Spiral of Need

  Now it was just a matter of opening the damn trunk. But first . . .

  She dug into the pocket of her jeans and whipped out her cell phone. The dumb fuckers should have taken it from her just in case she got free. With a few swipes of her thumb on the screen, she’d dialed the panic button to alert the pack to her exact location. Then she called Derren, who had tried calling her several times. She’d felt the phone vibrate in her pocket each time and suspected it was him. She’d hated that she couldn’t talk to and reassure him, since she could feel his panic and anger through their bond.

  He answered after two rings. “Baby, tell me you’re okay.”

  His voice made her smile, despite the situation. She whispered, “I’m all right. Just pissed. I’ve pressed the panic button; track my location. When you get close to where I am, call me again.”

  “They dumped you somewhere?”

  “No, but I’m planning to jump out of the trunk in, say, thirty seconds.”

  “What?” His sharp demanding tone made her wince. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

  “Possibly. Look, I have to go.” She didn’t have time to waste.

  “Baby, please be careful,” he rumbled, his anxiety and adoration evident.

  “I will. Love you.” She slipped the phone into her bra, worried that it would smash if she left it in her pocket when she jumped. That done, she searched for a trunk release near the latch. No such luck, apparently. She’d just have to get out the old-fashioned way.

  With a brief struggle, she peeled back the carpet and located the trunk release cable. Two strong pulls later and there was the fabulous pop sound of the trunk opening. She stilled for a moment, listening hard for any sign that the tigers had heard the noise. Nothing. It would appear that the sound of the radio had drowned it out.

  She waited only long enough for the vehicle to slow a little before she opened the trunk and, not giving herself the chance to worry about the fall, jumped—careful not to land on her hands or directly on her shoulder. The air whooshed out of her lungs as her body landed hard. Thinking past the pain in her back, she then rolled along the ground until she felt grass beneath her. At least she had no broken bones.

  Looking up, she saw the vehicle was heading toward a residential neighborhood. Knowing it would be only moments before the tigers realized she was free, Ally forced herself to get to her feet and did the only thing she could do: she ran.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  How much farther?” Derren impatiently asked Jesse, who was on the other end of the phone.

  “She’s somewhere close,” he replied, monitoring Ally’s GPS location from their computer at the main lodge. “Call her now.”

  Chest tight with a cluster of emotions tormenting him, Derren ended his call to Jesse and dialed Ally’s number.

  She answered quickly. “I can hear the SUV. I’m coming right now.” She hung up before he could speak. Then she suddenly appeared out of the trees and jogged onto the road, waving her arms. Eli brought the vehicle to a screeching halt.

  Derren jumped out and dragged her to him, locking his arms tight around her. “Fuck, baby, thank God you’re okay.” He was trembling with fear, rage, and relief. Fisting a hand in her hair, he kissed her hard, pouring into it everything he didn’t know how to say. His wolf took comfort in her touch, scent, and the feel of her skin under his hands. She was there with him. She was okay.

  “I knew you’d come for me.” Her happiness at seeing him was so profound Ally might have fallen to her knees if he hadn’t been holding her up. Her wolf wanted to rub up against him to both comfort him and receive comfort.

  When she went to pull back, Derren bit out, “Don’t. I just need to hold you for a minute.” He needed to reassure himself that she was fine. Safe. With him. He’d always prided himself on the fact that he didn’t need anyone. But he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t function, without Ally. He needed her, and he wasn’t even ashamed of that.

  “Derren, let’s go!” shouted Eli.

  Bracken hopped into the passenger seat, guessing that Derren would want to sit in the back with Ally. He’d guessed right. Without easing his hold on her, Derren picked her up and slid into the backseat, sitting her on his lap. The small cuts and abrasions on her skin made him growl; she patted his chest soothingly.

  Eli immediately sped off, glancing at them briefly over his shoulder. “Ally, are you hurt? Did they hurt you?”

  She shook her head against Derren’s chest, inhaling his scent and letting it calm her and her wolf. “I’m okay.”

  “What the hell happened?” demanded Cain from beside her. He tried tugging her to him to embrace her, but Derren held tight—his stare daring Cain to try to take Ally from him. Cain bared his teeth but didn’t try again.

