My heart was heavy for a second before I pushed the ache away. This was part of being a female Were. You had to adapt to your mate’s pack. I knew this. The reality was just a little more bittersweet than I’d imagined.

“I need to know more about your pack. At home we have files on everyone who is and ever was a Wayfarer. I’m assuming you have something like that?”

“This way.” Donovan led me into his office. “There’s another set of files in the library, but these have my personal notes. Might come in handy.” He strode to a tall metal filing cabinet and gave it a pat. “Everything’s in here. I have journals about pack business through the years, which you’re welcome to as well. Hazel’s got the accounting, but you can ask her about that.” A little crinkle formed between his eyebrows as if he wanted to ask something.

“What?”

“Didn’t Shannon talk to you about our pack? Give you any hints about who to avoid or who to befriend?”

Whoa. That was a blast from the past. Although it hadn’t been that long since she left St. Ailbe’s, so much had happened that it felt like a million years ago.

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of that…”

Shannon was always a bit prickly, even when we were little, but I’d just brushed off her moods. When Tessa came to St. Ailbe’s, Shannon’s jealousy had given her a particularly vicious edge. Still, it’d hurt when she left school. I hadn’t understood it at the time, but now that I had some distance, I finally got her reasoning a little.

“She didn’t come back here?”

He shook his head. “No. Shannon was supposed to report to me when Michael threw her out of the St. Ailbe’s satellite pack, but she broke her bond with the Irish pack and went rogue with the others who left St. Ailbe’s that night. I’ve been planning on going after her, but haven’t had a moment. Since it was only her that left, I figured I’d give her some time to cool off. I’ve a feeling she’ll show up here eventually.”

Oh boy. I hated to be the one to break it to him, but the Shannon I knew wasn’t ever coming back to the Irish pack. Not as long as I was here.

“I wouldn’t be so sure.”

“Why?”

Shannon was going to hate me for telling Donovan this, but she probably already did. “When Tessa showed up at St. Ailbe’s, Shannon was upset. She wanted Dastien for herself and couldn’t get over the fact that Tessa was his mate. I tried to calm her down, but it only got worse. After my curse was broken, she wasn’t the same with me either. We’d been friends since we were kids, but suddenly I was her enemy.” I shook my head as I thought back. “The problem with Shannon is that she was never happy. Not since we met when we were kids. She was always upset with someone in her pack. Nothing was ever enough. She was the only one from the Irish pack to come to St. Ailbe’s, and when I brought that up, she said she came only because she needed more options for mates. She’s kind of a snob and felt that she was destined to be with some super-awesome Alpha.”