Halfway through her lunch, Ally said, “Tell me a little about the Kerrie situation. I know she lied about Marcus’s mate being someone else because she wanted him for herself. But why would she take the rejection and his mating to Roni so badly?”
“Before Roni, Marcus’s relationships were short and simple. But he didn’t lead females on—he always made it clear that he wasn’t looking for anything permanent. Outwardly, Kerrie didn’t seem to take it badly when he ended things. They even remained casual friends. She told him that she’d had a vision of his mate; she gave him a false description, told him that the female needed him and was a lot like his mother—which scared the shit out of Marcus.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know exactly. All he’s told me on the matter is that he doesn’t have contact with her for a damn good reason.” Derren sipped his Coke. “So by telling him that his mate was someone he so obviously wouldn’t want to accept, Kerrie made him opposed to mating with his true mate.”
“Probably hoping that it would make him open to imprinting with another female,” Ally surmised. “Like Kerrie.”
“Yes. And by giving him a false description of his true mate, Kerrie was no doubt doing her best to make it extremely difficult for him to recognize his true mate when he found her.”
“Did Kerrie lie about the fact that she’d had a vision of him with his true mate, or did she truly have a vision and it was Roni she saw with him?”
Derren finished chewing his chicken before answering. “Roni believes it’s the latter. When she and Kerrie first met, the Seer froze at the sight of her and acted weird. She tried coming between Roni and Marcus. She first warned Roni away by saying that Marcus’s mate needed him. Later she told tales to Marcus’s father, who turned up to see him and berated him for choosing Roni over his mate. At that point, Roni and Marcus had already realized they were mates and had claimed each other. Kerrie was too late.”
“Did Kerrie admit she’d been talking out of her ass?”
“No. She insisted she was telling the truth about her vision, and she claimed that Roni had turned Marcus against her.” Done with his lunch, Derren put the plate aside.
“So she hates Roni for that, and she most likely hates Marcus for not choosing her over Roni. She’s angry her plan didn’t work.” Ally took a swig of her drink. “I’d say it seems unlikely that someone would go so far as to wipe out two packs for what two people did, but I’ve seen firsthand that there are people who would see an entire pack killed for vengeance.” Her wolf growled at the memories of that night. “And they say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
Derren nodded. “They’re right.” A series of beeps came from inside the lodge. Recalling that he’d left his cell phone on the counter, he picked up his empty plate and rose. “I’ll be right back.”
Hearing rustles in the grass, Ally rolled her eyes at the three wolves lingering nearby—on schedule. Evidently, Derren was right; the pack didn’t intend to treat her any differently than before. Or, at least, these three scavengers didn’t. She flung them the three extra chicken-fried steaks she’d made. Since the three enforcers never failed to make a brief visit at lunchtime, she’d taken to cooking extra food for them every day.
When Derren reappeared, flashes of aggravation and antipathy came from him—the combination was like spikes digging into her skin. Alarmed, she stood upright, and her wolf was equally anxious. “What is it?”
A muscle in Derren’s jaw ticked. “I just received a text from Nick. You have visitors.”
“I have visitors?”
“Matt, Zeke, and Rachelle are here.”
Oh, goody.
A few minutes later, all of Ally’s fears that the Mercury wolves would go back to hating her were completely eradicated. As she and Derren sat at the table in the main lodge opposite her visitors, most of the pack gathered behind Ally both supportively and protectively. The only shifters absent were Zander and Jesse—since they were on perimeter duty—and Kathy, who had taken Willow upstairs, away from the outsiders.
Ally’s wolf growled at the visitors, baring her teeth. She wasn’t at all pleased to see the Collingwood wolves; she remembered their betrayal, how they had withdrawn from her. The animal no longer had any respect for Matt or any regard whatsoever for Zeke. As for Rachelle . . . her wolf wanted to lunge at her and rip out her throat. It was an appealing idea.
Matt’s smile was shaky. “It’s very good to see you, Ally. You’ve been missed.”
There was a snort of disbelief, and Ally thought it might have come from Shaya.
