The walk was horrible. It was muggy, cloudy and her clothes were wet and soggy against her skin after the rains hit before she left Kato at the cabin. One plus side was that the burn no longer stung as bad.
Getting closer to her family home, she could hear the happy chatter from dozens of people setting up to celebrate another year of New Moon, and to hopefully see their young one's find their soul mate.
Her luck seemed to run short as the first person she ran into was her father. Tall, dark and handsome as always, Jack stared down at his second born daughter with apprehension. "Why are you all wet, pup?"
Rowynn's indiscretion was obvious. "Went for a walk and got stuck in the rain. Am I not allowed to do that without permission either?" she snapped.
With a low growl, Jack removed his jacket and threw it over Rowynn's shoulders, obviously noticing her shivering. "Go get dressed. We need to talk."
With a curt nod, she looked down and moved quickly to get to the main house. Without even acknowledging family or friends she passed by, Rowynn made her way to her room and slammed the door closed.
Why was it so hard to just have a normal father-daughter conversation? She could never just sit down and tell him what was on her mind, why she was sad, or angry, or hurt. Rowynn could never tell her father secrets, for fear he would just yell at her or tell her she was stupid for making such horrible decisions.
She pulled back her hair, brushing it out and pulling it into a loose bun, and got rid of her wet clothes. She tossed her father's jacket into the corner and threw on soft teal coloured summer dress and jacket. She covered her bandage with her jacket, not wanting anymore people to see her giant screwup.
She hoped saving Kato didn't cost her more than she bargained for.
There was a soft knock at her bedroom door. Sighing, knowing it was either her father or Raine – or God forbid, Tatum – Rowynn called them to enter.
However, a face she hadn't seen in a very long time poked his head in and grinned. Rowynn's blue eyes lit up as she ran to hug her uncle, almost crying with joy.
"Uncle Bridger!"
"How's my girl?" he chuckled as he caught her in a vice-like hug.
Rowynn held back tears as she hugged her uncle and, after a moment, begrudgingly pulled away to look up at his grinning face. It was amazing to have someone here – besides Raine – who understood her. Even encouraged her.
"As good as I can be, given you-know-who," she muttered and took a step back. "How's Katy?"
If it were even possible, his face lit up even more at the mention of his wife – his mate. "She's doing great! She's so happy to be here and see everyone. We haven't seen you guys in two years."
Yes, it had been a while since her uncle Bridger could pull away from his own alpha duties to come and visit. He had his own pack and obligations since he found Katy. Besides Bridger, Rowynn loved Katy as she would a mother. The woman had been the only female to look up to after their mother passed away.
But that was something Rowynn wouldn't bring up. Besides her father, Bridger had also been driven to near madness after the death of his sister. It was like they had expected her to live forever and ever.
Nothing lasted forever – especially happiness.
Bridger's baby-blue eyes seemed to shadow over as he said, "What's this I hear about you and your father not getting along?"
Looking off to the side, she sighed. "It's nothing," she muttered before turning around to fix her hair in the mirror. She had hoped Bridger would take the hint and leave, but he never did.
"Rowe, you know I love ya' like my own. I love all you kid's, but no one loves you more than your Pa does. He's sad, Rowynn, real sad."
Whenever he was serious or upset, Rowynn noticed her uncle's thick southern accent he acquired from his father come out full circle. Her mother didn't have such an interesting accent, however.
"If he's so sad, he doesn't show it. He just gets angry."
Bridger sighed as he leaned against the doorframe. He lived in his old gentleman ways and never entered a girl's bedroom. Ever. Even if that girl was his blood family.
"To be fair, you're not the easiest pup to live with," he joked, chuckling, but Rowynn knew the underlying truth to that statement.
"Did you just come here to tease me?" she snapped, growing increasingly annoyed with her hair that seemed to want to spring in every direction.
"Naw, don't get mad. But seriously, you gotta' take it easy. He did the best he could after your Ma passed away, and in all the years I've known that guy, I've never once seen him cry, but the day Elle passed away, he sobbed. Today, after I talked to him about you, that same look crossed his face – like he was at the end of his rope."
