CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER ONE

Nothing like being accused of attempted murder to complete a girl’s Friday evening.

Alyssa “Ally” Marshall kept her expression carefully blank as she stared at the two wolf shifters sitting across from her. For at least an hour the enforcers had kept her detained in an empty room of the pack house before finally joining her, only to look at her as though she were a perfect stranger as opposed to one of their pack mates.

She knew why they had left her alone for so long. Shifters didn’t do well with enclosed spaces. Placing her in a small room, bare except for three chairs and a desk, was obviously supposed to increase her discomfort and make her wolf feel trapped and isolated.

It worked, but Ally had fought hard not to show it. Fought hard to keep her pacing wolf from losing her shit. And fought hard to suppress the memories of the last time she’d felt so trapped.

Then the mind games had begun.

First Greg and Clint had tried the good cop/bad cop routine, which she’d found rather insulting to her intelligence. So while Good Cop Greg had done his best to convince her that he was her savior and Bad Cop Clint had been browbeating and antagonistic, Ally had remained calm as she firmly stated the facts.

Instead of listening to what she had to say and considering her side of the story, they had tried twisting her words. And she’d quickly realized that they hadn’t brought her into this room to hear her version of the events. They had already made up their minds that she was guilty; what they wanted was a confession.

At that point, she’d demanded that they summon their Alpha but was told that Matt was talking with Ally’s supposed victim and wouldn’t be joining them. That was when Ally turned silent. She wasn’t going to give them anything more to use against her.

No matter how much psychological pressure they put on her, Ally refused to crack. She didn’t flinch, she didn’t lose her temper, and she didn’t evade eye contact. As they stared at her, she stared right back. Her wolf approved of her resilience, though the animal would find much more satisfaction in scalping the bastards with her claws. It wasn’t a bad idea, really.

Greg had then turned from good cop into frustrated-as-all-shit cop, sighing and growling. And Clint had gone from bad cop to on-the-verge-of-snapping cop, slamming his hands on the table and aggressively invading her personal space. Ally was the only one in the room projecting an outward calm . . . and that was just irritating them even more. How grand.

“Do you have any idea how bad this could get for you, Ally?” Greg leaned forward. “Matt is going to be supremely pissed. You’re facing an execution here. Tell us the truth, and we can help you. We’ll reduce the penalty to banishment from the pack.”

She snorted. Even if they did want to help her, they didn’t have the authority to decide penalties.

“Continuing to maintain your innocence is pointless,” stated Clint, rising from his seat. “We have evidence”—no, they didn’t—“and we have witnesses.”

What they had were the words of some asshole kids who had been detained in this room more times than anyone could count.

Greg folded his arms across his chest. “You said those boys approached you.”

No, she hadn’t. She’d said they surrounded her when she left her cabin mere seconds after she’d realized that not only had someone broken into the cabin while she was gone, but they had totally ransacked it.

Greg went on. “You also said you’re certain that those boys made a mess in your home.”

Personally, she wouldn’t call breaking her furniture, slashing her clothes, spray-painting insults on her walls, smashing her TV, and slinging the contents of the refrigerator around her home amess.

“But according to the eight youths, they were just hanging around, minding their own business, when you came at them and accused them of breaking into your cabin.”

Which, of course, was a load of cock and bull.

“They claim that they assured you that they weren’t responsible for the damage.”

Another lie. In truth, they had delighted in confessing their involvement when they crowded her, laughingly informing her that Rachelle had put them up to it. And who was Rachelle? Only the delegate of Satan. She also happened to be the pack’s Beta female.

“They insist that you refused to listen, that you persisted in accusing them of breaking into your home at Rachelle’s request. Then you stated, ‘I’m going to kill her!’ before running off.”

Had Ally thought the words? Multiple times. Had she spoken them aloud? Not even once, because Ally didn’t bother with threats or warnings. She much preferred to challenge her foe, get the fight over with, and then go on about her day. But she’d resisted the urge to challenge Rachelle for several reasons—mostly because it was exactly what Rachelle wanted. Ally had no intention of giving that crazy heifer anything.

