CHAPTER SIXTEEN

You son of a bitch!”

Derren’s eyes snapped open. Looming over the hammock, his face twisted with incredulity and anger, was a very familiar male wolf—and the last person Derren would have expected to see. Three other faces stared down at Derren, curious and grim.

Ally shot upright, almost tipping over the hammock. “Fuck. What are you all doing here?”

“What’s he doing wrapped around you?” demanded Cain, fists clenched, his chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. This was going to be bad, Derren knew. A battle between him and Cain was inevitable, since the fact that he and Ally were mated wouldn’t placate Cain much.

She raised her hands as she said softly, “Let’s just all stay calm.”

“Calm?” echoed Cain disbelievingly. “Calm?”

“Yeah, that would be good. Why didn’t you call ahead of time to let us know you were coming? Uncle Wyatt,” she growled at a shifter who clearly went for the cowboy look, “stop snarling at Derren.”

“This is the guy you asked to protect her?” Wyatt asked Cain, his voice bland. “Hmm. I think he might have taken the bodyguard role a little too literally.”

The second male, looking like he belonged on a GQ cover with his Armani suit and gelled hair, regarded Ally curiously. “You have a thing for Betas or something? I mean, you were with the Collingwood Beta not so long ago. And now you’re involved with this asshole.”

“Dan has a point, Ally,” said the third—and seriously muscular—male. Hell, he was even bigger than Dante. “Well, Cain, your worry about this guy’s bias against Seers was unnecessary. He seems very . . . close to our Ally.”

“Don’t make this worse,” Ally hissed at the mountain of muscle.

Wyatt nodded. “She’s right, Brad. We don’t want Cain getting more worked up than he already is. Besides, Ally’s a grown woman—if she wants to get involved with a wolf who took advantage of his friend’s trust, that’s her business.”

Oh, these males were good. Derren could tell that they obviously wanted Cain to be totally riled and were doing their best to get him all worked up. And that was exactly what he was.

Cain glared at Derren, his eyes glittering with rage. “You. Get up.” Then he backed off the porch and took a position on the grass, rolling his shoulders. “I’m going to shatter every fucking bone in your body!”

Ally placed her hand on Derren’s leg, encouraging him to stay in place. “No, Cain, you have to listen to me.” But Cain wasn’t paying any attention to her; he only had eyes for her mate. Worse, Derren had hopped out of the hammock and was striding off the porch before she could stop him. Leaping to her feet, she got between them. “Cain, you need to hear me out!”

“In a minute, Ally. I want to deal with this motherfucker first.”

“No, listen to me now before you do something you regret.”

“I won’t regret kicking the ass of this devious piece of shit, sweetheart.” At Derren’s growl, Cain arched a brow tauntingly. “Oh, you don’t like it when I call her that?”

No, Derren didn’t—and neither did his wolf; the animal raked his claws at this male who he perceived to be a threat to his bond with Ally. Derren found himself just as pissed. No one would ever take Ally from him. She was his. And he’d fight God himself for her if he had to. “She’s not your ‘sweetheart,’ asshole.”

Her mate’s provocative tone had her spinning to face him. “Derren, what are you doing? I’m trying to keep this situation calm and you’re not helping.”

Cain growled at Derren. “I’m an asshole? You were supposed to look out for her! Not use her!”

“Wait,” Ally snapped at Cain, “it’s not like that, he’s my—”

“Dan, get her!” Cain signaled to his uncle.

Dan raised his hands. “Oh no, I’d like to keep my ball sack. You taught her too many dirty moves.”

“I trusted you with her safety!” Cain shouted at Derren, baring his teeth.

Derren shrugged carelessly. “She’s alive, isn’t she?”

“You goddamn bastard!” Cain bypassed Ally and launched himself at Derren.

They met in a furious clash of fists, growling and snarling. Ally flinched at the sounds of fists meeting flesh, at each pain-filled grunt. Her anxious wolf paced within her, worried for her mate but also concerned for a wolf who had been her friend since they were pups.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone bait Cain before,” mused Brad, turning to Ally. “You couldn’t have chosen someone who’s, I don’t know . . . sane?”

When Ally moved to part the brawling males, Wyatt blocked her path with his arm. “You know better than that.”

She did. When two male wolves locked on each other like that, there was no separating them until they were ready. So she could only watch as they punched, shoved, head-butted, and charged at each other. She winced as Cain’s claws sliced into Derren’s bare chest, drawing blood. Her mate’s eyes flashed wolf, and then the two males went at each other even more furiously than before.

It was only moments later that the Alpha pair, Eli, and the enforcers arrived, but a signal from Derren made them resist interfering. None of them looked worried on Derren’s behalf as they stood back and watched—or surprised that a fight had commenced between the two males.