Above is Juniper's mom, Heather. Enjoy! 😊
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Juniper

My body hums with anticipation and anxiety as Mariah drives us back into Blackrose territory, my wolf pacing in my head as she begs to go for yet another run...one of dozens we've gone on since my first shift, a lot of them with our mate...who's greatly enjoyed every one of them.

I'm so happy to be home again, especially since Alpha Scarlett said Eva was going to get here a few hours before we did, and will be staying until tomorrow...which means I'll be able to tell her the good news of my first shift...and me and Mariah's completed mate bond. She helped make this possible, she deserves to know how grateful I am...

There's also telling my mom...which is a more complicated matter. She was supportive, though hesitant about me finding my dad...I know that she'll be thrilled about me and Mariah...but there is something else she doesn't know about my return home...

I brought dad with me...

I convinced him to come with us to Blackrose...to see my mother and tell her what he and the Alpha had told me...to try and talk things over...they need that more than anything.

He's following behind us in his truck, and he's just as anxious as I am.

"Junebug, I think you should tell your mom about your dad coming here...before she sees him. Otherwise...it might go incredibly bad..." Mariah murmurs, and I can't honestly disagree...my mother has a bit of a temper, she'd probably spend the entire meeting cursing him and telling him to go to hell if I don't.

"Let's just see Eva first...okay?" I ask, and she nods as her hand squeezes mine.

~Welcome back you two.~ Alpha Scarlett calls through our link, and I jump a little at how different it sounds through my wolfs ears instead through the magic link...

~Thank you Alpha...it's good to be back.~ I answer tentatively.

~I believe congratulations are in order Juniper, I'm happy to hear you finally shifted...and that your mate bond is complete.~

~Thank you...again...~ I murmur with embarrassment, and I can hear the Alpha chuckle through the link.

~You're certainly welcome. And since I can guess your first question, Eva has just left the orphan home and is going back to the pack house...you should be able to catch her there...while your guest waits in the pack house, I would like to meet him.~ She continues.

~We appreciate that Scarlett.~ Mariah answers as she pulls up to the pack house, my dad parking beside us. We all get out of our vehicles to wait, Mariah chuckling as I almost bounce with impatience...I've never been one to stay still for very long, me connecting with my wolf has only made it more intense.

Finally, after a few minutes of waiting, I see Eva walking up...and I wave to her excitedly to catch her attention, her surprised expression lighting up her face. Mariah literally has to hold onto me to keep me from running to her, saying that I shouldn't tackle her...

"Juniper! Mariah! It's good to see you, I didn't think you'd be back before I left!" She says with smile, "how did everything go-?" She halts as she notices Mariah's mark on my shoulder, exposed by my tank top...and then the juniper bonsai mark I gave Mariah, her eyes widening in surprise.

"You completed the mate bond? And shifted?" She asks, and I nod excitedly.

"Yes! You helped so much Eva! I wanted to thank you again!" I say as I engulf her in a hug, and she grunts and winces in response.

"Juniper, baby, don't hurt her." Mariah says, and I immediately let her go with an apologetic look.

"I'm so sorry...I'm still getting used to this." I apologize as I hold my arms behind my back, controlling my enhanced strength is still a bit of a challenge, and the fact that I'm an enthusiastic hugger doesn't help much.

"It's alright...it takes time to adjust for everyone." She smiles, rubbing her arms...I hope I don't leave bruises....Mariah had hers for three days...

"So...does that mean you met your dad?" She asks, and I nod and gesture to him where he stands in front his truck...watching the exchange with an amused expression, I motion at him to join us.

"Turns out there was some complicated stuff behind the story...he came with us to talk to my mom...to try and smooth things over." I explain as he walks up, holding a hand out to her.

"I'm Quill Warren, Junipers father...I heard you've been helping her a lot, and I wanted to thank you." He says, and she gives him a small smile.

"You're welcome, Juniper's a friend of mine...I was just doing what I would for any friend." She replies, and dad smiles.

"I'm glad you could help her...I probably wouldn't know she existed otherwise."

I smile widely at their exchange, wishing we could talk longer...but I need to find and talk to my mother, before she finds me.

"I hate to run Eva...but I need to talk to my mom, there's going to be a lot to explain..." I say, and she nods.

"It's alright, we can finish catching up later. Go see your mom." She replies, she and my dad walking into the pack house before me and Mariah get back in the truck to head to my moms house that's further into the territory.

