On the sofa, Marcus massaged Roni’s nape. “In her warped mind, Roni and I need to be punished. Her rage is our fault.”
“I really should have killed that bitch when I had the chance,” said Roni.
Marcus kissed her cheek, a slight smile curving his mouth. “I love that little vengeful streak you have.” His mate just rolled her eyes.
The sound of the kitchen door opening was quickly followed by the entrance of Jesse. “We have visitors. Miranda and two of her enforcers are heading toward the border.”
Shaya, who was cradling a sleeping Willow, sighed in annoyance. “Great, we can look forward to the company of yet another woman who has a big issue dealing with rejection.”
“After how her last visit ended, I’m surprised she’s come back,” said Jesse.
Shaya looked at Kathy. “Could you take Willow upstairs, away from this vile woman?”
Happily taking her granddaughter, Kathy said, “Of course.” She promptly disappeared, obviously not wanting Willow around Miranda any more than Shaya did.
Ally turned to Dan with a smile. “This should be fun for you. You remember Miranda Whitney, right?”
His brows pinched together. “Miranda Whitney?”
“Yeah, the female wolf who spread shitty rumors about you when you rejected her. She recognized me as part of your family, told the Mercury wolves that they should kick me out.”
Realization flashed in his eyes. “Oh, you mean Miranda Moore. She’s Alpha female of her own pack now, right?”
Ally frowned, glancing over her shoulder at Derren. “I thought it was Whitney.”
“It is,” Derren confirmed.
Dan held up a finger. “It was. But after she had a huge fallout with her parents, she left her pack and changed her surname as a sort of ‘fuck you’ to them.”
Disowning and rejecting them before they could disown and reject her; Ally understood.
“What’s wrong?” Roni asked Marcus, who Ally then noticed was stiff as a board.
As his body seemed to lose a little of its tension, Marcus clasped his hand around Roni’s nape. “This could be purely a coincidence . . . except I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“What?” Derren prodded.
“Kerrie’s surname is Moore.” Marcus’s revelation was followed by a bemused silence.
Stone spoke first, his focus on Marcus. “You think she could be related to Miranda?”
“Derren, call Donovan,” ordered Nick. “He’ll find out within seconds.”
When Ally stood to allow him to rise, Derren kissed her temple. “I’ll be back in a minute, baby.”
Once Derren had left the room to make the call, Nick began pacing again. “If Miranda’s related to Kerrie, she could be protecting her.”
“Not necessarily,” said Shaya. “Miranda doesn’t have a relationship with her parents anymore, which means it’s possible she isn’t in contact with any of her extended family either.”
Stone told Nick, “Shaya’s right.” But the Alpha male didn’t appear convinced.
When Derren reentered less than a minute later, Nick immediately pressed, “Well?”
Derren clenched his fists. “Kerrie and Miranda are cousins.” Curses rang throughout the room, and Nick resumed his pacing.
“That doesn’t mean they have a relationship,” Shaya maintained. “I’m not saying I think they don’t, I’m just saying we shouldn’t act on this until we know for certain.”
Raising one finger to signal for silence, Marcus dialed a number on his cell phone. “Hey, Teagan, did Kerrie ever mention a Miranda Moore to you? Okay, thanks. Possibly. I’ll call you again later.” Returning his cell to his pocket, Marcus spoke, his tone hard. “According to my sister, Kerrie was visited occasionally by a Miranda who’s an Alpha female. That’s all Teagan knows. But it’s enough to tell us that our suspicions are correct.”
Eli spat a curse. “She could have been hiding Kerrie on her territory all this time. Practically right under our noses.” He looked ready to go on a killing spree, and Nick and Roni looked ready to join him. “The night Miranda came here to ask about the grenade, it wasn’t out of concern or even to fish for gossip,” Eli continued. “She wanted to check just how much we knew about the attack, if we were aware of the hit, and if we suspected Kerrie.”
Shaya nodded. “On her last visit, she wasn’t trying to get rid of Ally because she was jealous over Ally’s claim on Derren. Miranda knew that if Kerrie had our pack assassinated while Ally was part of it, the Holts would retaliate.”
“And that The Movement would join us on the hunt for the culprit,” added Cain. “We wouldn’t have stopped until we found and destroyed Kerrie and anyone who aided her.” His uncles muttered their agreement.
“So it’s more than likely that Kerrie has been hiding next door all along.” Nick shook his head in disbelief, a growl rumbling in his chest.
“Smart, really,” conceded Ally begrudgingly. “I would never have thought she’d stick so close.”
Derren retook his seat with Ally and nuzzled her neck. “It’s ballsy too.”
“Or just plain crazy,” said Bracken with a shrug. Ally had to agree.
“Miranda’s risked a lot by protecting Kerrie,” pointed out Eli.
“Fucking bitch,” ground out Nick. “Miranda might not have put out the hit on us, but hiding Kerrie makes her an accomplice.”