“Why did you do it, Trey?” Trick’s dad’s tone was soft, not condemning. “Why did you almost kill your father, your Alpha?”

Trey simply shrugged, not willing to explain himself to any of them. “Because he deserved it. Deserved it so much that I’d do it again if he was alive.” Oddly, that seemed to be a good enough answer for Michael.

Uma, Trick’s mom, on the other hand, wasn’t so satisfied. “You owe us more than that. You owe us an explanation as to why we missed our son growing up.”

Oh she did not just say that! Without conscious thought Taryn sprung forward, growling. If Trey hadn’t looped on arm around her and pulled her back against him she would have been on that bitch – who had wisely backed up – in a blink. “Trey doesn’t owe you anything. In fact, you owe him an explanation – an explanation as to why you didn’t give a fourteen year old boy a chance to tell you what his a**hole of a dad did. And don’t tell me that you all weren’t aware he’d been an a**hole. Didn’t it ever occur to you that Trey could’ve easily finished off the job? He didn’t though, did he? No. But your tiny little brain didn’t even consider that. If you missed that time with Trick, it was your own goddamn fault. So if I were you, I’d exercise that right you have to remain silent or you’ll find yourself strung up like a piñata while I beat the shit out of you!”

Smiling at the almost feral protectiveness in her manner, Trey kissed his mark and rubbed his cheek against hers. He wasn’t the only one smiling. Yes she had been offensive, and threatening, but wolves respected that kind of strength. And no one much liked Uma anyway.

“I’m prepared to go to the council and tell them what I overheard Darryl saying,” offered Martin.

Trey shook his head. “I’d much rather you didn’t.”

“Why?”

Smirks that were identical to Trey’s surfaced on the face of each of his pack. It was Tao who explained. “We deal with things our own way.” Nothing more needed to be said for anybody to understand.

“If what you say about being concerned for Taryn’s welfare is true, then I thank you for coming.”

Understanding they had been effectively dismissed, the wolves all as one turned and made their way back to their vehicles – with the exception of one female who began to slowly and cautiously approach Trey.

“Who’s that?” asked Taryn in a whisper.

He sighed. “Viv. Summer’s mom.”

“Oh.” Well that would certainly explain the motherly behavior. “I’ll give you two a few minutes alone.”

Surprised, he turned her to face him. “Baby, you don’t have to do that. There’s nothing for me to say to her now that I know Summer was never my mate.”

“But she doesn’t know that, does she? If you don’t want to tell her, then don’t.”

“You would be okay with me letting her believe you’re not who you are to me?”

She sighed. “No, I wouldn’t like it, but that woman has already been through a lot. She probably sees you as her last link to her daughter. Someone else who saw her in the special way that she did.”

“But I didn’t. Not even when I thought we were mates.” He released a long breath. “I’m going to tell her the truth. It’s the right thing to do, for everyone.”

Dante called, “Trey, Viv’s asking to talk to you.”

Trey turned his head to see that Tao and Dante stood in front of her, blocking her access to their Alpha pair.

Taryn nipped his chin. “Go on. I’ll wait back at Bedrock. I’ll have you a coffee waiting on the table. Of course you understand that Grace will have made it, but the thought is all mine.”

He smiled and bit her lip. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”

It wasn’t until she was heading back through the forest – having rounded up the others like sheep and shoved them ahead of her, including her uncle, Nick and Derren – that he went to where Viv was waiting. He signalled with an incline of his head for Dante and Tao to give them a moment alone.

“Thank you for speaking with me,” said Viv, swallowing hard. “Trey, I – I just…I’m glad you’re…happy. I always worried about you, wondered if you would survive the banishment. Your mate is very protective of you. You obviously care for each other. I didn’t expect to ever see you imprint.”

If he wasn’t mistaken, she wasn’t happy about it at all despite what she claimed. It occurred to him that she might feel as though he had betrayed her daughter’s memory in some way. Damn, she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. He took a deep breath. “We didn’t imprint.”

“Oh, you’re not mates?”

“Oh we’re mates. True mates.”

Frowning, Viv shook her head. “No, that…that can’t be. Summer was your true mate.”

“Viv -”

“I saw the way she looked up at you that day – so adoringly, so focused on you. She used to cry all the time with those colic pains but she calmed down as soon as you held her.”

“And you mistook that for a true mate bond. I’m sorry if that’s not what you want to hear, but I’m not going to lie to you.”

She shook her head again. “You reacted so badly to her death. What you did…That was grief -”

“That was me attacking my father for teasing me about her having died.”

“He did that?”

“Don’t kid yourself that I was someone who deserved your daughter and lost control in a moment of despair, that I’m just terribly misunderstood. When I heard she was dead, I felt guilty and angry with myself, but it could never have touched me the way it touched you. We weren’t mates, Viv.”

The hopeful gleam didn’t leave her eyes. “I can’t accept that. Maybe once all this is over with Darryl you could come with me to visit her grave and -”

He held up his hand. “Viv, I get that you might wish you could have someone to sit there and grieve with you for your daughter, who saw her as special and who you can share stories with, but…I can’t be that someone.”

“Maybe if I showed you some of her pictures and -”

“Viv, you’re not listening to me.”

“Because you’re wrong.”

“No, I’m not. Taryn is my true mate.” He didn’t like the way she snarled at Taryn’s name and nor did his wolf. “Don’t you do that. I get that you’re upset, but Taryn’s my mate and I won’t have you disrespect her in any way, just as you wouldn’t with your mate.”

The stiffness left her spine and she sighed. “I’m sorry, that was disrespectful. She seems like quite a character.”

