40. Full Moon
forty
Full Moon
*ROSEA*
Forest has Dr. Francis check me over twice, and then wants him to look over me another time, but the man throws his hands in the air. “She is fine, Forest,” he exclaims. “I can check her four more times, and it won’t change.”
“I really am,” I say. “Clemmens might have knocked me over and injected me with wolfsbane, but the wolfsbane is gone now, and the little bump has already healed. He has not assaulted me aside from that.”
“He was ready to attack you, though.”
“Yes, Forest,” Dr. Francis groans. “And an attack that almost happened can’t be treated by me, because,” he lets out another exasperated sigh, “it didn’t happen.”
“I just want to be sure she is fine,” Forest pouts.
Dr. Francis looks like he is close to strangling Forest, alpha or not. “She is fine!”
The situation is so absurd and hilarious I can’t help but laugh.
“You are laughing now, Luna,” the grumpy elder mutters. “But just imagine when you two have children. Your alpha mate here is going to be the biggest overprotective dad in the universe.”
“Don’t worry,” I tell Forest. “You will be a great dad. And I am here; I will stop you when you are too overbearing.”
Forest puts his arms around me. “So, children in the future, huh? You can see it happen?”
“Yes, of course.” I think back to my younger self when I was with Jordan. “I made sure not to get pregnant with Jordan because I knew it would be a living hell for me. Rory’s former friend, you know, Marie? She snuck birth control to me, fortunately.”
“Well, I for one, think you will both be fantastic parents,” Dr. Francis says. “But please, just leave now.”
“What will we say about Clemmens?” Forest asks. “He is Jordan’s beta. Wouldn’t it mess with our plans if we imprisoned him now?”
“We’ll pretend he just disappeared,” Dr. Francis says. “Jordan won’t ask questions that way, he won’t look too much in our direction.”
“Are we sure that Jordan wasn’t the one who told him to kidnap Rose?” Forest asks.
“Griffin called and told me that, from what they found out, Clemmens acted on his own. Now, I usually wouldn’t believe a word he says, but after meeting his mate again…
the guy is pretty broken. I doubt he would lie now.
However, Jordan is smart. I’ll bet he knows that Clemmens was up to something.
However, perhaps we can try to spin it to our advantage. ”
“True, and if Jordan set him up, we can act as if we don’t know about it,” I say. “Martin is still mingling with Jordan’s crowd. He can play his role and pretend like he doesn’t even know what happened to Clemmens.”
“Exactly,” Dr. Francis nods. “And Jordan will all the more love to get his hands on Martin, and have him join his cause, or whatever. He wants to see Forest and you fall, and Martin is the best tool for him to do so.”
I nod tentatively. “Well, we could toss in the rumor that Rory appeared. Jordan knows that he and Clemmens were mates; he would maybe find it logical that Clemmens disappeared then. Maybe to betray him or to seek out Rory or to just run. Let his imagination run wild. Maybe he’ll even think that Clemmens switched sides. ”
“That’s what Betty and Alpha Leonard kept saying,” Dr. Francis admits.
“I, for one, am not the most strategic person, but Betty is. I’d have just thrown him into a cell for now and not be bothered.
However, Leonard knows both Jordan and Clemmens.
“ He looks at me. “And you do, too. You know how the guy ticks.”
“I think pretending that Clemmens just ran makes the most sense. From what Martin said, he was pretty shaken when they met and constantly got drunk. There is no way Jordan wasn’t suspicious of him,” I say.
“In fact, he constantly tested him when I was still around. Despite what Clemmens did, he always hesitated when it was about me. Guess part of his conscience was there, telling him not to join Jordan.”
Dr. Francis sighs. “He thought he had lost his mate forever. I guess being forced to reject Rory, and then thinking he died…” he pauses.
“The mate bond wasn’t there anymore to tell him that he might still be alive, but still…
Other people lose their mates and still do the right thing. It’s not an excuse.”
“What will we do with him, though?” I ask. “Aside from the pretense we keep up in front of Jordan.”
“I don’t know,” Dr. Francis says. “What he did is ethically questionable, and we can link him to some of Jordan’s crimes… but he is just a pawn on the chessboard.”
“He is gay,” I say. “I’ll bet he didn’t touch any of the women in the brothel, but he stood by and watched others do terrible things. Like he did with me.”
Dr. Francis nods. “Yes. But don’t worry, Luna, I won’t let him run free,” Dr. Francis says.
