Seeing that it was still dark out, he made his way to the kitchen, where he pulled on his jeans before going in search of her. He found her exactly where he knew he would: in the hammock. Her face was scrunched up in pain, and she was squirming restlessly. It was something he’d seen her do in her sleep many times before.
Protectiveness surged through him, and his wolf whined in concern. Derren crouched before her and pressed a light kiss to her mouth. Her eyelids flickered open, but her gaze was cloudy and faraway. He had the feeling she wasn’t properly awake, wasn’t really seeing him. “You’re safe, baby,” he murmured. Wherever she went in her sleep, it wasn’t safe.
“I couldn’t get out,” she muttered so quietly it was a wonder he heard her. “I couldn’t get out to warn them.” Then her eyelids closed once more.
He didn’t know what the hell that meant, but he did know he wasn’t leaving her out here alone. Scooping her into his arms, he settled into the hammock with her draped over him. He played his fingers through her hair and smoothed his other hand down her back, relishing that he could touch her as he pleased. It . . . steadied him, soothed him somehow.
All the time he’d spent holding back, resisting the urge to touch her, had been agonizing in a way that made no damn sense. It had left him mentally and physically on edge . . . as if he’d been suffering from a lack of skin-to-skin contact for years. But the only touch he’d been starved of was hers. And he’d felt it acutely.
If he didn’t know for a fact that she was someone else’s mate, Derren would have wondered if she was his. It would have explained the hint of possessiveness that had been there from the beginning. Would have explained his wolf’s obsession with her. Would have explained the depth of Derren’s hunger for her.
He’d never wanted any female—hell, anything—the way he wanted Ally Marshall. Had never before felt like he’d go insane if he didn’t have this one thing.
Now that Derren had finally had her, now that he knew what it was like to be in her and have her come apart around him, his hunger should have technically eased. It hadn’t. The raw, razor-sharp need was still as overpowering as before. One night with her wasn’t enough.
Derren’s eyes fell on a bite mark—his mark—on her neck, and his wolf growled with satisfaction. A brand was a symbol of possession, and for a shifter to leave a brand on another was, in effect, a temporary claim. On some level, Derren had known from the very first thrust that he’d need more than one night. And just maybe the brands she’d left on him indicated that she felt the same. But shifters were known to leave brands if the sex was wild enough, and there was no denying that what had happened between them had been wild and primal.
Whatever the motivation behind Ally marking him, she wasn’t getting away from him. He needed more than one night. Of course she’d object to that, whether she wanted the same or not, because Ally was skittish. But he knew he wouldn’t behave and leave her alone . . . even if she did have the potential to fast become an addiction.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The smell of coffee woke Ally . . . which was odd, since she was sure she’d switched it off—
Derren’s mouth on hers. His fingers threading through her hair. His cock thrusting inside her. His teeth grazing and biting.
As the entirety of last night’s events crashed into her mind, she moaned. Although she didn’t regret any of it, she still cursed herself for being weak and giving in to him. Or, more accurately, for giving in to herself. Her wolf was extremely smug about it.
Ally was surprised he’d lingered. She’d pegged him for the type to scamper while she was sleeping and escape any morning-after awkwardness. She should have known better. Derren didn’t flee from anything. He faced everything in life head-on, almost daring the world to come at him.
She, on the other hand, would have been happy to avoid any post-one-night-stand discomfort. As a shifter, she had no hang-ups about casual sex. After all, a girl had to eat. Still, a one-night stand was new territory for her. She didn’t know the morning-after etiquette.
Did she say thanks and hint for him to leave?
Was she supposed to make him breakfast?
Were they meant to discuss it? She didn’t really see the point in postmortems.
Getting it right was important, because she’d have to see this guy every day for the next few months. She didn’t want things to be weird and uncomfortable between them from this point on.
