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 raised 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.
“You’re banishing me?” Rachelle actually seemed shocked—even more support to the theory that she was insane.