Matt cleared his throat, his smile faltering slightly. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been fine.” Ally sank into her seat as she studied each of them closely and sifted through their emotions. Matt was feeling as nervous as he looked. Although Zeke appeared deceptively calm, he was seeping both tension and . . . longing? Rachelle, on the other hand, gave off waves of hostility and loathing—though she was the picture of pleasantness. What was new there?
Zeke nodded at Ally, wearing a bland smile. “Glad to hear it.”
“You look good, Ally,” complimented Rachelle, sounding very sweet and sincere. It made Ally grind her teeth so hard, her jaw ached.
Ally ran her gaze over the three of them as she asked, “Why are you here?”
It was Matt who answered. “We hoped that, if nothing else, we could mend bridges.” In other words, Matt was still panicking that Ally’s protector would seek retribution and, as such, he wanted to make nice with her.
Derren arched a brow as he drawled, “Did you now?”
Rachelle’s devious eyes took in the Mercury wolves—you didn’t need to be empathetic to sense that these shifters didn’t consider the three visitors to be in the least bit welcome. “Ally, could we talk alone?”
Derren responded for Ally without missing a beat. “No.”
Zeke’s smile turned bitter as his focus switched to Derren. “Oh, that’s right, you consider yourself her protector.”
“She doesn’t need protecting from us,” stated Rachelle, “we’re her pack.” Her expression very sad, Rachelle sighed heavily—as if the whole thing weighed heavily on her shoulders. Oh, she was a super-good actress. Ally just hoped the Mercury wolves saw the lying skank for what she truly was. “There have been some issues between Ally and me, granted, but that’s all. We’re pack, and that means something to me.”
“It’s not my pack anymore,” said Ally flatly. “I’m not planning to return.”
“I understand why you might feel wary of coming home,” interjected Matt, “but I can swear to you now that things will be different this time round.”
Like she’d ever believe that. Her voice harder, she repeated, “I’m not planning to return.”
“You don’t belong here, Ally,” Zeke stated. “You belong with us, your pack.”
“Like she already told you repeatedly,” began Derren, his voice close to a growl, “she’s not part of your pack anymore.”
Clenching his fists, Zeke narrowed his eyes at Ally. “I don’t know what Derren’s told you, Ally. I don’t know if he’s filled your head with crap about letting you join his pack. But he told Matt that your stay here would be temporary.”
“It will be,” confirmed Ally, “but then I’ll be joining another pack.” Her wolf snapped her teeth at that comment—her frustration was directed at Ally this time. The animal didn’t want to be anywhere but there with Derren.
Rachelle took Ally’s hand in hers, looking appropriately hurt when Ally immediately snatched it back. “Ally, please reconsider leaving the Collingwood Pack. I know you and I didn’t get off to a great start. You despised me on sight. But that’s hardly surprising, given the way your world fell apart when Zeke left you. It had to have been so hard for your wolf too.”
Currently, Ally’s wolf was flexing her claws, wanting to take a swipe at Rachelle. The Beta female looked and sounded so understanding and mature—nothing in her expression ga
ve away the hatred that flowed from her and sliced at Ally’s skin like a steel blade.
“Admittedly, I wasn’t comfortable being around someone who had been in a serious relationship with my mate. My wolf certainly didn’t like it.” Rachelle raised her hands as she added, “I can hold my hands up and be honest here: I wasn’t the nicest person to you in the beginning. Betas have responsibilities to their pack mates, and I wasn’t there for you like a Beta female should have been. It was petty of me to disregard you that way, and I apologize for that.”
“I owe you an apology too,” said Zeke. “I knew you were hurting when I claimed Rachelle, but I didn’t check up on you. As Beta, your well-being was my responsibility, and I neglected it. Maybe if I hadn’t, things would have been different.”
Rachelle nodded. “Zeke and I are partly to blame for everything. I don’t think that things would ever have escalated the way they did if we had just been there for you.” Her eyes actually got all teary. She blinked away the tears and sniffed. “I just feel so bad about it. That petty, mean, inattentive person—that’s not me, and I’m ashamed of how low I stooped.”
