She gaped. “Thanks, Judas.”

“I get that you don’t want the Collingwood Pack to be under a mass attack, but your safety is more important to me than theirs. That’s what it boils down to.” Derren wished he could be sure that Rachelle would quit bothering Ally, but the kind of hatred that female harbored for his mate didn’t just evaporate.

With a resigned sigh, Ally nodded. She told them everything, from Rachelle’s very first accusation to the visit the skank had made with Zeke and Matt to Mercury Pack territory a little while ago.

When she was done, all four Holt males were scowling. “What a fucking bitch,” spat Cain. “And this Zeke guy is no better.”

“The Alpha’s a shithead too,” stated Dan. “He should have protected you.”

“They need to pay,” growled Brad. “All of them.”

Ally waved a nonchalant hand. “They’re not important compared to the whole ‘having a bounty over the pack’s head’ business.” When her uncles and Cain looked at her, puzzled, she smiled wanly. “You didn’t know about that, huh.”

“A bounty?” echoed Brad.

Derren explained everything before adding, “The bounty has been lifted, but we don’t believe the female who put out the hit on us is done.”

After a moment of pensive silence, Wyatt declared, “We’ll stay until this is all resolved.”

“We don’t know how long it will take for that to happen,” Ally told him.

Wyatt seemed unmoved. “Holts protect their own, Ally. You’re our family. We’re here for you until you’re safe.” Brad, Dan, and Cain nodded.

“Then I guess we’d better set you all up in one of the guest lodges,” said Shaya.

Within minutes, the Alpha female was ushering everyone out of Ally and Derren’s lodge, intending to lead the Brookwell wolves to their temporary accommodation. Although Cain had left without delivering any more insults to Derren, he still hadn’t looked any happier about Derren’s claim on Ally.

Surprisingly, it had been the elegant-looking, cultured Dan who had growled a warning at Derren before leaving: “You will be good to her. Or I’ll come for you. Believe me, you don’t want that.” Derren had a feeling that Dan was much more dangerous than he looked.

Closing the door behind everyone, Derren pulled Ally to him and pressed a kiss to her throat. “Still mad at me?”

“Maybe a little.” But she was sliding her hands up his solid chest to curl them around his neck. “I get that it’s instinctual for you to protect our mating and that you don’t back down from a challenge—”

“It wasn’t just about that, baby. I had to make Cain understand that things will be different from here on out.” He nipped her lower lip and then laved it soothingly. “He’s been your protector all his life. He thinks he has rights to you. I need him to understand that I’m your protector now, that you belong to me and I have no intention of giving you up. If I hadn’t stood up and fought him today, if I hadn’t made my place in your life and my claim on you very clear, he would have tried to take you.”

Unable to deny the truth of that, Ally inclined her head. “Fine. But no more fighting with him. I don’t want either of you hurt.”

Derren might have been jealous of her regard for Cain, but he and his wolf had come to understand something after watching their interactions today. “He’s like a brother to you, isn’t he?”

“Yes. He’s always looked out for me the way a brother would.”

“You sort of anchor him, bring out a little of the old Cain.”

“He’ll always be part of my life to some extent,” she warned Derren. “Always feel he has some rights where I’m concerned because, well, he isn’t normal.”

“As long as he understands you belong to me, I can accept that.” It was only today he’d realized that somewhere in the back of his mind he’d worried about her relationship with Cain. Not that Derren believed there was even the slightest possibility that the guy was her mate. No, but Derren knew she and Cain were close. She’d known him since childhood, had gone through a horrific event with him, and had had him as her protector all these years. Something like that could form a very strong bond, and Derren had worried that said bond was stronger than what he had with Ally, given that their mating link wasn’t yet complete.

But Derren no longer had that concern. She’d tried to protect him from Cain’s anger, had defended his honor, and had proudly declared they were mated. Even the mere fact that she’d healed Derren before she’d healed Cain indicated that he came first to her. Derren needed to know that he was as important to her as she was to him, that their bond, despite being incomplete, was still stronger than any she might have with anyone else.

He cupped her face, staring into those almond eyes he loved. “I didn’t think anything could be this essential to me.” Intellectually, he’d known his mate—if he ever found her—would be important to him in every way. But he hadn’t imagined that such an incredible depth of emotion was possible for anyone to feel, particularly him. There was something else he’d been wrong about. “I always figured that love was sappy and gooey. But it’s not.” What he felt for Ally was a feral, hissing, clawing, boundless emotion that probably should have scared him but didn’t.

Her features softened, turning vulnerable. “You love me?”