“Honestly, compared to that, the thing with Eugenia feels small,” I muttered, backing away from the door.
Her eyes widened. “It’s that bad?”
Nodding, I told her about finding their encampment, how many more of them there were than we’d realized, and the revelation of a female alpha leading them, along with her demand.
“You have to be joking,” June said in irritation when I was done. “So, I’m not only competing against Eugenia, but this Desdemona woman as well?”
“There is no competition,” I said, reaching over and taking her hand. “There is only you.”
She stared into the crackling flames. “You need to hold off on announcing me as your mate.”
“What? Why? I thought we agreed?—”
“I know, but it’s not safe right now. We can’t allow anything to happen that might split the pack up. It needs to be at full strength if the Red Maw attacks.”
“Fine,” I said, though I wasn’t sure I meant that. I wanted to shout from the rooftops that we were together. That June was mine and I was hers. Anything that delayed that felt like a betrayal to both of us. Plus, if Eugenia had worked it out, then others in town would soon too.
“Are you hungry? I can go grab you something,” June said. “I think dinner just started.”
I wanted to tell her no, but my stomach growled loud enough for her to hear it.
“I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll be back in a bit,” she said.
I watched her go. Could I really keep what we had a secret any longer? Whether she truly was Naphele reincarnated or not, I couldn’t ignore my feelings for her. I couldn’t push away my need to be near and love the woman she was. As badly as I wanted to find Naphele again, did I really think I could give up a new life, even if it meant leaving an old one behind? I didn’t think I could.
35
JUNIPER
After breakfast the next morning, I walked to Levi’s cabin. He came out of the woods right as I stepped onto his porch.
“What’s wrong?” he said as he shifted back.
“The party,” I said. “I didn’t ask about it last night. Are we still doing it? Should we postpone?”
“No,” he said, and the confidence in his voice surprised me. I’d assumed he’d had some reservations about the whole thing. “We do as planned. Can we have it ready for tonight?”
“Tonight? Seriously?”
“Yeah. We really need to let the pack know about the Red Maw as soon as possible. I think a little celebration might ease the sting of the knowledge.”
“I guess so,” I said. “I’ll find Linnea and talk to the cooks and musicians.”
“Great. It’s gonna be amazing,” he said as he wrapped me in an embrace.
We were outside his cabin, where anyone could have seen us. I wasn’t entirely sure it was smart to be this open about our relationship now that we’d decided to hold off on telling the pack I was his mate.
Extracting myself from his hug, I looked up at him. “You’resure?”
“Positive,” he said, cupping my cheek. “It’ll be the best thing for everyone.”
“All right.”
I spent the rest of the day preparing for the party. Thankfully, most of the food had been prepped, and the cooking team told me they had enough frozen fish from a previous fishing trip, so they could do a fish fry for the main part of the meal. I enjoyed knowing Eugenia could go pound sand, since none of the fish she’d caught yesterday would be used, and we’d still have enough to feed everyone.
As the hours slipped by one by one, I grew more nervous and worried about how everyone would react to the news of the Red Maw. Not even all the work could keep my mind off a possible attack.
We found a large sheet of canvas in the supply building, which was about a hundred feet long. I planned to set it up as a windbreak between the dining hall and the bunkhouse, because even with the bonfires, the night would be cold.
