Nick frowned. “His eyes are open. Alert.”

“He’s been drugged with something that’s paralyzed his muscles. And so has Ally.” That was why she was feeling so helpless. She was basically a prisoner in her own body. “I need to keep following their scents.”

To Derren’s utter frustration, the strange scents disappeared abruptly at a spot farther ahead. Studying the tire tracks, he spat a string of curses. Returning to Nick, he said, “Someone took her. The Collingwood wolves are behind this.” He knew it as surely as he knew that if anyone hurt Ally, they would die a long, brutal, excruciating death at his hands. “I have to get to her.”

As if suspecting Derren might run around aimlessly in his panicky state, Nick grabbed his arm. “Yes, but we don’t know where she is. Try calling her again.” As Derren was cursing when Ally’s phone went unanswered for the third time, Dan and Cain came rushing toward them.

“Shaya told us Ally’s missing,” said Cain, eyes sharp.

Nick nodded. “My guess is she was taken by tiger shifters—possibly at Rachelle’s order. She has a huge hard-on for Ally.”

Dan waved a hand. “She’ll be fine.”

Derren blinked at him, shocked at his nonchalance. “She’s been kidnapped.”

Dan actually shrugged. “It’s not like it’s the first time.”

“Elaborate,” Nick bit out.

It was Cain who replied, looking no more concerned than Dan. “When she was nine, she and a few other pups were snatched right off our territory by a rival pack. They were home within the hour.”

“Ally got free and untied the others,” said Dan. “Then they just jumped right on out of the vehicle and made their way back. Of course, she was totally pissed and made us buy her a goldfish. Our Ally’s tough.”

“Yes, she’s tough,” agreed Derren, infuriated by Cain and her uncle dismissing the danger she was in. “The Collingwood Beta female wants her dead. She’ll try to kill her.”

“Yes, she’ll try. Don’t worry. My niece will be fine.”

“She’s drugged.”

“Oh.” Dan looked sheepish. “Well, that complicates things a little.”

“Feed her strength through your bond,” Nick told Derren. “It will make the effects of the drug wear off faster.”

“I can’t.” It was painful to speak the words, to vocalize what was tormenting him. “The bond isn’t fully formed yet.”

Cain frowned. “Why? You having doubts about Ally?”

“None whatsoever.”

“So, what’s holding you both back?”

Derren had no fucking idea. Ally had changed everything for him. He’d never believed he could be loved just the way he was, but she did. He’d always felt stifled by responsibilities, but she made him realize that they didn’t have to weigh him down and that there was strength in his status and in being responsible for others.

It was only right at that moment, while fear had such a strong chokehold on him that he felt both suffocated and trapped, that he realized he surprisingly hadn’t had that “trapped” feeling for a long time. He’d always worried that being mated would make him feel confined, but he’d been totally wrong. Ally made him feel balanced and important to someone. Being mated to her didn’t trap him, it liberated and anchored him. She was—

Derren jolted at the sudden dual sensation of an explosion in his chest and a hammering thud to his head. The pain disappeared as fast as it came, and understanding quickly dawned. His breath caught in his throat as he realized their mating bond had snapped into place.

He could feel her heartbeat, sense her own surprise, realization, and pleasure at what was happening. Without hesitation, he shoved strength down that connection, forcing her to absorb and use it.

“Why do you have a dreamy look on your face?” asked Dan.

“My guess is the mating bond just fully formed,” said Nick.

Derren nodded. “My strength’s helping her a lot quicker than I thought it would.”

Nick slapped Derren’s upper arm supportively. “That’s a good thing. It means she won’t be helpless. Now all we have to do is find her.”

Ally wasn’t sure how much time went by before the paralysis started to wear off. She just knew that it would have taken a hell of a lot longer without Derren’s help. She had every intention of celebrating the amazing fact that their mating bond was now fully formed. Later. Right now, she needed to focus on her little predicament.

She also needed to maintain her calm if she had any intention of getting out of the tight, uncomfortably hot space. But since her kitty kidnappers had secured her wrists together with a zip tie, escaping wasn’t going to make remaining calm an easy feat.

During the journey, she’d been able to hear the tigers chatting away. Since they were playing the music loud, she hadn’t made out every word, but she knew two things: one, Rachelle had hired them; two, they had been instructed to take Ally alive to a place of Rachelle’s choice.

Well, there wasn’t a chance in hell that Ally would let them get her to a secondary location. If she did, it would all be over.

Having fully shaken off the effects of the drug, Ally caught the end of the zip tie between her teeth and tugged until it was super tight. Then she rolled onto her back, raised her arms above her head and brought them down hard toward her stomach. With that, the lock mechanism snapped. Her wolf growled her approval.