Shaya also rose to her feet. “So soon?”
“I have a busy afternoon ahead.” Miranda turned to leave . . . and almost crashed into Eli. What she hadn’t realized was that Eli and the Mercury enforcers had subtly moved to gather behind her and her own enforcers, intending to obstruct their path to the exit.
“You’re not going anywhere just yet, Miss Whitney,” Eli told her. “Or should I say . . . Miss Moore?”
Marcus tilted his head. “You wouldn’t be related to Kerrie Moore, would you?”
“Who?” Miranda sounded appropriately confused.
“She’s the Seer we’re looking for,” explained Shaya, her smile now gone. When Miranda turned back to face her, Shaya added, “But you already know that, don’t you?”
“We always thought it was likely that a family member was giving her sanctuary,” rumbled Nick. “I have to admit, I hadn’t suspected that it might be you.”
“You have this all wrong,” Miranda claimed. “I wish I could help—”
“That’s good,” said Roni. “That’s very, very good. Because you can help, can’t you? Where is she?”
“I do not know any Kerrie M—”
“Cut the shit,” spat Eli. “We know she’s your cousin. We know you used to visit her at her pack.”
Miranda sighed heavily. “That much is true,” she finally admitted. “But I have no idea where you can find my cousin.”
Still curved protectively around his mate, Derren told Miranda, “When you lie, you purse your lips.” The bitch’s mouth then set into a hard slash as she glared daggers at him.
Nick advanced on Miranda, growling. “Tell us where Kerrie is.”
Swallowing hard, she lifted her chin. Despite looking like a cornered animal and being the target of an entire pack’s anger, Miranda still maintained a haughty, antagonistic edge. “I’ll want something in exchange.”
Nick laughed at her nerve, but there was nothing pleasant about the sound. “This isn’t a negotiation. You will tell us where Kerrie is.” His voice hardened. “All this time you knew what was happening, you knew your cousin was responsible for the hit and the subsequent attacks. But you didn’t warn us. You didn’t aid us. By siding with your cousin and protecting her, you’re against us.” She didn’t speak, just returned his stare defiantly.
“How many males in your pack are eager to take over your position as Alpha, Miranda?” Derren asked, playing his fingers across Ally’s collarbone.
“I’ll bet there are plenty,” added Eli. “Hell, I’ll bet even your enforcers here think themselves capable of it. They’d relish the opportunity to fight the other males for the position. And let’s face it, you haven’t been a great Alpha, have you?”
Miranda gasped, flushing. “How dare you!”
“You cast out every strong female, not wanting any threats to your throne,” began Derren. “Any male who claimed a dominant female as his mate was forced to leave for the same reason. Those who were cast out often took their extended families with them. All of that not only meant your numbers dwindled, but that the males had to either seek sexual contact outside the pack or fall into your arms. You basically treat that pack as a stable of stallions for yourself.”
“How many times did you lead on one of the males, let him believe you might make him your Alpha male, only to then cast him aside?” asked Eli. “I’m guessing it was pretty often.”
Nick spoke then. “Considering you haven’t been much good as an Alpha female, I don’t think your pack would care all that much if you suddenly . . . disappeared.”
“Do not think to threaten me,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “Your submissive mate isn’t a match for me.” Shaya actually snorted at that, not looking at all offended.
Nick smiled. “You’re right. Shay’s stronger than you’ll ever be—and certainly a better Alpha than you could ever hope to be.” Miranda’s eyes flared with a simmering anger that scalded Ally.
“But it’s not Shaya you need to worry about,” promised Roni. “It’s me.” No one wanted Kerrie caught and punished more than Roni did, and Miranda was in her way.
One of Miranda’s enforcers cleared his throat to catch everyone’s attention. He cast his fellow enforcer a brief look before speaking. “Clark and I can take you to Kerrie.”
Miranda whirled on them. “Do not dare betray me, Jason!”
