In other words, the only person who had the right to slap her was him.

“Until the mating ceremony, I’m still her Alpha, Roscoe. Remember that.”

“And as her mate, I’d feel obliged to protect her if you were to lay a hand on her.” He turned to Taryn and smiled. “Nice to see you again, beautiful.”

Taryn almost shuddered. He had that same look in his eyes that he’d had when he’d bitten her. As that was something which was a kind of rape to her wolf, she was going crazy now inside Taryn – growling, pacing, flexing her claws.

This was one of the things that most annoyed Taryn about being latent. When her wolf was frenzied, her anger and frustration had nowhere to go and it was like a pressure gradually expanding inside Taryn’s chest. People tended to think that because her wolf didn’t physically show herself she must therefore be subdued and weak in spirit. Taryn wasn’t sure how it was for other latent wolves, but it certainly was not the case for her.

Her wolf was a big presence within her. She didn’t understand that she couldn’t surface. She didn’t understand that it was pointless to tug at the reins, pointless to try to fight Taryn’s will. So, in general, her wolf was bold, difficult and pushed her instincts and desires on Taryn. Right now, her wolf’s desire was to take a swipe at the smarmy bastard in front of her. When he leaned down to kiss her she turned her head away, but his mouth still managed to catch her ear.

Lance released a tired sigh. “Let’s go. Everybody will be waiting for us.”

As they made their way to the dining room, Roscoe attempted to hold her hand. She shot him a look that swore violence and curled her upper lip. His response was a smile. She kind of got the feeling that he liked seeing her riled. Damn if she could figure out why. He should find her rebellious behavior insulting and exasperating. She’d rather hoped he would anyway.

“You’ll be sitting at the head table tonight, Taryn,” Lance announced as they entered the room. She had to resist the urge to growl. Although she was the Alpha’s daughter and the pack healer, ordinarily she would sit at another table with Shaya and Caleb.

Of course Lance placed her beside Roscoe. She wasn’t thrilled to find her dad’s bodyguard sat at her other side. Like most of the others in the pack, he had always been nice to her when she was a kid, before puberty hit and her wolf didn’t surface. Maybe if Lance had still been accepting of her then things would have been different, but by dismissing her as unimportant and weak he had pinned a big fat target on her back.

What had saved her from a dozen beatings was that in spite of her latency she still had shifter speed and strength. Of course it hadn’t saved her from all of them. She had worked to become the best hand-to-hand combatant, and to be fitter and agiler than anyone within the pack. The bodyguard’s ego was still sore after the time he had snuck into her room in the middle of the night only to end up with a broken nose and a dislocated jaw.

Quickly the food was brought out and everyone was eating greedily while listening to Roscoe answer all Lance’s questions about his pack and the times he had been challenged in the past. Taryn rolled her eyes as she saw how many of the females were staring in utter admiration at Roscoe, clinging to his every word. Even Shaya for Christ’s sake! The males were also staring at him, all pretty pissed with him for his effect on the females.

She simply didn’t understand how everyone could be so taken in by him. Yes, he was charming, had a warm smile and was very nice to look at, but there was something very wrong with his eyes. There was so much ice there. No matter how wide his smile was, it never reached his eyes. From the second she had met him he had rubbed her and her wolf the wrong way, yet no one else seemed to have sensed that…wrongness about him.

“You haven’t eaten much,” he whispered in her ear.

She didn’t bother responding. How he could expect her to have an appetite right now she couldn’t imagine.

“If you’re done we could go for a walk. Alone.”

Slowly she turned her head and gave him an expression that said ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’. Ignoring his chuckle, she resumed poking at her food with her fork.

“You could at least make a little effort to talk to me. I came all this way just to see you.”

Well then wasn’t he a fool.

“You know, if things are really bad with you and your dad, we could both talk to him and try negotiating you coming to stay with me for a few days.”

At one point had she given him the impression that she was gullible?

He sighed. “Come on, Taryn, you can’t tell me you wouldn’t like getting away from here for a while. You could see where you’re going to be living, meet some of the wolves from my pack. You’ll soon be their Alpha female. Don’t you want to get to know them?”

No, not even a little bit. And she would never be their Alpha female.

“They’re eager to meet you. In a few days I’ll then be going to Australia, you could come.”

“Is there no way you could just go sit on a cactus or something?” He actually smiled at that. What was wrong with this guy? Surprising her, his hand slid around her neck; a gesture of ownership. Enraged she jumped to her feet and kicked his chair out from under him. She snarled down at him where he was splayed out on the floor. “Don’t you ever touch me like that! I don’t belong to you, I’ll never belong to you!”

What made the whole thing even worse was that he was smiling. He had wanted her to lose control. He was enjoying being able to get her so incensed. Cursing, she stormed out of the room, ignoring the gasps, the horrified mumblings, and her dad’s bellows. She didn’t stop marching until she was outside.

The cool evening air was like a soothing caress – one she so desperately needed. She took several calming breaths, trying to not only ease her own anger, but that of her wolf. Her wolf was raging over how that male had held her with proprietorship.

It was only minutes later when she heard footsteps approaching and his scent drifted toward her. He sighed as he halted a few feet behind her. “Taryn, it really is time you stopped fighting me. I think we’ve proven who the more dominant one is.”

She turned slowly, clenching her fists. “All you proved when you bit me is that you can physically overpower me and you have sharp teeth, just like I proved that I can deliver some serious pain to your groin whenever you use them on me. None of that has anything to do with dominance.”