God, the woman was good. Zeke and Matt totally bought it. And Ally began to seriously panic that just maybe the rest of the room would buy it too. Rachelle had certainly been able to fool everyone else. Ally honestly wouldn’t blame the Mercury wolves for falling for Rachelle’s act. Her wolf would, though. Too elemental in her way of thinking, her wolf wouldn’t account for all the complications in this situation. If the Mercury Pack believed Rachelle, she’d see it as yet another betrayal.
Rachelle gave Ally a pleading look. “I want to know if we can please put the past behind us. I understand why you did the things you did to me, I do. I can only imagine how it must have felt for you to lose Zeke and watch him claim me. Not that I’m saying it excuses that you attacked me, of course, but—”
Ally had had enough. “Shock me, Rachelle; say something true.” That had the crazy heifer gaping. “We both know why you’re really here,” Ally added calmly. “You’re trying to turn this pack against me too. You’re trying to isolate me again.” She tilted her head. “Not getting bored with this at all?”
To Rachelle’s credit, she quickly recovered from her surprise and continued with her act. “Ally, please be assured that that isn’t my intention. I do not want—and never have wanted—to turn anyone against you.”
Ally scoffed. “Woman, don’t make me hit you with your own broom. Just cut the crap, be a big girl, and give me some honesty.” Show everyone the real Rachelle. “You loathe me.”
Anger flared in Rachelle’s eyes for the briefest moment. “That’s not true.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“I could never loathe someone who’s important to Zeke.”
Ally smiled tauntingly. “Not even when I tell you I taught him that little thing you like?” Rage blasted out of Rachelle, hitting Ally’s head like a hammer. Ho, ho, ho—taunting her was working. And Ally’s wolf fully approved.
“That was immature and uncalled for, Ally. I’m doing my best to mend things here. I’m taking responsibility for my part in how awful things became for you.” Rachelle was still saying all the right things, but she wasn’t sounding so convincing anymore—not when her voice quavered, her face had hardened, and her eyes blazed. “Can we not try and get past all this? Can we not start again? That’s all I want: to fix this, to make it right, and to do better by you this time around.”
“Is it my turn to talk utter bullshit yet?”
Zeke put a calming hand on Rachelle’s arm, so presumably he could sense his mate’s anger growing and bubbling just as Ally did. “We don’t want to argue with you, Ally. We just want—”
“You know, Ally,” interrupted Rachelle, “Mia told me that this would be pointless.”
Oh, Rachelle was playing ball now. Why else would she point out the betrayal of Mia, a female wolf who had once been a close friend of Ally’s? Zeke and Ally had often gone on double dates with Mia and her mate. Needless to say, when Rachelle joined the pack, the Beta female took Ally’s place on those dates. She had also taken her place as Mia’s friend, and it had hurt to be so utterly ditched that way.
“She told me there was no way you would apologize, that you’re too envious and bitter,” continued Rachelle. “But I didn’t want to believe that.”
“What a coincidence, I don’t believe it either.”
Ignoring that, Rachelle went on. “I was hoping Mia was wrong. But everyone here can see the truth, Ally. They can see how sour, offensive, hateful, unforgiving, and remorseless you really are.”
“Coming from a demented, poisonous, mind-numbing, substandard intelligence . . . that means absolutely jack shit.” Ally shrugged. “But, hey, if believing all that crap about me makes you feel good about yourself . . . well, all the power to you, I guess.”
Rachelle’s upper lip curled. “You’re jealous.”
“Here we go again.” Ally rolled her eyes. “Get a life, Rachelle. I’m too busy to deal with your insecurities.”
“You’re jealous, just say it!”
“Yes, I want to slide into your skin and become you,” said Ally dryly.
“You can’t stand that I have Zeke! You can’t stand that he wants me, not you!”
Ally could see that Rachelle either truly believed that or wanted to believe it—like it boosted her teensy-weensy ego or something. “Don’t you see you’re so deluded and crazy that it goes totally beyond crazy and enters a completely new dimension of crazy?”
Rachelle pounded her fist on the table. “Admit it. You’re jealous!”
“Go home, Rachelle. I’m sick and tired of riding your crackbrained roller coaster.”
