"He's the reason my entire family died," Janet explained.
"Explain. There is no way Ethan would do something like this," Lana retorted.
"You barely know him. How would you even know?" Janet snapped.
"I know Ethan, and I know he wouldn't do something like that. Garrett wouldn't want to be involved with someone like that," Lily countered.
"What would a werewolf know about lycan's business, especially of royalty?" Janet snarled. "Don't fool yourself about your position. Just because you have blessed blood doesn't make us equal, Lily."
"Stop dodging the question," Lana replied, her hazel eyes hardening. "Do you think this is a game? Janet, you've cost people their lives. You placed everyone- including Ethan- in jeopardy. For what?"
"And should I care about that because? Everyone made their decision to follow him," Janet answered.
"Just like you made a choice to betray him. Now, explain," Lana demanded.
"Choice?" Janet repeated, falling back against the cushions, her lips curving into a bitter smile. "Do you honestly think I had a choice?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, but there was something darker behind. Something has fractured. "You talk about Ethan as if he were a perfect child. But that is because you do not know him. Not like I do."
"Then enlighten me." Lana said. "Tell me what I'm missing."
Janet's jaw tightened, her teeth grinding together as she struggled to resist the truth serum. It was unrelenting now, with every muscle in her body tensing as if to oppose an invisible force. She clenched her fists so hard her knuckles became white, and her claws dug into her palms.
"Goddess, you're exhausting," Janet said finally, her voice shaking with fury and desperation. "Why don't you just let it go? Why can't you all leave me alone? Why don't you just accept it and send me to the dungeons?
"Because people are dead!" Lily interjected. "People trusted you. People assumed you were on our side. Instead, you turned them over to The Hunters!"
"Shut up," Janet snarled, her shoulders quivering.
"Make me," Lily responded. Her Luna aura rolled off her, and Lana, a human, could feel it. "Say it, Janet. Explain why you turned on us. Explain why you turned on him."
"Go to hell," Janet shouted, her head whipping up as she pressed against Lily. However, the break in her façade was clearly obvious.
"The serum will not let you lie. So, stop resisting it," Lana remarked, casually looking at her nails.
Janet clenched her jaw and leaned her head back against the pillow. She looked up at the ceiling, the weak light from the overhead lamp creating shadows on her face. "You want answers," she murmured, just above a whisper. "Fine. Here's your answer." She forced herself to sit up straight despite the pain in her ribs and the dizzying rush of blood to her brain. She gave Lana the finger, prompting Lily to snarl. Lana lifted her hand to halt Lily from charging at her, secretly grateful that Lily didn't simply toss her out of the way.
"I'll admit your will to resist is stronger than I expected," Lana said, "but that pain won't stop until you answer my questions. And I am confident that Lily will make it so much worse if you keep wasting our time."
The serum rushed, hot and demanding, finally causing her tongue to betray her. "Because you're all liars," Janet snarled. "Because Ethan's father lied. Because Ethan lied. You're all the same- selfish and blind-" She cut herself off, breathing hard.
"Lied about what?" Lana inquired, unwilling to give Janet a minute to gather her thoughts now that she was talking. "Do you think you're justified in collaborating with them because of a lie? Are you insane? Do you know what all the Hunters did? Should I remind you?"
Janet scoffed; her tone harsh but defiant. "Spare me the lecture."
"For someone who claims to hate liars, you decide to pick the liars of liars, delusional cultists. So, you think your own kind should be wiped off the face of the Earth over a lie?” Lana added.
Janet's face flickered with something, remorse, or doubt, but it vanished as swiftly as it appeared. "Do you think I care about their crusade? I could care less. How aren’t you getting it?”
"Goddess damn it, then make me get it!" Lana snapped. "Explain it to me, because right now, all I see is someone so blinded by their own bitterness that they're willing to watch the world burn just to feel vindicated."
"Do you have any idea what it's like to watch everything you've ever cared about burn to ash right in front of you?" Janet started. "To scream until your throat is raw, begging someone- anyone- to stop it, only to realize there's no one coming to save you?"
"They stood there," Janet continued. "They watched. Do you know what they did next, Lana? Nothing. Not one thing. No justice. No vengeance. Just... silence."
Lana furrowed her brow and crossed her arms tightly over her chest as she observed Janet. Her expression lacked any mockery or victory, instead displaying a calm intensity as her mind processed the confession. But she didn't say anything, allowing Janet to continue.
"Did Ethan ever tell you about his father's dream?" Janet spat the word like poison. "The big, beautiful fantasy of bringing us all together- wolves, witches, vampires, the fae, and humans. A perfect little package of harmony and progress." Her lips formed a sour grin. "Sounds inspiring, doesn't it?"
"It would be like the neutral cities. Those have been a success," Lana responded.
"Wrong. Only a success because there is an enforcer to keep the peace," Janet argued. "He drew my family, his beta, into his magnificent scheme, feeding us promises of serenity and wealth despite knowing full well that it was based on lies! He assured my father, This will change everything. We'll show that the old ways are wrong. Like a fool, my father believed him."
Janet’s next breath, strained and broken, the fury faded from her tone. "My father...he sacrificed everything for that ambition. For their dream. And do you know where it led us? Her voice cracked, and tears streamed down her pale cheeks. "It got him killed."
"Janet..." Lana moved closer, her expression softening despite herself, but Janet shook her head angrily.
"Don't you pity me!" she shouted, her voice wavering. "He knew, Lana. Ethan's father understood it would not work. He saw the hostility and heard the whispers. The humans were stirring the pot, causing strife between us. Straining our already strained relationships even more. Did Ethan's father intervene? No. He said this was normal. It would pass in time. And Ethan-" She hesitated, her shoulders trembling. "Ethan stood right beside him, smiling, nodding, acting like it was all going to be fine."
"I do not believe that." Lana responded, "I don't believe Ethan would just let this happen."
"You know I can't lie. You made sure of that, Lana," Janet said bitterly and Lana looked to Lily for support.
"There was a story about how the former Alpha King attempted to bring all races into packs. It happened before I was born, and Ethan would have been barely an adult at the time," Lily explained. "I was never told about what happened to the first and only pack."
"Of course you wouldn't be told. It was a dark, dirty secret," Janet continued. "They used us to get other lycans and werewolves to join the pack. My family was just pawns. And when everything fell apart, when the vampires and fae turned against us..." Her voice broke altogether, and her shaky hand covered her mouth as she sobbed. "I was the only one left."
Except for Janet's sobs, the room was eerily quiet. Lana looked at Lily, who was equally shocked by this revelation. Lana turned her attention back on Janet, who was staring at her angrily. Lana stuck between surprise and sorrow could not say anything.
"So, tell me, Lana," Janet asked, her voice husky and unsteady. "How do you forgive someone who destroyed your world? How do you forgive someone who stood by and allowed it to happen?"