Voice of Vengeance

Chapter 9

(Euan’s P.O.V)

Walking home after dropping Juniper off was one of the most difficult things I’ve done in a long time. For some reason, my mind and heart were telling me to stay, to be with her, and never let her go. My body, however, wasn’t listening and so walking home in silence my mind wanders. The questions play repeatedly as to why the rogues are after Juniper. Why were they singling her out? Tomorrow is her 16th birthday and I hope that, for her birthday, we can provide her with the answers to the questions we all have about the rogues. My sleep that night was punctuated with nightmares of losing Junie, of her attack when she was 12, but instead of surviving—she dies. Shooting up in bed, my chest heaves, and my body is covered in sweat from the nightmares. I look at the clock on my bedside table, it’s barely 5 in the morning. I grab my phone and shoot Juniper a text.

Me: Happy birthday my Junie bear. I have a gift for you after school. I’ll be picking you up instead of the twins.

I know it’s still too early for her to be up, so I place my phone on the bed before getting up and taking a shower, washing the nightmares off me. I let the water fall against my back as I lean my forehead against the tile. The constant drumming of water against my back helps me relax my body and clear my mind. Once the water turns cold, I know that it’s time to get out and get ready for the day. I pull on sweatpants, tucking my phone in the pocket, and a plain black t-shirt, before heading downstairs to make some coffee. As I’m getting coffee ready, my phone dings, and when I open the notification on the screen it’s a text from Juniper.

Juniper: Thanks. I don’t want anything for my birthday. You know I don’t like celebrating it.

Me: Don’t really care, Junie bear. I got you a present and I have a surprise for you. I’ll be in my usual parking spot.

The three dots appear, then stop, then appear again. This cycles on for a few minutes, and I know that she’s probably cussing me out and telling me off in each one of those text messages she’s erasing. I can’t help but laugh when, finally, the message comes through.

Juniper: Fine.

I end the conversation there, knowing that she needs to get ready for school and that she’s already annoyed with me. The coffee is finished, pulling out 3 mugs for me and my parents, since the other inhabitants in this house are beginning to stir.

“Mmm, you know you’re my favorite child, right?” Mom says as she shuffles into the kitchen.

“Of course, I am,” I say, puffing out my chest.

Mom chuckles as she grabs her mug and fills it with the coffee I had made.

“What are your plans for the day?” She asks, taking a sip from her mug.

“I’m going into town to get Junie a present and then I’m going to take her out to dinner.”

“On a school night?”

“Mom, it’s a Thursday, and my birthday is this weekend. I want to do something special for her.” I mumble.

My mom narrows her gaze at me.

“You remember that she’s only 16, right?”

“Goddess mom! What do you think we’re doing!? We’re just friends!” I shout, shocked at the underlying meaning of her statement.

“Just making sure.”

Soon enough, all of my siblings and dad joined us in the kitchen for a quick breakfast before everyone goes off to school.

“We’re going to give the rogues a day to recover before we go back to interrogating them. You’ll be with me this morning for meetings with some of the Alpha’s of the kingdom.”

“How long will those meetings last? I need to get Junie a present and I have plans for her birthday.”

“You’ll be done before 1, so you’ll have plenty of time,” Dad says, eyeballing me.

“Okay, cool.”

The day passes slowly, going through these meetings with these Alphas. Most were territory disputes while others were about banishing pack members to the Rogue Lands. We take those banishments seriously, particularly right now. We are concerned about adding more rogues to the ranks of those that have begun attacking our pack. I make a mad dash out of my dad’s office as our last meeting of the day ends, making my way to the jewelry store near the center of the pack territory. Walking into the store, I’m greeted by one of the saleswomen, Bailey.

“Hello, Prince Euan, what can I help you with today?”

“Bailey, you know how I feel about the title. It’s Juniper’s birthday and I want something special for her.”

Bailey and my mom became best friends over the years, with all the jewelry my father has bought for her.

“Sorry Euan, can’t help it when we are in a professional setting.” She says with a chuckle.

She goes to one of the display cases holding a bounty of necklaces, but one catches my eye as she opens the display case. She pulls out the exact necklace I was going to ask for. It’s a rose gold crescent moon, dotted with diamonds, with a moonstone shaped in a sphere nestled into the moon.

“You read my mind B,” I murmur, as she hands me the rose gold necklace.

“Juniper is a special girl and deserves a one-of-a-kind piece. Let me get it wrapped up for you honey.” She says, taking the necklace from me.

She comes back with the necklace in a small gift bag before putting it on my parents’ tab, perks of being the royal family I suppose. Giving Bridgit a quick hug goodbye, I make my way to school since there's only a few minutes left in the day. Standing by my car, I keep my eyes open for Junie, it’s not hard to pick her out in a crowd with her all-black attire and the hoodie covering her face and hair. She’s walking with her head down, as always, and a small smile spreads across her face when she looks up to make sure I’m there. She makes her way toward me and once she reaches me, I pull her into a hug.

“Happy birthday, Junie bear,” I whisper into her hair, before kissing the top of her head.

She pulls away and beams up at me as I escort her to the passenger side of the car, helping her slide in and closing the door before making my way back to the driver’s side.

“Where are we going?” She asks.

“It’s a surprise,” I say.

“You know I hate surprises. Is my outfit okay for wherever it is you are taking me?”

“You look perfect,” I say as I drive us to our destination.

Pulling up to the restaurant, Juniper’s heart rate begins to rise.

“Why are you nervous?”

“I’m not dressed for going out to eat.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, I booked out the place so it will just be us, the server, and the cook.”