Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Derren found Eli waiting near their SUV, talking with a still-nervous Matt.
The Alpha turned to Ally with a shaky smile. “It feels wrong to watch you go. Stay, Ally.”
Derren stiffened. “She’s not safe here.” Cain had been right about that. Derren had seen how these wolves were giving her an ice-cold shoulder, and he didn’t like it. It made him remember a time when he too had been isolated, cast aside, and then betrayed by those he should have been able to trust.
Seer or not, guilty or not, she was now under Derren’s protection. He wasn’t happy about it, and he didn’t welcome yet another responsibility. But he’d take it as seriously as he took his Beta duties, because that was who he was.
Movement in his peripheral vision made Derren’s head whip to the side. A tall male was fast approaching, tension in every line of his body. Zeke. When his eyes slid to Ally and then down to her luggage, a series of emotions flickered across his face—predominantly rage.
“What’s going on?” Zeke demanded.
Matt took a step toward his Beta. “Ally’s leaving the pack.”
“What? Why?”
As the Beta and Alpha proceeded to argue, Eli looked at Ally. “Now that you’re packed, we can go.” He took her suitcase and bag and put them in the trunk of the SUV.
When Derren began to lead Ally to the backseat, Zeke made a beeline for her. “Ally, wait.”
Instinctively, Derren obstructed his path. “Don’t even think it.” His wolf curled back his upper lip in a fierce snarl as the animal dropped into a fighting stance, rearing to pounce. His wolf had a black, vicious temper. Right then, he was eager to rake his claws across the Beta’s abdomen, to warn the male away from Ally.
Zeke said through his teeth, “I want to talk to Ally.”
The expectation of obedience in his tone rubbed Derren’s fur the wrong way. “You can do it from here. Though you should probably make it quick.”
“Ally, you don’t have to go.”
“You believe I attacked your mate,” she said. “Surely you’d feel a whole lot better knowing she’s safe from my evil clutches.”
A muscle in Zeke’s jaw ticked. Again he moved toward her, and again Derren blocked his path. “What the fuck is your problem, Derren?” Zeke growled.
Simple: like his wolf, Derren didn’t want Zeke within reach of Ally. “She’s under my protection.”
Fury flared in Zeke’s eyes. “No, she’s under my protection. I’m her Beta.”
Hearing the heavy dose of possessiveness in that statement, it was clear to Derren just how close Zeke had come to imprinting on Ally. Bonding with his mate would naturally have dulled his feelings for any other female, but it was apparent that Zeke still hadn’t quite let go of Ally.
“Not anymore,” Derren firmly stated, a slight taunt in his tone.
“Ally, you don’t need to leave.”
“Zeke?” asked a new voice filled with uncertainty. Then a blonde sidled up to Zeke, taking in the scene with a perplexed expression.
“They want to take Ally,” Zeke told her.
The blonde’s eyes bulged in anger as she glared at Derren. “You can’t do that! She’s ours! Ally, do not get in that SUV!”
Totally straight-faced, Ally replied, “Sorry, I don’t take orders unless I’m naked.”
Derren was not going to entertain the thoughts and images that her comment sent raging through his mind.
“Get over here now!” shouted Rachelle. But Ally just blinked at her. Rachelle’s voice dropped a level as she growled, “You need to seriously rethink defying me.”
“And guys need to stop shoving their hands down their pants to play with their balls in public.” Ally shook her head. “Some things will never change.”
If Derren hadn’t been so preoccupied keeping Zeke back, he might have been able to stop Rachelle before she got anywhere near Ally. As it was, he barely reached her in time . . . but by then, Ally was slamming Rachelle facedown over the bonnet of the car next to the SUV, her hand gripping Rachelle’s nape, dominant vibes radiating from her . . . which had his wolf falling head over heels in lust.
“This, here, is why you never challenged me, Rachelle. You knew you couldn’t take me. You knew I’d humiliate you in front of the entire pack and put your suitability as Beta under question. Embarrassment-wise, this has to rank high.”
“Ally . . .” It was a plea from Zeke to release his mate.
After a long moment, Ally pushed away from her. “She’s all yours, Zeke. I can only pity you.”
Dismissing the Beta pair, Derren opened the rear door of the SUV while Eli jumped into the front passenger seat. “Get in, Ally.” Once she was inside the vehicle, his wolf settled a little. Without another look at the pathetic excuses for shifters, Derren hopped into the driver’s seat and drove off.
Ignoring the sound of Zeke calling her name once more, Ally settled into the backseat while the Mercury males sat up front. As the SUV crossed the border of Collingwood Pack territory, some of the tension left her. She was now away from Rachelle, from the wolves that had betrayed her, and from the danger that the false accusations presented. And it was hopefully the last Ally would ever see of Zeke, Rachelle, and Matt.