Page 25 of The Alpha's Baby Girl

He wasn’t one to speak openly about his feelings. However, he needed to speak to someone about Juniper soon, or he feared he would lose his mind. He grabbed a jacket and his car keys and hurried out of the house, hints of Juniper’s scent still hanging on the staircase.

A light drizzle had started and the sun was starting to set when Rowan pulled into the parking lot of the bar. The bright neon lights from the welcome sign reflected on the puddles forming on the ground as Rowan splashed his way into the warm, dry bar.

All his friends were already gathered together, and he was the last one to arrive. They sat at a table beside a window, chatting softly, all turning when he entered the bar.

There were only a few other occupied tables in the room, and Rowan breathed an air of relief. He didn’t feel particularly comfortable talking about how he was feeling in a room full of people.

He made his way to his friends and settled into the only available seat at the table. “I’m sorry, guys. Had a little delay with…work. What did I miss?”

They waved off his apology and mumbled greetings to him in response. All except Xander, who grunted and sipped beer from the bottle.

“Well, let’s see…” Blake replied, rubbing his jaw pensively in mock consideration. “Not much really. To be honest, there’s not really been a lot going on, so you can see we’ve been collectively enjoying a quiet drink.”

Articus smirked and shook his head. Callahan laughed, earning him a frown from Fannar. Rowan looked from face to face, taking in the very different men, and felt at ease. This was his tribe. This was his pack. These were the men who knew him.

“What about you?” Asher asked Rowan. “What’s been going on with you?”

“Ironically, a lot.”

Articus raised a brow in surprise and Rowan nodded. The look he gave Rowan said,And I’m only hearing about this now?

All the men at the table turned their attention to Rowan, and he wondered how to proceed. He decided to start with more pressing issues. Matters of the heart could be discussed later. If at all.

“First, I have a situation on my hands. A safety concern of sorts. There’s something killing animals in my woods. This sounds normal, until you find out that this…thing…doesn’t eat the animals it kills.

“I’ve been working to hunt it down or even find out what it is for months now, and it’s almost as if I’ve been chasing ghosts. All I find are the bodies of the slain animals, fresh ones every day. Some, with just one killing blow, others ripped to shreds like confetti.

“I have no idea what to make of it. Some of the bodies I see…” Rowan shook his head, taking a pause. All the men at the table listened to him intently, absorbing his words. “What I do know is that it’s big, strong and fast. And very deadly.”

“Deadly enough to bother one of the strongest alphas I know,” Articus said quietly.

There was a dead silence as the group reflected on it. Articus was right. Rowan was beyond bothered by the creature, whatever it was. It had an uncanny ability to stay hidden.

One thing was certain. Whatever this thing was, it was dangerous.

“Well, you know you can count on the help and support of the Frost Peaks pack,” Fannar said finally, breaking the silence. Just say the word, and our best wolves are yours to help purge your woods.”

“I am with the Yeti,” Callahan said. “We all are. Your problem is our problem. Especially a problem such as this. That was kinda why this group was formed at all, you know? After what happened with your parents…”

Articus shot Callahan a murderous look and Rowan’s face darkened. How could he forget? The rogue alpha had ghosted through their defenses and murdered his parents all those nights ago.

He didn’t think about that often, but he never forgot it either. The rogue had first killed Juniper’s adopted father, one of the pack watchmen. No alarm had rung out to warn of the breach, and while the pack had rallied to put down the rogue, it had already done enough damage.

Juniper had become the pack outcast that night. They’d blamed her for everything. If she had never gotten into the river, her father would not have been distracted with saving her. He would have stood a chance against the rogue, and maybe Rowan’s parents would still be alive.

This was a pointless train of thought to follow, and Rowan was aware. He couldn’t go back to the past and change what had happened that night. Nothing was going to bring his parents back.

And then he remembered what Juniper had done at the town square. He had seen a glimpse of her power when she’d saved the buck’s life, but watching her light up with power like a beam? He could never have imagined her to be that powerful.

What if she had always been powerful? She was only five when the rogue had attacked. Had she sensed the rogue and gone into the woods in search of it? No one could understand why she’d been outside in the first place, and no one had ever tried to find out.

What if her powers had pulled her outside against her will? The more Rowan thought about it, the more sense it made. She had carried the guilt of the deaths that night for years. It had become an identity of sorts. What if it had never been her fault in the first place?

After that incident, Rowan and his friends had come together to create the alliance. They were determined that nothing like that was ever going to happen again.

“Rowan?” Articus called.

Rowan blinked twice, returning to the present. “I’m sorry. Yes, I appreciate the help. I’ll let you all know how the situation develops. For now, no one has been hurt yet and we have…measures in place to keep everyone safe.”

---