Chapter 1:Menace
Juniper POV
“What the hell happened to you!!”
My mother’s voice was similar to a cannon being shot out of a ship. It had the capacity to send you reeling or flinging yourself backwards in an attempt to save yourself. She’d always had this uncanny ability, since the time I was born, and as the years passed, her voice only grew louder and more ear-piercing.
Generally, that voice was aimed at me, and it was never pleasant.
What can I say? I’m not exactly the perfect, submissive daughter my mother had high hopes for. I wasn't the Alpha's daughter who knew how to manage a household, stick to a budget, or act like a social butterfly at the numerous events our family held throughout the year.
I was the exact opposite. I lived life on the edge. I refused to obey the rules, and I got a kick out of chaos. The forest was my home and the animals my lively companions.
Or more accurately, the forest was my necessary sanctuary away from this toxic household.
My attempts to get upstairs before I could be seen had gone up in smoke. I sighed, gritted my teeth and slowly turned, already aware that my mother’s expression would resemble one that looked like she was sucking on a sour lemon.
She looked at me. She saw my hair, which was windswept and messy, my crumpled and slightly torn clothing, the mud I had been tracking all over the floor, and inhaled sharply, dramatically putting a hand to her chest and acting as though I had personally offended the pope.
It was just dirt. A simple swipe with a mop and the floor would be good as new. At least it wasn't bear s**t or something equally disgusting. The last time that happened, I thought my mother might actually faint from anger. The screams she had let out had been heard throughout the grounds; they had been that loud.
“Juniper,” her voice went dangerously quiet, “care to explain what happened to you? Or give an explanation of why you were late to the meeting? The very meeting,” she continued, barely taking a breath, “your father was holding in relation to the summit we’re hosting this year?”
“Um, I forgot,” I tried, my voice as sweet as honey.
I batted my eyelashes for good measure, aiming for innocence.
She wasn't fooled.
I hadn’t forgotten. I hated meetings. They were stiff, formal, and utterly boring. The last time I’d attended one, I’d fallen asleep halfway, and my snores had filled the room. My father had been so angry, his face had turned red as a tomato, and he spent two hours lecturing me on proper etiquette and how I had embarrassed him.
The embarrassment was how boring the meeting was. It wouldn't kill him to change the tone of his voice once in a while instead of sounding so monotonous. I wasn't the only one who had fallen asleep, but my snores had been the loudest.
So why I had been invited, or rather ordered, to attend this meeting, I would never understand.
You'd think they would have learned their lesson by now.
“Try again,” my mother said ominously, “the mud for instance on your clothes and you?” she demanded once more.
I shifted on my feet and then gave up with a sigh.
She wasn't going to let this go. She also knew when I was lying.
“I um, well you see,” I said brightly as she narrowed her eyes at me, “I found a cave that I absolutely had to explore and well…” I gave a careless shrug, feigning nonchalance, “there happened to be a bear in the cave….” I finished as she looked like she was about to have a heart attack for real this time.
“A bear,” she said faintly, “you found a bear. Let me guess, you tried to pat it.”
She knew me so well. Of course I had.
“In my defence, it let me and its fur was so soft,” I moaned as she staggered back, “and it was so adorable I just wanted to keep it company. That’s why I forgot,” I shrugged.
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, looking as though she didn't know whether to scream at me or cry in resignation. She settled for counting to ten before she reopened them.
“I will never understand this affiliation you have with the wild creatures of the forest. For some strange reason, they tolerate your behaviour when other people would have been killed for such stupidity.”
It did not sound like a compliment.
I beamed at her anyway. She rolled her eyes and then looked past me.
My father strode in and halted, immediately taking in the scene, his eyes narrowing as he fixed his gaze on me.
“Get changed,” he barked at me, his voice dripping with impatience. “We have something to discuss once you come down for dinner. Do not push me, Juniper,” he warned as I scowled. “This is important. It affects you as well.”
“Better not be an arranged marriage,” I muttered without thinking, and my father stared at me for a long moment, his jaw twitching before he spoke.
“I would never put some unfortunate man in that position. You’re a menace,” he blurted out, speaking honestly, "it would take a saint to put up with the likes of you."
Ouch. I wasn't that bad. I was sure there were worse girls out there than me. Although, come to think of it, I couldn't think of a single one.
I rolled my eyes and rushed upstairs, wondering what made this summit so damn special and why my father was acting like this was some sort of life-changing event.
It was just another party, another hosted event where I would be expected to dress pretty and blend in the background so I didn't embarrass anyone.
Unfortunately, blending into the background at the summit proved to be infinitely impossible and it was all because of two Alpha men who were determined to turn my world upside down.
Jackasses.
