Ally nodded. “You’re part of the Phoenix Pack now?”

Jaime smiled proudly and leaned into the brown-eyed male. “This is my mate, Dante.”

Ally wanted to ask if he was the Dante—the guy Jaime had talked about many times. Although he’d left Jaime’s old pack when he was just a teenager, Jaime had never gotten over her crush. If the fact that they were now mated was anything to go by, it must have been because they were true mates but hadn’t known back then.

“Ally once had a vision that Gabe was going to be attacked by a group of falcon shifters,” Jaime told Dante, referring to her brother. “It saved him.”

“Really?” Dante’s frown gradually slipped away. “It’s good to meet you, Ally.”

Shaya released a sigh of relief. But then her entire body froze as a tiny blonde with sharp charcoal-gray eyes planted herself in front of Ally. Shaya cleared her throat. “Ally, this is Taryn, Alpha female of the Phoenix Pack.” Taryn’s shrewd gaze assessed her from head to toe and back again.

“Taryn,” drawled Derren, knowing there was every chance Taryn would carry the same prejudice toward Seers that her mate did, given the pain it had caused him.

She waved a hand at Derren. “Oh, cool it, Hudson. I’m not gonna give her shit. She saved my best friend’s life and healed my goddaughter. As far as I’m concerned, she walks on water.” Taryn gave her a respectful nod. “If you ever need anything, just ask.” Her stamp of approval must have been what her enforcers had been waiting for, because then Tao and Ryan nodded at Ally in greeting, along with the seriously hot blond, who was grinning impishly.

Shaya gestured at the blond, seeming reluctant to introduce him. “This is another Phoenix enforcer, Dominic.”

His grin widened. “Hi, I have big feet.” Everyone groaned, other than Jaime, who laughed, and Derren, who growled.

“Dominic, I really wouldn’t exercise your habit of dishing out cheesy chat lines on Ally,” Shaya advised him. “Derren’s kind of . . . protective.”

The Phoenix enforcer was the image of innocence. “It’s just that she looks a lot like my next girlfriend.”

Derren growled again. “Take Shaya’s advice and leave Ally be.”

Dominic just grinned at him before winking at Ally, and she couldn’t help but smile. He was obviously a world of trouble.

“Now you’ve all seen her, so back off,” ordered Derren. “She’s leaving.”

Ally pointed to the blood matting her hair. “I kind of need a shower.”

Jaime hugged her once more. “Expect plenty of visits from me while you’re here.” Ally smiled at that. Jaime was always good company.

Shaya said, “I’ll come see you when everyone’s gone home.”

As Ally followed Derren out of the kitchen, the Mercury wolves either offered her a “hey” or a nod of thanks—none of which were begrudging or had hints of wariness. It satisfied her wolf, who’d found it difficult being part of a pack, even temporarily, that didn’t accept or include her.

As her lodge came into view, Ally inwardly sighed in relief. Now all she needed to do was get rid of the persistent, indomitable, and annoyingly hot male at her side. But since she got the feeling he didn’t intend to go anywhere, and he was a guy who didn’t seem to pay attention to what other people wanted, she doubted it would be easy.

CHAPTER SIX

Entering her lodge, Ally slung her jacket onto the sofa and headed for the stairs. Sensing that Derren had expectedly followed her inside, she said, “You can go now.”

“Not until you’re steady on your feet.” Derren wanted to go upstairs with her, help her get clean, take care of her—an odd feeling that was made stronger by his wolf’s urge to do the same. But he hadn’t earned that level of intimacy with her, and it was best for everyone if he ignored the urge in any case.

Ally couldn’t deny that she was still a little weak, but she’d be damned if she’d admit it out loud. “I don’t need a nursemaid.”

“Good. I’d just send her away anyway.”

Knowing he’d purposely misunderstood what she’d said, Ally just rolled her eyes. Not interested in wasting what little strength she had on arguing with him, she left him in the kitchen while she took her shower. Since her head wound had healed, it barely stung when she shampooed her hair. She wanted to linger, to let the hot spray wash away her tension, but she was too tired.

Dressed in her sweats, she made her way downstairs. Derren was still in the kitchen, and he’d apparently made himself a sandwich. “Feel free to make yourself at home.” The bite of sarcasm in her words actually made him smile.

He plonked the sandwich on her dining table. “Sit. Eat.”

Well, that made her bristle, even as her stomach rumbled. “I don’t respond well to orders.”

“Yeah, I’m learning that.” He moved closer, breathing in her delicious scent mingled with her coconut soap. “You need to eat something. You missed lunch, and you used up a lot of energy. Eat.”

Although his Beta tone was irritating as shit, she wasn’t the type to cut her nose off to spite her face. So with a huff, she took a seat and dug into her sandwich, which was actually pretty good. She purposely gave her full attention to the sandwich, disregarding the wolf opposite her. But it was hard to ignore a six-foot-plus male who was packed with hard muscle and armed with an unrefined sexuality. Especially when said male wanted her attention.