Hoping she didn’t make an idiot out of herself by drowning in an ocean of unnecessary embarrassment, she headed inside the lodge. Fully dressed and looking unfairly presentable for a guy who had spent a huge portion of the night fucking her into oblivion, Derren was in the kitchen. His gaze met hers, filled with heat and awareness, as he offered her a mug of coffee.
“Morning,” he greeted, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. “I’m not good in the kitchen, so I didn’t even bother attempting to cook.”
No awkward vibes, no uneasy silence. Surprised, Ally took the mug. The weight of his intense gaze made a blush unexpectedly stain her cheeks. She felt . . . vulnerable, but she couldn’t explain why. She cleared her throat. “I thought you’d have left.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Did you now?”
As his gaze dropped to her neck, she remembered how he’d bitten her there. “I told you not to mark me.”
“I carry your mark too.” Derren rolled back his shoulder, reminding her how she’d dug her claws so deep in his flesh that she’d drawn blood.
Her face heated even more. “That was my wolf.” The animal had lunged for him, wanted to brand him as he’d branded her.
A smile curved his mouth. “Blaming your wolf? Tut, tut, tut.”
Yeah, that was low. And yeah, okay, it would be fair to say that she hadn’t fought her wolf’s urge to brand him. That simply pissed her off, because, dammit . . . “I’m not a possessive person.”
“Neither am I.” He skimmed his fingers along her collarbone. “But you . . . it’s different with you.”
Seeing the flare of determination in his eyes, she swallowed hard. “We agreed that it would be just one night, Derren.”
“We did. But I’ve changed my mind. I want more.”
She sighed. “Look, I’m not saying last night wasn’t good. It was—”
“Fucking amazing. And it will happen again.”
“We need to forget it ever happened. Cain will flip if he—”
“What have I told you?” He gripped her jaw. “This is about you and me. No one else.” Neither Derren nor his wolf wanted her thinking of any other guy, particularly the one who was her intended mate. Jealousy slithered through Derren every time she even said Cain’s name. “What he’ll think or feel about us makes no fucking difference to me.”
She pulled out of his hold. “It should. He’s your friend, and you’d be risking that friendship.” Cain would be pissed that his friend had “used” the girl he viewed as his little sister—that was how he’d see it.
“Yes, so that has to show you how badly I want you.”
She closed her eyes as she sifted a hand through her hair. The guy was so unbelievably stubborn it drove her crazy.
“Look at me, Ally. Be honest, this isn’t about Cain. You’re hesitating because you don’t want a repeat of what happened with Zeke. I get it. But I’m not him. I would never turn on you like that.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” she conceded. He was too loyal for that. In such a situation, he would claim his mate, yes, but he wouldn’t treat Ally like she was a stranger. He would support and defend Ally if she needed it. “But I have no wish to lose someone else to their mate. To be put aside again.”
Derren laughed, but it had a bitter edge to it. “The likelihood of me recognizing my mate is practically nonexistent.” He’d once heard a mating bond be compared to a frequency. If it were jammed by such things as doubts, fears, or an imprinting bond, the shifters would be unable to pick it up. Derren was too damn messed up inside to be able to sens
e his mate.
Ally didn’t need to ask why he’d assume that. “You have issues with trust.” Not to mention that he was so preoccupied with serving Nick that he wasn’t fully living his own life. She didn’t bother asking why he felt so indebted to his Alpha. Derren shared only what he chose to share when he chose to share it, and she respected that, because she didn’t like confiding in others either.
“My point is there can’t be a repeat of what happened with Zeke,” said Derren, the latter word a growl.
Maybe, but what he didn’t realize was that it wasn’t just about how she’d lost Zeke to his mate. Ally had also lost her life the way it was. She’d suddenly found herself living alone, was more pitied than respected, and had eventually lost everything—including her status.
“Stop overthinking it, Ally. This doesn’t have to be complicated; we’re not talking permanence here. But we’re not talking some kind of empty fling either. I like you, I respect you.”
