Voice of Vengeance

Chapter 5

(Juniper’s P.O.V)

My dad was carrying me through the pack territory toward our house, and all I could think of was Euan and the way he soothed me today. It’s been a while since I’ve had a panic attack like that, and for him to be able to get me out of it and then ground me. That was incredible.

“Are you okay Junie bug?” My dad whispers.

“Yes, daddy,” I say out loud since it’s just the two of us.

“Good. What were you doing?”

“Euan and I were at the lake; he’d taken me there because—” I stopped short of telling him what happened with Grant.

“Because? Don’t bother lying to me, Morrigan already told me what happened with that slimy little weasel Grant.” He growls.

“Well then, I don’t need to tell you what happened,” I whisper.

“Junie, do you want to reconsider being homeschooled? You’ve had to put up with so much that I think you need a break from the other pups and cubs in the kingdom.”

“So, tuck tail and hide? I thought I was of Royal Beta blood. Do Royal Beta’s run and hide?” I murmur.

He sighs, “No, they don’t but, Starfish, I’m worried about you.”

Starfish was my nickname that only my dad uses. He always said it was because when I would sleep as a baby, I looked like a starfish.

“You don’t need to worry about me daddy, I promise,” I whisper, before putting my head against his chest.

His heartbeat lulls me to sleep like it has countless times before when I would wake in the middle of the night following a nightmare. I wake up slightly when I feel my dad climbing the stairs, indicating that we had made it home. He puts me down in bed, where I roll over and I’m off to sleep once more. Sleeping through the night, I open my eyes and it’s morning once more. Goodie, another school day. I go through my morning routine, putting on another all-black outfit, topping it off with my signature hoodie. I make my way downstairs, smelling eggs and pancakes. My mom always makes the best pancakes. I take a seat next to Owen, my eldest brother and future Royal Beta of the kingdom, talking to his twin, Marcus.

“Euan and I are going to be interrogating those rogues today. I can’t wait to get my hands on them.”

“Not until you’ve had breakfast. And I don’t want any dungeon talk at the table.” Our mother says.

“Fine. Party pooper.” He whispers the last part.

“I heard that young man.” She says, her Siren poking through.

His eyes go wide, and he hurriedly says, “Sorry mom!”

Even though my mother isn’t his biological mother, she’s the only mother figure he’s ever known, and she loves him and Marcus as if they were her own. When mom’s Siren poked through, her scales would peek through her skin, her teeth sharpen to points, and her eyes turn black. You know she meant business when that happened. I couldn’t help the small giggle that I let out at the look on Owen’s face. He glares at me, flipping me off behind mom’s back, but he gets caught by our dad.

“OWEN! Don’t flip your sister off. Apologize, young man!” He booms.

“Sorry.” He mumbles.

“A proper apology.”

“Sorry for flipping you off, Juniper.” He says, his apology is completely insincere.

I grin at him before poking my tongue out at him.

“DAD! Juniper stuck her tongue out at me!” Owen complains, not wanting to be the only child getting into trouble.

“Good. You deserve it. Now, if you are done behaving like a toddler, we need to get to the dungeons. Alpha King Rian and Prince Euan are waiting for us.”

“You know, you can just call them Uncle Rian and Euan.” He mutters, getting up from the table.

“When you are working, you will respect their titles. This isn’t a game, Owen. You are to be the Royal Beta of the kingdom, and you need to respect not just their titles but your own.” Dad growls.

“I understand, dad.” He sighs.

Dad gives mom a hug and kiss before he leaves with Owen to the dungeons as I finish off my breakfast before heading upstairs to brush my teeth. Flynn and Rory pick me up for school; before I know it, we are in front of the damn place.

“Now, be good. No fighting.” Rory says, chuckling at his lame attempt at being funny.

I don’t say anything, I just flip him the bird before I open the back door to the car and get out, stomping my way to the front doors. Surprisingly, today is uneventful for me, the only whispers going around were about the rogue attack yesterday. There was no bullying, and everyone ignored me, so winning! My birthday is tomorrow, and I honestly hope that there are no surprises in store for me. I just want a quiet day both in school and outside school hours. I meet up with Rory and Flynn for my ride home, somewhat disappointed that Euan wasn’t here to pick me up, but I knew that he and Owen were probably still interrogating the rogues. My body shudders involuntarily at the thought of what they were doing to those poor men. My father would say that we shouldn’t feel sorry for rogues because a lot of the time they were rogues for doing something particularly heinous to get themselves banished from their kingdoms.

Flynn and Rory drop me off, and as I’m walking into the house, I hear my mother and father fighting.

That’s not normal. They never fight. I think to myself.

“We have to tell her. She has the right to know!”

“No, we don’t! She’s just a child and has already been through too much these last few years. Just let her be a child, Killian!”

“It’s not about causing her more trauma, Flo, she needs to be aware of the danger she is in. These rogue attacks won’t stop until they get to her.”

I manage to stifle the gasp that escaped me, before turning tail and, as quietly as possible, run upstairs to my bedroom. So, the rogues are after me. Why? I don’t understand what’s so special about me that would make them want to harm me. This is all too much. I need to get out of here, it feels like the walls are closing in around me. Suffocating me. Instead of leaving through the front or back door like a normal person, I step out onto the small balcony that is outside my bedroom window and step onto the branch of the huge oak tree that shades my bedroom. I shimmy down the tree trunk and run. Run as far away from that house as possible. Run as far away from the problem as possible.