“By the way,” said Dante, grinning from ear to ear, “welcome to the pack, Taryn.”

She snorted. “You might not be saying that when Roscoe appears on your territory.”

“Are you kidding? We’re looking forward to it.”

“Yeah, we have to thank you for bringing a bit of life to things round here,” agreed Smiley as he leaned back in his chair – or Marcus, as he had introduced himself as on the drive here. Although he didn’t seem any more accepting of her than the others did, he wasn’t as antisocial toward her as they were.

“You have to understand, Taryn,” said Dante, “we don’t get a lot of challenges. This is the most excitement our pack has had in a while.”

“Why were your dad’s enforcers following you around?” asked Trey.

“When Roscoe came to visit I wasn’t very nice and they considered me a flight risk. The mating ceremony was supposed to take place in a few days.”

“Do you think her dad will keep fighting this?” asked Burly. His name was Patrick, remembered Taryn – or ‘Trick’ for short.

Trey shook his head. “He might be pissed off and wish things had happened differently, but it’s like Taryn said. He’ll be worried I’ll defeat him and make him look weak to the rest of his pack. He recognised that my wolf was more dominant than his.”

“And the alliance? Do you think we have any chance of getting it?”

Trey looked at her. “What do you think?”

“I’d say yes,” she said. “I saw the look on his face when you asked if an alliance with you wouldn’t have meant anything to him. It gave him something to think about.”

Dante tilted his head at her. “He’ll switch loyalties that easily from Roscoe to Trey?”

“As long as he gets an alliance with a powerful alpha out of this, he’ll be content. Give it a few weeks for him to finish sulking and he’ll make contact, wanting us to meet up. I’ll put money on it.”

“You’re that confident?”

“He’s that fickle.”

“Well, we’ll know for sure on Sunday,” said Trey. “If he comes along with Roscoe, he’s stating that he allies himself with him, no matter the outcome.”

“Do you think Roscoe will come as soon as he realizes you’ve mated Taryn?” asked Dante.

“Yep. What time’s he due to arrive on Sunday?” Trey asked her.

“Early in the morning.”

“Greta’s not due back ’til after lunch. She’ll be disappointed she missed the confrontation.”

“Actually she called earlier to say she’d be arriving in the morning,” Trick informed him.

“Greta?” Taryn was glad that none of the possessiveness and jealousy had leaked into her voice. Her wolf snapped to alertness, wondering at the mystery female.

“Grandmother,” explained Trey.

Taryn didn’t like the way he was grinning. It said he was aware of her wolf’s immediate response to him having said another female’s name with such familiarity. She shot him what she knew was a petulant scowl. He laughed silently.

“She doesn’t go out much,” said Dante, “but occasionally she goes to stay with her sister who mated into another pack. I think she might be hoping to try and secure an alliance between that pack and ours. It could have been done a long time ago but Trey was never interested in making them until now.”

“Does the Alpha of that pack have many alliances?”

“Not really, but it would be more than what we have now.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing my dad’s so fickle.” Sighing, she smoothly slid off the countertop. “Where’s my bag?”

“Trey’s room,” Tao told her, his tone unwelcoming. “It’s the same room you woke up in last time you were here.”

Dante gestured with his hands as he spoke. “Just take a left at the end of this tunnel. You then need to take your second left after that. Then go straight until you come to a junction and take a right.”

When her eyes flicked to his, Trey thought he might have seen hesitation there. “Go anywhere else and I’ll just hunt you down and drag you to bed.”

She rolled her eyes. “Easy there, Flinstone.”

“Flinstone?”

“If you’re Alpha of a place like this, you’re Fred Flinstone. I have no intention of hiding from you. You’re mistaking me for one of your submissive Jane’s. That’s not to say there won’t be some struggling involved if you expect to get in that bed with me.”

“I’ll be following you there in about twenty-minutes. We’ll let the struggling commence then. But, what with your wolf riding you so hard to complete the mating, I can’t see you struggling that much.”

“Ah, so you’re a resident of La La Land. I bet you’re Sultan there too.” The sound of Dante’s throaty laugh followed her out of the kitchen.

Damn if psycho boy hadn’t been right about her wolf’s eagerness though. It wasn’t just that her wolf craved the feeling of his body possessing hers. The drive to consummate the claiming also had a lot to do with her wolf being anxious that the mating was incomplete. Being back inside Trey’s bedroom where his scent was overbearing made her wolf a little less restless, but still she didn’t like being separated from her male. Not while the mating was half-finished.

Opening the door at the opposite side of the room, she found herself in the most amazing en-suite bathroom. She very much liked the look of the all-glass corner shower, but the masterpiece was the square, spacious bath. It was so humungous you needed to climb a few steps before you could get into it. Unfortunately she didn’t have time for a leisurely soak, so corner shower it was.

A thought struck Taryn as she entered the shower…It was well known that mates found it uncomfortable to be apart for the first few months. Would that apply to her and Trey or would they be spared that because they weren’t true mates? She suspected that, in any case, things would always be more trying for her and Trey due to how both their wolves constantly reached for the surface.

If it was going to be really uncomfortable then that could prove a problem. Although she hadn’t known Trey for very long, she had picked up that he wasn’t a touchy-feely person. For shifters, touch was a need. It was as basic as eating and breathing. But Trey didn’t seem to experience that craving, or had conditioned himself to ignore it somehow. Yes, he had slid his hands all over her at the club, but that had been for the purpose of their ‘true mate’ act. The second they were in the Toyota he had released her and he hadn’t touched her since. He always seemed to sit apart or stand apart from the others. If this continued while they were mated, it would be damn hard for their wolves.