“Everything these wolves said is right,” Jason said to her, looking defeated. “Our pack was strong until you took it over. We’ve watched friends leave because of you. I don’t want to see any others leave. And I don’t want to be forced to go one day just because I might have been blessed to find my mate and she turned out to be dominant.”
“All that aside,” began Clark, “betraying our neighbors like this . . .” He shook his head. “It’s wrong.”
Nick didn’t appear totally convinced that their sudden willingness to cooperate was authentic. “If that’s how you both truly feel, you can tell me what I want to know.”
Jason nodded. “Kerrie’s on our territory.” Miranda gasped, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. Ignoring her, Jason went on. “She’s been staying in one of the guest cabins.”
“She’s obsessed with getting vengeance,” said Clark. “We thought about coming forward sooner, but . . .”
“But you’d pledged an oath, and it felt wrong to dishonor it,” finished Shaya, her tone one of understanding, though her facial features were still etched with infuriation.
Jason straightened his shoulders. “We caught the foxes that shot the grenade on your territory. We . . . disposed of them.”
Nick inclined his head. “It’s appreciated.”
Miranda went to lunge at her enforcers, but Jesse caught her and held her back as she ranted and raved at them for betraying her. She was screaming so loud that Willow woke up, at which point Shaya looked close to diving on her.
“Jesse, put this bitch in the toolshed,” ordered Nick. Jesse immediately—and happily—obeyed. Miranda could still be heard screaming from outside the lodge.
“We ask that you don’t punish our pack for Miranda’s actions,” said Jason.
For a moment, Nick remained silent. “You would need to leave this lodge without your Alpha female.” It was clearly a dare. Any reluctance by them to do so would indicate that their loyalty still lay with her. “And you would need to vow that your pack will not challenge ours to avenge her.”
“There will be no challenge,” swore Jason, to which Clark nodded.
“And we want Kerrie,” stated Roni.
Again, Clark nodded. “We’ll take you to her. It was never our wish to give her sanctuary.”
When Nick raised a brow at Ally, she knew he was asking if they were being truly sincere. “You can trust them on this. They’re being honest,” she assured him.
“All right then. Jason, Clark—wait outside while I have a quick talk with my pack.” Nick didn’t speak again until the enforcers shut the kitchen door behind them. “I’m not willing to rely on these guys handing Kerrie over. Not that I don’t trust your judgment, Ally, I do. And I think Jason and Clark genuinely want to get rid of Miranda. But there’s no saying the rest of their pack will feel the same. One of them might warn Kerrie before we can get to her. I won’t risk that.”
“I’ll go with them,” offered Marcus.
Roni sidled up to her mate. “Not alone you won’t.” When an odd expression crossed Nick’s face, she glared at him. “Do not go all overprotective on me right now. I need to be part of this.”
The Alpha male sighed at her in resignation. “Fine. You, Derren, Marcus, and I will go with Jason and Clark. We’ll get Kerrie and we’ll bring her back here to deal with her and Miranda together.” Nick addressed everyone else as he said, “If something goes wrong, we’ll howl.”
It was no secret that Ally wasn’t the most patient person in the world. The fact that she was also worried for the safety of Derren and her pack mates meant that she was beyond edgy as she took Bruce
for a short walk through the trees near the border of Miranda’s territory, waiting for them all to return. She was hoping to catch a glimpse of her mate making his way back, but she was also hoping to walk off her pent-up restless energy.
Her wolf was just as anxious, pacing and flexing her claws. She didn’t like being apart from her mate at the best of times. Being apart from him while it was possible that he could be walking into danger wasn’t something her wolf was handling too well. Ally had asked to go along, but Nick had said that it was important to him that Shaya and Willow were adequately protected. And Derren had backed him up. Not for Shaya and Willow’s sake, she knew, but because he didn’t want Ally walking with him into what could be a dangerous situation. He was being his usual overprotective self.
It was annoying, but it was also comforting to have someone who put her first like that. For so long, Ally had been close to a nomad—flitting from place to place, never putting down roots. She’d never felt “home.” Until now. She felt settled, like she fit in somewhere, like she belonged. But it wasn’t being part of the Mercury Pack that made her feel that way. Derren was home, he was her safe place, and he settled her.
