I smile at the small group who have gathered around Forest and me, trying to filter out the others. I spot some men who are standing behind Jordan now, clearly on his side. No matter what they hear or what I say, nothing will change their mind, for whatever reason.
And there is also a group of attendees who are very obviously trying to remain in the background, not saying or doing anything. Although, what Jordan just revealed about himself should be outrageous to them.
It makes me wonder what kind of power he has over them.
But I don’t focus on them right now; I look at the group that has gathered around Forest and me. These are the people who seem to be on Forest’s side, or at least those who want to hear him out. He is not as alone as he thought he would be. The other alphas who look appalled now, the ones who knew my dad, and by extension me, perhaps they just hate Jordan.
As for Jordan’s goons and the silent crowd, they are smart enough to stay out of the drama here… for now. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” I say. “Because I have found the best mate possible in Forest.”
Two strong-looking alphas convince Jordan to leave with them. When I look at him one last time, I can see the murderous look in his eyes that I know too well. Forest puts a protective arm around me, again, turning his head to send Jordan an equally deadly glare.
When I am about to turn my attention back from them, my eyes meet Clemmens’ for a brief moment. He is standing in a corner with some other betas, just watching. He looks at me now, wide-eyed. I don’t acknowledge him but turn back to Forest, taking his hand into mine.
“Come sit with us,” Leonard offers. While guiding me away, he leans toward me a tad. “Rosea, I know I did you and your father wrong by not watching out for you, and I know you have no reason to trust me. But I really liked your dad. I appreciated the good man and alpha he was, and I want to do right by him now. So, would you tell me the whole story?” He casts around, making sure no one is listening. “Because I know that Jordanwasyour fated mate.”
I nod at him. We are too far now to backtrack, and having an alpha of his caliber on our side will prove valuable. Leonard was one of my father’s old allies and friends, and while he didn’tcheck up on me, he also didn’t get into a new alliance with Jordan.
Unlike other old ‘friends’ of my dad.
It’s not enough to trust him, but it’s enough to try to get him on our side. Major parts of my story are out in the open anyway. We make sure we are far away from anyone who can listen in before I tell Leonard my story. We don’t mention much of Forest’s story for safety measures, in case something goes wrong and Leonard does betray us.
For now, he looks horrified. “I knew something was wrong,” he mutters. “Jordan is…”
“Insane,” Forest offers. “A sociopath. Completely sick in his mind?”
“Yes, yes, and yes,” Leonard says. “But there are rumors flying around that are unsettling.”
“Like him trying to have alphas sell their lunas to him?” I ask. “We have heard one of the men mention it.”
“Yes, Nico,” Leonard says. “He talked to me about it too, very upsetting. And he is right to be upset.”
“Do you think there are alphas actually doing it?” Forest asks.
“Definitely,” Leonard and I answer in unison. We exchange a look.
“Years of experience tell me there are always some bad apples,” Leonard says.
“My experience with Jordan told me the same,” I say. “Plus, when money is involved…”
“… and gambling…” Forest adds.
“… and addiction,” Leonard adds. “Then some people are ready to go far to save themselves.” He pauses. “All of this is very worrying. I have plans to investigate this with two of my close allies.”
“One of my ranked members is doing the same,” Forest says.
“Give him my number and tell him to contact me asap,” Leonard says. “It might be suspicious if I try to get too close to Jordan now, after having dismissed him for a year. But if a beta or gamma tried it… it might be believable.”
“Yes, he only needs to pretend to want to betray Forest,” I say. “Or to wish to outrank him.”
Forest nods. “Jordan’s ego is big. He might buy it.”
Leonard snorts. “He will. He is smart, but he is also arrogant, and his ego has grown into new spheres. He is not as guarded anymore as he once was, not as careful.”
I nod. “I agree. He is starting to get reckless, or rather, he thinks nothing, or no one, will be able to stop him anyway.”
“Exactly,” Leonard agrees. “We saw proof of that today. In the argument with you, he revealed much more than he should have.”
“I caught him off guard,” I say, not able to hold back a proud smile.