Clint came to Ally’s side, resting his hands on the table. “You say that you headed for the pack house, looking for Matt, only to find that the place was empty. But, see, I don’t buy that, sweetheart.” His eyes drilled into her as his upper lip curled. “I think you knew that our Alpha would be of no help to you, knew that he would take Rachelle’s side over yours.”

Only one thing about his theory was true: Matt probably would take Rachelle’s side.

“So then you decided to take the matter into your own hands, didn’t you?” Clint’s voice turned harder, louder, browbeating. “You did exactly as Rachelle claims: you tracked her down and attacked her from behind, slashing her back, giving her no chance to defend herself.” He slowly stalked to Ally’s other side as he continued, “She quickly righted herself and whirled on you, didn’t she? That was when you sucker punched her, knocking her out, and ran like the coward you are.”

Her wolf growled, insulted by the “coward” comment. Ally wanted to snort. If she’d wanted to kill Rachelle, she’d have gone at her from the front. And she’d have made sure she finished the job. Since she’d joined the Collingwood Pack two years ago, Ally had only been involved in two duels. Both times, Ally had won. She fought hard and dirty, but she did not attack from behind. And she did not run off like a coward. No self-respecting dominant wolf would.

“You were jealous because you lost Zeke to her,” charged Clint with a taunting smirk, “and you thought that if she was out of the picture, you would get him back.”

Even if she had wanted Zeke back, killing Rachelle wouldn’t have achieved it. Since it was rare for shifters to survive the death of a mate, Zeke would most likely have died right along with her. As such, Clint’s allegation couldn’t be more pathetic. And because Ally had a terrible habit of accidentally speaking her thoughts aloud, she mocked, “Wow, you cracked this case wide open.”

Clint flushed from the neck up, but after a moment he gave a careless shrug. “It’s your word against Rachelle’s.” His tone made it clear that Ally’s word meant jack shit. Unfortunately, that was true.

The past few months had sucked big-time. It had been a blow when her boyfriend found his true mate, but Ally was happy for Zeke. She had been nothing but welcoming and respectful to his mate, but the female had loathed her from minute one. Ally had felt the hate pouring from her in waves—literally. Being highly empathetic came with the Seer package.

Her intuition had told her that Rachelle Lavin was going to be trouble . . . and it had been right. Despite Zeke not hesitating to claim Rachelle as his mate, the female had immediately embarked on a hate campaign with Ally as the target.

Ally had been shocked when Zeke berated her a few months ago for supposedly insulting his mate. Confused and riled, she’d sought out Rachelle . . . playing right into the woman’s hands, she later realized. Everyone had witnessed her yelling at her Beta female, who had remained calm and cool as she rebuked Ally and gave her pitying looks for her “jealousy.”

That was when the “Ally’s jealous” tripe had started. And she had quickly found that there wasn’t a good defense against that seventh-grade insult. If Ally ignored it, she was jealous. If she responded with a smart comeback, she was jealous. If she got pissed and told them to go eat shit, she was not only jealous but bitter too.

Shortly after that incident, Rachelle had claimed that Ally was sending her hateful text messages. Again, Zeke had freaked at Ally. So again, she’d sought out Rachelle, demanding that she produce these fictional messages. To her utter shock and dismay, Rachelle had. Ally had adamantly and loudly denied sending them, insisted that Rachelle must have at some point taken Ally’s cell phone and sent them to herself. Which, of course, sounded plain crazy—yet it was true. But no one other than Ally seemed to see that.

And so, her pack mates had slowly but surely pulled away from Ally. In the time she’d been part of the Collingwood Pack, she’d healed several of them and had twice saved the pack from conflict through her visions . . . but all of that had ceased to mean anything.

In their defense, Rachelle was a very convincing liar. She’d made Ally an outsider in her own pack. And thanks to the heifer’s latest stunt, Ally might be cast out.

