the woods.
It actually made me a little wary thinking of Linnea and the others going out alone.
When we got back yesterday, Levi had told Rainier and a few of the other men who lived in Hidden Grove what happened.
They’d decided to run more patrols to ensure the rival pack wouldn’t try to push any closer.
Levi was certain that the way he’d dealt with the intruders would be enough of a deterrent, but I wasn’t that positive.
“I’ll stick around here,” I said.
“Really?” Linnea looked disappointed. “It’ll be fun.”
“Yeah. Levi gave me some work to do. I should probably get it done before leisure time.”
“You’re such a teacher’s pet,” she said, but there was no malice in her words. “Is it at least interesting? Something to pass the time while I go enjoy the wilderness?”
I groaned. “Not really. I don’t think Levi chose this task because it’s fun or interesting.”
“Speaking of Levi… Do you know why he spread the word that we shouldn’t go too far into the forest for the next little while?
Rainier told us all last night at dinner, and none of us can understand why.
He wouldn’t elaborate. Said we had to go on the hike as a group too.
All he said was that it was for safety reasons. ”
I swallowed. Levi didn’t want anyone to panic. He’d told Rainier to be vague and had asked me to keep what had happened quiet for the same reasons.
“Not sure,” I lied. “Maybe he’s worried about another storm coming through?”
“Doubtful. You sure you don’t want to come?”
“I’ll be fine. Have fun,” I said.
Once she left, I got back to work, only taking a break a few hours later to grab a sandwich and some potato salad for lunch.
I brought it back to my room and ate while I worked on a plan to reorganize the supplies in the storage building.
After lunch, I headed over there to begin the actual work of moving and cataloging all the items. The building operated like a big commissary, where everyone could get what they needed.
It definitely needed organizing. Bags of fertilizer were stacked beside cans of gasoline—an explosion waiting to happen.
Canned foods sat on the same shelves as hand tools, and for some reason, the dried foods were in a back corner along with stacks of clothing and blankets.
Sighing, I started reorganizing, writing down the new locations for each thing and creating a map where everything could be found.
Three hours later, I was done and dead on my feet.
I tacked the map up by the door, along with a sign-out sheet.
That way, Rainier and Levi could tell who was taking what and when.
The sun was setting as I returned to my room. The books were balanced, the inventory taken care of, and I’d written up a calendar so Levi would know when each bill was due. Gathering everything together, I headed to his cabin. I’d just wait there until he returned.
I’d only barely sat down on one of the porch chairs when the familiar, lean shape of his massive wolf emerged from the forest. He stepped up onto the porch before shifting back.
He raised an eyebrow. “All done?”
“Mostly,” I said. “I figured you’d want to take a look and see if it passed the test.”
“Come on in out of the cold,” he said, opening his door. “I’ve got something in the fridge that I wanted to try on you. It might stir your inner wolf to come out.”
“Really? In the fridge?” I looked at him incredulously.
Looking at me with a pained expression, he shrugged as he stepped inside. “You’ll need an open mind, but I’ve heard it can help.”
“Do I even want to know?”
He tossed a few logs into the cold fireplace. “Just give it a chance.”
I sat on the couch, placing my notebooks and the papers on the coffee table. When the fire was roaring and crackling, Levi went into the kitchen.
“Remember what I said about having an open mind?” he said, peeking over the fridge door.
“You’re making me think I’m not gonna like this.”
He stepped back, a beer in one hand, and a skinned rabbit in the other.
I gasped. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“I know, I know,” Levi said soothingly. “But our inner wolves are natural hunters. They enjoy wild game, and they prefer raw meat to cooked. Have you ever had raw meat before?”
“Does sushi count?”
“Probably not. Not for a wolf anyway. You’d want a prey animal. Deer, squirrel, rabbit,” he said, lifting the small body. “We can give it a shot and see what happens.”
