“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.”