Did he know that there was a mad wolf in his pack? And if so, what else was he keeping from me? Because that was kind of a big deal. If this relationship was going to work, I needed full and complete honesty.

As I made my way toward my room, I swore that I’d get to the bottom of this. If not for myself, for Ciara. She was a kind woman who’d put up with all of my endless crap with a grace I could only hope to emulate. Eventually, I’d be joining the Irish pack, and when that happened, I was going to be ready. Mad wolves and all.

Chapter Seven

Donovan was waiting in my rooms as promised. I closed the door and leaned against 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 her of 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.”