Page 116 of Wolf Blood

My lips curved up when his tension didn't ease.

Hereallywanted to know.

"She was abusive," I said. There was no point in avoiding the conversation anymore. Rhone would eventually be dealing with her in some way, particularly now that we were mated. "Verbally and emotionally."

"Abusive how?" Rhone asked, when I didn't clarify.

"In the usual way, I guess. She was cruel. Insulted my appearance. My body. My mind. She did things that she knew would hurt me, just because she could. Without Bloom, I don't think I would've been able to cope with it as a teenager, but Bloom was never shy about complimenting me. I always thought she wanted to be human, even if she couldn't really say it. I don't think that anymore. She seems a lot happier with what she is now that she has Maverick, and I love that for her. She deserves it."

"Does she know? She's never said anything."

"I never told her the details, only that we weren't close. Bloom needed the Guild to stay alive. Without them, she wouldn't have had anyone to feed from. If she had known what was going on, she would've done something to piss Neve off, and she would've been forced to mate with one of the eligible vampires to survive. It was better for everyone that I stayed quiet about it."

"Except you."

"Including me. I moved out as soon as I got my job as Steven's assistant. I was determined to make it work to avoid moving back in with Neve, so I became really fucking good at my job.Having thick skin was probably the only reason I survived at the investment company, but honestly, I thrived there."

"Which is why I've been trying to get you to go back to being my assistant." Rhone squeezed my side lightly.

"I can't," I said honestly. "Being turned has made my mind work differently. I can't balance as many things as I used to. It would be frustrating for me to try to live like nothing has changed when I can't think the same way I used to."

"That makes sense. We can find you something to do here that you enjoy."

"I can find myself something to do, Rhone. If I'm really desperate, I can just follow you around all the time. Oren and Nolan are basically always together, so it wouldn't be that different, other than your inevitable annoyance."

"I wouldn't be annoyed, Harper."

"You don't have to spare my feelings. And it's your turn to share information, now. I want to know how you went from Alpha-in-Training to Beta-Who-Hates-His-Job."

Rhone sighed. "Fine. I told you my sister died during the war, after mating with someone I tried to prevent her from choosing. The whole fucking world felt like it was burning, between the war and the loss. I was still trying to figure out how to cope with the constant killing. Then she was gone, too."

I glanced down at his hand when he set it on my knee.

Rhone didn't really do physical affection, outside of cuddling. He'd never tried to hold my hand or put a hand on my lower back just because.

But since werewolves were touchy, I wondered how he would feel if I just took his hand.

"My parents blamed me for her death. They were... not fantastic, through most of my childhood. They tried, but couldn't get along. I loved them, but they were miserable, and they made sure I knew it. They fought constantly. I learned how to play peacemaker before I learned how to put pants on."

"Peacemaker? You?"

"Yeah. I was good at it, too. I could change the subject in the blink of an eye when they started arguing. You would've been impressed."

"I'm sure."

"It worked on the rest of the pack, too, other than Maverick. We were always enemies. My parents fought no matter what I did when his family made more money than mine at the farmers' market, so I worked my ass off to sell more. He did too, but he just liked eating. It went back and forth pretty evenly, but we hated each other for it."

I nodded. Bloom had mentioned that.

"My parents blamed me when Isabelle died. They thought I should've protected her, and they were right. We never made up. They died a few weeks later, still hating me."

"Fuck. I'm sorry."

Rhone didn't respond right away. "Mav doesn't know that. Don't tell him."

"I won't." I finally set my hand on his, parting his fingers with mine and lacing our hands together. He squeezed my fingerslightly, adjusting his grip to make me more comfortable. "It wasn't your fault, though. You said she was mated. He was supposed to be there, and he wasn't. You can't keep blaming yourself for something you didn't even do."

"Neither can you. Killing Steven wasn't your fault, either."