88. Juniper
JUNIPER
Levi’s cabin was strange with him gone. We’d arrived in Hidden Grove late the previous morning.
Space was tight in most areas, and the two bunkhouses had filled fast, along with the floors, couches, and even the greenhouses.
There had been nowhere else for me to go but Levi’s cabin.
I’d tried to get my grandparents to join me, but Linnea had ushered them and Beatrice into Eugenia’s old cabin.
“You’re Levi’s mate,” Linnea had said after our reunion. “If anyone should have a little privacy, it’s you.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Unable to turn down such an offer, I took my backpack over and made myself comfortable in the cabin.
The first night, the kitchen team had made up massive pots of steaming hot soup and bread.
I tried to eat, but my appetite was nonexistent, so I’d simply stirred my food around, then made sure my grandparents and best friend were settled in.
To pass the time that evening, I sat by the fireplace with the ring in my palm, trying to activate a vision.
Nothing worked. I tried and tried, until my ass and legs went numb.
I’d finally trudged off to bed sometime after midnight.
Now, I sat at the kitchen table with the dawn light filtering in through the window, sipping a cup of coffee, staring at the ring on the table. Would I ever figure out how to trigger a vision when I wanted, and not at some awkward moment when I wasn’t ready?
After another hour of useless trying, I went outside.
The ring sat heavy in my pocket, as I walked toward the big roaring bonfire that sat near the center of town.
Several people stood around it, including Elder Douglas.
The head elder of Idlewild had announced Anders and I were to be mated.
In a way, every single thing that had happened stemmed from that moment when he’d held up that card with my name written on it.
Something drew me toward him, some desire to close a circle. Or perhaps I only wanted to talk to someone who was in charge of something. Everyone kept looking to me to lead, but I didn’t know how. I’d been thrust into this with no training, and no idea how to guide people.
“Good morning, young lady,” Douglas said as I approached him. He shrugged deeper into his coat and jammed his hands into his pockets. “How are you today?”
“Fine,” I muttered, then, without preamble, launched a question at him that I hadn’t even realized was brewing in my mind. “Why did you pair me with Anders?”
The smile on his lips died, but he didn’t look away. He held my gaze as he smiled sadly.
“I wondered when you’d try to ask one of us that,” he said.
“All I can tell you, is that all signs pointed to the fact that you were meant for Anders. The star charts, the birth records, the moon cycles… all of it.” He sighed, a pained expression on his face.
“I have to be honest, June, none of us thought Anders was a good match for anyone, especially not you. I’m sorry. That’s all I can say.”
I huffed out a breath, the air misting out into the cold morning air. “If you knew he wasn’t a good match, then why’d you pair him with me?” I was happy there wasn’t any petulance or whining in my voice, though I felt it in my chest all the same.
Douglas stepped a bit closer to the fire and glanced around, almost like he was making sure no one was around, then lowered his voice.
“Can I tell you a secret?”
I frowned at him, unsure where this was going. “Uh, okay. Sure. It’s safe with me.”
Licking his lips, he nodded to himself. “The last head elder wasn’t…
he didn’t do things the right way. Instead of using the proper ceremonies and tools, he…
” He winced, almost like he was in pain.
“He tended to pair unmatched people to make what he thought were good matches rather than what fate would have chosen. He thought that if you didn’t have a true fated mate, then your pairing should benefit the pack. ”
“Wait,” I said, feeling like the ground had shifted out from under my feet.
The arrangement ceremony was an important part of pack life, and was supposed to be fully vetted using ancient and practiced research.
If the previous head elder had been putting people together using nothing more than hunches, then there were multiple pairs that should have never ended up together. This was a scandal.
“Are you saying that he didn’t choose people the correct way?”
“I told him it wasn’t accurate,” Douglas said. “We argued about it multiple times. Once Rafe finally retired, I swore to always do it the proper way from then on. That’s why you and—”
“Stop,” I said, holding a hand up. “The elder you’re talking about is Rafe Thornton?”
“Yes, of course,” he said. “He was the previous head elder. I took over for him about twenty years ago.”
I gave a derisive snort. “Asshole. I wish I could talk to him,” I said, more to myself than Douglas. Even if he hadn’t killed Naphele, this was almost enough for him to deserve death. “I should go dig up his fucking grave and punch him in the face.”