Hearing a short, doglike yelp, she froze. That was when she noticed that the dog was nowhere in sight. “Bruce?” All she heard was a heavy thud. Torn between following the sound and signaling for—
Ally flinched as a sharp sting struck her neck. Son of a bitch. For a moment, she thought she’d been stung by a wasp or a bee. Then, as she brought her hand up to her neck, she felt it: something long, metal, and feathery. Yanking it out, she realized it was a fucking dart. She howled a warning.
Or, more specifically, she tried.
Nothing happened. She couldn’t even open her mouth, let alone use her vocal cords.
Then, as if the muscles in her body lost their tone, she slumped . . . into a set of strong arms. The scent of the person holding her was male, tiger, and totally unfamiliar. Another male tiger shifter appeared in front of her, equally unfamiliar, and lifted her by her legs.
Carefully and quietly, they carried her through the trees . . . and she could do nothing but watch as paralysis set in, leaving her awake and alert but unable to move. Fuck it all.
Her wolf howled and lunged for the surface, fighting for supremacy so that she could defend Ally and rip the strangers apart. But Ally was just as unable to shift forms as she was to do anything else.
Soon enough, they reached a vehicle parked among the trees. Then the fuckers opened the trunk and dumped her in it. Oh, she was going to burn shit down when she could finally fucking move again.
“Something’s wrong.” Derren came to a total standstill seconds after crossing the border back onto Mercury territory.
“What?” asked Nick, spine locking. Roni and Marcus, who were dragging an unconscious Kerrie, also tensed.
“Ally,” replied Derren as apprehensiveness began to build in his system and his wolf started to pace anxiously. “I could feel through our bond that she was nervous and frustrated with waiting,” he explained as he dug out his cell phone. “But now . . . now she’s seriously pissed and feeling sort of helpless.” Which made no sense.
He called her phone. It rang. And rang. And rang. No response at all.
Every instinct he had went on high alert, and his apprehensiveness became blind fear. “Something’s wrong,” he repeated, adamant this time.
“I’ll call Shaya. You try reaching Ally again.”
Again, Derren’s call went unanswered. Shaya, however, answered her call from Nick with a “Please tell me everything’s okay?”
“We’re fine, we have Kerrie,” Nick assured her quickly. “Where’s Ally?”
Through the receiver, Derren heard Shaya’s answer clearly: “Ally? She went to take Bruce for a walk just outside our lodge. Why?”
With that, Derren raced through the trees, fear pumping through him. He called out her name several times as he searched the area surrounding the main lodge, but there was no answer, nor was there any sign of her.
Pausing, he spun around to face Nick, who had followed him. “I don’t see her. You?” Then two scents reached his nose. Two scents that didn’t belong. “Tigers.”
Nick inhaled deeply, inspecting the scents. A growl trickled out of him. “Fuck.”
He and Nick both followed the unfamiliar scents, continuing through the trees, while Derren’s heart slammed hard against his ribs and his wolf lost his fucking shit. Nothing could happen to Ally. Nothing.
Derren swore loudly as he found Bruce’s body slumped on the ground. Dropping to his knees, he pulled out the dart that was embedded in the animal’s flank. “He’s alive. But he’s been drugged.”
Nick frowned. “His eyes are open. Alert.”
“He’s been drugged with something that’s paralyzed his muscles. And so has Ally.” That was why she was feeling so helpless. She was basically a prisoner in her own body. “I need to keep following their scents.”
To Derren’s utter frustration, the strange scents disappeared abruptly at a spot farther ahead. Studying the tire tracks, he spat a string of curses. Returning to Nick, he said, “Someone took her. The Collingwood wolves are behind this.” He knew it as surely as he knew that if anyone hurt Ally, they would die a long, brutal, excruciating death at his hands. “I have to get to her.”
As if suspecting Derren might run around aimlessly in his panicky state, Nick grabbed his arm. “Yes, but we don’t know where she is. Try calling her again.” As Derren was cursing when Ally’s phone went unanswered for the third time, Dan and Cain came rushing toward them.
