CHAPTER TEN
Taryn wasn’t oblivious to the looks she was getting from the people in the diner. As this was a place where powerful alphas tended to congregate – the kind who saw latency as a weakness – the door had never been open to her. It was kind of like a school situation where only the popular kids got to hang out in a particular crowd. That wasn’t why people kept looking at her though. It was because she was sitting next to a hulking great Alpha male who was known for being a violent bastard but was toying with her hair with the lightest touch as she ate her breakfast. The same hulking great Alpha Male who had a tendency to turn feral in his wolf form.
Their expressions ranged from curious to awed, probably due to the rumor that she had calmed him when he was feral or maybe just due to the fact that she was sitting with the local psychotic shifter. Of course they were quick to look away if Trey shot them a scowl, but he seemed to like the idea that other males might want her. Weird bastard.
Smiling at the sight of his tiny mate practically attacking a plate of bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, tomatoes and baked beans, Trey massaged her nape. “Enjoying that, baby?” Apparently too engrossed to give him any attention, she simply nodded.
He hadn’t ordered anything for himself other than coffee as he wasn’t particularly hungry at the time, but the smell of meat so close was too much to resist. He took a slice of bacon from her plate and dipped it in her egg before taking a chunk from it. She froze then slowly swerved her head to face him, snarling. He knew why. He’d learned early that his mate was territorial over her food, but needling her was always fun. Surprising him, she abruptly leaned forward and snatched the bacon from his hand with her teeth, making him think of a chameleon catching a fly with its tongue. His chuckle quickly died as the door of the diner opened and a familiar scent reached his nose.
Taryn looked up to see Lance Warner walking toward them flanked by Oscar and Perry. All three looked relatively nervous even though the meeting had been set up by Trey via Rhett. As Trey was convinced that forming an alliance with her father would upset her, he had earlier that morning offered to cancel the meeting. However, she had encouraged him to go. It seemed dumb for him to have mated with her for this alliance only to then refuse to even meet with her father to discuss the issue. As she always did when Lance was around, her wolf flexed her claws and growled – although she recognised this wolf as her father, she didn’t like him.
As Lance stopped before their table it was Trey’s cue to stand, but he didn’t – something that was a lack of respect and made it clear that he didn’t trust Lance. The old Alpha had the option of leaving, refusing to sit with someone who would show disrespect, or he could sit down and attempt to earn that respect. Trey guessed that Lance would want an alliance too much to just walk out. He was right.
The three wolves joined their table, sliding onto the bench opposite theirs, with Lance in the middle. The old man folded his arms across his broad chest. He was in good shape for his age, Trey thought. But both of them knew Trey could take him easy.
Lance’s gaze finally flicked to Taryn who, apparently uninterested in waiting for her own father to acknowledge her, was focused on her half-finished meal. “I’m sure you’ll remember Oscar and Perry so I don’t need to introduce them. A few of my other enforcers are outside.”
Trey heard the ‘I’m not defenceless’ warning within that sentence. “If you look behind me, you should see my Beta and a few of my own enforcers.” He heard as Dante said ‘Hi there’. He imagined that Tao, Dominic and Ryan would be giving Lance looks that said they hoped he gave them a reason to pounce on him. Each one of them despised the old Alpha for his treatment of Taryn.
Lance exhaled heavily. “It’s fair to say we got off on the wrong foot.”
“Are you referring to how you tried to take my mate from me?” Trey’s wolf growled at the memory.
“I had every reason to believe that she wasn’t your true mate. Considering that she’s my daughter, taking her with me wouldn’t exactly have been kidnapping her.”
“Your daughter, huh? Biologically, maybe. In practice, not so much.”
Again Lance’s gaze darted briefly to an otherwise occupied Taryn. “I heard about what happened with Roscoe.”
“Yes, it was all very sad.”
“I also heard that you went feral and that Taryn managed to calm you down and bring you back from that.” Lance’s gaze focused solely on her and he seemed to be looking at her through new eyes. Almost done with her meal, she was eating what was left of her toast. Damn she ate fast and it always brought a smile from Trey. Not right now, though, because she was being ogled by her father’s enforcer who didn’t think Trey would notice.
Yeah he knew she was a very sensual creature and sometimes it gave him a kick to know that others wanted what was his, but not when those males were obviously daydreaming about that fantasy mouth of hers. “If you keep staring at my mate I’ll rip your fucking throat out.” Oscar double-blinked then quickly lowered his eyes. That didn’t placate Trey or his wolf. As if Taryn sensed that, she rubbed her jaw against his shoulder and briefly patted his thigh. He calmed slightly at the bodily contact and, needing more, he resumed massaging her nape.
Lance frowned, watching them closely.