“He was independent, confident and had his own head,” she surmises.
“How did you know?”
“They didn’t like him because they had no control over him or your relationship with him. If for whatever reason he would have stayed at your side, you might have had a real ally in him.”
I let my head hang down. “I told you; I was so weak.”
“Forest, if he and you had pushed your friendship further, he might have been in a sudden accident.”
“Like my mate,” I stare at her. “Fuck, you are right!”
We are interrupted by the waitress bringing us our main dish, and both of us are so hungry we immediately dig in. Meanwhile, I receive an answer from Martin, telling me he is on his way and will wait for me in front of the mall. His message makes my heart skip a beat. This is getting real. In not even two hours, I will be presenting Rosea to everyone as my mate.
It’s real.
My chance to regain my life and take revenge for my mate.
twelve
The New Luna
*FOREST*
Rosea and I use the little time we have to plan her background story. We decide to keep it as simple as possible. In case someone tracks her back to Jordan, it shouldn’t make her look like a complete liar. She comes from old money, has family in Europe, and that’s all anyone needs to know about her private life. With everything else, concerning her education in particular, we will stick to the truth. We will also keep her name but call her by the short form, Rose.
Rosea herself doesn’t seem too bothered by it, claiming that people aren’t as interested in others as I believe they would be.
“Oh, and we will tell everyone that we met in this restaurant over lunch,” she tells me.
“Bumped into each other, basically,” I say. “It was fate.”
“Obviously.”
She smiles slightly. “Is it time?”
“It is.” I straighten my shoulders and take a deep breath. I have got this.Darien, are you with me here?
I have never been more on board with something,he says, his eyes glinting slightly.
When I act weird or forget to play my role, call me out for it.
He frowns.Will you listen? Because, usually, you pretty much ignore my opinion.
I am sorry,I sigh.You are right. But I promise I will listen. Rosea is risking her life for me, and I will make sure not to disappoint her. We need her help, but she needs ours as well.
He nods.Don’t worry. When you feel anxious, think about what our parents said last night. How they said it and what they did, and then cling to the anger you feel.
That’s actually not the worst strategy. But there is no time to continue chatting with my wolf, so I get up, grab Rosea’s suitcase and reach out my hand to her. She takes it confidently, letting me lead her out of the mall. I remember what she said about taking charge, and I decide to test it on Martin, now.
True to his word, he is waiting for us at the parking lot already, running towards me the moment he sees me. “Alpha,” he exclaims. “I was so worried. You left without me. I should have been there to…“ he pauses, his eyes moving from me to Rosea and then to our hands.
Rosea smiles at him. “So, this is your beta, Forest? Martin, was it?”
I nod. “Allow me to introduce both of you to each other. Martin is going to be my beta,” I tell her before putting my arm around her shoulder. I try to cling to the empowering feeling she gave me today, simply by listening to me and by valuing my opinion, then I beam at Martin. “This is Rose, my mate.”
Martin’s mouth drops open. He obviously needs a moment to recover; then, however, his eyes light up, and he jumps forward to smack my shoulder excitedly. “I am so happy for you, Alpha Forest. Such amazing news! So, that’s why you were out so long.”
“I literally bumped into her today,” I say with a smile.
