“So you’re looking for a new pack?” Jeremiah folded his arms across his broad chest.
Dillon nodded. “Yes. I’m asking for a trial period.” He cleared his throat. “I know there’s always a possibility that I might not be a good fit. I’d ask that you, please, give me a chance.” Dillon’s wolf was balking at the permission he was asking for, which made Dillon begin to think his beast must know that they were dominant to Jeremiah. Dillon focused closely on his power and made sure it was tamped down tight. He did not need the alpha to see him as a threat. “We could just kill him and take over the pack,” his wolf said coolly. Dillon mentally rolled his eyes. “You need to check yourself, wolf. Our mate probably wouldn’t appreciate us killing her father.” Okay, so maybe letting his wolf lead wasn’t going to be the best idea, even if Dillon had gone against his beast’s wishes in regard to Lilly.
After several tense moments of silence, Jeremiah finally lifted one shoulder as he tilted his head to the side. “Okay. I’ll let you stay as a probationary member. However”—he took a step toward Dillon, and he felt the alpha’s power fill the room—“this is my pack which means my rules. If you cannot obey me as your alpha without question, then you’re out.” The alpha’s wolf showed itself in his glowing hazel eyes, and Dillon knew when he said, “You’re out,” he didn’t mean a swift kick to the backside on his way out the door. This was an all-or-nothing deal. The power in the room bore down on Dillon’s shoulders, and he knew he needed to kneel, but his wolf was fighting him. “Any dominance fights,” Jeremiah continued, “and you're out. This isn’t a democracy. I keep my wolves under control, and that keeps infighting from causing chaos.” There was a final burst of power, and Dillon forced his wolf to submit even though, in reality, Jeremiah’s wolf was not more dominant than him. He fell to his knees and tilted his head, bearing his neck in submission.
“If I could rip out your throat right now, I would.” Dillon’s wolf snarled at him. Dillon didn’t respond to the beast. He knew this had to happen.
“You understand that in order for a pack to thrive, the hierarchy must be known and abided by. Male wolves, un-mated especially, are volatile when they don’t know their place. Order must be kept. Am I clear?” Jeremiah began to rein in his power, most likely due to Dillon’s submissive pose.
“Yes, Alpha.” Dillon wouldn’t argue with him on any of those matters, though he might disagree on how Jeremiah enforced his orders. He’d have to see for himself just how bad the alpha’s assholery was.
Jeremiah stepped back. “Stand.”
Dillon pushed to his feet and fought the urge to shake off the magic that had washed over him. He straightened his spine and let his eyes land on Jeremiah’s eyes momentarily before moving away, then back to the alpha’s. “Brief eye contact,” he told his wolf. “Nothing more.”
“Would any of this have to do with those markings on your neck?” Jeremiah’s eyes dropped to the flesh in question and then met Dillon’s briefly before Dillon dropped his own.
Dillon had noticed that his markings had changed. But he’d expected Tanya to have been here when he arrived. Her absence had thrown his plans all to hell. “In part, yes.” This is where he would have to be very careful. He couldn’t lie—Jeremiah would smell it and possibly attempt to gut him. But he could give him a little kernel to appease him, and also ask for some understanding on the alpha’s part.
“Those are mate markings,” Jeremiah continued. “Did you leave the Montana pack because of your mate?”
Dillon shook his head. “No.” He brought his arms to his sides and then slipped his hands in his pockets. “I’ve met my mate one time. That was enough for the markings to change.” Dillon didn’t want to say more about it. He’d be treading on thin ice to keep from telling a lie.
“She’s not with you, nor do I smell a female on you.”
“True mates are a very private matter.” Dillon kept his tone respectful. “As you’re mated, I’m sure you can appreciate that. While this is a trial period for me in your pack, it is also a trial period for your pack. Building trust takes time. I’m asking that you allow me to build that trust before I discuss something as sacred as my mate.” Dillon felt sweat rolling down the middle of his back as he waited for Jeremiah’s response to his request, which, though bold, wasn’t entirely out of line.
“I suppose that is fair enough of you to ask. But before you can become a Colorado pack member, you will have to divulge that information, at least to me.”
Dillon nodded but kept his jaw clenched tightly closed to keep from telling the male to go pound sand. He’d forgotten what it was like to take orders. Living as a lone wolf had made his beast an alpha unto himself. This hierarchy was definitely going to take some getting used to.
“When we bond with our mate, he should be removed. He is no leader,” his wolf declared. “He is a despot. I can smell the fear of his wolves. They should respect him and follow him for that reason. Not because he’s a tyrannical ass.” Dillon’s wolf was feeling very articulate. And Dillon found he agreed with him completely but knew they had to play the game until they knew more and until Tanya returned and could shed her own opinion on the matter. As it was, she might show up and ask her father to kill him.
Jeremiah picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number. “You are welcome to stay for a few weeks. That should give us both plenty of time to see if this is the pack for you.” He then put the phone to his ear and began to speak to someone on the other end. “I need you to come and take Dillon Jacobs to one of the guest rooms.” He hung up the phone and only a minute later a wolf walked in. Jeremiah glanced at the new male. “Robert, this is Dillon. I will fill the pack in tomorrow regarding his situation." Jeremiah turned back to Dillon. "I'm afraid dinner has already been served this evening. I'll have someone bring you something up shortly. Anything in particular you would like to eat or drink?" Jeremiah wore a pained expression, and it looked to Dillon as if the alpha was forcibly swallowing a glass of poison. Apparently, hospitality was painful for the man.
Dillon inclined his head. "Thank you, Alpha. I'm not picky. Anything will do."
"That's obvious. Otherwise, you wouldn't have settled for a woman who was not our mate," Dillon’s wolf spoke up again. “I could do without the constant commentary,” Dillon growled back.
Dillon followed Robert down the hallway, up a flight of stairs, and then down another hallway. As they walked, Dillon found himself appreciating the beauty of the mansion. There were many wood carvings in fine detail on the posts and banisters of the stairs and columns. The colors were warm and inviting, rich browns and lush greens made it feel forest-like which appealed to his wolf. “This is a beautiful home,” Dillon said to Robert.
“Mm-hmm,” the other man offered, but said nothing more.
“Have you been a member of the Colorado pack your whole life?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Okay, not the most talkative man in the world. After another hike down yet another hallway, Robert stopped at a door that, like the others, had ornate carvings of wolves howling and playing in the woods. He pointed. “This is you.”
“Three words,” Dillon told his wolf. “That’s progress.”
His wolf growled at him. “You’re pathetic.”
“Thanks,” he told Robert, who simply waved a hand over his shoulder as he walked away. The man seemed bored, but Dillon hadn’t missed the tension in his shoulders.
Once behind the closed door, Dillon began to pace. Tanya wasn’t here. He would bet his life on it. “Where are you?” he asked the empty room. A large bed stood in the middle of the room, and there was one window on the right side of the room framed by a set of thick curtains. The walls were brown, and the floor was covered with rustic wood and a deep green rug in front of the bed. Sparse but clean. Dillon couldn’t detect any smell other than a tad muskiness which meant that no one had stayed in this room in quite a while.
His feet ate up the space as he walked to one end of the room, turned, and walked back the way he’d come. There was no way he’d get any sleep, especially since he had no clue where his mate had gone. She’d had plenty of time to get home, which meant she hadn’t come home. He growled, his teeth elongating as his wolf’s frustration grew. “Pull yourself together,” he said to his beast out loud. “Snarling about it isn’t going to make her suddenly appear.”
