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“Maybe he just thought I was ridiculous, maybe he just cared so much for her, or maybe he was so focused on his becoming-an-Alpha-goal that it was to the exclusion of all else. But he wouldn’t consider that I might be right.”
“Was he harsh in his rejection?”
“At first, he tried letting me down gently; tried convincing me I was just crushing on him. I insisted he was wrong. I wouldn’t let it go. He got pissed at me and, in a bid to make me really listen, he hit me with what he thought were ‘hard truths.’ Said he didn’t feel the slightest pull toward me; that his cat had no interest in me; that he wasn’t attracted to submissives so it made no sense he’d be paired with one.” She puffed out a breath. “I wasn’t hopeful that he’d later change his mind, which is good because he never did.”
“Did he tell Nazra what you said?”
“No. But her friend did. Fila overheard it all. She told everyone but twisted it—said I threw myself at him, tried to force a claiming bite on him, and even made an attempt to strip. None of it was true, I swear.”
He palmed the back of her head, pinning her with a reassuring look. “I believe you.”
“Not all do. I stated loud and clear that Fila was talking tripe. The more I insisted I wasn’t lying, the more of a liar I apparently was in the eyes of some. Harlan believed me, though. But he was also worried that I’d push Zaire to see the light, so he put me in a corner.”
Isaiah felt his skin prickle in unease. “What does that mean?”
“He promised he’d keep Nazra and her cronies from coming for me and my family if I stayed away from Zaire and spread the word that I’d been wrong and it was just a crush.”
His cat bared his teeth, her words rekindling his anger. An Alpha protected their pride members; they didn’t fucking manipulate them into silence. “Harlan is as much of a goddamn letdown as Zaire.” He understood now why she hadn’t seemed all that comfortable with him at the FindYourMate HQ. “Did Nazra and the others leave you be?”
“They never came at me physically, but rumors do damage of their own. And people also slung insults my way or snubbed me or whatever. Aside from my family, those who believed me rarely spoke up for me, not wanting to draw negative attention their way.”
Jesus, her pride almost as a whole was as big a disappointment as both its current Alpha male and the one who’d soon take over. “What about Zaire? Did he defend you?”
“He did say the rumors weren’t true, but I find that people who—for whatever reason—want to hate or ridicule someone will believe just about anything to give them an excuse to be a shit to that someone.”
A grim sense of understanding snaked through Isaiah. “You’re right about that.”
“You’ve dealt with bullshit rumors too,” she remembered. “Will you tell me about what happened? You don’t have to.”
No, but it wouldn’t be fair of him to hold back when she’d opened up the way she had. He’d be throwing it back in her face.
Isaiah pulled in a breath. “There was a kid in the pride who I never got along with. Jenson. We butted heads constantly. I was supremely pissed when I found out he’d been slapping my ex around. I threatened to make him pay. That night, someone set his house on fire with his family in it.”
“And he was the only one who died?” she asked, her voice a mere murmur.
“Yes. A few people jumped to the conclusion that I was the arsonist, including his parents. But my mom and dad swore I was home at the time; that it couldn’t have possibly been me.”
“That wasn’t enough for people to drop it?”
“It was for most. But Jenson’s parents, Cherrie and Kristopher, insisted my parents were lying, and they did their level-best to ensure everyone else thought the same. They basically embarked on a hate campaign. They even tried pressuring my old Alpha Vinnie to kick me out of the pride.”
Her upper lip quivered slightly. “Fuckers.”
He grunted. “It was hard to do something so mundane like go to the deli. I’d hear people whispering; see them looking at me weird. I could sense that some truly believed I’d done it.” For a short time—as he’d vacillated between fury, humiliation, and hurt—he’d pulled back from the majority of the pride and avoided socializing.
She slid her hands up to clasp her fingers behind his nape. “Did you ever find out who really did it?”
“It turned out to be Jenson’s cousin. Apparently, Eddie had confided in him that he believed a member of our pride was his true mate. Jenson’s response had been to start dating her.”
“What?”
“He was a shit that way.”
In that case, he’d probably pissed off a fair few people, so it seemed particularly unfair to Quinley that some of the pride had immediately suspected Isaiah. Then again, there was the whole threatening-to-make-Jenson-pay thing. Still, pledges of vengeance were tossed out all the time; they were mostly just said in the heat of the moment.
“Trusting that Vinnie wouldn’t declare Eddie guilty unless confident it was true, most who’d suspected me then backtracked,” said Isaiah. “But Jenson’s parents didn’t.”
“They couldn’t admit they were wrong.”