“No one’s going to buy your story, Ally,” Clint growled into her ear. Her wolf snapped her teeth at him. The guy certainly had the Prick Factor going on. “No one’s going to believe you. We have a witness who claims they saw you attack Rachelle.”

“I doubt that.”

He straightened. “Oh, really? Why?”

“One, because the assault didn’t happen. Two, because if you did have a witness, you wouldn’t need a confession. As you said, it’s currently my word against Rachelle’s. People might trust her and like her, but that’s not enough to justify an execution. Particularly since there are some gaping holes in Rachelle’s little tale.”

“Such as?”

“Why would someone who wanted to kill her run away while she was unconscious? Wouldn’t they take advantage of that moment in which she was totally helpless and deliver a killing blow, considering they were a ‘coward’ and all?”

Clint was quiet for a moment. “Maybe you heard someone coming. Or maybe you noticed someone was watching.”

“Or maybe Rachelle’s just talking out of her ass.” Again.

“You know what I think, Ally?” asked Greg.

“Oh, this is going to be good,” she muttered sardonically.

“I think that you didn’t really want to kill Rachelle. I think you just lost your temper at a weak moment. We’ve all acted impulsively with anger at some point, right?” His tone turned soft and understanding. More mind games. “I think that you might have genuinely believed Rachelle had ordered the boys to trash your cabin. You were already very upset with her for taking Zeke from you. You’ve been feeling lost and alone. Jealousy has often got the better of you lately, and who could blame you for that?” Greg actually patted her hand.

Oh, for Christ’s sake, was she really supposed to buy this oh-so-caring act?

“When you walked into the cabin and saw the chaos, it was the icing on the cake. You did what anybody would do in that situation. You snapped, and you tracked down the person you convinced yourself was responsible. That was why you fled the scene after attacking Rachelle. Once you saw her unconscious on the ground, your anger dimmed and you felt bad for what you did.”

“It’s either that,” began Clint, “or you went after Rachelle with the intention of killing her but then lost your confidence at the last moment. Which is it?”

“Do the right thing and tell us the truth,” encouraged Greg. “Make things easier on yourself. As soon as you confess, this will all be over. Don’t you want this to be over?”

Yeah, she damn well did. Frick and Frack had kept her in this tiny room for over two hours, and her wolf was at serious risk of losing it. But making a false confession wasn’t on her list of things to do. “I’ve already told you what happened. I have nothing more to say.”

Clint sighed. “Fine, if that’s how you want to play it.” Helooked at Greg. “Call Matt. Maybe he’ll do the execution right here,right now.”

This was where she was obviously supposed to quiver in fear and finally confess. Instead, she gave a theatrical gasp. “What? Now? But the night is young, boys.”

“Ally,”Clint gritted out.

“Bring out the cuffs, let’s have some fun.”

“Ally.”

She threw up her arms. “All right, I confess . . . I ransacked my apartment for fun, falsely accused a bunch of well-meaning youths, attacked my Beta female, and then stuck around long enough to be detained and possibly executed.” She shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Clint’s face flushed again—most likely because when she put it like that, it became clear just how pitiful their argument really was. “Don’t get smart with me.”

She snickered. “Are you sure you’d know if I did?”

“I’d say it’s time we—” Greg paused as the door behind her swung open. “Zeke.”

Oh, goody.

“She refuses to accept responsibility or—”

“I’ll take it from here.” Once the enforcers had left and closed the door behind them, Zeke took one of the seats opposite her, his blue eyes tired. He looked tortured, just as he had each time he’d stepped between Ally and Rachelle in the past few months.

She could feel how deeply it hurt him to choose sides; his pain chafed her nerve endings like sandpaper. That was what it was like for Seers: picking up positive emotions created pleasant, warm sensations. Negative emotions, however, could cause anything from mild discomfort to excruciating pain.

Despite Zeke’s hurt, Ally couldn’t muster any sympathy for him. They had been in a relationship for almost eighteen months. If there was one person in this pack who knew Ally well, it was Zeke. If there was one person who should have seen through all the lies, it was him. Yet even he had jumped on the “Ally can’t be trusted” bandwagon.

