Hannah
forty-nine
*ROSEA*
The original plan was to have breakfast together right after the interrogation of Forest’s parents, but it takes only one glance to realize that Forest is not in the right space for it.
I send Griffin ahead to meet with Martin and Rory, while Forest and I just grab something from the kitchen and then go for a walk.
Dr. Francis stayed behind to oversee everything.
Harry will be picked up by the guards soon, and Donna will leave too, though they will keep her separated from Harry.
She did help us by finally telling the truth and offering to be a witness.
Nothing she said was new to us, but still, to hear how callous and aloof they were about killing a young woman, just because she was fated to Forest and not to their liking, hits differently.
“How are you doing?” I ask quietly.
Forest takes my hand. “Okay,” he admits. “Just hits hard to realize how awful my parents truly were. My dad, a pedo and trafficker, and my mom… Well, not sure how to explain her mindset. She went along with everything my father did. She only drew a line when she saw he was involved with minors.”
“The bar is low,” I say. “She should have drawn the line much earlier. Do you believe he blackmailed her because of her debt?”
“No,” he says. “They were pretty much a team throughout it all and enabled each other. She didn’t even care that he constantly slept with other women. This is just so fucked up.” He puts an arm around me and pulls me closer. “Sorry, you’ve been through enough of your own.”
“It’s not a competition; it never is,” I say. “Please share everything with me.”
He nods tentatively. “You are right. You know… I knew they were fucked up. It’s just…
hearing the extent of it is devastating.
And to know what my father was up to all this time…
I don’t even know what to say. He was a regular with Jordan; I can’t even imagine what that means,” he pauses.
“I honestly just want to have him gone.”
“He will be gone,” I say. “And we’ll never see him again.”
“Or Jordan,” he says. “And Lissa.”
“Clemmens,” I add.
“And my mother,” he sighs. “At least Hannah receives justice now and will be able to rest in peace. I want to talk to her parents.”
I nod. “Let’s take Betty with us, though. I think it would be best if she were there, too, as emotional support.”
“Let’s do that,” he agrees. “Dr. Francis told me that her parents never believed it was a natural death, but no one listened to them… Obviously, because not only did my mother suck as a luna, she was also directly involved.”
“They deserve to finally know the truth,” I agree, thinking about my own parents. I always felt something was off when they died shortly after one another, but I never knew for certain. Until Rory appeared and told us what he saw, and then Jonah finally blabbed.
I know the truth now, and while it doesn’t really give me peace, it gives me a bit of relief.
“You know, the only good thing is that I met you through all of this. We’ll be our own little family now,” Forest says.
I smile at his words. “I would like that. And I wouldn’t mind a mini-me or mini-you in the future.”
“Oh?” His face suddenly lights up. “You are thinking about kids?”
“Well, not right now, but when everything has settled down, the pack is running, and we have grown into our roles, I would very much like to have children with you.” The thought surprises me.
I was adamant about not getting pregnant while I was with Jordan, but with Forest, I feel safe enough to consider bringing a child into this pack and my life.
“How many do you want?” he asks me.
“Two,” I muse. “Maybe three.”
“Then let’s do it,” he chuckles. “Everything you want, babe.”
“What about what you want?” I ask.
He laughs, “Obviously, my wishes align with yours.” He swings our arms playfully. “Thinking about a future with you just makes me forget everything crazy that’s happened.”
“It’s the same for me,” I admit before chuckling. “Talking about the future,” I pause. “What do you think will happen first: Rory and Martin coming out as a couple to us or Griffin finding his mate?”
Forest laughs. “At the moment, they are all adamant about not needing or wanting a mate; they are all stubborn. But then, I was stubborn until I met you.”
“I don’t think Martin is stubborn. I think he just adapted to his surroundings and didn’t dare to risk his life by stepping out of what your parents expected of him, but now? I think he is much more playful and more of a tease than we thought he was.”
“That might be true,” Forest muses. “If he manages to crack Rory’s shell, I will be impressed.”
“I am pretty confident he can do it.”
“Alright.” Forest squeezes my hand. “I think I’m ready to visit Hannah’s parents now.”
I return the squeeze. “Let’s go.”
The talk with Hannah’s parents wasn’t easy. Fortunately, Betty was there to provide emotional support to them. Forest laid it all out to them, explaining to them how he overheard his parents, the roles they played with Lissa, and how he teamed up with me to get justice for them.
Her father wanted to see all the proof we had, so we showed him the video of Forest’s mom confessing, while Betty took his wife and Hannah’s younger brother outside to get some fresh air.
“Please tell me he will never see the light of day again,” her dad murmurs, tears in his eyes, when we stop the video.
“He is being escorted to the prison as we speak,” I tell him. “When I met Forest, finding out about Hannah was his driving force. He wanted justice for her.”
“I might not have known her,” Forest tells the man. “But she was still my fated mate. And even if she weren’t, even if she were a normal girl who was in Lissa’s way, I would have done anything to get justice for her.”
“Would you have…” the man begins. “Would you have accepted the mate bond with her?”
“Of course,” Forest says promptly without a moment of hesitation.
“You say that with your luna here next to you?”
“Rose and I are chosen mates,” Forest tells him.
“We only met each other recently. But until then, I had my mind set on finding my mate. My parents kept pushing Lissa onto me, but I didn’t want her.
I always wanted my mate. And had I known that Hannah was my mate, I would have done anything to protect her, and I would have stood proudly next to her. ”
The man stares at me, a hint of worry on his face.
I smile at him. “I know Forest would have stood by his fated mate,” I tell him.
“If he weren’t a man with integrity, I would have never become his chosen mate.
