Careful not to unbalance the hammock, she sat upright. “I’m sorry for what happened to you—”

“I don’t want pity,” he snapped.

“Good, ’cause I’m not giving you any.” Anyone who could survive juvie was worthy of respect and admiration, not pity. “It’s true that power corrupts, and some Seers abuse their gifts. But the same could be said for Alphas. How many times have you heard of Alphas abusing their position and power? Or dominant wolves using their vibes to suppress and force less powerful wolves to submit against their will? You can’t tell me you haven’t known at least one person guilty of that.”

Derren wanted to object, but he knew she was right. He simply hadn’t thought of it that way before.

“People do shit like that because they’re assholes, Derren. Not because they’re Seers, or Alphas, or dominants. It’s all about the individual.”

He wanted to dispute it, wanted to hold on to his anger . . . but he couldn’t. She was right again.

Even though it wouldn’t be easy and her wolf wouldn’t like it, Ally proposed without heat, “Look, how about I stay out of your way, and you stay out of mine?”

It would probably be for the best, but Derren knew he wouldn’t manage for long. This female drew him, was like a magnet to his wolf. He’d dreamed about her the night before, dreamed he was balls deep in her, his teeth piercing her neck, his hand clutching her breast. Just the memory had his cock hardening. Suddenly she inhaled sharply, and a flush crept up her neck and face. He knew then that she could sense his arousal.

Ally cleared her throat. “I think you should go.”

She was right once again; he really should. But Derren had always been a person who did what he wanted as opposed to what he should. “What does it feel like?”

Perplexed, she asked, “What?”

“Emotions cause physical sensations for you, right? I know you can sense that I want you.” He took a few steps toward her. “What does it feel like to you?” He knew what it felt like for him. His hunger for her wasn’t soft or tame or romantic. It was vicious, sharp-edged, and biting. It was raw desperation that had teeth and claws, and it had him in a tight grip. “What does it feel like?” he repeated.

Like teeth plucking at her nipples, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. Then a crooked, satisfied smile surfaced on his face, and she winced. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?” His chuckle answered that. “Bye, Derren.” She thought he’d taunt her, but he turned and strode away, disappearing into the trees.

Her wolf lay down with a snarl, no doubt intending to sulk at his absence. But even the animal understood that there was too much darkness in Derren for him to ever accept her. He wasn’t a bad person, though he seemed to believe he was. But he was misguided in many ways, broken on some level. And even if she hadn’t been a Seer, he could never have trusted her. Trust and acceptance was important to Ally.

Derren could give her neither.

CHAPTER FIVE

It was dark. So dark. She hated the dark.

Shivering with cold and fear, she shoved at the huge rocks that had tumbled down in front of her. They didn’t budge an inch. She was trapped.

“It’s okay, Ally, we’re going to be okay.”

No, they wouldn’t be. He didn’t understand. He hadn’t seen what she had. “We have to get out.” She pushed harder at the rocks with her small hands, but they still didn’t move. Panic filled her, and she clawed at them as she began to shiver so hard her teeth chattered.

A hand on her arm pulled her back. “Ally, stop, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

“We have to get out! We have to warn them or they’ll die!”

As something wet and rough grazed her cheek, Ally jerked awake with a gasp—and realized a large black wolf was nuzzling her. Before she had the chance to push him away, he backed off. It wasn’t the first time over the past week that she had snapped awake in the hammock, haunted by a bad dream, to find the black wolf standing there. Watching over her? Being nosy? She didn’t know.

As if satisfied that she was now fine, he loped away just as he usually did. Although she was grateful to Derren for pulling her out of the dark, she hated that he knew how damaged she was. Didn’t like that he’d seen her vulnerable.

Although sometimes Ally managed to fall back asleep after a nightmare, she sadly didn’t manage to do so that morning. Getting up with a sigh, she filled her system with caffeine and a small breakfast.

The past week had gone pretty much the same for Ally. After breakfast, she’d go for a run in her wolf form. Shortly after that, Shaya would visit with Willow for a few hours. At lunchtime, Bracken, Jesse, and Zander’s wolves would appear, begging for scraps. Ally would then spent the rest of the day either reading, baking, or watching TV. Then she’d have dinner before lounging in her hammock on her porch, listening to her iPod, where she’d eventually fall asleep.

She’d often see glimpses of Derren going to and from his lodge, but he’d never spoken to her. The small amount of company hadn’t bothered her. Being mostly alone had stopped her from being bombarded by other people’s shit. It almost made her feel like a normal person. Seers would often have sensory overload, and they each had ways of blocking the world out when necessary. Listening to music helped Ally with that.

She was so used to having only Shaya and Willow as visitors that she was shocked when Kent and Caleb accompanied them that morning. Both males were polite and friendly. Maybe because Ally relieved Willow of any discomfort each day, and they appreciated that. Or maybe because Shaya had bullied them into it—Ally really had no idea.