“She is.”

“And you’re happy with her? She cares for you?”

He nodded. “Even though I’m about as emotional as a broomstick, even though I’m not giving her what she needs. She doesn’t judge me for being the way I am. She’s so different from me it’s not even funny. Taryn’s it for me.”

Viv’s expression softened. “Then I’m happy for you. I won’t lie and say I’m glad Summer wasn’t your true mate, but that’s because I selfishly wish I had some sort of connection left to her. What you have is what’s best for you, and that’s what I should be thinking about, not me.”

“Then you’re okay?”

She nodded, a half-smile now on her face. “I’m okay.” She bowed her head respectfully. “Take care, Trey. I really am glad you’re happy.” With that, she strolled over to the waiting vehicles and hopped into the backseat of one. Then the cars were beeping in goodbye and driving off.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if at least one of them can’t resist taunting Darryl over his failed attack on Taryn,” said Dante as he and Tao came to stand beside Trey.

“Hearing Taryn wasn’t hurt and you’re onto his little tricks will make him unbelievably pissed,” said Tao.

Trey nodded, sighing. “It’s a satisfying thought.” But he couldn’t smile about it like Dante and Tao were. Although he was pleased to know that not all of his old pack was against him, the overriding issue for him was that there was still a threat to his mate walking the earth. That was unacceptable to him and his wolf.

He wondered if Taryn had any real idea of just how difficult it was for him to simply sit back and then go after Darryl in his own time. The need to avenge pecked at him constantly, demanding he go dish out his own personal brand of justice. The whole thing was making him restless, giving him that nagging feeling like the kind he got when there was something he’d forgotten to do. Only this time he knew exactly what he needed to do, and it went totally against his very nature to ignore it.

Now that their cars were no longer in sight, Trey headed back to the caves.

Dante sighed. “I’ve got a feeling that Don will want to know everything that’s going on – he’ll be pissed to hear his niece was attacked.”

“Do you think Nick will be willing to join us for the battle?” Tao asked Trey.

“There’s only one way to find out.” As Trey was making his way to the kitchen, he heard the words ‘hussy’, ‘disrespectful’ and ‘common’ – clearly Greta was taking a pop at Taryn again. Then he heard his mate’s voice.

“No need to take it out on me that you’re so wrinkled you have to screw your hat on.”

And just like that, he was smiling.

“Do you see what I have to put up with? She’s always talking to me like this,” said Greta, outraged – presumably talking to Don, Nick and Derren.

“You know, I hear that bathing nightly in the blood of virgins is scientifically proven to reduce the effects of old age. Maybe you should try it.”

Entering the kitchen, Trey went straight to where Taryn was perched on the counter and insinuated himself between her swinging legs. He took her mouth in a searing kiss that he hoped told her everything he didn’t know how to say. Near her, surrounded by her scent, he could breathe better. It was odd how this tiny little female could anchor him the way she did. She really was the only thing keeping him rational right now and he wondered if she knew it, felt the weight of that responsibility. Maybe she did, and maybe she felt how close he was to the edge, because she gave him what he hadn’t even known he needed until then. She wrapped all her limbs around him and just held him to her.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Trey was smiling as he made his way to the kitchen four mornings later. Waking up to the feel of his mate’s plush lips around his c*ck could do that to a guy. Entering the room, he found a sight that made him halt. Gritting his teeth, he tore his eyes away and glanced at the people around him. Every member of his pack was there, though none of them had acknowledged his entrance. Each were occupied with either eating, staring into their coffee mug, or toying with their cell phone…as if there wasn’t a small pile of gifts in the center of the table.

The pack knew better than to mark his birthday in any way, shape or form – Trey wasn’t the celebratory type and he didn’t like being fussed over. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand why other people would want to mark their own special occasions, it was just that Trey didn’t like that whole ‘center of attention’ thing. His pack knew that. There was only one member who would ignore that and force ‘fun’ on him.

He zoomed in on his little mate who was sitting on the counter as usual, dipping mini cookies in her coffee. Slowly he approached her, but she didn’t look up until he snatched the mug from her hand.

“Hey!” whined Taryn, not even slightly surprised by Trey’s reaction.

“What’s all that about?” He gestured with his thumb at the table behind him.

“What?” she asked innocently. “Oh you mean the gifts.”

“Oh I mean the gifts.”

“Well it’s like this: it’s your birthday, people get gifts on their birthday, and we’re all nice, kind people who wanted to buy you something.”

Trey copied her innocent shrug. “It’s like that, huh?”

“Yes, and you’re very welcome.” If she hadn’t been sure that it would have been taking things too far for Trey, they would all have sang ‘happy birthday’ as he walked in.

“If people told you that my birthday was today, then they’ll have also told you that I don’t like to celebrate it. So why exactly have you ignored that?”

“Let me ask you something. If it had been my birthday, would you have ignored it?”

“If you had wanted me to then yes, I would’ve,” he lied.

“I hope you’re not going to make a habit of talking out of your ass because liars go to hell.” Gripping him by the shirt, she pulled him to stand between her legs. “Come on, Trey, it’s only a few gifts and then a fun day out.”

“No.”

She followed after him as he stalked out the room. Once in the tunnel she leapt onto his back. “Can’t you see I took pity on you? There’re no banners or balloons and nobody sang anything.” His response was a Ryan-like grunt. “Wouldn’t you like to see what I bought for you? Aren’t you just a little curious?”

He was, but he couldn’t let her know that. She’d pounce on that weakness and use it against him.

“How about we make a deal,” she proposed as they neared his office which she knew he had every intention of locking himself in.