Chapter Seven
Donovan was waiting in my rooms as promised. I closed the door and leaned back on it as I tried to figure out where to start.
“It’s not as bad as you’re thinking,” he said
“Really? Because it sounds pretty terrible.”
“’Tis, but…” He stood up from his perch on the foot of my bed. His dark hair was still damp from his shower, and his frown was particularly pitiful. “I know Vivian is a problem, but I haven’t felt comfortable doing anything about her. I—” He crossed his arms. “God. This is bloody awkward. I slept with her a long time ago, and I regretted it immediately. She’s used it as a weapon against me for ages.”
“A weapon. Why? How?” That seemed pretty impossible. Donovan was the Alpha. She couldn’t order him around, and it wasn’t like Donovan had some weird fetish or something she could lord over him.
“I left before Vivian was awake, hoping to pretend it’d never happened. That hurt her feelings, and she threw a bit of a fit.” He said it very matter-of-factly, but I had a feeling that “bit of a fit” was a massive understatement. From what Ciara had said, the woman was totally batshit. “I felt horrid for hurting her. She thought it meant much more than it did. I didn’t think I’d given her that impression, but…”
I laughed. “She was playing you.”
“I realize that now, but I didn’t then. I was so distracted by the responsibility I’d taken on by joining the Seven that I couldn’t fully see what was in front of me. By the time I did, it was too late to do anything about it.”
Under all the power and easy smiles, Donovan was a genuinely nice guy. If he thought he’d honestly hurt Vivian’s feelings, I could see why he’d let her get away with too much. But what Ciara was accusing was pushing the limit of what was acceptable. He was the Alpha. It was his job to keep his wolves in line, especially when pack members were turning up dead.
“Did Vivian murder Ciara’s family?” I held my breath, waiting for an answer and hoping that Ciara had grossly exaggerated.
“Honestly, I don’t know for sure—I’ve not one single shred of evidence—but my gut says Ciara’s story is fact.”
The air rushed from my lungs. He was letting a murderer roam free? “Why haven’t you done anything?”
His eyes widened. “Without proof? I’m one of the Seven. The way I act and lead my pack serves as an example for every other pack on this planet. If I start acting on the whims of a Were half-gone with grief over the loss of her mate, killing another Were with not a shred of evidence, then what does that show to everyone else?”
Shit. He had a point. “Let’s leave proof out of it for now. Is Vivian mad or just evil?”
“Vivian’s mad.”
I stomped over to him and gave him a shove. “You idiot! If she’s a mad wolf, then you have to take her out. Everyone knows the rule. A mad wolf cannot live. To hell with proof.”
“I agree,” he said calmly, taking my hand. “But I uphold the Law. That’s my job as one of the Seven. If I kill her without the proper tribunal and proof, then I call into question everything that the Seven does. I don’t have any proof that Vivian’s mad, and if I kill her without it, what’s to prevent someone like Imogene from calling Tessa mad and taking the matter into her own hands? Every feud would end with someone killing another Were and getting away with it. The wolf was mad. They had to be taken care of.”
I backed away from him. “How long have you known?”
“A long time.”
“Before you slept with her?”
“No. She hid it well.”
This was a huge problem. “Why did you sleep with her in the first place?” I didn’t want to know the answer, but I needed to know.
His regret and guilt came through the bond, sinking like a weight in my stomach. “It was a very, very long time ago, and I was lonely. I’d just joined the Council. It was harder than I thought it’d be. I was stressed and confused and trying to sort it all. And fuck it, I just needed someone to talk to. And she was there. Bloody convenient, too…” He rubbed his forehead. “Ciara might not know it, but I worked hard to figure out what was really going on. I’d been called away on Council business when her mate and father were murdered, so I wasn’t there for all of it. But I tried to catch Vivian. This was before you could put up cameras everywhere and have proof. I took time off from the Seven and tailed her. I had others watching her when I wasn’t around. She never made a move until I called off the watch, and then something would happen. I even put Vivian in solitary for a while. I interrogated her for days on end, but she never broke. Her scent never smelled of lies, and the pack backed her up. Eventually, I had to give up or I’d look mad myself. I believed Ciara—in my heart, I knew she was right—but I hadn’t any proof. So I got her someplace safe before Vivian could do anything worse to her. Why do you think I asked your father to take Ciara in? To let her be as she wanted and not force her to join the Wayfarers?”
