She glances around a little before forcing a smile to her lips. “It’s nothing, Luna, just a few rumors.”
“Rumors?”
I can feel Forest next to me tensing a little, but he pretends not to hear anything and chats with one of his warriors who’s just walked past.
Nina stays quiet, the look in her eyes anxious. “If there is something worrying you, Nina, I will always listen,” I tell her. “That’s the job of a luna. If you can’t talk to me now, why don’t you visit me later in Alpha Forest and my office? I’ll be alone there.”
Her gaze wanders around, as if she is looking for someone. “Okay,” she whispers.
She takes my empty plate in her hands and gathers some more of the dishes. She is about to leave when I see her startle briefly. It’s only a fleeting moment, but I am sure I didn’t imagine it. She shuffles off, and I scan the room, my eyes focusing on Lissa. She wasn’t around when Forest and I arrived, and must have just appeared. Did her presence scare Nina, and if so, why?
I don’t have time to ponder it because I see her approaching our table, a smug look on her face. Without thinking further, I place a hand on Forest’s leg. “Trouble,” I mutter.
Forest looks at my hand in surprise, a smile curling his lips, just to be replaced with a frown when he sees Lissa approaching. “Not her again,” he says, annoyed.
I can barely contain my amusement at his exasperated expression. Lissa must have noticed, too, because she looks visibly upset. However, I still brace myself for what is to come. She wouldn’t approach us with such a confident expression otherwise.
“Here you are, Forest,” she blurts through the whole room.
Way to make a scene.
She walks over to us, making a show of it by the way she beams and waves at him. “I am so happy you changed your mind.”
Forest stares at her, completely stunned. “On what?”
“Oh, silly,” she giggles, smacking his shoulder before wrapping her arms around his neck. I feel a sudden surge of possessiveness going through me when I see the way she touches him. The feeling itself shocks me more than Lissa’s whole stunt.
To distract myself, I gaze through the room, noting how everyone looks confused. Everyone, but Forest’s father. Harry has the same smug expression on his face.
Yeah, whatever this is, he is in on it.
Forest pries Lissa’s hands off him, and contrary to the first time she hit on him in front of me, shortly after I arrived in the pack, he looks much more annoyed now. I don’t know what changed, but he is much more in tune with his emotions now, bolder and more confident.
“I told you once, I’ll tell you again: I don’t know where you are getting these ideas from. But I have a mate, and she is right next to me.”
“But that’s not what you said last time we met,” she says sweetly.
She pulls out a small device, which I instantly recognize as a recorder. No fucking way! Forest told me he had the feelingsomeone was filming and spoke extra loudly. But I wouldn’t put it past her to have butchered the source material.
By the confident way she presses the play button, I know I am right. Not even a couple of seconds in, I realize it’s worse than expected. I can hear Forest, loud and clear, but she obviously cut out parts, only leaving those parts that suit her narrative.
That bitch.
“Half of what I said is missing,” Forest points out, now clearly pissed. I can see a vein on his neck pulsating slightly.
His being pissed and reacting that way is good for his image, but it doesn’t help our plans at all. It might throw us back a lot, especially when Lissa plays everything in front of such a huge audience. I know some will smell her bullshit easily, but there are always a lot of people who are swayed extremely easily.
I know that better than anyone else.
I am contemplating how to react when suddenly someone pops up behind Lissa, taking the device out of her hands and stopping it from playing. Griffin smirks and puts a plate with bread on the table.
“What are you doing?” Lissa snarls.
“Oh, sweetie,” Griffin says, tone sickly sweet, and with a smile that I would best describe as menacing. “You truly think I’m such a bad gamma that I don’t keep an eye on the hyenas around my alpha?” He grins as he pulls his phone out. “Thatred-headed bastardknows more than you think he does. I don’t know what you promised that poor warrior you forced to record you and the alpha, but my promise was better.” He hands Forest his phone. “The pack might want to hearthis, Alpha.”
Forest takes the phone and presses the play button. Loud and clear, we can hear his and Lissa’s voices echoing through the room. This time, the gaps that she’d edited in are filled, and we hear the whole conversation. All of it. Every ugly detail of her and every amazing one from Forest.
My heart stutters when I hear how clearly he rejects her and how he defends Griffin and me.
