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 wehelp this new girl get acclimated.” The emotion in her voice told me that was thelastthing 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 wasnotpleasant. 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 arealmattress 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 forestlookingfor 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.”
