A Test Run
twenty-six
*FOREST*
Ican barely grasp what happened over the last twenty-four hours. I finally got rid of Lissa for good, helped the omegas in their social standing, kissed Rosea and was able to let Darien run with her wolf. After that, we were both so tired we went to sleep immediately.
The next day feels strange, but not in an uncomfortable way. Just… new. Rose is with me now. She kissed me, then let me connect with her wolf and told me she would stay my luna.
But it’s all so new. I can’t fuck it up! Not with her. She is so special, she deserves the best.
That’s why I hate it even more that she will see me at my worst today.
“You look exhausted,” Rose says. “Is everything alright, Forest?”
Her expression is one of worry, and it makes me wonder again why everyone called her icy before. She is so warm and kind. “Can I kiss you?”
She looks surprised at first, but then smiles. “Yes.”
I make sure not to overwhelm her with the way I hold her or kiss her. I don’t want her to be scared of me or to be reminded of that asshat Jordan. He was an alpha too, and obviously the worst kind of it. He saw her as his property, but I want her to be my partner.
My hand rests on her waist as I pull her closer and capture her lips.
Her scent is alluring. I don’t know how my mate would have smelled, and I will never know, but it doesn’t matter to me anymore.
Rose’s scent captivates me, the way she tastes captivates me, how she talks and smiles.
Rose’s hands are on my arms. She leans into the kiss, but not hugging me yet, or touching me.
I guess it will take a while for her to feel fully comfortable with me, and I want to make sure to do things at her pace.
Rose’s fingers touch my cheek when we draw apart. “You are worried about something, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but kissing you helped me.”
She looks flustered, yet she smiles. “I will help you anytime.”
That was an invitation, Darien says. It obviously was! She is telling us we can kiss her whenever we want.
I don’t think that’s exactly what she said, I chuckle. But I guess it’s pretty close to it.
She and Alora are amazing, he says.
So, you like her wolf, huh? I ask the obvious. The way he approached her last night was proof of how much he respects her.
She is amazing. So fearless and strong. Darien beams. I approve of them as our chosen mates!
Good, because there is no way I would let Rose leave us.
It’s not like I want to have Alora leave us either, he retorts.
I smile, happy that he is on the same page as I am. It gives me the push to be honest with Rose about what’s bothering me. “The alpha meeting is today,” I tell her.
She nods. “We’ll be leaving in an hour, won’t we?”
“Yeah, and I need to apologize in advance. I am not good at these.”
“I think you never truly gave yourself a chance,” she tells me. “Lissa was always with you, and your parents pushed you in a certain direction, but now you can choose your own allies to talk to. No need to focus on Jordan or any of the other losers.”
“You are right,” I say. “Still nervous. And I always look horrible at such events, too.”
She looks surprised. “I doubt that. You are incredibly handsome, Forest.”
Her words make my heart skip a beat, but I also know that dressing for these events is my weakness. “I look dressed up every time,” I admit. “Whenever I go to one of these events, I feel like I am playing the role of an alpha.”
“What would you normally wear?” I ask.
I sigh, barely able to look at her. This is embarrassing to admit. “Just some suit and dress pants, something that fits the occasion, you know.”
“No, what would you wear if you could pick your wardrobe?” she asks.
“You will laugh.”
“I won’t,” she tells me. “Just go to your wardrobe and pick an outfit you would feel comfortable in. Forget that it’s for a meeting. Think like both of us are going on a date in a fancy restaurant.”
“Okay, I guess I can try,” I say. “It’s probably good to practice, anyway.”
“Exactly,” Rose nods. “This is a small event, and we can both test the grounds a little. Jordan won’t be there, fortunately, but we need to be at our full strength for the next big gala.”
“You’ve convinced me.” I straighten my back. “To take it up with Jordan, I need to be myself and confident in who I am.”
What better way than to practice now, for an event where the stakes are much lower?