In other words, while this would be casual and temporary, it also wouldn’t be meaningless sex to him. That idea made Ally hesitate to rebuff him again. Emotionless flings weren’t something she was capable of; she wasn’t one of those people who could separate sex from feelings. If she hadn’t come to like Derren, she could never have slept with him. She could only agree to this if their temporary relationship wouldn’t be impersonal and cold.
Derren’s cell phone ringing cut off what he would have said next. He knew by the ringtone that it was Nick. Without losing eye contact with Ally, Derren dug his cell out of his jeans pocket. “Yeah?”
“Come to the main lodge.”
Hearing the urgency in his Alpha’s tone, Derren stiffened as his wolf shot to alertness. “Problem?”
“There could be.” Nick hung up.
“I have to go,” Derren told Ally, returning his phone to his pocket. He cupped her nape, pinning her gaze with his. “Understand this, Ally. There is very little I consider an obstacle when I want something. And when I want something as badly as I want you, I won’t let anything or anyone keep me from it. I marked you, and I don’t consider that a small thing. Do you? Is branding a guy something you do often?” he rumbled.
After a long moment, she confessed, “No.”
That was what he’d thought. “We both want this, Ally. Don’t we?” He needed her to admit it to both of them.
His eyes dared her to lie, but she didn’t. “Yes.”
Derren smiled. “Good girl.” He kissed her hard, pouring every bit of his hunger and resolve into it. When he finally pulled back, he brushed his thumb over the mark he’d left on her neck. “Don’t cover it up.”
Minutes later, Derren was striding into the living area of the main lodge, where most of the pack stood around. He frowned. “What’s going on?” he asked Nick.
“Fifteen minutes ago, a car pulled up outside the road leading to the main lodge,” replied his Alpha. “It didn’t cross into our territory, but it isn’t showing any signs of moving. Eli and Bracken took a closer look without approaching the vehicle. There’s one guy inside, and he’s not only covered in injuries but he’s unconscious.”
“He’s also in the passenger seat,” added Eli, “which means someone drove him there and then deserted him.”
“You’re certain he’s not dead?” Derren asked Eli.
It was Bracken who answered. “His chest is rising and falling. It’s a small movement, but it’s there.”
Shaya cuddled Willow close. “Knowing there’s a wounded guy so close who might need our help isn’t sitting well with me. I don’t like the idea of just leaving him there. But the whole thing seems . . . off to me.”
Zander nodded. “Like a trap.”
“Or a distraction,” mused Derren, his instincts stabbing at him. “Something to make us look one way while someone comes at us from another angle.”
Nick’s eyes widened. “Fuck.”
This doesn’t have to be complicated.
Derren was right, Ally told herself as she poured more coffee into her mug. She never would have expected it when they’d first met, but they had become friends. Not the type of friends who shared secrets or memories—their friendship wasn’t intimate like what he had with Nick and Roni; like what Ally had with Cain. But the interactions between her and Derren had evolved into a casual friendship where there was a mutual respect and regard.
A fling based on this kind of friendship could work for Ally. There would be no laying demands on each other, there would be no expectations, and there would be no need to confide about emotions, fears, ideas, or hopes. Yes, this could work out fine for both of them. Because as much as Ally was more of a commitment kind of girl, she didn’t have the emotional ability to give that to anyone right now.
However, there was no denying that there were plenty of reasons to not get involved with Derren. For one thing, Cain would go apeshit; he was very protective of her, considered her his baby sister, and wanted her to have a mate and family of her own. He knew that Ally wasn’t the casual sex type, and he’d see this situation as Derren using her. But it was impossible to explain all of that to Derren since he didn’t want to hear it.
Another reason to steer clear of a temporary relationship with Derren was the not-so-simple fact that she hadn’t been able to fight her wolf’s desire to brand him. Not when Ally herself had wanted to leave a mark of possession on him to make it clear to other females, to him, and to his wolf that she didn’t share.
