There was a chorus of questions as the three males in the van looked at her. Daniel’s eyes kept darting from the road to the rearview mirror, where he could see her.
“I’ve been patrolling when I have some downtime,” Dillon said quickly. “I haven’t picked up any more scents of vampires. Tell Daniel to slow the hell down.” Dillon’s voice had turned into a deep growl. “I’ll be pissed if he gets into a wreck and you get so much as a scratch on you.”
Tanya ran a hand down her face and clutched Lisa’s diary to her chest. “Sorry, Daniel. False alarm.”
“Are you talking to your mate?” Trevor asked.
“Is he at the pack mansion?” Austin piped in, his eyes a little too eager. Dude really wanted to pick a fight with Dillon.
“Is something wrong?” Daniel finished for the three worried males.
She pointed to Trevor, “Yes.” Then she pointed to Austin, “I’m talking with him. And yes”—she looked at Daniel in the mirror. “He’s at the pack mansion. And I don’t know if something is wrong. He led a hunting party the other day with some of our wolves, per my father’s instructions, to look for rogues.”
“What?” the three males said at the same time, their voices in various pitches.
“We haven’t had rogues around our lands in a long time,” Daniel said.
“I know,” Tanya replied. “And Dillon didn’t come across any during any of his patrols.”
“Tanya, quit getting them worked up,” Dillon interrupted her conversation. “I don’t want him driving like a madman to get back here when there’s nothing happening. I want you here quickly, but in one piece.”
“Don’t be bossy, Dillon. You’ll find that I don’t like to be told what to do.” She focused her attention back on her pack mates. “But they were attacked by vampires.”
“Are you freaking kidding me?” Austin asked.
“Shit.” Trevor spat.
But Daniel’s brow simply dipped into a deep V. Tanya imagined he was wondering why her father hadn’t kept his beta in the loop about something so serious as the presence of vampires. It wasn’t the first time that Jeremiah kept things from Daniel. An alpha treating his beta as if his input weren’t important was a complete slap in the face. But her friend had always just brushed it aside, even though it spoke volumes to the pack about how Jeremiah felt about Daniel. Just like everyone else, Jeremiah didn’t trust him.
Tanya wanted to reach forward and pat Daniel’s shoulder, but she couldn’t bring herself to touch him. She felt Dillon’s jealousy rise before he could block her from it. She knew it would be something he would deal with. Considering their circumstances, she imagined that Dillon would never feel like he had the right to voice his feeling’s in that regard, whereas other males of their kind would be quick to remind their mate of who she belonged to and who she should and shouldn’t be touching.
Insecurity, the hunger for power, pride, fear, and greed had crippled her pack. Tanya hated that they’d all been stunted by her father, prevented from being the healthiest pack of Canis lupus possible. She didn’t want her mate to feel equally stifled, as if he couldn’t snarl when he felt possessive. It sounded so stupid in her mind and would sound even more stupid out loud, but it wasn’t the way of their kind. They were hotheaded when it came to their true mates. She wanted her male to be just as aggressive as any true mate would be.
“Okay, fine,” Dillon snapped, obviously listening to her thoughts. “I’ll rip a hole in his shoulder if you touch him. Is that better?”
She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing even though her shoulders shook with the chuckle bubbling up inside of her. And she had told Lisa that humans were weird. If that was the case, then Canis lupus were just psycho.
“True mate males definitely are,” Dillon agreed. “I don’t think that’s ever been in dispute.”
“You’re not wrong.” She snorted.
“Would you please tell Daniel to slow down now?”
“Daniel, my mate asked that you please drive as if you have a glass of water filled to the brim on top of the van, and if you spill any of it, he will rip out your throat.”
“Cutthroat.” Austin grinned. “I think I might like this guy after all. Once I’ve kicked his ass, of course.”
“That’s not exactly what I said.” Humor filled Dillon’s voice. “But I’m impressed by your creativity.”
“You’re easily impressed then. You need to up your standards.” She settled back into the seat, still clutching the diary. Tanya’s eyes grew heavy as she finally relaxed and let herself trust Dillon. If he said everything was fine, then she would believe him. And even if things weren’t fine, there wasn’t anything she could do about it until they arrived home anyway.
“Get some sleep, love. I’m not going anywhere, and we have a lifetime to work through everything while I prove myself to you.”
His words, and the sincerity in them, settled her heart even more. Tanya finally let sleep pull her down.
Jeremiah stalked through the corridors of the pack mansion, his hands fisting and unfisting at his sides while he tried to cool his boiling blood to a simmer. He’d killed two of his own pack members, and it was Dillon Jacobs’s fault. If that fool hadn’t gone and taken a human as a lover and then sired an offspring with her, none of this would have happened.
He picked up his phone and dialed the pager to his beta. He should have done this days ago, but he’d been too busy trying to work out the puzzle that was Dillon Jacobs. And then, when Jeremiah heard of Lisa’s passing, he hadn’t wanted to upset Tanya any more than she already was. He was an ass, but he did love his daughter. But now—now he had to make damn sure that his suspicion was right. He had to know if Dillon Jacobs was, in fact, his daughter’s true mate.
