“And what the fuck does that have to do with Francine?” Drake demands. “She didn’t kill anyone!”
Before I can answer, the front door opens again.
Rowan and Elias walk in, both looking equally furious. Great. The whole fucking pack is here to question my judgment. Drake must have told them already.
“What the hell is going on?” Elias asks, his normally calm voice tight with anger. He pushes his glasses up his nose, amber eyes flashing behind them.
“Ask our pack leader,” Drake spits. “He just threw out the only omega all four of us have ever wanted. With a bullshit of an excuse.”
Rowan’s eyes narrow as he takes in the scene. “What happened?”
I cross my arms over my chest, standing my ground. “Francine’s mother was the arsonist who set the fire that killed our parents. She was keeping newspaper clippings about it in her room.”
Elias’s jaw drops. “What?”
“She was what?” Rowan asks simultaneously.
“Yeah, that was my reaction too,” I say, the bitterness seeping into my voice. “Turns out our perfect omega is the daughter of the woman who murdered our parents.”
“So you kicked her out?” Elias asks, disbelief coloring his voice. “Without even talking to us first?”
“I don’t need to consult you on every decision I make for this pack,” I snap. “I’m the alpha.”
Drake laughs, the sound sharp and humorless. “Oh, that’s convenient. Pull the alpha card when you make a unilateral decision that affects all of us.”
“It wasn’t a decision about the pack. It was about protecting us.”
“From what?” Rowan’s voice is quiet but intense. “From Francine? Who took care of Nora like she was her own? Who submitted to us completely during her heat?”
His words bring back vivid memories, Francine on her hands and knees, taking my cock in her ass, her moans of pleasure filling the room. The way she looked at me afterward, with such trust, such vulnerability.
I quickly push the thoughts away.
“She lied to us,” I insist. “She knew who her mother was, what she did, and she kept it from us.”
“She was scared,” Drake counters. “What was she supposed to do?”
“She should have told me before we... before the heat.”
Drake runs a hand through his hair in frustration. “When exactly? When her heat hit unexpectedly? When she was in agony? When she was passed out between us, recovering? There was no good time.”
“Why are you so upset?” I ask, a sudden suspicion forming. “Wasn’t there an omega you met weeks ago? What happened to her?”
Drake stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Are you seriously this stupid? It was Francine, you idiot. It’s always been Francine.”
“What the fuck?”
“Yeah, and why the fuck would I have told you? You would never have hired her,” seethes Drake.
“You don’t even see what you’ve done, do you?” Rowan says quietly to me. “You’ve rejected our mate. The one omega meant for all of us.”
“She can’t be our mate,” I argue, but the words sound hollow even to my own ears. “Not with that connection.”
“You know who else thinks family connections are too painful?” Drake asks, his voice suddenly dropping low. “Francine. Her mother killed her fathers too.”
The words hit me like a bucket of ice water. “What?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Drake nods, seeing he has my attention. “Her fathers died in the same fire. Her mother did it for the insurance money. She only confessed on her deathbed, asking for forgiveness that Francine couldn’t give her.”