Douglas’ face pinched in bewilderment. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, if he wasn’t already dead, I’d go kill him myself.”
A strange look came into Douglas’ eyes. For a long time, he stared at me, then shook his head slowly.
“June, I assumed Anders had told you when you came back, and he accepted you as his mate. I thought he’d have let you in on the secret.”
A sudden squirming sensation filled my stomach, like a bundle of worms were trying to writhe their way out.
“What secret?”
“I was sworn to secrecy, but now that Levi’s alpha, I suppose it’s not an issue anymore,” Douglas said apologetically. “Rafe Thornton is still alive.”
“What?” I gasped, staring at him as if he’d lost his mind. “No. He died years ago.”
“Anders’s family only said that,” Douglas explained with a shake of his head.
“Rafe was growing old and could no longer continue his duties. He was once the alpha of Idlewild, then the head elder. He didn’t like showing weakness.
He went into hiding to spend the rest of his days in peace and quiet.
He made his immediate family—Anders and his mother—swear not to tell anyone.
Only the elders and his family knew. I thought Anders would have told you since you were his betrothed mate. ”
“This doesn’t make any sense,” I said. “Douglas, there’s no way. The man would be ancient. He’d be—”
“Almost a hundred and thirty years old, yes,” he said with a sad nod. “It’s the very far end of shifter lifespan but not impossible. I went to visit him a week ago. He’s… Well, he doesn’t have long.”
One of our suspects was still alive? Wasting away in some death bed? I couldn’t believe it. If I could speak with him, then maybe he’d have more to tell me than my visions had so far.
The thought—the very possibility—left me breathless with excitement. I was suddenly filled with an overwhelming urge to talk to Rafe.
“Hang on,” I said, a sudden thought occurring to me. “Where the hell is he? Where’s Anders’s mother for that matter?”
I hadn’t even registered if Monica Burnell had been at the school with the others.
Douglas shook his head. “She refused to go. She’s still at home. She said she wasn’t going to follow the orders of the man who destroyed her son’s life. I tried, I really did, but she and Rafe are still at her house.”
“Holy shit,” I muttered. This was my only chance. If I didn’t talk to the man now, it might be too late. I had to hurry. I grabbed Douglas’s arm. “Elder Douglas, I need to go. I have to speak with Rafe Thornton. Can you and the elders handle things while I’m gone? It’ll only be a couple of hours.”
He looked beyond bewildered. “Uh…I suppose,” he said, stammering. “But, June, Levi said the Red Maw might attack at any time. Why—”
“I have to,” I said, my voice straining with emotion. I could already feel some strange tug back toward Idlewild, a deep pull that I couldn’t describe. “If you have any trouble, find Linnea. She can help. She knows this place inside and out.”
With a sigh, he gave me a single nod. “June, you need to be careful. Why don’t you take someone with you?”
“No time,” I said, already backing away. “If I’m not back in five hours, then you can worry. Bye.”
Without another word, I shifted and sprinted into the woods, heading straight for Idlewild.
The whole way there, my head spun with possibilities.
Could it be Rafe? That night I’d spoken with Monica; the woman had acted strange when I discussed the murder.
Was this really the break I’d been looking for?
If so, in a couple of hours, I might finally be able to give Naphele’s soul the catharsis she needed to finally reincarnate.
Pushing my wolf body to the limits, I made it to Idlewild in just over an hour.
The town was eerie in its silence. I made for Monica Burnell’s home, relieved to see the curtains and windows open.
Shifting back, I walked up the steps to the door.
This visit would be much less cordial than the night I brought dinner here.
I knocked three times, then waited, hoping she wouldn’t ignore it. A few seconds later, the door opened as far as the security would allow it. Monica peered out, eyes wide with worry and wariness. When she spotted me, the fear disappeared, but the suspicion remained.
“What are you doing here?” she said. “Haven’t you done enough to my family?”
“Monica, I’m not here to argue about Anders,” I said. “I didn’t do anything to your family. If anything, Anders did it to himself. You and I both know what kind of man he is.”
Monica’s eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth to retort, but a distant and fragile voice called out.
“Who’s at the door?” A man’s voice, ancient and decrepit.
Monica’s eyes snapped wide, and I couldn’t help but let a small victorious grin spread across my lips.