A second later he was pressed against the wall with Trey’s hand around his neck. “It’s almost as though you want me to rip your throat out,” he growled, fighting his wolf from surfacing and doing just that. He hadn’t wanted there to be any violence, but Taryn had been right. Although they weren’t true mates and this whole thing was to be temporary, his wolf wasn’t hung up on those details, wasn’t held back by them. His wolf was an elemental being who acted mostly on instinct, and since he’d marked Taryn Warner, his wolf regarded her as his. His to protect, to comfort, to shelter, to possess. And Trey agreed.
This whole thing hit too close to home, making Trey think of his own father. His dad had been pretty attentive and protective…right up until the Seer within the pack, when Trey was just five, had told his dad that Trey would one day usurp his position as Alpha. After that, his father had pretty much disowned him and left his care to his maternal grandmother – when he wasn’t busy taunting him or using him as a punchbag. His mom had tried to fix the divide between them, but she was too much of a submissive wolf to have had any influence on his father.
“Get the hell off me!”
“But I’m comfortable here.” Watching Lance try to glance around, Trey smiled. “No one’s going to help you. Unlike you, they know better than to try to get between mates. Says a lot about you as an alpha if no one is willing to offer their life for yours.”
“She’s my daughter -”
“And she’s my mate. She’s mine. No one keeps her from me. No one insults her. And no one – and I mean no one – talks to her the way you just did, understand me?”
“Just tell me what it is you really want,” snarled Lance. “You just that desperate for a pack healer that you’d tie yourself to a latent?”
Tightening his hold on Lance’s throat, Trey smacked his head against the wall. “Didn’t I just tell you no one insults my mate? Not very bright, are you?” He gave Taryn a baffled look. “You sure you two are related?”
She shrugged one shoulder delicately. “I do look a lot like the maintenance guy.” Going to stand beside Trey, she cocked her head at Lance. “I don’t know what your problem is, Daddy Dearest. You can’t stand the sight of me. You should be pleased that I’m leaving the pack. Oh and you should also stop insulting me if you expect Trey to release you anytime soon.”
Lance stared at her with a disbelieving look on his red/purple face. “You honestly believe he isn’t playing some kind of game? He’s using you, Taryn. When you realize that for yourself, don’t think you’ll be welcome back in my pack.”
She gave him a sad smile. “I stopped being welcome the day you realized I was latent. But then, you always were an ass, weren’t you.”
“Is that what this is? Revenge? You know how bad I want that alliance.”
Trey snickered. “What, an alliance with me wouldn’t mean anything to you?”
Lance’s gaze shot to Trey. It was obvious he hadn’t thought of it that way and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head.
She released a bored sigh. “Trey, just leave him.” But Trey didn’t. He seemed to be having too much fun watching her dad struggle to breathe. “Come on, he’s a waste of skin and fur.”
After a deep, calming breath, Trey ever so slowly released him and stepped back. “This is what the situation is, Warner. Taryn is my mate, she is now part of my pack, and Roscoe Weston will not touch her ever again. If he has any kind of issue with that, he is free to come to my territory. I’ll be waiting.” He held his hand out to Taryn. “Come on, baby.”
Shooting her dad a withering look, Taryn took Trey’s hand and he pulled her against him. His warmth seeped into her body and calmed her wolf even despite the tension. As she looked at Shaya and Caleb and saw the concern and horror on their faces she felt a stab of guilt.
It’s this or being Roscoe’s little sex slave! a voice in her head reminded her.
Mouthing ‘bye’ at Shaya and Caleb, she allowed Trey to lead her out of the club.
CHAPTER FOUR
After a twenty-five minute journey, Dante was turning the hulking seven seater Toyota Highlander into a wooded area. Taryn’s father’s pack territory was a ranch that spanned six acres of land on which sat a main house wherein he, his Beta, his bodyguard, and his enforcers lived. Surrounding the main house were several converted barns for the other pack mates.
Phoenix Pack territory…was nothing like that.
For a start, it had a perimeter fence with an access/exit gate.
“We didn’t bother having security on the gate until those human groups formed that call us abominations and like to stand outside pack houses with their ‘Die Demons’ banners,” explained Trey. “Only pack is granted admittance or guests-by-invitation. It’s guarded twenty-four hours. He waved to the shifter on duty who strolled out of a little security shack and approached the Toyota. “You remember this wolf, right?” Trey asked her. “Ryan’s one of the pack’s enforcers.”
Taryn smiled at the apparently not very talkative Ryan – or Grumpy, as she had branded him a few days ago – who was eyeing her curiously. He made her think of one of those bionic soldiers in sci-fi movies. His movements were a little robotic and he had a real Terminator snarl going on. A guy who wouldn’t hesitate to kill if the need arose, she deduced. Still, she didn’t feel intimidated. In fact, she was determined to see that impassive expression falter.
“Are you miserable by choice?” As she’d hoped, he was so taken aback that his guard dropped for a split second; his dark eyes widened and his lips twitched. “It’s fine and everything. I was just curious about whether you were born looking like you were sucking on a lemon or if the whole gloomy attitude is a lifestyle choice.”
When Ryan’s lips curved the tiniest bit at one corner, Trey inwardly gaped. For the mostly mute and antisocial Ryan, that was a gushing reception. “Everything went as planned with the claiming,” he said to Ryan. “I’ll tell you more in the morning at breakfast.” Ryan nodded then patted the vehicle before returning to the shack.