Page 115 of The Wolf Queen’s Curse

Raymond’s gaze slides to Doyle, and he mumbles, “Him.”

“Raymond,” Jesse says, with great patience. “If you are reluctant to identify who hurt Hanora, please be aware that makes it look as if I have put you up to this.”

Raymond clears his throat. “It was our Alpha. Franklin Doyle.”

“I never—” Doyle says, but Bishop’s hand shoots up, and he nods at Raymond to continue.

“I could smell who did it. Also—” Raymond swallows. “He’s done it before. To Hanny and other girls, so I know the pattern. He hits them in the torso, where it won’t show. They can still lift their skirts and no one is the wiser.”

“Did Hanora identify Franklin as her attacker?” Jesse asks.

Raymond shakes his head. “The girls never tell me who did it, and I stopped asking, but this time, she volunteered the information. She said it was you, Jesse. That you gave her opium to put Mrs. Daniels to sleep and then she was supposed to seduce Mr. Daniels—the Alpha—and suffocate him after he fell asleep.”

Doyle throws up his hands. “See? It wasn’t me.”

Jesse snaps, “If I ever come up with a plan that stupid, please kill me because I’ve clearly lost my mind. That plan is what happens when I’m not consulted. Seduce the Albion Alpha when he’s newly married? To a mate who has a werewolf’s sense of smell and will realize her drink is drugged?”

Doyle flushes at Jesse’s mockery, making it very clear whose plan it had been.

Jesse continues, “I still didn’t betray you, Franklin. Yesterday, I only warned Bishop to be careful and that someone—not naming you—might try to convince one of his wolves to turn on him. I held out hope that you might be happy with the alliance and the money it promised. That you might finally see sense and, gods help me, I might finally see my family again.”

Bishop lets the silence fall for a few seconds before he says, “You challenged me, Franklin Doyle, and as you well know—from your last failed challenge—you need the support of at least half of my Pack.” He turns to the Albion wolves. “How many of you still support me as your Alpha?”

Only Harry hesitates. Because he has to hesitate, to be very clear that he might have helped Rufus, but that doesn’t mean he’s jumping in to support Bishop. Still, his hand eventually joins the rest.

“All right then,” Bishop says. “That’s settled. My Pack doesn’t want you. But would your Pack want me? That is the new question.”

“W-what?” Doyle says.

“I issue a counterchallenge. Cambrians, how many of you would accept me as your Alpha?”

A few hands rise, most uncertain, and I understand that because they don’t know Bishop, and they’re confused by what has been revealed. But when Jesse’s hand goes firmly in the air, more rise.

“I don’t understand this thing about the money,” someone says. “There’s more money?”

“There is a great deal of money,” Jesse says. “Enough to build a proper home on a proper piece of land. We’ve had enough for over a year. Franklin just wanted to see how much more he could get before we abandoned all of you.”

“But he said he was going to build us a house.”

“He wasn’t,” Jesse says flatly. “He talks about it, but he has not made a single move to investigate properties.”

Another says, “I have heard there was lots of money, but I heard you were the one stealing it.”

“Yes,” Doyle says quickly. “Jesse was—”

“The money is in a bank,” Jesse says. “Both our names are on the account.” He takes papers from his coat pocket. “I can show a statement of the account.” He passes it out to the man who was complaining.

“It’s false,” Doyle says. “A forgery.”

Bishop steps forward. “This is all inconsequential. The Albion Pack has money. If you are part of it, you are entitled to everything that our Pack enjoys, which includes a comfortable lifestyle. You are expected to work. But it’s legal and respectable work, unlike what Doyle has you doing. And for the Caledonians among you, the only Albions who work in the fields are those who voluntarily take on gardening duties. To my wolves, do I speak true?”

The Albions all agree.

“And under me,” Bishop says, “that wealth will grow, as it has been growing since I returned to the Pack with the former controller, whose son has been trained to succeed him. We have factories and mills and, recently, investments. It doesn’t matter what becomes of the money Doyle amassed. While it would help with the rebuilding, I would accept responsibility for his Pack without it.”

“It’s a good life,” Augustus pipes up.

Oliver nods. “It was difficult under my brother’s reign, while our controller was gone, but with Bishop as Silas’s second, creature comforts returned. It was the tyranny that was hard to take.”