I sat down on the bed as I thought. The fact that she wasn’t tied to us—the only female allowed to be lone—made so much more sense. Donovan had ordered it.
“I wasn’t close with your father. He’d only gained the pack from his father a few years before, so I thought Ciara might trust him. He agreed as a favor, which I’ve yet to repay. But I gave her my protection. I’ve had my second watching out for her mother. I won’t let her lose anyone else. But I don’t have any bloody proof. No one has seen Vivian doing anything against our Law. She’s covered up her scent, not left a strand of hair, and no one will come forward with anything against her. I need three pieces of evidence to call the tribunal and I haven’t got even one. All I have is what Ciara said, and she didn’t see Vivian committing these murders. She’s just assuming a lot of it.”
So we needed proof. I could put cameras throughout the stronghold. I’d catch her. “You know she’s probably causing all kinds of problems while you’re away.”
He laughed bitterly. “She’s causing massive problems. Has been. There are constant rumblings along the bonds, keeping me up at all hours. I’m breaths from the pack blowing up. It’s a right mess, but I haven’t the time to fix it. I’m rushing all over for the Seven. And now the problems with the fey… I don’t have time to catch my breath. And yes, I know Vivian’s goin’ around tellin’ people that she’s my bloody mate, but ‘tisn’t true. Everyone who has half a sense knows that. And once you and I are mated, everyone will see through her lie. It’s not worth the fight.”
That stung. It felt like he was saying I wasn’t worth the fight.
He sighed. “I’ve hurt you now, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
I waved him off. “It’s fine.”
He hissed. “Kiss of death. Isn’t that what you call that word?”
“Aye.” I copied his accent. “It ‘tis.”
He sat next to me. “We don’t need to go to Ireland for a while. If I get called back, I can go without you. Just give me some time to take care of this problem, and you won’t have to deal with her.”
I squeezed his hand. “You idiot. Your messes are mine now. We’ll deal with it together.”
He shook his head. “Vivian’s an extremely clever wolf. I don’t want you anywhere near her.”
I gave him a shove. “Hey! I thought you said I was strong.”
“It’s not to do with you, but more with her. You can’t predict what Vivian will do.”
“Donovan. I’m a Wayfarer.” I could help him. Fixing packs and taking care of mad wolves was in my DNA.
“Yes.” He grinned. “I’m aware.”
“You know that means that I’ve seen mad wolves and packs in all kinds of distress. Right?”
“Aye. I do. But Vivian’s different.”
“No. She’s not. I was there with the Ohio pack two years ago. Remember when the Alpha went crazy and killed all but two of the females in the pack? He’d been using his power to get other people to do the killing for him. It was sick what he did to those Weres.” I shuddered as I thought about it. “And the Florida pack?” Donovan winced. “Yeah. I saw that happen. That human he dismembered? I talked to him just before he murdered that guy. I know what being mad is. They always trip up. You can always find some reason to call the tribunal.” There were differences in each case, but at their core, mad wolves were always the same. “Do you think maybe you’re too close to the situation to see a way through?”
“I don’t think so, but I can’t rule it out.” He leaned into me. “You sure you want to be my mate. Mess and all?”
“Yup. I’m in.” I pressed my forehead against his. “I can help. Trust me. It’s going to be okay.”
“I’m worried for you. Cosette gave you that bloody coin—” His fingers brushed my wrist and the chain that held the coin in place. “—and I know that I have to protect you from all of this.”