The look on my face must have told him exactly what I thought about that. Sighing, he opened the fridge again. “Sorry, we don’t have to. I’ve just been trying to think of ways to help you, and this was one we hadn’t done.”
“No.” I waved him over. “Screw it, I’ll give it a shot.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, but hurry up before I talk myself out of it. You did at least…uh…gut it, right?” I asked as my stomach roiled.
“I did,” he said and handed the rabbit over.
When the cool flesh touched my hand, I had to force myself not to flinch away in disgust. “So…do I just bite it?” I asked, looking up at him.
Levi nodded. “Try your best to open your mind to the wolf within; call out to her, and while you do that, take a bite. Hopefully the taste will bring her out. That’s the theory anyway.”
The clammy body felt heavier than it should. I closed my eyes and did my best to open my mind, sending positive welcoming thoughts out into whatever subconscious abyss my wolf might be residing in. After a few seconds of that, I lifted the rabbit to my lips.
The scent of raw meat drifted into my nostrils, making me gag.
Thankfully, I managed to control myself, open my mouth, then bit down.
The uncooked flesh gave way, filling my mouth with the mineral flavor of blood and flesh.
It didn’t taste as bad as I thought it would, but it was tough, and I had to yank my head to tear off a small piece.
Chewing, I tried to focus on my inner wolf, wherever she might be, but even after I swallowed, nothing happened.
I opened my eyes and looked up at Levi. “Nothing.”
His shoulders sagged. “Damn. Okay. It was worth a shot.”
“Can you take this, please?” I said, handing the carcass over.
“Yeah. I’ll roast that for dinner tomorrow or something.”
“Remind me not to come over for that.”
He laughed as he put the rabbit back in the refrigerator. “How about we look at what you did today?
“That sounds like a great idea.” I grabbed the beer and took a swig to get the taste of raw rabbit out of my mouth.
Levi picked up the papers, then sat beside me. Even though he’d been outside most of the day, he was like a furnace, his body heat radiating off him, warming my chilled body.
“Don’t you want to turn on the lights?” I asked. The sun was almost down, and most of the illumination came from the fire.
“I like it like this,” he said with a shrug. “Reminds me of the old days, before we had electricity and plumbing here.”
“Speaking of,” I said, tapping the electricity bill. “I thought you might have generators or something, but you’re actually hooked up to a utility?”
He nodded. “I figured it would be better that way. Less chance of things going bad in the winter. We do have a few generators, but those are for emergencies.”
“This place really is a labor of love, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I think so. I’m not even sure why I started it, but here we are.”
His leg brushed mine as he adjusted in his seat.
The touch sent flashes of memories through my mind.
My stomach dipped as I remembered everything we’d done right here on this couch.
Doing my best to push the mental images away, I walked him through what I’d done that day. As I spoke, Levi leaned closer to me.
“Wait, you organized the storage building?”
“Yeah,” I said, turning to look at him. He was so close, his breath ghosted over my skin. “Uh…why wouldn’t I?”
The smile on his face sent butterflies raging through my stomach. That, and the look in his eyes, told me everything from yesterday had been forgiven. We were back on good terms.
“I figured you’d come up with a plan, and I’d get some of the guys to do it,” he said.
“Oh.” I chuckled. “I did fine by myself. You can have them spread the word about the sign-out sheet and the diagram though.”
He held my gaze. My lips tingled, and all I could think about was kissing him again. I threw out mental waves of energy, prayers, and hopes that he’d lean forward and press his lips to mine. The flickering flames cast orange shadows over his jaw and cheeks, accentuating his handsome face.
An instant before I decided to lean forward and kiss him, he turned away.
“You did an amazing job, June. Honestly, I don’t think I could have done more myself.”
I tamped down my disappointment. “Thanks. I tried.”
“Come on,” he said, “Let’s go grab some dinner. I’m starved.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
I stood and followed him out, wondering if I’d done something wrong, or if he simply hadn’t noticed the sexual tension like I had. Either way, I was just happy he wasn’t still angry with me.