  “I was drugged and dumped in a trunk by two fucking tigers.”

  “They’re dead.” Derren’s voice was low and deadly. He’d find out who they were, and he’d kill them. “What did they look like? Have you seen them before?”

  “They didn’t look or smell familiar. They’re both Chinese, medium height, and damn strong.”

  “Tigers usually are pretty strong,” commented Cain. “Did you hear any names?” She shook her head.

  “Here.” Twisting in his seat to face her, Bracken gently chucked his cell phone to her; Ally caught it easily. “It’s Shaya. I promised I’d call her when we found you. She’s a mess.”

  As Ally put the phone to her ear, she heard Shaya’s voice sobbing, “Ally, if you’re not alive, I’m going to kick your ass.”

  “I’m alive,” Ally assured her with a smile. “Is Bruce okay?”

  “Yes, he’s fine. The drugs have worn off. Hurry home. I need to see you with my own eyes.”

  “Not yet. I have somewhere to go first.”

  “You’re going after Rachelle,” guessed Shaya.

  “Yes, she was behind the kidnapping.”

  “I want to be there!”

  “No, you all need to keep an eye on Miranda and Kerrie. They need to be heavily guarded in case a few of Miranda’s pack—or previous pack, as the situation now stands—come to help her. Some of the guys were smitten with her. Besides, I’ve got some backup with me.”

  “Make sure Rachelle feels some serious pain.”

  “That won’t be a problem. This shit needs to be dealt with once and for all.” The bitch had had the chance to leave Ally be, but she hadn’t. Now Ally needed to be the one to end it. Ally handed the phone back to Bracken, whose smile was a little bloodthirsty. Apparently he was also eager to see Rachelle punished. Derren, on the other hand, didn’t seem at all pleased.

  He kissed her hair. “Baby, I get that this is something you need to do—”

  “Then back me up on this.”

  “—but you were drugged not so long ago. You’ve got cuts and scrapes, which I’m guessing are thanks to your crazy idea to leap out of a trunk.”

  “They’re not bad, and they’re healing fast.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “Then, pray tell, what is?”

  “Baby, do you have any idea how fucking terrified I was for you?” The fear still hadn’t left him, still threatened to break his composure. If he hadn’t known through their mating bond that she was alive, he would have lost his fucking mind long before now. “Could you not give my heartbeat a chance to get back to normal? Do you really have to walk right back into more danger?”

  Ally met his dark, tormented gaze. “I have to do this now, Derren. The tigers were supposed to take me to a spot a few miles from here. Rachelle’s intention was to join them later today. I need to get to Collingwood territory before she leaves.”

  “If the tigers call and tell her you got away, she’ll probably flee, worried you heard them talking about their plans.”

  Ally shook her head. “They spoke in Mandarin. She doesn’t know I speak the language. And cocky as she is, she won’t believe she’ll ever get caught.” Rachelle had gone too long without having to face any
consequences for her actions against Ally. “I have to deal with this now.”

  “She’s right.” Cain sighed. “I don’t like that she’s right, but there’s no escaping the fact that she is.”

  “Eli, we’re making a pit stop at Collingwood territory,” she told him.

  The Head Enforcer glanced at Derren in the rearview mirror. “I know you’re not totally okay with this, but you know she has to do it, right?”

  After a long sigh, Derren nodded. “If I’m lucky, Zeke will do something stupid, and then I have an excuse to tear out his throat.” The thought lightened his mood a little.

  When they finally crossed the boundary into Collingwood territory, Matt’s enforcers nervously let them pass while one of them called Matt on his cell phone. As soon as Eli pulled up in the parking lot, Matt came strolling toward them with Zeke at his side. Matt’s smile was genuine but shaky.

  “You have to stay in the SUV, Cain. They won’t be able to see you through the shaded windows.” At his disapproving growl, Ally reminded him, “You can’t be seen. Your link to me can’t become common knowledge for both our sakes.”

  He was silent for a short moment. “Kill her, Ally. Nothing else will stop her from coming after you.” Ally suspected he might be right about that. “But don’t do it quickly. Make her hurt, make her bleed, and make sure her pack mates see how well you can fight so they don’t dare even think about avenging her death. Got it?”

