"Agreed."
“With that out of the way, beginning today as your probationary period, you’ll start on patrol duty.” Jeremiah pushed up from his desk. “You see, Colorado is a highly sought-after territory." Jeremiah gestured out the double glass doors to the picturesque Rocky Mountains around the mansion. "Because of that, I'm constantly besieged with challengers. Rogue wolves rise up all the time, trying to make a play for this pack."
Dillon's eyes went wide. "Really?" He tried to keep the skepticism from his voice. What Jeremiah was saying wasn't unheard of, of course, but it was rare. Challenges for an alpha position didn't happen often. And Dillon had never heard of rogues trying to take a pack over completely. Most of the time, challenges came from within, or at least from members of a rival pack.
"Absolutely. But over the years, I've gotten good at sensing when something like that is going to happen.”
Dillon’s eyes twitched as he used all of his will power not to roll them. Sensing when rogues were coming? What are you, a sprite? “And you have a sense that you’re about to be attacked by rogue wolves who want to take over your pack?” Good job not sounding sarcastic.
“You didn’t roll your eyes either,” his wolf pointed out. So helpful when he wanted to be.
Jeremiah turned away from the window and looked at Dillon. “I have reports from my sentries that there are rogues getting too close. I need to be diligent and stop any attack before it happens.” He stood and walked around the desk.
Dillon immediately got to his feet, as well. His wolf didn’t like a less dominant wolf standing over him.
“This will be your first assignment. Any questions?”
Don’t say, “Can we invite the rogues for dinner?” Don’t say it, Dillon. He mentally growled at himself. “No, Alpha. I’m good at hunting.”
“Excellent.” Jeremiah clapped him on the back. “You’ll report back at the end of the day. Head out to the front door. The others accompanying you are already waiting.”
Dillon gave a sharp nod, turned on his heel, and headed toward what was most likely going to be a day of running through forest where no rogues have been near in years. Just follow orders. He felt like this hadn’t been so hard when he lived in the Montana pack. Either he was out of practice of having an alpha and it wrangled him and his wolf, or it was just the person giving the orders that bothered him.
“It’s both,” his wolf said coolly. “We are meant to lead. You know this.”
Dillon didn't acknowledge his wolf’s words. He couldn’t entertain that kind of thinking—not right now when it was crucial he be the compliant wolf that kept from being gutted.
Chapter
Ten
“Some people say to never encourage a crazy person’s delusions. Well, if the crazy person is your mate’s father, you may have to go along with them. Just be careful. This might sound hard to believe, but crazy people do crazy crap. And when a powerful alpha does crazy crap, people get hurt.” ~Dillon
Daniel held out the phone to Tanya. “It’s your dad.”
She was in the kitchen of the main house of the Missouri pack compound, looking in the phone book for local funeral homes where they could get a casket for Lisa’s body. Tanya felt uneasy about sending her friend off in the traditional way of her people—by burning her body. Tanya preferred the idea of having a place where she could come and visit Lisa. Tyler had agreed to let Lisa be buried on the pack land with a memorial and a bench where people could sit next to the gravesite. The alpha had said yes with no hesitation, which made Tanya cry, as it was probably the exact opposite way her father would have reacted.
Tanya took a step back when she saw the phone. The last person she wanted to deal with at the moment was her controlling father. She had a feeling this wasn’t a phone call to see how she was doing, especially now that she knew Dillon was at her pack.
Daniel shook the phone. “Tanya.” She finally sighed and took it. Tyler propped up against the counter with his arms folded in front of his chest. She noticed his eyes glowed slightly with his wolf, but that was the only sign of his agitation.
Tyler and Tanya’s father, Jeremiah, tolerated each other and were amiable, but that was as good as it got. Tyler thought Jeremiah was a controlling ass with a god complex, and he wasn’t wrong. Jeremiah knew that Tyler was equally dominant and couldn’t be intimidated. They never truly felt the need to challenge each other, but Tanya had a feeling that might change one day. If her father ordered her home, she’d have to obey. Knowing Tanya would want to stay for Lisa’s funeral, Tyler would not take that well. He might even give Jeremiah his opinion about the matter, and that wouldn’t lead anywhere good.
With shaking hands and a pounding heart, Tanya put the phone to her ear. “Hello.”
“Tanya, how is your visit with Lisa going?”
Her father’s voice was gentle, which made her defensive. She scrunched her brow, trying to figure out her father’s intentions. Typically, he had two modes with her: overprotective or annoyed. Essentially, he wanted to control her in both cases. While Tanya believed he loved her, she also thought he saw her as a reflection of himself. Any mistake she made was a mark against him, and any choice she made that he disagreed with was somehow an attempt to spite him. At times it seemed to her that he thought that her desire to visit the Missouri pack to see Lisa was her way of saying she preferred Tyler as an alpha to him. When she was younger, this wouldn’t have been true, but she had outgrown the days when she saw her parents through rose-colored glasses.
“Actually,” she began slowly, “it’s not going too well, and I need to ask your permission”—she swallowed hard—“to stay longer.”
“What’s happened?” His voice grew stern. She could picture his sharp, hazel eyes narrowing.
“Lisa…” Tanya stopped, took a breath, and cleared her throat. Austin’s hand came down on her shoulder, reminding Tanya she had pack with her who would stand by her. “She passed away less than an hour ago.”
There was silence for a few heartbeats, and then to her complete shock, Jeremiah said, “I’m sorry to hear that. I know she meant a lot to you.”
Tanya found herself irritated that her father sounded so genuine. It had always been a battle to get permission to come visit her friend. But Tanya held her tongue. He hadn’t denied her yet, and she didn’t want to provoke him to do so.