It was hard to believe this male had once spoken of imprinting with her. Wolves who weren’t true mates could still come together and mate through imprinting. It wasn’t uncommon, since shifters knew it wasn’t certain that they would find their true mates. But the process of imprinting hadn’t happened for Ally and Zeke, and she knew why. Although she had cared for him, she’d never loved him.

Just the same, her wolf had been comfortable and content with Zeke, but she hadn’t wanted him the way a wolf wanted its mate. Their inner wolves “felt” on a level that humans could never surpass: fiercely, wildly, ragingly, and ferociously. Her wolf’s feelings for Zeke had never been that intense and all-consuming.

“What’s my execution date?” Not that Ally honestly thought Matt would order that. He didn’t have enough evidence to justify it, no matter how much he might wish differently.

“No one is going to execute you.” Zeke sounded so tired that she almost felt bad for him. Almost.

“Well then, if you’re going to banish me from the pack, get it over with.” She could have left at any time, but she hadn’t been prepared to let anyone drive her out of her own pack, particularly not some vindictive, unhinged skank. And she’d figured that everyone would see through Rachelle’s act eventually, that because she was innocent the matter would soon fix itself.

“You’re not going to be banished.”

Well, that was a surprise. “Does this mean you doubt what your mate claimed I did?”

Zeke seemed to struggle for words. “I know that it doesn’t sound like you, but you haven’t been yourself lately. I believe you didn’t set out to kill Rachelle, but the fact is that you did assault her. I’ve given you a lot of leeway, Ally. I’ve overlooked a lot of things, but I can’t overlook this. I can’t.”

“So are Rachelle and I going to have a one-on-one instead?” How grand.

“No.”

Of course not. Rachelle might be Beta female, but her level of dominance didn’t exceed Ally’s. Rachelle wouldn’t want to chance being defeated by someone of lower rank. “I’ve apparently harassed and attacked her. Her wolf should be going crazy for vengeance. That alone should have caused her to challenge me.”

He scrubbed a hand down his face. “A part of her feels sorry for you. She said she can understand why you’re jealous. She admits that she’d feel just as devastated and bitter in your position. She even argued to keep you in the pack when Matt was ready to banish you.”

Ally double-blinked, shocked. “She did what?”

“She doesn’t want you to be out there all alone. She told Matt and me that if you apologize and vow to end your jealous behavior, she’ll even be happy for you to escape punishment.”

And that was when Ally finally comprehended just what Rachelle had been trying to accomplish all along. Not drive Ally out of the pack. Not have her banished or executed—or at least not yet, anyway. No, Rachelle had been trying to isolate Ally. Trying to take away everything that was important to her. She wanted Ally to be miserable and alone, and she wanted a front-row seat to the show.

“All you have to do is apologize,” Zeke repeated.

Laughing humorlessly, Ally leaned forward. “Apologize to her? I’d rather exfoliate my skin with barbed wire and then dive into a pool of chlorine.” Something that Rachelle would know perfectly well. “Besides, I’m not in the habit of saying sorry for stuff I haven’t done.”

Zeke cursed under his breath. “Ally, she’s trying to help you here.”

Ally shook her head sadly. “I never thought you’d be so easily fooled.” If his mating bond with Rachelle had fully developed, he would have sensed that she was lying. But still, he should have known that Ally was innocent. Should have known that even if Ally had attacked Rachelle in a moment of rage, she wouldn’t have lied about it. Ally owned her shit. “So if you’re not going to cast me out, and she’s not going to challenge me, what’s the punishment for my fictional crime?”

“If you don’t apologize to Rachelle, we’ll be forced to relieve you of your status.”

The words were like a blow to the head. Status was everything to wolf shifters; it gave their wolves a clear purpose and stability. As such, to strip a wolf of their status was a very serious thing, designed to cut deep, to hurt both the wolf and the human side. And it did. “I see.” Her tone was flat, empty of any emotion, and gave away none of her wolf’s righteous anger.

