The latter steps inside, his eyes wandering from Forest to me, and then to Griffin. He is only mildly surprised to see the latter here. “So, you are all in it?”
“Yes,” Forest says simply. “Come in and have a seat. We will finally fill you in on everything.”
One bottle of red wine, a few cans of beer and three bags of chips later, and we have shared all there is to share about my story and Forest’s, and how we began working together. We also make sure to fill him in on everything we know about Forest’s parents, Lissa, and also Jordan’s role in everything, including our suspicions.
Once we wrap everything up, it’s silent. Martin hasn’t said much at all, just listened to us and asked occasional questions, but now he falls completely silent.
“Dude,” Griffin says. “Say something.”
Martin brushes through his hair. “I… I don’t even know where to start. This is… I mean… By the goddess,” he exclaims, suddenly jumping up and pacing through the room.
“That’s more like it,” Griffin mutters.
“This is insane,” Martin huffs. “And I don’t mean the story; I mean Jordan, and Harry… and all of them. I had a feeling something was seriously off by how you took down Lissa and how the luna handled…“ he grimaces. “Harry and Donna.”
He is leaving out their titles, a clear sign of disrespect, especially coming from someone who prefers to act properly like Martin.
“This is… how can someone do that?!”
“I was shocked, too,” Griffin admits quietly.
Martin looks at me, his gaze going from worried to angry and back to worried, then sad. “I am so sorry, Luna. I can’t imagine what you went through.”
I am not sure what to say, as with every time one of them voiced their sympathy. “Fate wasn’t particularly kind to me,” I finally say. “But then… it led me to Forest. So, it’s not all bad.”
Forest smiles at me.
“But what are you going to do, Luna?” Martin asks. “Are you only here for a while? For as long as it takes Forest to get rid of his parents?”
“That was the original plan,” I say.
“So, it’s not the plan anymore,” Martin concludes.
“Of course not,” Forest says. “Like I am letting her go.” He frowns. “I didn’t mean for that to come out as creepy as it did.”
I can’t help but smile at his words. “You are anything but creepy.”
Forest’s eyes meet mine, and for a moment we just look at each other. A beautiful smile lightens up his face when he reaches out his hand and touches my cheek gently.
Griffin clears his throat. “I don’t think we need to be worried about the luna leaving us anytime soon.”
Martin nods. “Yes, I was stupid for asking.”
“Not really,” Griffin says. “The thing is… how will we go about this? I mean for the future.”
“What are you talking about?” Forest wants to know.
“Don’t get me wrong, no one needs to know she is your chosen mate. In fact, the way both Jordan and your parents treated you, it makes sense to just treat each otherasfated mates. Kinda hilarious to be honest. But I mean, how will you go about it? When will you mark Rose? To become luna officially, she needs to be marked.”
Forest looks annoyed, but before he can say anything, I take his hand. “He has a point,” I admit.
“I know, but we don’t need to solve that today. I will happily mark youwhenyou want to, andwhenyou feel the time is right—"
“You would?” I ask, stunned by what he just said. It’s one thing to admit we are developing feelings for each other and to promise to stay with each other, but marking is forever.
Well, technically. Jordan managed to work around that.
Still, I know that to Forest, a mark means much more; it means everything. It’s not a promise anymore, it’s a commitment.
