She’d often sat next to me during my work appointments, drawing the words I muttered during my visions. I hadn’t realized I spoke aloud when I was hit with them until Cassie had shoved a sketch in front of me, proud of herself for drawing a vision of death, much to my own horror.
I couldn’t shield her from the darkness in the world, not when I was a shifter and clairvoyant, but I didn’t want her so exposed so early. And now with the ifrit attack…
I just wanted to protect my baby.
“Shall we make some warm milk?” I asked her as she began to get out her pens, arranging them in order of her favorite colors. “Just like I used to with you when you were little.”
Cassie wrinkled her nose. “I’m notlittleanymore. I’m really grown up. Uncle Jackson said so.”
I laughed softly, standing up to head to my brother’s kitchen. Everything was homely, rustic, with beautiful wooden counters and a surprisingly tidy sink. I had envisioned Jackson to still be the messy teenager he’d once been. Quickly heating up milk that I found in the fridge, I brought it back to the living room, only to be stopped by a frantic knock on the door.
“Bryce Calloway, open this door immediately!” The high-pitched demand came from the other side of the door, accompanied by more knocking, and I set down the drinks, hurrying to the door. I yanked it open, my eyes widening to find the woman on the other side.
“Juniper?” I whispered, my eyes prickling. “Oh, my God!”
Juniper Leone hadn’t changed one bit since I’d last been in town. Her hair was still blonde and double braided, the way she’d always sported. Round glasses perched on the end of her nose, and bangs hung down to the thicker, defined brows that she raised at me. Her freckles were less pronounced, her blush more so, and I could only gaze at her, happiness rising in me.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she insisted, barging past me into the house. “I can’t believe the only way I heard that you wereback in town was because some women were talking about it at the museum?” She whirled on me. Juniper scowled at me. “The betrayal of you cutting me off was enough, but not to even tell me that you were coming back? It kind of stings, girl, I can’t lie.”
Her eyes cut to Cassie behind me.
“Who’s this?” she asked, her voice higher with surprise. “Oh, my God, don’t tell me—”
“This is Cassandra, my daughter,” I told her. “And I guess we have a lot to catch up on.”
“Youguess? Bryce, you have a child! You—you left town. You—Christ, I need to sit down.”
I laughed and immediately rushed Juniper to the sofa across from where I’d sat before. I took my space again, while Cassie just watched the two of us for a moment before picking up a pen.
“I have a lot of explaining to do,” I told Juniper.
“Just a little.” Still, a small smile lifted her mouth. “But aside from that, it’s good to see you. I’ve missed my best friend.”
“I shouldn’t have cut you off,” I admitted. “I was just… scared.”
“Of what?”
Of you finding out I’d slept with Mason and carried his child. That he’d find out where I was if I kept in touch with you. That he’d find out about Cassie.
So I kept it simple. “Just… the pack, you know? Mason, for one. You know I liked him, and he rejected me. I couldn’t really stand it.”
“Did you have to cut me out, though?” Her question was gentle, even if her voice was tight with hurt. “I would have been there for you.”
I shook my head. “I needed the fresh start, and I’m sorry that involved cutting you off.”
“We’ve been best friends since we were kids. Hell, we’ve been friends as long as Mase and Jackson have been. I hoped that would count for something, like being in on where you lived. Being able to keep in touch, you know?”
I bit my lip, nodding. Juniper didn’t know that Mason and I had slept together one night, and Cassie had been the result of that. If she’d known the truth, she would have pieced together that Mason was Cassie’s father.
“I know,” I told her, ashamed even if I knew why I had done it.
“Well, I’m not going to sit here and make you feel bad.” Juniper smiled brightly at me. “I want to know you again, girl! Why don’t we go out for coffee? Some burgers? Lenny’s Burgers is still open down on Main.”
“Still? God, that place has been thereforever.”
“Yeah, it’s Lenny Junior now running the place, but the Lenny we knew still buses the tables now and then, chatting away. What do you say? We’ll catch up, show Cassandra the town?”
I wanted to eagerly agree, but the thought of any of the pack seeing me out and about, indulging in food, made me uncomfortable. On the other hand, Juniper was toned from a lifetime of running as a hobby. When we’d been younger, she’d woken up at the crack of dawn to run laps around the main partof town. By the looks of it, she still did, and that left me feeling pretty down in comparison.