*ROSEA*
I watch Forest retreat to our bedroom, my heart suddenly beating faster at the realization that we might just be a couple now. I don’t want to say it out loud, too scared the second shoe will drop and something bad will happen.
But Alora is pretty sold on Darien by now, and as for Forest… he looks committed. I know he isn’t the type to say the things he said without meaning them. But it’s hard for me to believe it, and even harder to trust.
Fortunately, Forest isn’t pressuring me into anything. He seems willing to adapt to my pace, but I want to learn how to communicate better.
The door opens again, startling me out of my thoughts, and Forest appears in front of me, fully dressed in his evening wear.
He has picked a pair of black pants—not dress pants—they are of a thicker material, almost like a pair of jeans.
Plus a black, buttoned shirt with the top button open and a light grey vest over it.
It’s not the usual chic look the alphas of such an event go for, but it’s definitely a look that fits the occasion.
I can’t help but stare at his thick thighs and broad chest, accentuated by the pants and shirt he is wearing.
He looks so hot.
“What’s wrong with what you are wearing?” I ask.
He stares at me. “Are you telling me it’s good?”
“This is clearly your style, Forest. You look great.”
“So, no need to change?”
“No,” I smile. “Now let me match your energy.”
Forest grins and sits down on the sofa, waiting for me to get changed. I know what I am going to wear. Forest and I still need to make sure we are playing our cards right, and now that Forest has decided to go all out by being himself, I will do the same.
“What do you think?” I ask him once I am dressed. I chose a fiery-red dress that hugs my body, with an open back.
Forest’s mouth drops open, something flashing in his eyes.
“They call me the Ice Queen,” I tell him. “I want to show them just how icy I can be in a fiery dress.”
He keeps staring at me, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes dark. “Beautiful,” he growls before grabbing his phone. “I want to make a video.”
“No way!”
“Yes, definitely,” he exclaims. “Twirl around a little.”
“It’s not the twirly kind of dress,” I argue.
“Then strut the corridor,” he offers. “Or come out of the room like you did before.”
His words make me laugh. Maybe it’s silly, but I decide to go along with it.
I am not used to doing things like this, to joke around with someone, or to just be a bit silly, but with Forest, everything is much more effortless.
For him, I put on a little show, slowly stepping out of the room again, walking down the corridor, and even twirling once.
There is something about the way he looks at me, about how he seems to adore me, that just pushes me into doing unusual things, into being maybe a little bit more me, and allowing myself to discover new sides to me.
He takes my hand, pulling me closer to him and puts an arm around my middle. “Now a picture with both of us,” he says, reaching out his arm so that he can take a selfie.
The woman looking back at me through the lens is someone I barely know. Is that truly me? How long have I been here? While Jordan took years to destroy me, this man here has managed to put the pieces back together in barely two weeks.
I wrap my hand around his arm. “We’ll rock it tonight,” I say.
“I am starting to believe that, too,” he says. “With you at my side, I feel so much stronger.”
With his newfound confidence and my newfound sense of self-worth, we make our way downstairs and to the entrance hall of the packhouse, where Martin is waiting for us.
He stares at us, wide-eyed, when he spots us.
“If your goal is to shut everyone up tonight, I just want to say, you’ll probably succeed. ”
“Forest!” His mom comes strolling into the room. I haven’t seen her in a while. Donna looks a bit haggard and stressed. It must feel awful to have a whole house of cards suddenly collapse, not that I have any sympathy for her.
“What is it, Mother?” he asks.
His father is hot on Donna’s heels, looking equally as shocked when he sees us. “You can’t leave like that,” he exclaims.
Forest looks at me, and I smile at him. With sudden confidence, he takes my hand. “Of course I can leave like this.” He turns to me. “Do you think I should wear a tie?”
“Not at all,” I say. “It would kill your fabulous look.”
He shows me one of his adorable, boyish grins. “So, I look fabulous.”
“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 na?ve, 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.