Rowynn froze as Bridger spoke, never knowing that her father had even shed a tear, let alone cry when her mother died. "I'm not that bad," she whispered. Where the hell was this conversation leading?
"He just doesn't wanna' lose you, darlin'. He's lost enough. He doesn't want you to run away. I think that's what scares the poor guy the most. Don't think he'd be able to take it if there were no more Rowynn keepin' him on his toes."
"I'm sure there are a lot of people who would disagree."
Her hair finally seemed to want to stay put as she placed a pin to keep everything intact. Turning to face Bridger, she mentally groaned, as his face fell into a frown. Now it was story time...
"When you were born, pup, we didn't think you'd last the night, let alone twenty-two years," he explained and, as an afterthought, added, "twenty-two amazing, yet difficult, years."
She let out a tuff of air and placed a hand on her hip. "I get it – I'm difficult."
His smile was patronizing. "Well, you lived, and I think it had somethin' ta' do with your daddy. For a week straight after you were born he held you in his arms. He didn't sleep, he didn't eat – he just held you, fed you, changed you, and prayed to whatever is up above that if you lived, he'd do anythin' to make our lives better, and he did. He made it safer to be what we are."
Rowynn laughed, "And for that I have to stay here forever? Miserable?"
"Nah, you don't get it. I'm jus' sayin' he woulda' moved heaven and earth to make sure you lived, and you did. Might be cause' you weren't born like the rest of his pups. It was like you were human, like Jack-" He abruptly stopped talking after that last sentence.
Rowynn's brow lifted as she asked, "A human like... Dad?"
Bridger paled and ran a hand through his light blond hair. "Nah, forget I said anything."
"I heard what you said. What did you mean? My father is not a human."
"Yeah, yeah, he's not. I got confused. Forget I said anything."
This just made her more curious, but Bridger sucked in a breath and stopped talking about the subject.
There seemed to be something stirring outside and the air tensed. Rowynn and Bridger could feel something was wrong and – Bridger having his personal rules about going into a lady's bedroom – Rowynn moved to her window to peek outside.
"Why is Reach here?" she asked, looking to her uncle.
Bridger's sunny face turned cold as he left the doorway, and bolted downstairs. Rowynn continued to look outside the window, watching as her father 'greeted' the older alpha male with a stale handshake.
Words were exchanged, but something that was said made Rowynn panic as she saw her father's broad shoulders shake with rage. She ran to her door and made her way downstairs, worry creeping into her subconscious.
She stayed low as people continued to mingle and laugh, while occasionally having something to eat and drink. So many people crowded the grounds and Rowynn didn't know anyone besides those from her own pack. Moving quickly through the chattering crowds, she noticed her father was no longer talking to Reach, but at the centre of a group of young women.
He looked bored as he spoke, saying something that made a woman laugh and touch his arm. Rowynn felt the contents of what little she had eaten today rise to her throat, but gulped it back down. God forbid she knew why any woman would take interest in her boring father, but she supposed looks trumped personality.
Raine made his way past the group and threw his father a small smirk before making a beeline for his sister. Rowynn rolled her eyes and latched onto Raine's arm, needing the feeling of safety and familiarity amongst the commotion.
"Stop glaring at him, Rowe," Raine laughed as he pulled her away, walking towards a more open space.
"I just don't get why women would even waste their time," she spat, glowering at the air in front of her face.
"Stop it. They trapped him, like they always do. Guess it would be awful nice to be the Luna, when you think about it."
Her glare reached its way up to his face. "I don't think so. It seems so silly. You don't get to make the rules, you just sit back, get respect you didn't earn, and have pups. I'll never be like that," she raved, huffing and puffing as if throwing a tantrum.
He pulled away and threw her a serious look. "You saying Mother didn't earn anyone's respect? That Dad never listened to her and only made her sit around and have us?"
There was a moment of silence as they glared at each other.
"No, that's not what I meant," she finally said, not wanting to argue with Raine. She'd had enough of arguing over the last few days. "I talked to Bridger earlier."
Raine finally eased up and smiled. "Well, if he can't put you in a better mood, no one can."
