“You do.”
“Not as fabulous as you do,” he prompts, putting his hand on the small of my back and gazing at me through adoring eyes.
Martin clears his throat. “If you don’t stop flirting, we might be late,” he says.
Normally, I’d say it doesn’t matter. Would make a good show, but we can keep that for the real big event we’ll need to attend in two weeks. Plus, Martin has his own tasks to carry out tonight, namely sniffing around the other betas.
When Forest takes my hand to lead me out of the house, I get a careful look at his parents. Donna looks like she just inwardly died, while Harry looks close to imploding. It’s hilarious.
Even more so when I know that the worst is still to come for them.
“Oh,” Forest turns to me. “I almost forgot. The elders contacted me.”
“What did they say?”
“Now that I have my luna, they want me to take over soon,” he says. “Officially.”
“You’d need to mark her for that,” Harry snarls.
“Of course,” Forest says confidently. My breath almost hitches a little at the thought. I am not sure if he is just playing along now or if he means it. But he is right. If I stay with him, he will need to mark me as his mate.
The last time someone marked me, it ended in misery.
He is not Jordan,Alora says.And Darien is different, too.
We fell for Jordan the first time,I point out.
Yes, but we were young and naïve, and frankly, there were a lot of red flags.
You are right,I say.His wolf had an awful temper.
He’d never have submitted to me, like Darien did,she says.He always made me feel small, even when Jordan was still courting you.
And Jordan kept love-bombing me,I say.Looking back at it now, all the suggestions he made towards me were actually putting me down. He was negging me. I thought I sucked, and that I was just that cold, mediocre-looking woman who should be glad he was giving me the time of day.
Nothing good comes of overthinking everything,she says.Talk to Forest about it the next chance you have.
I nod. She is right. We’ll find a way together.
“The elders said they want me to take over during the next full moon or the one after,” Forest continues, his hand still tightly around mine. I squeeze it slightly to show him I am still there with him. “That’s approximately in two months.”
“It’s more a technicality, at this point,” I say.
“That’s what they said, too,” Forest says. “Most of the tasks were already delegated to me, anyway.” He shows his parents a bright smile, as if he isn’t planning to completely fuck them over during the next weeks. “You deserve your retirement,” he says sweetly. “After all, you led me so well and gave so much to me.”
Martin and I exchange a short glance behind Forest’s back. Martin’s lips tug as if he is trying not to grin. Meanwhile, I shift my attention back to Forest and his parents. “I am just so glad you had so much support while growing up,” I say with an equally sweet smile. “You turned into the person you are just because of your parents, Forest.”
“That’s what I told the elders,” he says. “And they agree it’s time for you to be able to retire and live a relaxed life.”
I am sure this was nowhere close to what the elders were thinking, at least not the doctor. He clearly despises Harry. But just like us, he is playing his own game. And I hope he is genuine. I was fucked over by elders once, so my trust is shaky.
But Dr. Francis looked genuinely upset when I talked to him, and he equally looked genuinely pleased when we took down Lissa.
My trust is feeble. But I guess it can be rebuilt, at least I hope it can.
twenty-seven
First Steps in Public
