Ally flinched as flickers of jealousy, indignation, uncertainty, and possessiveness lashed at her, making her break out in a cold sweat. Derren might look the image of composure, but his emotions were in turmoil. All right, truth time.
She inhaled deeply as she spun to face him. “You want to talk about Cain? Good. Because I can finally make you hear what I’ve been trying to tell you all this time.” Her next words tumbled out in a rush. “He’s not my mate. When I first got here, I didn’t feel safe—everyone but Shaya seemed to hate me. I figured I’d be safer if I didn’t correct your assumption that I was Cain’s mate. So go on, yell at me for not correcting you in the beginning.”
She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the betrayal and hurt that would surely glimmer from his dark gaze. The flickers of his emotions suddenly cut off . . . it wasn’t like he was numb, but as if he were so shocked that his emotions were on hold.
Peeking out of one eye, she found him staring at her, his expression completely blank. His eyes, though . . . they weren’t so blank. There was something in them that told her to run. Not out of fear. No, she wasn’t scared. But the primal instinct to run was there nonetheless, and her wolf was backing it up. Like the animal wanted Ally to challenge him, to make him work for . . . something.
Never one to ignore her wolf, Ally took off.
Thank God she was fast, because he gave chase. She rocketed through the trees, ignoring how the branches that fluttered with the breeze abraded the skin of her cheeks and her bare arms. Wildlife scrambled as it sensed two predators coming.
Ally knew Derren was gaining on her, knew he’d catch her soon. But it still seemed important to not make it easy for him, though she didn’t understand why. She just knew that—
Motherfucker. A body clamped around her, taking her to the ground but rolling to cushion her fall. Derren positioned her flat on her back on the grass as his body pinned her in place. This time, she could sense his emotions. They didn’t hurt her, they lapped at her—which was just weird, despite being a welcome change. The possessiveness was still there, and much more strongly than before. There was also determination, surety, surprise, and greed.
His dark-velvet eyes glittered down at her, filled with purpose and resolve. “You’re not his,” Derren rumbled. “Never were.”
He bit her. Just leaned down and sank his teeth into the crook of her neck, making Ally gasp in shock and pleasure. At the same time, his hand snaked under her T-shirt and closed around her breast; it was a hold so possessive, she reflexively growled in warning despite how good it felt. He released a growl of his own, rebelliously gripping her tighter.
He licked over his mark before returning his gaze, now glinting with satisfaction, to hers. “I should have seen it. The truth of who you are to me was right in fucking front of me, but I didn’t see it.”
Ally shook her head a little. “What are you talking about?”
“You know. You’re my mate, Ally.” He went nose to nose with her. “And you’re about to get claimed.”
She shoved him hard, but he didn’t move . . . except to nip punishingly at her earlobe. “Wait, hold on a minute.”
“Are you going to deny it?” His eyes blazed down at her with fury. “Try. Fucking try.”
She opened her mouth, ready to do just that. But she found that she couldn’t. Something deep inside her wouldn’t allow her to repudiate him. It made no sense. “We’d have known before now.”
“Not while I believed you were meant for Cain.” The moment she’d told him that Cain wasn’t her mate, a knowing had hit Derren so hard his entire equilibrium had faltered. It was as if now that the truth was clear, the mating frequency was no longer jammed. Just as sure as he knew he needed food to survive, he knew she was his mate.
At first, he’d felt too shocked to emotionally process her words. Then she’d ran from him, snapping him out of his daze as she triggered every primal instinct he had to take what belonged to him and only him.
With confusion etched in every line of her face, she looked so vulnerable right then that his chest ached. “It’s true, Ally. Part of you already knows it. You were meant for me.” He saw the smallest glimmer of hope in her eyes, and he realized she wasn’t fighting this because he wasn’t what she wanted. She was battling it because she feared being wrong; she’d stopped trusting her own judgment. “Stop looking at the world through guarded glasses for just one minute, baby. Listen to your instincts. Don’t think, Ally. Feel.”
Ally might have tried once more to refute his belief, but her wolf was riding her so hard to claim him that it had to mean something, right? So she pushed aside her distrust in herself and the world around her . . . and there was the truth. That was when the mating urge kicked in—fast, furious, and leaving no room for thought.