“What?”

“Meet up with them. They’re not buying that the mating is real. If they hear it from my mouth, if I can convince them that I’m fine and Trey doesn’t intend to hurt me, then maybe they’ll accept it. They’re both tenacious bastards, they won’t let this go.”

Rhett sighed. “I doubt Trey will let you leave the property.”

Let her leave? Snort. She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. “Actually I was thinking that if they see me here in this setting it might be more believable for them.”

“You’re probably right there. Okay, you got time to help me with this before you go ask Trey?”

“Sure.”

Trey looked up from an old photograph of his dead mother when he heard the knock on his office door. “Come in.” As he expected, Tao strolled inside. He had also anticipated Dante tagging along since he was a nosy bastard. Both wolves took the seats in front of Trey’s thick oak desk. Shoving the photo underneath the slip of papers beside it, he focused his attention on Tao.

“I’m electing you as Taryn’s personal bodyguard.” The Head Enforcer nodded agreeably, which sort of stunned Trey. “You know what this means, don’t you? I’ll need to pull you away from your usual duties because your main priority will be Taryn’s safety.”

“Someone else will become Head Enforcer, I know,” said Tao with a nod.

“I was sort of expecting a protest.”

Tao shrugged. “I considered it an honor when I was made Head Enforcer and I enjoy that position, but it will be just as much an honor to be my Alpha female’s bodyguard. Besides, Taryn’s interesting to be around,” he added with a smile.

Trey arched a brow. “I hope that’s all you find her to be.”

“Isn’t it going to be a bad idea for you to have someone else looking out for her?” Dante asked rhetorically.

“Why would it be?”

He sighed. “Because it’s your job as her mate to be her protector and it will nettle your protective instincts – not to mention your wolf – if you ignore that.”

“I’m not ignoring it. I’m assigning someone to watch over her which means I’m addressing the issue of her safety. Protective instinct covered.” Trey had kept his tone aloof and cool, but the way Dante narrowed his eyes told him that he was seeing more than Trey wanted him to.

“Speaking of Taryn, you might want to come see what her and Rhett set up.”

“Set up?”

“On the computer. Come see.”

Minutes later many of the pack were crowded into Rhett’s bedroom as he showed them their pack web and explained everything about how it worked and how it would benefit the pack. He then showed the others how to use it and introduced them to the public blog for their pack.

“Well, what do you think?” asked Rhett.

“This was your idea?” Trey asked Taryn, impressed.

“And Rhett’s. It was a joint project.”

“I had no idea other packs had this kind of stuff,” said Dante, sounding a little awed. “How long ago did your dad set his web up?”

Taryn jiggled her head as she thought on it. “Five years ago, maybe?”

“It’s good,” said Trey, “really good.”

Tao draped an arm over her shoulders. “Guess who’s been assigned to you as your bodyguard?”

“I need a bodyguard?”

“No, but most Alphas have them. In reality, bodyguards are more like hovering slaves.”

“And you’re happy to be a hovering slave?”

“I’m happy to be your hovering slave.”

At this moment Trey was very much regretting having made Tao her bodyguard. He didn’t like Tao’s flirtatiousness, didn’t like how easily Taryn had taken to the other male’s touch. He wanted to grab Taryn and pull her to him, wanted to lick over his mark to remind her she was claimed. Claimed by Trey.

Rhett’s voice broke into his thoughts. “I checked to see if Darryl had set one up, but he hasn’t. Shame. We could have gotten an idea of who has what position within the pack nowadays.”

“Oh by the way,” began Taryn as she went to stand directly in front of Trey. “Remember the female who kept trying to get me to walk away from you while we were in the club?”

“Yeah,” he replied, hiding how content he was that she was away from Tao. It was a struggle not to touch her, but he wouldn’t let those instincts rule him.

“Her name’s Shaya, she’s my best friend. Well, her and Caleb.”

“Caleb?”

Rolling her eyes at the amount of jealousy coating that one word, she continued, “I’m going to need to meet up with them. They’re not buying that this mating’s real, they need to hear it from me, face to face.”

“Then we’ll meet up with them somewhere public like -”

“No, no, no, you can’t be there when we talk.”

“What do you mean I can’t be there?” He had meant to sound affronted but it came out petulant.

“Not the whole time anyway. They’re worried about me, they think you might be hurting me or that you’re forcing me to stay. It’s why they’re so desperate to speak to me alone. I want to see if I can get them to come here, to see that I’m alive and fine and that you and I are ‘happily’ mated.”

He folded his arms across his chest to stop himself from reaching out to her. “Why exactly weren’t they so worried when Roscoe forced his claim on you?”

“That was different. Unlike you, Roscoe wrapped his meanness up in charm and managed to fool a lot of people with it.”

“You’re saying I have no charm?”

She gave him a bright, mocking smile. “Why of course you have charm, you practically ooze it. Ego better now?”

He sighed. “Call them, invite them to come here sometime this week.”

“The weekend would be better because they work through the week. I’m thinking Saturday morning.”

“Fine.”

The way he so abruptly left the room had Taryn frowning. It was as though the guy was desperate to get away from her or something. It wasn’t until later that evening when she found herself lying in bed very alone that she began to think on it a little more.

Trey had been different with her since the confrontation with Roscoe that morning. Or, more accurately, he had been indifferent. There had been no more heated looks, no more whispered promises, no more licking the marks on her neck, no more taking the odd moment to inhale her scent. But it wasn’t just that. He was barely speaking to her.