“Don’t worry so much.”
His eyes glowed blue. “It’s my job.”
“You need fewer jobs.”
He collapsed back on the bed, pulling me down on top of him. “Yes, but I happen to enjoy this particular one.”
He was changing the subject, and I let him. It was enough for now. But I wasn’t giving up on lightening his workload. The Irish pack promised to be as much fun as Cosette had warned me.
The feel of his lips against mine made me lose all thought, and I surrendered. If we didn’t take moments like these—when all was calm—we’d regret it later. He moved his hands down my back, and tingles followed in their wake.
This. I’d never get enough of this.
I woke to the sound of a phone ringing and Donovan cursing.
After talking some more, we’d had some food, turned on a movie, and fallen asleep. Dad was going to be annoyed about that, but he wouldn’t say anything. At least not to Donovan.
“Aye.” Donovan’s voice was thick with sleep, making his accent even richer as he answered the call.
“John’s dead.” A firm, feminine voice spoke on the other end of the line.
Pain rippled through our bond, and I sat up, placing my hand on Donovan’s arm. He turned away from me as he tried to control the wave emotions rushing into me. Hurt. Pain. Guilt.
Guilt? Why…
John. Oh shit. That John. His second. His best friend.
“Christ Jesus. I don’t understand. How? Who’s done this?”
“It’s nothing like I’ve seen before, Don.”
I swallowed at the use of a nickname for Donovan. Something about this woman was setting me on edge. I scooted closer to Donovan, pressing my stomach against his back as I pulled him toward me. He twined his fingers with mine with one hand, while gripping the phone with the other. He wasn’t crying on the outside, but his pain burned through me.
Donovan Murry was devastated.
“You have to come back. It’s enough playin’ around in America for you.”
Playing around? Was that what his pack thought we’d been doing? Because playing implied fun, and nothing about dealing with Luciana had been fun. Not even a little bit.
And who the hell was calling that they could talk to their Alpha like that?
Donovan stifled a growl. “You need to watch your place, Vivian.” Power rolled off him in waves. Fur rippled along my arms, and I struggled to let his energy flow through me without forcing me to change forms. I must’ve whimpered because Donovan squeezed my hand and toned himself down a few dozen notches.
Vivian. She was third in the pack, so it was her duty to inform the Alpha, but it was a little eerie how we’d just been talking about her. Now his second was dead, and she was on the phone?
“I’m aware of my place, Don, but your second is dead. The power struggles will flare up if you’re not here within the day.”
A second had to be seriously powerful, and, in an established pack like Donovan’s, they’d be pretty damned hard to kill. Which left me with one question.
Donovan rubbed a hand down his face. “How’d he die?” He said, echoing my thoughts.
“Might’ve been a fey. He’s in fecking pieces, but it was done in our stronghold. In his own damned room.”
Being killed by a fey was one thing. Being killed by a fey inside the stronghold…
I’d never heard of something like that happening. It really shouldn’t have been possible. But the fey could do the whole teleportation thing, and I’d only just learned about that. Who knew what other powers they’d been hiding?
Still, it seemed impossible that no one had seen or heard anything. There were too many Weres in the Irish pack for a fey to sneak in, murder someone, and then escape before anyone noticed.
“Everyone is going crazy, and—”
“Aye. I can feel it for myself.”
“You could’ve fooled me.” She had some major attitude, but she didn’t sound like a mad wolf. Annoyed. Pissed off. But not crazy.
“Enough, Vivian.”
The rumble in his voice should’ve stopped any wolf from talking back to him, but Vivian didn’t seem bothered. That was one point in the crazy column. “Don’t snap at me. It’s not my fault you’ve been neglecting us.”
From the amount of power he was radiating, he had to be pushing his commands all the way from here to Ireland through the pack bonds. I’d felt Alphas do that over short distances before, but never something like this.