  Nodding, Ally said, “Got it.” Only once the other males were out of the SUV, awkwardly greeting the Collingwood Alpha and Beta, did Ally hop out.

  Zeke’s gaze skimmed over her, taking in the dirt and healing abrasions. “Shit, Ally, what happened?” He went to move toward her.

  “Not too close,” warned Derren in a deceptively cool drawl. “I’m not in a tolerant mood right now.”

  “Come inside the house,” invited Matt. “We’ll talk.”

  “We’re not here to chat,” Ally told him. “Where’s—” She stopped as movement caught her eye: a blonde female was jogging toward them, shock flaring in her eyes at the sight of Ally. Rachelle. How grand.

  “What are you doing here?” Rachelle sneered at her. “You and your friends told us to stay away from you. Yet here you are.”

  “Yes, not where you expected me to be, I’ll bet.” Ally smiled inwardly when the Beta female’s eyes flickered nervously. “Coming after me was by far the dumbest thing you’ve ever done. Seriously, even for you—someone whose elevator doesn’t go to the top floor—it was stupid.”

  Rachelle’s tired sigh was actually very convincing. “So you’ve come here to accuse me of something, I see.”

  “Did you think that if you killed me, you’d get away with it?” Ally snickered. “You would have forever been looking over your shoulder at the wolves chasing your crazy ass. You should have just stayed away.”

  “I did. But apparently you can’t stay away from me, can you? You just can’t let go of your grudge against me.”

  “Maybe if you opened your mouth for more than talking bullshit or giving blow jobs, we wouldn’t have a problem.” Ally’s wolf released a satisfied growl at the angry flush on Rachelle’s cheeks. “I gotta say, those tigers weren’t very competent. I suppose I should pity you for your delusions of tactical brilliance.”

  Zeke spoke then. “Tigers? What about tigers? You’re not making any sense.”

  “Sure I am.” Ally turned back to Rachelle. “You didn’t expect me to link the incident to you, huh.”

  “What incident?” Matt asked. By that point, they had drawn a bit of a crowd, including Clint and Greg—both of whom were scowling at Ally.

  “I was drugged and kidnapped by two tiger shifters a little while ago,” Ally told Matt. Surprise and dubiousness wafted from the Collingwood bystanders.

  The Alpha gaped. “What?”

  “You heard her,” growled Derren.

  Matt slid his gaze briefly to his Beta female. “And you all think Rachelle had something to do with this?”

  “We know she did.” Derren clenched his fists, barely resisting the urge to plant one in Matt’s face for being so evasive.

  Rachelle folded her arms across her chest, regarding Ally like she was ridiculous. “Kidnapped? Yeah, right. Oh, and they just let you go, I suppose?”

  “No. I jumped out of the trunk while they were still driving.” Ally rolled back one shoulder. “Hurt like a motherfucker.”

  “You persist in seeing me as the enemy.” Rachelle dragged a hand through her hair. “You see conspiracies everywhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if you faked the kidnapping.” Derren’s snarl made her snap her gaze to him. She sneered at him, “Or maybe it was someone trying to get at you through your girlfriend.”

  “I speak Mandarin, Rachelle. I understood every word.” Ally smiled faintly as Rachelle stilled. “You hired them. You were supposed to join us in a few hours at a location you gave them. You undoubtedly meant to kill me. And I’m not down with that. So there’s only one thing left for me to do.” Ally straightened her shoulders. “Rachelle Lavin, I challenge you to a duel.”

  Zeke took one step forward, his tone desperate. “Ally, don’t do this.”

  “Don’t speak to her,” Derren snapped at him. “She’s no one to you.”

  Zeke curled back his upper lip. “Yeah? Well, you’re just someone she’s screwing.”

  Derren smiled. “If you were close enough to scent us, you’d know that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

  Zeke’s chest expanded as he inhaled deeply, straining to pick up their scents. His eyes widened, a hint of dejection in them. “You’re mated.” It was a guttural statement.