“Shaya told us Ally’s missing,” said Cain, eyes sharp.
Nick nodded. “My guess is she was taken by tiger shifters—possibly at Rachelle’s order. She has a huge hard-on for Ally.”
Dan waved a hand. “She’ll be fine.”
Derren blinked at him, shocked at his nonchalance. “She’s been kidnapped.”
Dan actually shrugged. “It’s not like it’s the first time.”
“Elaborate,” Nick bit out.
It was Cain who replied, looking no more concerned than Dan. “When she was nine, she and a few other pups were snatched right off our territory by a rival pack. They were home within the hour.”
“Ally got free and untied the others,” said Dan. “Then they just jumped right on out of the vehicle and made their way back. Of course, she was totally pissed and made us buy her a goldfish. Our Ally’s tough.”
“Yes, she’s tough,” agreed Derren, infuriated by Cain and her uncle dismissing the danger she was in. “The Collingwood Beta female wants her dead. She’ll try to kill her.”
“Yes, she’ll try. Don’t worry. My niece will be fine.”
“She’s drugged.”
“Oh.” Dan looked sheepish. “Well, that complicates things a little.”
“Feed her strength through your bond,” Nick told Derren. “It will make the effects of the drug wear off faster.”
“I can’t.” It was painful to speak the words, to vocalize what was tormenting him. “The bond isn’t fully formed yet.”
Cain frowned. “Why? You having doubts about Ally?”
“None whatsoever.”
“So, what’s holding you both back?”
Derren had no fucking idea. Ally had changed everything for him. He’d never believed he could be loved just the way he was, but she did. He’d always felt stifled by responsibilities, but she made him realize that they didn’t have to weigh him down and that there was strength in his status and in being responsible for others.
It was only right at that moment, while fear had such a strong chokehold on him that he felt both suffocated and trapped, that he realized he surprisingly hadn’t had that “trapped” feeling for a long time. He’d always worried that being mated would make him feel confined, but he’d been totally wrong. Ally made him feel balanced and important to someone. Being mated to her didn’t trap him, it liberated and anchored him. She was—
&
nbsp; Derren jolted at the sudden dual sensation of an explosion in his chest and a hammering thud to his head. The pain disappeared as fast as it came, and understanding quickly dawned. His breath caught in his throat as he realized their mating bond had snapped into place.
He could feel her heartbeat, sense her own surprise, realization, and pleasure at what was happening. Without hesitation, he shoved strength down that connection, forcing her to absorb and use it.
“Why do you have a dreamy look on your face?” asked Dan.
“My guess is the mating bond just fully formed,” said Nick.
Derren nodded. “My strength’s helping her a lot quicker than I thought it would.”
Nick slapped Derren’s upper arm supportively. “That’s a good thing. It means she won’t be helpless. Now all we have to do is find her.”
Ally wasn’t sure how much time went by before the paralysis started to wear off. She just knew that it would have taken a hell of a lot longer without Derren’s help. She had every intention of celebrating the amazing fact that their mating bond was now fully formed. Later. Right now, she needed to focus on her little predicament.
She also needed to maintain her calm if she had any intention of getting out of the tight, uncomfortably hot space. But since her kitty kidnappers had secured her wrists together with a zip tie, escaping wasn’t going to make remaining calm an easy feat.
During the journey, she’d been able to hear the tigers chatting away. Since they were playing the music loud, she hadn’t made out every word, but she knew two things: one, Rachelle had hired them; two, they had been instructed to take Ally alive to a place of Rachelle’s choice.
Well, there wasn’t a chance in hell that Ally would let them get her to a secondary location. If she did, it would all be over.
Having fully shaken off the effects of the drug, Ally caught the end of the zip tie between her teeth and tugged until it was super tight. Then she rolled onto her back, raised her arms above her head and brought them down hard toward her stomach. With that, the lock mechanism snapped. Her wolf growled her approval.
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