“Or, they were bystanders,” I add. “Elder Albert, you have the funds and the capacity to do the necessary background checks, much more than any other pack could do. I know that not everyone in this pack acted out of malice; some acted out of fear.” I pause, my thoughts lingering there for a moment. Former friends of my father acted like they didn’t see what was going on. I don’t know why they did, and I don’t want to know anymore. I’m not sure if I will be able to forgive them, but I want to begin moving forward from today on.
Handing all of this over to the council of elders sounds like the perfect solution. “For those innocent or victims themselves, they could either stay here as part of the new fortress or leave to join other packs. I know some of Tristan’s friends have to deal with a few traitors in their ranks; maybe they would like some new pack members. There are victims here, too, who deserve to live peacefully. Pretty much the whole omega kitchen staff, for example. But not just them. I don’t want the whole pack to suffer for what Jordan and his chosen warriors and allies did.”
“Anyone you want to invite to our pack?” Forest asks. “We can definitely take some of them.”
“Maria,” I say. “She was Rory’s friend and helped me escape. I strongly believe she saved my life. If she has family, they can come, too. Sophie, one of the omegas, took a great risk in helping me, as well. Maybe she and her family want to join,” I pause. “As for the poor girl Jordan groomed and wanted to have as his breeding machine… I’m not sure if I want her in our pack, but I would really like for her to go to a safe place.”
“I have talked to her,” Betty says quietly. “She is traumatized.”
“I thought so,” I murmur. “Maybe Tristan would take her in.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Forest says. “His pack is a good place, and will treat her well. I will talk to him.”
“If you want me to, Luna, I can work through that checklist of yours,” Betty offers. “I’m here for a while, anyway. I will seek out the people you mentioned and make sure they get the offer to move to our pack, and I will see that your belongings are returned to you. I assume the omega you mentioned—Sophie, was it—will be able to help me find what’s yours.”
I look around once more, ignoring the people who keep looking and gesturing at me. Forest takes my hand into his, and it sets my mind at peace instantly. It makes me realize it’s not weakness that I don’t want to spend one more minute in this pack. I’m just protecting myself and my sanity. “Thank you, Betty. I’d like to take you up on your offer.”
fifty-one
To the Future
*FOREST*
Rose hands a list to Betty—or rather, two lists—one, with the items she inherited from her parents and would like to have returned to her. She claims she doesn’t care about anything else, so if Betty and the maids miss anything, she doesn’t mind. The second one is a list of names. She already thought about this earlier and set it up before we came here. It’s pack members who helped her or who were kind to her, those who will be coming to live in our pack, if they want to.
“As usual, you are well prepared,” Betty says approvingly.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Elder Albert says. “This pack really could have had a brilliant luna.”
“Too late,” I chime in, wrapping her in my arms. “She is mine now, and I won’t let her go anywhere, especially not to be lunaof another pack. We all love her too much to let her go. She single-handedly pulled my pack into the black again, despite my mother’s gambling.”
“I didn’t do that single-handedly,” she argues. “You, Griffin and Martin did just as much.”
“We were more like your executives,” I say, not letting her share this moment of victory. It was her doing that my pack recovered the way it has. “You took over all the bureaucracy and finances the moment you arrived in the pack. Just accept that you are brilliant.”
“The alpha is right,” Betty chuckles. “You oversaw everything and took note of what the pack needed, and then organized everything accordingly. You are a born luna.”
“My mother really prepared me well for the task,” Rose admits. “She was great and started to show me the ropes when I was still a small kid. My father, too. He made sure I learned as much about other packs as an alpha would need to know, claiming that ideally, I would one day be my mate’s partner and we would assist each other. I am so thankful for everything they taught me. I don’t think I would have survived for that long otherwise.”
Elder Albert sighs. “Well, it’s this pack’s loss now, and Alpha Forest’s gain.”
“Absolutely,” I chirp.
Albert reaches out his hand to shake Rose’s. “I will not force you to stay any longer, Luna Rose. I will remain with Elder Betty and have my guards and warriors assist her, and the warriors from your and your allied packs. We have an actual lawyer in the prison pack, and will have him draft a contract for you to buy the pack from you. It will take a while for us to organize everything and rehome the pack members.”
“There is no stress,” Rose tells him. “I am just thankful that you will organize everything. Please take your time. And if youneed a place to stay and don’t want it to be here, please come to our pack.”
“We would love to have you as our guest,” I agree. “We’ll prepare a guestroom for you, or if you prefer, I’m sure you can stay with one of our elders.”
“Actually, I would love to meet Dr. Francis,” Albert says with a smile. “Thank you for that gracious offer, Alpha, Luna.”
With that, everything is set for now. Rose and I briefly talk with Griffin and instruct him further before looking for Martin and taking off with him. The three of us make a detour and stop at a small restaurant to have a late lunch. For now, I let Griffin deal with everything else. Rory is there to help him, and they will both assist Betty as well as they can.
“Are you okay?” I ask Rose when we have settled down and ordered our lunch. Funny, it’s an Italian restaurant, like a few months ago when we first met.
“You know what? I actually am,” she says with a smile. “I’m okay. It was good that I went to my old pack. It made me realize something important.”
“And what’s that?”