Ally sighed at the beeping of her cell phone. No doubt it was Zeke again. And that right there was yet another reason to avoid a fling with Derren: it could end very fucking badly. Ignoring the beep, she took her mug and settled on the porch step. Zeke had also sent her a message around midnight, which she’d only noticed after Derren had left. It wasn’t until she’d read that message, wherein Zeke had claimed to miss her, that she’d begun to wonder if just maybe Derren was right. Maybe Zeke was finding it hard to let go.
Shifter males were possessive. Dominant males were even more so. Zeke had almost been as possessive of her as Derren was growing to be. Although Zeke would choose his mate over Ally any day of the week, he and his wolf could still be finding his abrupt separation with Ally hard to adjust to.
That would explain why he hadn’t wanted to get her a transfer from the pack when she’d asked. If that were the case, the best thing she could do was continue to ignore his attempts to speak to her. What worried her was that it might drive him to come and see her.
Snapped out of her musings by a loud high-pitched sound, Ally put down her mug and jumped to her feet. It was a cry . . . a baby’s cry. Willow. Without thought or hesitation, she sprinted into the forest, tracking the frightened cry. Her mind distantly registered that she was heading in the direction of Kent and Caleb’s lodge, but Ally’s focus was solely on getting to the baby. Willow’s wails got louder and louder as Ally came closer to the opening in the trees she could see up ahead. Ally burst into the small clearing and—
“Ally, no!” The choked-out warning came from Caleb, who was sprawled on the ground with Kent. Both were badly injured, and both were covered in blood. What the fuck?
Ally’s head snapped in the direction of Willow’s cry . . . only to find that there was no Willow there, and a fucking cougar shifter was leaping off a tree branch, its feline gaze trained on Ally with—
Flinching as heat scalded her fingers, Ally dropped the coffeepot back onto the counter. Understanding quickly dawned. “Fuck!” Snatching her cell from the end of the counter, she dialed Caleb’s number.
He answered after only two rings. “Hey, Ally, how’s—”
“Don’t leave your lodge! Whatever happens, whatever you think you hear, do not leave your lodge. It’s not Willow, it’s a trap.” Ending the call, she quickly called Derren. The phone kept ringing and ringing, and she cursed. “Come on, come on.”
Then there was his voice. “Baby, I can’t talk right now—”
“Cougars.”
“What?”
“There are cougar shifters on our territory!” Cougar screams could often sound like babies wailing or women screaming. “I had a vision! They’re near Kent and Caleb’s lodge!” The predator in her wanted to track the felines and rip them all a new asshole for trespassing on Mercury territory with the intention to kill.
“Ally, don’t move. Don’t go after them alone.”
She wouldn’t, because that would give the cougars what they wanted. But she wasn’t going to hole up at her lodge either.
“I mean it, Ally. I need you to stay there. We’re bringing Shaya and Willow to you.”
“What? Why?” But he’d already hung up. By the time she’d quickly washed and replaced her long shirt with a white, long-sleeved T-shirt and her faded blue jeans, the pack arrived at the lodge. Only Derren, Bracken, Kathy, and Shaya with Willow in her arms filed inside.
“What’s happening?” Ally asked them.
“We weren’t prepared to leave anyone at the main lodge, considering what’s parked outside the border,” replied Derren.
That didn’t make a lick of sense to Ally.
Derren pinned her with a determined look. “Lock the doors and stay inside. Don’t split up—not for anything.” His wolf didn’t want to leave her, but even the animal understood that the need to protect the pack was vital. Wanting his head firmly on the threat on their territory, Derren ignored the urge to kiss her and forced his mind to the current issue.
Ally watched as Derren joined the rest of the pack outside. As one, they all shifted into their wolf forms and charged into the forest. Confused, she turned to Shaya. “What was he talking about?” As Derren requested, Ally secured the locks.
“Someone parked a car outside the road leading to the main lodge.” The Alpha female was slowly pacing, her daughter balanced on her hip. “There was an injured, unconscious guy in the passenger seat.”
“Decoy,” Ally guessed.
“I called an ambulance,” interjected Kathy from the sofa. “EMTs were taking him away when we left the lodge.”
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