Page 85 of Unforgivable

I almost spit out my tea all over her. Choking, I sputter out, "what?"

She chuckles, mirth shining in her eyes. She clearly is amused by my shock.

"My idiot great-grandson isn't the first male of his lineage to fall in love with a false mate and forsake the true one."

I can't hide my flinch, but amazement quickly eclipses all other emotions. "You too?" I whisper.

I can see the tremble in hands that were steady just a minute ago as she sets her teacup down in its saucer.

"Quin brought me here, my so-called mate, when I was younger than you. I was not ready, Lyri. I wasn't prepared to find out that he already loved her. He didn't want me. He resented me, hated me even." Her eyes go distant, echos of pain that make my hot, swollen eyes well with sympathetic tears.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper.

Her eyes sharpen, swinging back to me. "Never apologize, child!" she snaps, "especially for things that are not your fault!" I straighten my spine, feeling chastened. "I thought I taught my son better. Well, he did well, my Macon. His son did alright, I suppose. But... Daan..." she sighs, her shoulders slumped, and mine follow suit. She knows. How? No one else could figure it out. Even my own family, my friends. My males, who are not stupid, took months to conclude that I was rejected, and they still don't know about Daan.

After a moment, she speaks again, "you see, when I came here about, oh, I'd say a quarter of the pack sided with Quin and her. It felt like more at the time, but really it wasn't. Everyone knew, you see, that I was the truemate. That's the only difference, youngling, between my situation and yours," she adds quietly.

"Why did he bring you here?" I ask.

"Because the pack demanded it," she sighs. "They wanted the true luna, but I won't go into details. The last thing you need is for me to tell you the ugliness of that time in my life. You know, better than any of those idiot females back there, anyway," she waves her hand in the general direction of the town with a sneer on her face.

"When I became pregnant, it wasn't easy. They had lost two pups. Miscarried, both of them. Pups from non-mated pairs don't tend to survive, but they tried anyway. Then there I was pregnant from what was basically a one-night stand." She glares at me, "it's how I know you weren't in heat when you stupidly gave my great-grandson your innocence."

Cue the awkwardness. I blush horribly.

"Anyway, I was pregnant. Quin became even more insufferable until one day, she attacked me." I shiver, and she nods, those shrewd, watery eyes taking in my response. "Yes, instinct won, and he killed his love to protect his unborn pup." She becomes pensive again, picking up her teacup and taking a sip.

"Did he try to punish you for her death?" I ask, almost afraid of her answer.

"Oh, heavens, child, no. Poor thing, Lyri, the pain you suffered because of a male's cowardly lies is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, and trust me, I have plenty of those."

"No, youngling, I went into early labor and nearly died. My wolf, poor girl," she sighs again, taking a sip, "she went feral every time he came near us. Macon was three months old before Quin held him for the first time."

She falls silent again. "What happened?" I blurt out. Obviously, she still lives in the pack, although maybe this explains why she lives way out here.

"He apologized, eventually, but it was far too late. I couldn't ever trust or love him, and I know that he lost his true love that awful day." She swallows, "He died of a broken heart when Macon was only twenty-two. Oh, my, over fifty years ago!" She sets her teacup down. Her hand trembles. I can hear the faint sound of the china clinking together. "I made sure he was buried with her. At least I can say I gave him that."

I have to pinch my leg, hard, to keep from breaking down into sobs for the second time that day. As it is, tears are streaming down my face. The pain in her voice is unrelenting.

"Oh, goodness, child, look at you. You're a complete mess!" she scolds me suddenly. "I didn't bring you here to wax on about my own sorry past. It's all water under the bridge now."

I nod, forcing myself to stop crying. Think about Sarj and Inuit putting putty in Ezra's soup. Or when they tried to adopt a kitten, and it ran into Thjis' room and peed on the bed.

"It doesn't look right for the Luna to be a sodden mess," she tells me.

I hiccup a laugh. "Luna, I have no desire, no, no, I won't, mate to your great-grandson. I refuse."

She chortles, slapping her knee excitedly. "I know that, goose!" She leans forward with an intense look in her eyes. "This isn't my time anymore, Lyri. I had to stay because Quin owned me. Females couldn't rule packs. You are a luna, as much as my idiot great-grandson is an alpha. Maybe more. You may be so much more. I never thought he'd make a good alpha. Too blind and selfish. But you? You're a strong female, Lyri, stronger than most females I've ever come across. And so very smart. With those three males behind you, who knows what you can do?"

I gape at her, my mouth opening and closing like a fish. Is she telling me what I think she's telling me?

"I don't really like this pack right now," I admit for lack of anything else to say.

She laughs again, "no? Well, too bad, youngling. You can hate them, as long as you do right by them. Maybe they need a little hate. They need someone to shake them out of their complacency. My grandson wronged you just as much as my great-grandson did. He attempted to kill you in the worst way. He made rapists out of males in this pack. He let his son lie to him, more than once, without ever becoming suspicious. And the pack let him do it. Shake this pack up, Lyri. Take your males and flaunt them. Let all these wolves know that a female is in charge."

Holy shit. Great-grandma is a feminist.

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