The Plan #2
We reach the restaurant, and I lead her to a small, secluded table.
“When you are in an alpha meeting,” Rosea whispers towards me.
“And maybe chatting with someone at the bar, they sometimes expect you to take charge of the situation. Like, you should try this drink or that. Or Bartender, bring us one each.”
“They do?”
“Yes, it’s a bit of a pissing contest. You want to impress them. I am not talking about Jordan and his goons, but the ones standing in the middle, with no opinion on him yet. Those who don’t know you or him well,” she pauses. “Practice with me all you want.”
I nod, getting what she is hinting at. When the waitress approaches us, I force a smile to my lips, hoping I will come off as confident.
“Bring us a plate of antipasti as the first serving, please. And then the lasagna for my wife and spaghetti Napoli for me.” I turn to Rosea.
“They are famous for their lasagna here.”
Rosea plays a long, smiling brightly. “I had no idea. Thank you, honey.”
I continue by ordering some wine for us, giving precise instructions as to what to bring us, slowly gaining a little more confidence, thanks to Rosea’s silent approval. Once the waitress leaves, I sigh a little. It’s exhausting. “Too much?”
“Not at all, you did really well,” Rosea reassures me.
We wait for the waitress to bring us the first dish and our wine before starting to plan everything. “Forest, what kind of role do you want me to play?” Rosea asks. “I mean, what type of mate and luna should I be? What would your pack like to see?”
I frown, letting her question sink in. Rosea doesn’t push or hurry me for an answer, but starts setting up her phone, then dipping a piece of bread into the tasty olive oil.
She looks confident and graceful, no matter what she does.
I have noticed it since she woke up. There is a sense of dignity and elegance about her.
Jordan was an idiot for shunning and locking her in. She could have made him invincible, but that narcissist probably couldn’t bear anyone shining next to him.
“My pack doesn’t respect me,” I say after a while. “So, I’d say, the way you are now would be perfect. You give off strength and dignity, unlike me. I am perceived as meek and slow, so someone sharp next to me is exactly what would do my image good.”
She nods. “I was thinking the same,” she admits. “But it’s your pack, and I need your verdict on things.” She looks relieved. “Obviously, it’s going to be easier for me to be me than anyone else. I will need to try and be warmer, though,” she says. “Tell me when I come off as too icy.”
I nod. “I will.”
“Oh, right, I almost forgot.” She taps a finger against her lips. “I think it would be a good time to contact your beta and tell him to pick us up in an hour, so we’ll be on time.”
“Right,” I agree. “I will write him a message.”
“Do you know his number by heart?”
I nod. “I thought it would be good to always know the most important numbers.”
“I agree, especially in the case of an emergency.” She waits for me to send my message before continuing the conversation. “Is there anyone in your pack you trust?” she asks.
I feel my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. “No.”
“Don’t feel ashamed, I had no one either,” she mutters, frowning. “What about your future beta or gamma?”
“I don’t know my future gamma,” I admit, feeling how my cheeks heat up again. How embarrassing to admit that? “Because I don’t have one.”
Rosea, however, just nods thoughtfully. “And the beta?”
“Martin… seems to be okay. We had a moment when we had a beer together, last night, and I felt like… maybe he could be genuine, but I am not sure.”
Again, she gauges me thoughtfully. “You said your gut feeling told you Jordan was full of bullshit.”
I nod vigorously. “He made my skin crawl.”
“It’s proof that your gut feeling is correct,” she adds. “We can keep an eye on Martin and try to pull him to our side.”
I can’t remember the last time someone trusted in anything I did or said.
“Is there anyone in your pack your parents have an issue with, someone they don’t seem to like for whatever reason?”
I ponder her question, trying to think it through.
To my surprise, once again, she neither interrupts me nor pushes me, but she lets me think.
That’s new for me. Her reaction relaxes me immediately, and then all of a sudden it comes to me.
“Wait…” I blurt. “Yes, there is someone. Griffin! I found it weird back then, but ignored it.”
“Who is Griffin?”
“Our current gamma has a brother, who lives with his mate in another pack. They have a stepson, who they sent to live in our pack years ago. Their reason was that they wanted him to go to school here.” I pause. “Not sure if I buy that excuse.”
“Yeah, me neither. He probably didn’t fit in their new life.”
“Exactly. He stayed and started college here. He was incredibly capable in his warrior training. We talked sometimes when he was new to the pack. You know, we are of similar age, and I have difficulties making friends. He was new, and we just clicked.”
Rosea furrows her brows. “Your parents didn’t like him?”
“They didn’t.” I brush through my hair in exasperation. “I don’t even know why. First, I tried to do my own thing and ignore them, but I was weak, and soon we didn’t hang out with each other anymore. Unbelievable. As an alpha, I should have been so much more confident and stuck to him.”
I am really such a doormat.
“You were just a teen,” she says. “You were pressured by your parents.”
“I should have been stronger.”
“I don’t know about that.” Again, she furrows her brows.
It makes me wonder how she would look if she weren’t worried.
She mentioned that she was a smiley, happy teenage girl before she met that asshole.
“After what your parents did, I wonder how manipulative they were during your whole upbringing.”
“I just don’t get it. He lived with the gamma, a ranked member! Okay, so, he and the gamma weren’t really close, but still… he was a very good fighter.”
“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.