Hannah will always be his fated mate, and I will always respect the role that was destined for her.
” I pause, putting my hand on Forest’s arm. Tell him, I link him.
Forest nods. “I will ask you now, not to tell anyone what we say to you… Until tonight. Rose and I will hold a meeting with the whole pack, as you already know.”
The man stares at us. “Hannah is the reason for the meeting?”
“Yes, we plan on telling the pack the whole truth. The elders already know; we told them early on. And my ranked members know the truth, too. The pack deserves to know what honestly happened, what my parents did, and how I met Rose.”
Relief flashes over his face. “Thank you so much,” he says. “Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” Forest asserts. “If it weren’t for me, Hannah would still be alive.”
“You could have just ignored the truth and never told us,” her father says quietly. “But you brought your own father down for her sake. That means a lot to me and my wife. She has never gotten over Hannah’s death, and I don’t think she ever will, but we can finally put her to rest properly.”
Things seem to go well, so I decide to do my job as luna and step outside to see what Betty and Hannah’s mother are doing. Hannah’s little brother is playing in the garden, while her mother and Betty are sitting with each other. Betty immediately notices me and smiles, inviting me to sit with them.
“I am so sorry, Luna,” Hannah’s mom says quietly.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“I should be stronger,” she states. “But I can’t stop thinking about… the what ifs.”
“I didn’t know your daughter, but seeing how beloved she is, I am sure she would have been a fantastic mate to Forest and a wonderful luna.”
“Do you really think that?” her mom asks. “She was young, and you are a born luna, while Hannah was just a normal girl.”
“It doesn’t matter. If she were empathic and willing to learn, she would have managed just fine.”
Hannah’s mother looks pleased by my words and nods. “She was such a sweet girl,” she says. “And so sensitive.”
“That’s why she was mated to Forest,” Betty says. “As Luna Rose said, she had the qualities to be a good luna.”
“I just can’t wrap my mind around the fact that she died because of that…”
“The former alpha and luna were vile people; they abused their power and were not able to see their wrongs,” Betty says.
“Do you think they would have killed any girl who was mated to Forest?”
“Yes,” Betty and I say promptly.
“They wanted him to be with Lissa because they were able to control her. She was their pawn. Any other girl, no matter her rank or her background, would have been much more difficult to control,” I say.
“Hannah would have never been a pawn,” her mother says. “She was so responsible and kind. She would not have done what Lissa did.”
“Yes,” I say quietly. “She wasn’t Lissa.” I raise my eyes to meet her mother’s. “Do you have pictures of Hannah?”
Her eyes light up. “You want to see them?”
“Of course,” I say.
“Is this really okay?” her mom asks. “I don’t want to insult you, Luna.”
“You are not insulting me by mourning your daughter and talking about her. Me being here now doesn’t take away from the fact that she was Forest’s fated mate.
When I met Forest, what drove us was our thirst for revenge and our wish to bring justice to those who died under Jordan or Forest’s parents.
Hannah was what drove Forest to break away from his parents’ grasp. ”
“That’s true,” Betty muses. “Now that you say it… only a fated mate could have done that.”
“He was beyond shocked,” I say. “Devastated by what his parents did, and full of guilt. But he didn’t hesitate once in bringing his parents down.”
Hannah’s mom smiles slightly. “It brings me a bit of peace to know that the alpha was so upset about her death, even without knowing her, that he immediately sought justice.” She pauses. “Can I really show you some pictures?”
“Of course,” I say. “Tell us more about her.”
Her mom rushes off to pick up a photo album while Betty and I remain silent for a moment. “This poor family,” I say quietly. “They did nothing wrong. Hannah just existed.”
“That’s the worst part about it,” Betty says. “That it just doesn’t make sense. Their child was murdered for no reason.” She pauses. “You being here and talking so fondly about Hannah is helping a lot.”
“I was scared my presence would be rather disturbing to them, but I didn’t want to shy away from my responsibility either,” I admit.
“It didn’t scare them, mainly because of the person you are. You are not jealous or threatened by Hannah’s existence, or by her having been Forest’s fated mate. You are a good person, Rose, and they’ve noticed. That’s what’s helping her parents.”
Hannah was an innocent person, completely caught in the web Harry spun. She didn’t have any idea what was going on. Just that one day, she found out the future alpha was her mate, and on the same evening was killed.
At least they killed her quickly. From Donna’s accounts, we know that Lissa invited her over and gave her sleeping pills. Then the alpha smothered her.
The insanity behind it all is what’s so mind-boggling. A completely innocent girl, murdered for being Forest’s mate. I have no doubts anymore that they would have killed Griffin too had Forest stayed too close to him.
“They were terrible people,” I say. “True monsters. I know Donna will strike a deal with the elders at the prison, for being a witness—”
“It won’t set her free, though,” Betty vows. “She will still stay locked up, just perhaps in a more comfortable location. I know it’s not much, but still, at least it means we can truly bring Harry down.”
I sigh. “You are right. For Harry, this will be the end of the life he knows. He will suffer. Narcissists like him and Jordan suffer the most when their reputation and their wealth are taken from them. It’s exactly what he deserves. To live alone and in disgrace until he dies.”
Betty nods. “That’s true. But also, you and Forest need to start moving forward from now on. You cannot let the guilt of others’ actions overwhelm you. Forest is not at fault for what his parents did, and you are not at fault for being his mate now. Not even Hannah’s parents hold it against you.”
“Tonight, we’ll present the pack with the truth,” I say. “That was the deadline we both set for ourselves. From then on, we need to move forward, as you said, and make sure to be the alpha and luna this pack deserves.”