“Ally, look at me.” Whatever Zeke saw in her expression made him stiffen, as if bracing himself for impact. “I didn’t want things to be like this. Dammit, they don’t have to be like this.”

“You’re right, they don’t. But they are because your mate is a goddamn story spinner.” Seeing that he was about to deny it, Ally quickly added, “Okay, explain to me why I would do these things she’s accused me of.”

“Jealousy makes people do things they wouldn’t normally do,” he mumbled as he averted his gaze. The words sounded rehearsed. Ally got the feeling they were Rachelle’s words.

“You know me, Zeke. You know me. How could you believe this crap? How could you believe I’d begrudge you for mating? We both knew the score when we got together; we knew it would end if one of us found our mate. This shit happens to shifter couples all the time,” she added with a nonchalant shrug.

A mixture of irritation and hurt flashed on his face. “Don’t downplay what was between us, Ally. We came close to imprinting. Don’t deny it.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Look, I can understand if our abrupt separation and Rachelle’s presence here hurts you. I sure as hell wouldn’t have liked it if the situation were reversed, but I’d have respected it.”

“I do respect your mating.”

“Then why did you attack her?”

“Oh, for God’s sake, I did not touch her.”

“Then how do you explain the injuries she’s sporting?”

“She must have done it all to herself!” Yes, Ally knew how that sounded, and it made her cringe. It was like the more she denied the allegations, the worse she looked. “I know she’s your mate, but I thought we were friends. You won’t even listen to me, you won’t even give me the benefit of the doubt!”

“Because the evidence is all there! Rachelle’s got claw marks on her back, a bruised and swollen jaw, and the youths claim you left to pursue her. Then there are the text messages, the times you yelled at her, and the way you’re constantly angry—”

“Wouldn’t you be angry if false accusations were being slung at you, and no one believed a word you had to say?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why would she falsely accuse you of all these things?”

“Personally, I’m thinking it’s to make you and the entire pack hate me, to leave me isolated and unhappy. But I’m open to the explanation that she grew up on a diet of paint chips and glue.”

“I could never hate you.” He released a tired sigh. “I care about you, Ally, and I always will. But Rachelle’s my mate, and I can’t let you target her like this. Regardless of what you think, I really don’t want to ask you to step down from your position. But right now, the pack doesn’t feel like they can trust you.”

Which meant they didn’t trust a word she said, and so any visions she claimed to have wouldn’t be trusted either. There was literally no place for her here. “Get me a transfer.”

“A transfer?” He looked genuinely shocked. Um, why?

“Yes, get me a place in another pack.” Leaving did feel a little too close to fleeing, and her pride balked at that. But it was better to leave than to entertain Rachelle with her misery any longer. Of course, Ally could go back to her childhood pack. Her foster uncles would welcome her with open arms. But it wasn’t a safe place for her; it would make her life more complicated and dangerous than it already was.

Zeke seemed to struggle with words for a moment. “That’s not necessary. I know everyone’s upset with you right now, but their anger will cool. Things will be back to normal within a month.”

“We both know that’s not true. I want a transfer.”

His jaw hardened. “No.”

“Why the hell not?”

Again he seemed to struggle. “Like I said, it’s not necessary.”

“It is to me. I want out of here.”

“That won’t be easy.” He almost sounded pleased. “Any pack is going to be hesitant to take a wolf who was accused of attempting to kill their Beta female.”

He was right, which meant she was stuck here unless she was prepared to choose the lone-wolf lifestyle—making her an easy target for the human anti-shifter extremists, not to mention other shifters. And Zeke didn’t appear willing to help her.

She understood that Rachelle was his mate, and therefore his loyalty would be primarily to her; Ally wouldn’t expect anything less. But he was also the pack Beta and had taken an oath to protect his Alphas and each wolf within the pack. It was an oath he was now violating.

“You’ve just lost what respect I had left for you.” And now she had to get out of there.

“Ally, don’t storm out.”

