“You must have been so disappointed in me,” I muse.
“Well, a little,” he admits. “But then, no one truly supported you either. I am glad to see you becoming the alpha you were always supposed to be.”
“You have great qualities for a leader,” Betty agrees. “The same goes for Rose. Unbelievable that Jordan would let go of such a competent luna. He is a fool.”
“He is a bit more than just a fool,” Dr. Francis adds, his gaze wandering towards Rose and looking at her thoughtfully. “I know you know that I have questions, and that certain things don’t quite add up for me. Not that I am complaining. What Donna and Harry did is beyond any redemption. The same goes for Lissa. But how did you do it?” He looks from Rose to me and back to Rose. “Why the sudden change, Forest? What happened?”
“Also…” Betty folds her hands. “And I don’t mean to pressure you, Rose, but I know from one of my contacts that Jordan wasseen buying a potion from a dark witch. An illegal substance, used to sever the bond to a fated mate.”
Dr. Francis stares at her. “Is that true?”
“I don’t know if it’s true,” Betty admits before looking at us again.
I stay quiet for a while before taking Rose’s hand. It’s her call to make. I don’t want to decide for her, and I don’t want to push her either. Silence lingers for a while longer before Rose straightens her shoulders. “I don’t have much faith in elders,” she finally says honestly.
Dr. Francis leans back, meeting her eyes, and again, for a long time, there is silence. “If what Betty said is right, he could have only done it with support and with someone to protect him.”
“Isn’t Arthur one of the elders of your old pack?” Betty asks. “I don’t know him well, but I thought he was a friendly man.”
“Friendly, but with no spine,” Rose says. “I’ll be honest. I'd rather have an arrogant asshole as an elder, who gets on my nerves occasionally, but could at least step up and do the right thing when it matters, than a spineless nice guy.”
“Am I the arrogant asshole?” Dr. Francis wants to know, an amused smile curling his lips.
Betty chuckles. “Sometimes you are.”
“Arthur is one thing,” Rose says. “But we had two more elders, and they fully supported Jordan in everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were involved in the gambling thing too.”
“Rose…” Dr. Francis pauses. “Or do you want us to call you Rosea?”
“I prefer Rose,” she says.
“You must be deeply suspicious of alphas, too, but you trust Forest, don’t you?”
She nods. “I trust him.”
“How come he earned your trust so soon?”
Again, it’s silent. This time, however, it’s Rose who takes a step back.
“We met under certain circumstances,” I say. “Trusting me was still a risk for her, but given both our circumstances, she was more able to trust me.”
At that, Betty and Dr. Francis exchange a glance. “By the goddess,” the latter mutters. “What happened? I know something must have happened, but I get the feeling it’s worse than we expected.”
“That’s because it is,” I admit.
Betty reaches out her hand and takes Rose’s into hers again. “Rose, I know trust doesn’t come overnight. And even without knowing what happened to you, I am well aware that your trust and faith have been broken over and over again by more than one person. But Martin and Griffin have earned your trust. Would you give us a chance to prove ourselves, too? I promise we won’t disappoint you.”
“How can you promise that when you don’t know my story yet?” Rose asks. “You don’t know me.”
“That’s the risk I am taking,” she says.
“I am not going to lie,” Rose says. “I really don’t want to tell you, but on the other hand, we probably could do well with your help.”
“Especially when we want to take down my father,” I say before looking at Rose. “And also, with the special task you assigned to Griffin.” For a while, we look at each other. I can see the fear in her eyes, but also the resolution. Our future is too important for the past to hold us back.
We both nod at each other.
“You might want to prepare more tea for this,” Rose says.