That was when the dumb heifer lunged. Before Ally could do anything more than jump to her feet, Roni’s hand snapped around Rachelle’s throat and dragged the skank to stand in front of her.
Then several things happened at once.
Zeke flew across the table, ready to defend his mate, but had his path blocked by Derren and Marcus.
As Matt stood, Nick dived over the table and planted himself in front of the Alpha before he could move to help either Rachelle or Zeke.
Growling and snarling, the other Mercury males placed Ally and Shaya behind them and formed a protective wall.
“Don’t fucking move,” Roni growled into Rachelle’s face. “You might be a Beta, but I’m more dominant than you are. You can sense it, can’t you?” When Rachelle struggled and clawed at Roni’s hands, the female enforcer just tightened her hold. “Fighting me would be stupid and pointless. Trust me when I say I’ve taken down tougher shifters than you.”
“Let her go,” growled Zeke, pointlessly attempting to get to the females.
Roni spared him a brief, uninterested glance. “Nah, I don’t think I’m going to do that.”
Again Zeke tried to shoulder his way past Derren and Marcus, so Derren shoved him back hard enough to make him almost lose his footing. “Your mate started this,” growled Derren, “and now the other females will finish it.”
Until then, Derren hadn’t interfered—despite his protective instincts going crazy—because it wouldn’t have been good for Ally. When a dominant wolf had their enemy right in front of them, they didn’t ask someone else to defend them. They faced that enemy down or they submitted. Derren had had no intention whatsoever of making Ally seem weak.
“Nick . . .” Matt’s voice was calming. “There doesn’t need to be any violence here.”
Nick bared his teeth at the other Alpha. “Tell that to your wolves.”
Rachelle’s voice was unsteady as she addressed the female collaring her. “This is between Ally and me.”
“Then challenge me,” dared Ally tauntingly, skirting around the wall of protective males. Shaya followed her, ignoring Nick’s disapproving growl.
Instead of reacting to Ally’s dare, Rachelle spoke again to Roni. “Ally’s not even your pack mate.”
Roni r
aised a brow. “Do I look affected by this?”
“Let her go,” Zeke ordered.
“Ooh, will you stamp your feet if I don’t?” Roni quipped.
When Zeke tried to reach his mate yet again, Derren spoke through his teeth, “Get back.” Since Zeke was obviously a fucking idiot, he took a swing at Derren. Without so much as flinching, Derren caught Zeke’s fist in his hand. “Wrong thing to do.” Derren crushed the Beta’s fist so hard bones cracked—forcing the wolf to understand who was more dominant. Only when Zeke’s body lost some of its tension did Derren release him. “This is for the females to deal with.”
“You expect me to watch them harm my mate?” demanded Zeke, cradling his injured fist with the other hand.
Marcus snorted. “Roni’s not harming her; she’s restraining her. My mate’s version of ‘harming’ goes something like hanging her opponent by their own intestines.”
Shaya sidled up next to Roni, glaring at Rachelle through eyes flashing wolf. “You don’t come into my home and attack my friend. We gave you permission to step onto our territory provided there would be no violence. Yet, you dared to violate that promise—not to mention the rules of hospitality.”
“Ally provoked me,” accused Rachelle.
Shaya smiled. “No, she hit you with reality while you persisted in entertaining us with your bullshit story. You’re good, but we know Ally. We know she’s not the person you described.”
Ally’s entire being warmed at Shaya’s faith and trust. Her wolf too basked in it.
“You think you know her.” Rachelle licked her bottom lip nervously. “She’s just fooling you.”
Shaya gave her a pitiful look. “If you actually believe that, you’re just fooling yourself.”
“You don’t know her!” shouted Rachelle.
“Oh, but we do.”
Seeing how pissed Rachelle was that none of the Mercury wolves were buying her act, Ally smiled at her. “It’s a bummer when no one believes you, isn’t it?”
“Now, this is what’s about to happen, Rachelle. Roni will release you.” Ignoring Roni’s pout, Shaya continued. “Two of my enforcers will escort you to your vehicle. Matt and Zeke will be close behind you with their own escorts. Then you’ll leave here. You’ll never, ever come back. And you’ll never bother Ally again.”