Once we get there, we get out and knock on the door...and mom almost immediately answers it, pulling me into a strong hug.

"Oh baby! I'm so happy for you! You and Mariah are finally a mated pair, and you've shifted!" She exclaims as she lets me go to pull Mariah in for a hug.

"Thanks mom, I'm happy too." I answer as I take Mariah's hand in mine, but apparently my mother picks up something in my voice...something she's always been good at, and she gives that familiar look of-'I know something is up, tell me what it is'.

"June, what aren't you telling me?" She questions pointedly, "did something bad happen when you met your father?"

"No mom, it went great...nothing bad happened at all..."

"Then what is it?" She asks again, and I sigh in resignation.

"I think you should sit down...there is a lot to explain."

~~~~~~~

This can either go really good...or really bad...

I take a few deep breaths as mom rides with us up to the pack house, she hasn't said anything since she got in the truck...and my only conclusion is that she's mulling over the conversation we had about an hour ago.

Her reaction to my story was a roller coaster of emotions...but after I told her that dad was here, and wanted to talk to her....she became completely calm and composed on the outside, something I've only seen in two circumstances:

One: when there's a medical emergency and she's keeping everything under control...

And two: when she was upset about something and deciding what she was going to say and what to do about it...

Which considering the circumstances, are two options...and my mother is never predictable when she's like this, so I can only pray to the goddess that it's the option that does the least damage...

Stopping in front of the pack house, mom follows me and Mariah quietly, my mate holding my hand reassuringly as she feels my overwhelming anxiety...

Walking inside, we find my dad sitting on one of the couches in the foyer...and he immediately stands up as he sees us, his eyes going wide as he locks eyes with my mom. Me and Mariah stand off to the side, watching anxiously as mom walks up to him without missing a beat...stopping in front of him, they stare at each other in complete silence for what feels like an eternity...and dad's expression lowers from hers first out of guilt...

"Heather..." He starts, and as he trails off, what happens next makes my jaw drop in shock...

With the straightest face I've ever seen on her, she slaps him across the face, hard...the smack echoing through the foyer as his head turns in response...a red handprint forming on his left cheek.

Oh hell...that's not a good sign.

"Mom-" I start, but dad raises his hand.

"It's alright honey, I deserved that..." He says, and I look to see Mom's eyes watering.

"You should have just told me you dumbass." Mom says...and I don't even bother lifting my jaw off the ground as she pulls him down to her by the collar and kisses him...his expression as equally shocked as mine is.

Mom...is definitely unpredictable.

"I'm still angry with you...but I never stopped loving you, you know that? You should have told me Quilly...we could have run away together..." She murmurs as she raises a hand to gently cup his red cheek, and he holds it there with his own.

"I was afraid of him hurting you...I didn't want you to get hurt because I was selfish..." He says, and she grabs the other side of his face.

"I know...I know you just wanted to protect me...I understand that now, but trust me when I say that you wanting love isn't selfish...you deserve it..." She replies, and Dad starts to get a little watery eyed too.

"I'm so sorry for hurting you like that...for not being there for you, for not being by your side to raise our little girl...if I had known, goddess I would've hunted the world for you..." He says with a shaky voice, and Mom sighs.

"I forgive you...I'm still pissed, but I forgive you...though you certainly have a lot to make for..." She answers, and a bit of hope bubbles in both me and Dad.

"Does...does that mean...?" He stumbles for words, and mom smiles.

"It means that I'm willing to start over Quilly, but I'm not going to be as easy to woo as I was when were teenagers...you're going to have your work cut out for you. You think you're up to the task?" She answers, and a smile blooms across me and Dad's face.

"I do. I've never stopped loving you either Sunshine...there's nowhere else I'd rather be." He answers, pulling her into a sweet embrace...and I suddenly feel a little uncomfortable being here...like I'm intruding.

"That's a good thing, because if you leave me again I'll hunt you down and beat your ass...got it?" She says teasingly, and he chuckles.

"I got it...I've missed you Sunshine, you haven't changed a bit..."

Okay...we are definitely intruding. But just before I can bring it up with Mariah, my legs are suddenly sweeped out from underneath me...and I squeak in surprise to see her holding me princess style, a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes.

"Come on Junebug, let's give them a moment by having one of our own, we have some things to do..." She chuckles, and I blush tomato red as she totes me out of the pack house, my parents chuckling at the both of us as we leave...finding my half hearted complaints amusing as I pout with embarrassment.

I have everything I ever wanted right now...life doesn't get much better than this...