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I grabbed the tissue box on her desk and held it out to her. “How’d you end up here?”
“I was cut to the onions, you know?” She said as she wiped her face. I had no idea what that bit of Irish slang meant, but I nodded. “I still had my mother and sister, but I didn’t think Vivian would dare touch a female. It’s just not done. And I couldn’t let her get away with her machinations. But when my sister disappeared—” Ciara took a shaky breath. “She was found tortured. Raped. Beaten. And I nearly died myself. I’d never hear her laugh again. Never see her sweet smile. And it was my fault. If only I’d let it go.”
“They didn’t…” No one would do that to a female. Not in our community.
“It wasn’t Weres who got her.”
“Who could kill a female Were?” We were strong. No human could get the upper hand.
“Who do you think?”
Another supernatural. But any pack would start a war over a missing female. “Did they ever find the attacker?”
“That’s a question for your mate. By the end of it all, I was declared a rogue female. Not allowed to leave the pack, but not welcome at any pack gatherings. No one would speak to me about anything of substance. When I had nothing left, I ran away. My mother’s still in Ireland. I tried to convince her to come with me, but she refused. So, I left on my own. Came to America. Your father found me staying in a horrible motel. He listened to my story and took me in, but you’ve been my salvation. As a little girl, you’d pull on my skirts and cry when your mum upset you. I’d dry your tears and we’d bake cookies.” She grabbed my hand with both of hers. “I cannot let the same thing happen to you. I wouldn’t survive it.”
I couldn’t believe everything that she’d been through. That I was so clueless about it. She said that I’d been her salvation, but if I’d known, maybe I could’ve done something. I didn’t know what, but the thought of losing a mate was horrific. She’d survived against all the odds, and my respect for her grew tenfold. I certainly wasn’t that strong. If something happened to Donovan, I didn’t know what I’d do.
Shit. What was I walking into?
Cosette was right. The Irish pack was a mess, and even if only one small part of Ciara’s story was true, Donovan wasn’t just too busy to do his duties as an Alpha, he was completely negligent. How did he not know what was going on in his own pack?
The last thing I wanted to do was start a battle with a mad she-wolf. Because when Weres went bad, they didn’t do it by half measures. Mad wolves lost all sense of reality and succumbed to their baser wolf emotions. They were what humans called psychopaths. They didn’t have a conscience and didn’t know right from wrong. They only knew what they wanted, and they wouldn’t let anything—or anyone—stand in their way.
That was why places like St. Ailbe’s existed. Weres who might go mad could be singled out early, retrained, and shown how to keep the madness at bay. If that didn’t work, then they had to die. There’d be a tribunal, and the person making the accusation had to have three examples—solid proof only, no hearsay or rumors—of their madness. Then, once everyone said their piece, including the wolf in question, the pack voted on whether or not the Were had gone mad. Once that happened, the Seven would take care of it. It usually took more than one Alpha to kill a mad wolf.
Maybe I could stand up against Vivian if she wasn’t mad and didn’t have the support of the pack, but if she was mad… I didn’t have a hope of winning against her, even if I was more alpha. She’d be too strong. Not until Donovan and I had our ceremony, and he wasn’t going to schedule that until after I met his pack. That gave Vivian plenty of time to poison them against me.
I rested my elbows on my knees and cradled my head in my hands as everything sank in. “What am I going to do?” Because any way I sliced it, I was screwed.
“I don’t have any advice to give. I’m sorry. If I’d thought of a way to prove Vivian’s madness and give her the end she deserves, I’d have done so already. All I can be is a cautionary tale and hope you delay going to Ireland for as long as possible.”
Being Donovan’s mate was going to be trouble. If I’d known what I was getting into—
No. That wasn’t right. Even knowing what Ciara had told me, I wouldn’t give him up. If Vivian wanted a fight, then she’d get a fight. But I needed an explanation from him. I had to hear his side.
You okay? Donovan must’ve felt my worry.
We need to talk.
Are we okay?
Ciara told me some concerning things.
Ah. I wondered when we’d have a chat about this.
That took me by surprise. A little warning would’ve been nice.
I’ll be waiting for you in your rooms.
Then it was true. Not that I doubted what Ciara just told me, but I’d been holding onto a tendril of hope that there was some sort of misunderstanding.
I felt him switch his focus and took a breath. When I glanced up, Ciara’s lips were pressed so tight they were turning white.
“I’ll be okay.”
“You have to be. You’re the closest I’ll ever have to a daughter. If something were to happen to you…”
“Love you, too.”