  Ignoring Zeke, Ally focused on Rachelle. “Let’s get this over with.” Everyone stilled as they heard the sound of another vehicle nearing. Rachelle smirked, undoubtedly thinking exactly the same thing as Ally: if more Collingwood wolves were on their way, the four Mercury wolves could find themselves boxed in. “Worried you can’t take me, Rachelle?”

  The Beta female snorted. “I simply refuse to be baited into dueling with someone who isn’t worth my time.” The Mercury males snickered derisively at the idiotic excuse.

  As the approaching vehicle entered the parking lot, Derren glanced over his shoulder. And smiled. It was a very familiar Chevrolet Tahoe. Within moments, six Phoenix wolves exited the vehicle—Taryn, Trey, Jaime, Dante, Dominic, and Ryan.

  Taryn’s smile had a feral edge to it as she sidled up to Ally. “Shaya called me and told me what happened. I figured having some allies might discourage this pack from leaping to their Beta female’s defense.” She arched a brow at Matt. “We can’t have that, can we?”

  “Otherwise things would get extremely ugly,” warned Trey.

  “No one will interfere,” Matt assured the Phoenix Alphas, giving them a respectful nod of the head that they didn’t return.

  Rachelle whirled on her own Alpha. “You’re sanctioning the challenge? You believe her accusations?” He didn’t speak, so she turned to her mate. “You’re okay with this?”

  “No, I’m not.” Zeke raked a hand over his face. “I know Ally’s a good fighter, and I don’t want you hurt. But I can’t interfere.”

  “You’re siding with her?”

  “You came home smelling of tigers, Rachelle.” His voice was low, devastated. “You’re my mate, and I love you, but you’re—”

  “Indisputably neurotic?” supplied Ally.

  “A total fucking nutcase?” offered Taryn.

  Rachelle whipped her hateful gaze to Ally. “You think you’re so smart? You think you’ve won?”

  Ally seriously didn’t understand this female. “What is there to win? This isn’t a game. It never was.”

  “You have to die!” Apparently Rachelle had given up on acting like the falsely accused victim.

  “Why? Because you believe I’m jealous of you?”

  “Because there’s no other way he’ll let you go!” Rachelle’s words had the crowd gasping. She raise
d a brow at Ally. “You think I don’t know? You think I’m so stupid I can’t see why my mating bond isn’t complete? It’s your fault.”

  “Don’t be so fucking dramatic. Zeke wants you, not me.”

  “That’s true. He doesn’t want you, and he doesn’t regret our mating, but a part of him still cares for you.”

  “Don’t pin the blame on Zeke, don’t act like you don’t get a kick out of stirring shit for people. You’re too much of an accomplished liar for me to think any differently.” Ally’s expression dared her to deny the truth. “You want me dead because you want me to suffer.”

  “Oh, I do want you to suffer. I tried everything. I tried turning him against you, but it never worked. Everyone else fell in line, but not Zeke. No. He doubted every story I told him. He didn’t for one moment believe you would try to kill me. No. It didn’t even make any difference that you left the pack. He just wouldn’t forget you—he kept texting you, calling you—he wanted you back in the pack. He wanted you where he could see you and be near you, even though he would never have touched you.” Rachelle shrugged one shoulder. “I will admit it was fun to watch as you lost everything—your friends, your status, the trust of your pack mates.”

  Matt groaned, covering his face with his hands, no doubt feeling dumb at how easily he’d been fooled. Zeke looked distraught but not particularly surprised, and it made Ally wonder just how long he’d suspected his mate was a lying, crazy heifer.

  “Thankfully,” began Ally, “your lies have been discovered. Your pack knows the truth. Your reign of bullshit is over. And now you have lost your status and the trust of your pack.” Their disgust in Rachelle beat at Ally’s head. “No more stalling. I challenged you, and no one’s going to dispute my right to do so.”

  “Submit now, Rachelle,” Zeke urged. “If you submit now, there’ll be no challenge. We’ll step down from our role as Betas; we’ll switch to another pack and start over.”

  Her upper lip curled back, Rachelle looked down her nose at him. “Flee, you mean?”

  “It’s not fleeing when you’re banished.” Matt’s tone was harsh, nonnegotiable.