As she reached the door, she glanced back at him over her shoulder. “If you truly believe I attacked your mate, you’d have your hand around my throat, shaking me like a goddamn rag doll. But you don’t, because deep down you know, and your wolf knows, that it didn’t happen.” Ally swung the door open. “Anyway, there’s no need for me to be envious of her claim on you—I always give my used stuff to the needy and disadvantaged.”

With that, Ally waltzed out and slammed the door shut behind her. Then, cursing a blue streak, she stormed out of the pack house into the humid night. This was seriously turning out to be the shittiest day ever. On the upside, it couldn’t get any worse, could it?

When she walked into her wrecked cabin, she realized that, yes, actually, it could. Sitting on her slashed leather sofa, draining one of Ally’s Coke bottles, was the cause of all her problems. Everything in her wanted to lash out, to put this heifer through a world of never-ending pain . . . which was exactly what Rachelle wanted her to do. Then the bitch would have something else to complain to the pack about, wouldn’t she?

“Well, hello there,” greeted Rachelle, wearing a superior, ugly smile. As usual, her hatred gave Ally the sensation of having sharp shards of frost lodged in her chest. “I was just helping myself to what was left in your fridge. Hope you don’t mind.”

Now if she could just choke on the liquid, that would be great. Or maybe if she just went back to whatever asylum she crawled out of. “Ugly bruise you have there. Who gave you all the injuries?”

Rachelle delicately swept her finger over her swollen jaw. “One of the youths who did this lovely handiwork to your cabin. So, how did your meeting with Zeke go?” Rachelle’s smile told Ally that she knew exactly how it had gone.

“Do you mean before or after we got down and dirty?”

Her smile faltered as her cheeks turned almost as red as the streaks in her bleach-blonde hair. “Must be hard losing your position in the pack. Embarrassing too. And to know that your own pack mates no longer trust you . . . Wow. Now that’s gotta hurt.”

It did, it burned like a motherfucker. But Ally wouldn’t let her see that. Nor would she let her see just how defeated she felt right now. Why couldn’t the woman just leave her the fuck alone? She had Zeke, she had the pack eating out of her hands, and she’d taken Ally’s status away from her. There was nothing left for her to take. Except for her pulse, of course. But Ally strongly doubted that Rachelle wanted her dead. Not just yet.

“Would you like to see what I have?” Rachelle rose to her feet and approached her.

“Is it infectious?” Ally asked dryly. When the skank reached into the neck of her T-shirt and dug out a gold chain with a wolf pendant, Ally’s stomach knotted.

“I still can’t believe he gave it to me.”

Neither could Ally. She had bought that for Zeke last Christmas, had done a lot of searching before she’d found the perfect present. And nowshehad it. “Why would you want to wear something thatIgave him? If there’s logic in that, it’s escaping me.”

“Giving it to me proves that you no longer matter to him. That this chain no longer means anything to him. It’s proof of his devotion to me.”

Nope, Ally still didn’t see the logic there. It was clear that this woman’s antenna didn’t pick up all the channels. “I have to wonder if things could have been different if you hadn’t been deprived of oxygen at birth. Just a thought.”

Rachelle planted her hands on her hips. “You’re just jealous. Admit it.”

Oh, this was getting old. “Careful. You’re confusing sheer loathing with jealousy.”

“You are, you’re jealous!”

“Of what exactly? Your manipulative streak? Your distance from reality? The voices in your head that tell you you’re pretty?” She shook her head, done with this bitch. “I don’t have the patience to deal with you right now.” Ally opened her front door and swept out a hand.

“You can’t throw me out! I’m Beta female of this pack! I’m of superior rank!”

“You’re also neurotic and have cancer of the soul. And I have better things to do with my time than listen to your shit.”

“Fine.” She literally marched to the door, pouting. “I have to go meet Zeke anyway.”

Watching as the blonde stomped outside, Ally called out, “Before you go, I was just wondering . . . do you like how I taste?”

Rachelle’s eyes bugged, and her cheeks turned purple. “You bitch!”

Laughing more than she’d laughed in a long time, Ally slammedthe door shut.