Either Vivian wasn’t feeling his power or her madness was allowing her to ignore even someone as strong as Donovan. Another point in the crazy column. Mad wolves sometimes lost touch with reality, and couldn’t sense the power or commands that normal Weres could.
Now it made sense that she was his third. Even if she didn’t have the power to hold the position in the pack, she could fake it with her ability to ignore commands. Power plays with a mad wolf were impossible to win. I’d bet that’s how she rose up the ranks.
Donovan sighed. “Let me get the flight sorted. I’ll be heading out as soon as I can.” He ended the call before Vivian could say anything else, then threw the phone on the bed and held his face in his hands. “Shite. This is a fucking mess.”
I wasn’t sure how to help. Losing a second was like losing an arm. The second took charge when the Alpha was away. They had to be steadfast, smart, and trustworthy. Otherwise, the second would challenge the Alpha and cause all sorts of problems. Finding a good one… It was like a million to one, and there weren’t a million werewolves.
With Donovan’s schedule as one of the Seven, he was going to need to find another amazing second or either give up the pack or the Council entirely. From what I knew about him, giving up the pack wasn’t a real option. He’d been the Irish pack’s Alpha for a very long time, and he wouldn’t want to let his pack go. That meant he might have to leave the Seven which no one had ever done before. Council members only left the Seven when they died.
So he had to do the impossible. Find a new second. Very, very quickly. With everything that I’d just learned about his pack…
He was right. This was a fucking mess.
Donovan rolled out of bed and grabbed his laptop before coming back. “I think I can have my plane ready in a few hours.”
He made a quick call, pacing the room as he talked, and giving me a chance to figure out what I was going to do. Because there wasn’t a doubt in my mind. This was it. This was what Cosette warned me about.
I should stay home. Donovan would be totally fine with that—he’d probably prefer it—but I couldn’t. It was dumb. I wasn’t ready to face a mess of this size. I wasn’t strong enough. But that didn’t matter. I was Donovan’s mate, and abandoning him when he needed me was not an option. Even if it meant facing my darkest hour. Whatever the hell that was.
He hung up the phone and turned to me. “All right. I’m heading out at six.
I checked the clock. That was in four hours. “Okay. I can be ready. I need to—”
“Absolutely not.”
“Yes. I am.”
“No, you’re not.” This time he threw some command behind his words. “I’ve got a dead second. A crazy Were. Cosette warning you…” He paused. “No. I’ll not allow it.”
“You won’t allow it?” Oh, boy. He was grieving and upset, so I tried not to get angry, but it took some doing. “I’m your mate. You don’t get to order me around.” I stepped to him. “I’m going with you.”
“I can’t guarantee your protection. If it’s fey… If it’s not…” He let out a breath. “My best friend should’ve had his own pack by now, but he stayed on as my second out of loyalty. Whatever took him down, it’s supernatural. It’d have to be. I can’t tell what’s going on yet, but I know it’s dangerous and I don’t want you anywhere near it.”
“I can help you, and you’re going to need me.”
He sat down on the bed. “I can’t think…”
I knelt in front of him. “That’s why you need me. I can do this. I can help.”
He let out a breath. “I’m going to regret this.”
I gave him what I hoped was a comforting smile. “Never.”
“All right.” He shook his head. “I’m going to talk to your father and get everything ready for our trip. I’ll be back here in three hours.”
“I’ll be ready.”
He pulled me up to him, giving me a hard kiss. “You better be. If I lose you, no one is safe.”
I leaned back, looking into his glowing blue eyes. “Nothing’s going to happen to me. And I have a get out of jail free card. So, either way, I’m set.”
“That’s not funny.”
“Wasn’t meant to be.”
He left, glancing back at me just before he walked through the door. His shoulders were a bit hunched and the creases around his eyes seemed deeper. My mate had some serious problems in his pack, and we both knew it.
I stayed frozen for a second.
What the hell was I getting myself into?