She folded her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "He said something... odd."
"Odd?"
"Yes, odd, he said something about Dad being human..."
She looked to Raine and noticed him tense up and his dark eyes widen. "Yeah, yeah, that is odd..."
He went silent, as if not wanting to talk about the subject. Rowynn took a step forward, knowing he knew something. Raine didn't act like this unless he knew what she was talking about, but didn't want to discuss the matter. He was never the confrontational type while he was skin form.
Before she could question him any further, Liam came striding up to them, a big Cheshire grin on his face. He was always the social creature and lived for celebrations like this. Rowynn supposed that's what made the choice easy for her father to choose who would take over when the time came. Raine was too mellow, too reserved, and far too dangerous when he shifted to lead and protect a pack.
Liam's arm wrapped around his little sister's shoulder and he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "How ya' feelin', Rowe?" he asked, a little worry tainting the corner of his blue eyes.
She smiled and nodded. "Feeling much better."
It was hard to be around Liam. Even though he was big, tough and a little inconsiderate to those around him, he had a lot of love to give. He may not have taken time out of his life to pay attention to the problems surrounding Rowynn, but he gave as much as he got, she supposed. She wasn't as close to Liam as she was Raine, but Liam was the second person she would run to if she ever had a problem that was too big for Raine.
"Hey Brother," Raine chuckled and gave Liam a slap on the back sort of hug. "Everything looking okay?"
Liam nodded. "Yeah, scouted as far as the territory allowed and found nothin' worth investigatin'."
Raine nodded and Rowynn looked between them, knowing they were having a conversation in their minds. It irked her that she wasn't of high enough rank to know the serious stuff. "You know..." she started, "Kaia would have loved it here today. We've never had a New Moon on our land before."
Liam's head snapped to look at her so fast, she was sure she heard it crack. His eyes bore holes into her skull, his mouth inched into a straight line, and his face heated with emotion he rarely showed – sadness.
"Yeah, spose' she would have," he mumbled before turning and making a half-assed excuse about going to find Roark and left.
It pissed her off that he could go around pretending everything was fine, as if Kaia was gone and never coming back. Liam and Kaia used to be the best of friends; always you would never find one without the other. When she left, Liam changed, but so did everyone around them. Kaia was the glue that held everything together after their mother's death.
But now they were both gone...
Adverting her eyes, Rowynn folded her arms over her chest and sighed. "I didn't mean-"
Raine smiled and nudged her gently. "Yeah, I know. It scares you that everyone's moving on, but Rowe, we have to move on, or the past will eat us up... Like it's eating you up."
Raine's eyes suddenly swivelled to a commotion to their left. Looking over, Rowynn's brows furrowed as she saw Bridger having a heated discussion with Collin Reach.
They both looked irritated as Bridger growled, "We can fight this out another time, but not on my brother's land."
Reach chuckled darkly. "Jack will be on his knees begging me to spare him, just like you, Bridger."
Raine pushed passed Rowynn as he made a beeline for their uncle. It seemed Liam had also noticed the commotion and was making his way towards them. Her father pushed through the women that surrounded him and walked towards them – Rowynn knew he'd do anything to protect Bridger.
Both she and Raine paled as – from seemingly out of nowhere – a man appeared, with almost a dozen shifted wolves following, appearing from the forests that surrounded them. Everyone froze, stopping what conversations they were having, and Mrs. Peterson came up from behind Rowynn and put her arms around the girl.
"We have to go," she reasoned, but Rowynn wouldn't budge.
"Dad..." she whispered.
Reach moved forward. "The elder's passed the law today, Bridger. Today, we take away human-shifter relations, and supporters will be exiled or killed."
Bridger wouldn't back down – he'd be killed. Rowynn gasped as she went to move forward, but was pulled back. "Let me go!" she cried.
Mrs. Peterson shook her head. "Lyon won't let anything happen to your daddy or brothers, girl. We need to go!"
Yes, Lyon may have been devoted to her father and his trusted beta, but that didn't ease her mind.
There was going to be a war, and it was starting right before her eyes