“My suggestion will be to have Alpha Leonard deal with it. He has the funds and time to have him locked up in his pack, and he can question him properly. Once we know how much he knew and was involved in, we can punish him accordingly. What do you want, Luna? Do you want him dead? Initially, it is your call to make.”
“No, I don’t want him dead,” I say. “If it weren’t for him, I would have not been able to make my escape.”
“Yeah, but if it weren’t for him, you might have made your escape sooner,” Forest says.
“That’s true,” I admit. “But I want revenge on Jordan, not on Clemmens. I couldn’t care less for him, and honestly, I don’t want to see or bother myself with him.”
“Leonard has contacts all over the country. We can strip Clemmens of his rank and have him sent to a place, far away,” Dr. Francis explains. “He has lost his mate and everything else, now. The question is, do you want him to suffer or be able to redeem himself?”
I stay quiet for a while, allowing the question to settle in and to think it through. I am disappointed in Clemmens, I always have been. While I understand that he was crushed that his mate might have died, it doesn’t excuse what he did.
But the main criminal is still Jordan. Without him, none of this would have happened.
Rory would have not needed to leave; he could have been with Clemmens.
Clemmens could have grown into a decent man instead of falling for Jordan’s traps and promises over and over again. His life would have looked different.
And I bet he is well aware of it now that he’s seen Rory return.
Had he made better decisions, he could have been with him now.
“Have him restart somewhere else,” I say. “I don’t need any needless revenge. My goal is Jordan, and my second goal is Harry. If I take revenge on every single person involved with Jordan, I’ll have a bloodbath on my hands. Seeing them lose their money and their reputation is enough for me.”
Dr. Francis nods, smiling at me. “I had a feeling you would say that, Luna. It takes a lot of strength not to be blinded by the wish to take revenge.” His smile curls into a full-blown smirk as he looks at Forest. “You might leave now and allow me to get some rest. But don’t forget to check the night sky when you do so. ”
Forest and I leave the infirmary hand in hand, while pondering Dr. Francis’ last words. “What did he mean?” Forest asks.
Once we step outside, both our gazes wander up to the sky. It’s a cloudless night, with stars sparkling all over the sky and a beautiful full moon dipping the whole area in a tinge of silver.
It’s a full moon night!
Before I can even grasp what it means, Forest has grabbed me by my waist. “Do you still want me to mark you?” he asks.
I look him in the eye and nod. “Yes.”
“Good, I just wanted to double-check.” With one swift movement, he has picked me up and thrown me over his shoulder, then he starts running back to the pack house.
“Forest,” I laugh. “What are you doing?”
He shifts our position and pulls me down a little so that I land in his arms. I wrap my arms around his neck. “I am just scared you will change your mind.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” I gently brush the hair off his face. “I won’t, Forest. I am committed to this.”
“Me too.”
“Then let’s show each other how much.”
Something in his eyes flashes, and he picks up the speed again. Are you truly okay with this, Alora? There is no going back if we do this.
More than okay, she says promptly. I can’t wait to be properly connected to Darien. Once we have a bond established between us, I can finally link him.
I knew that already. She is a wolf, and she always longs for the connection to another wolf, to a mate. It’s in her nature. But we had that sort of connection once, and it brought us nothing but pain. Do you like him? I ask. Darien.
It’s not like with Jordan and Pax, she says honestly. The mate bond was intense. And Pax was crazy about me. But the way he was… the way he constantly wanted me and all of me, and all of you, was scary too.
Yeah, I think something was wrong with both of them, and we refused to see it.
Rose, we had the crazy type of love that pushed us into a dark pit of sorrow and pain. We have experienced it. I am ready for someone who cherishes us now and sees us as their equal.
Me too.
I am ready for the sense of comfort this love can give me, for the way I feel protected and happy.
I love Forest, and neither Alora nor I needed a mate bond to fall for him.
We fell in love with him because he is a walking green forest, because he is fun, strong and kind, because he is not scared to show his feelings, his love or even his insecurities.
He can ask for advice and take it. I am not scared of arguing with him, I am not scared of saying my opinion to him.
I know I will be able to walk next to him and be his partner in all ways.
In the future, I can even see myself sitting on a bench with him, old and tired but happy, and having our grandchildren around us.
I want children with him. That’s the first time I have had that wish. I thought I was not the motherly type, but I want this life, with him.
I am shocked at how few doubts I have about being with him.