Page 12 of Rejected Alpha Mate

I hate that Nicholas Bartalow exists at all.

And I’m going to kill him if he’s the reason Tobias isn’t in his tent.

Chapter 4 - Nicholas

The night air hums with tension, thick enough to choke on, the silence becoming unnerving, even if I’m far from being afraid. How could I be? I’m the alpha of Crescent Moon, and every instinct in me is on alert, the wolf beneath my skin pacing, restless. I stay crouched behind the tree, my focus pinned on the shadows ahead.

Tobias stands under the skeletal canopy of pine trees, his back to me, one half of his body illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the leaves. The figure beside him is draped in black from head to toe, its presence radiating something…unnatural, something unholy. The air around it feels warped, cold even, as if the oxygen recoils from its presence.

I strain my hearing, using my wolf’s hidden ears to drown out the forest noises until only their voices remain.

“The Rivera girl…” Tobias mutters, his tone low and uneasy as he nods, and my heart stops at the mention of her, my ears getting sharper, the fine hairs on the back of my neck prickling like blades.

My fingers curl into fists at my sides. The Rivera girl? That’s Donna.

A low, guttural growl escapes the cloaked figure. At least, that’s where I suspect the treacherous sound comes from. It couldn’t have been Tobias.

“Yeah, she trusts me. That’s why I’ve gotten this far,” Tobias continues, and my stomach lurches.

The cloaked figure shifts slightly, and its reply crawls like oil through the still air, its voice thick and sinister. It’s more like an echo when it replies, “Not far enough. You’ll have to get closer. Seduce her if you must.”

I can’t make out if the figure is male or female, but that doesn’t even matter. Its words are all it takes for my restraint to snap. My blood surges with red-hot anger, my vision darkening, and my wolf howling for release. I step out from behind the tree, each boot crunching on the dry leaves beneath me.

“Tobias!” I roar, and both figures turn.

The cloaked one jerks its head sharply, then vanishes in a blink, disappearing behind the tree and dissipating into the shadows that slither into the forest like smoke. Tobias’s blue eyes widen, the color fading fast into a panic-stricken white.

“N—Nicholas?” His voice cracks. “What are you—”

“What am I doing?” I snarl, closing the distance in two strides. “No. What the hell are you doing, Tobias?”

He stumbles backward, palms raised as he becomes imprisoned against the tree trunk behind him. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“Oh, really?” I grab him by the collar, slam him against the tree trunk hard enough to send bark splintering. “Because it looks like you were selling out my best friend’s sister to some demon.”

“I—”

“Who was that?!” I demand, shaking him once, rage tightening my grip. “Who was here with you just now?”

Tobias doesn’t answer. His throat bobs as his jaw clenches. I can smell the fear radiating from his pores, but beneath it is something worse, something foul. His pulse is too steady, his breathing too controlled.

“Speak, motherfucker!” I growl, my voice lowering, guttural, teeth grinding when a foul stench enters my lungs. My nostrils flare, my eyes narrowed with fury. “What the fuck are you? ‘Cause you sure as hell don’t smell human anymore.”

His eyes flash black, empty pits as if he’s swallowing the moonlight whole.

“What the—”

Before I can finish, his body convulses violently, his bones cracking like dry wood in a fire. The sound echoes through the trees as his jaw distorts, stretching unnaturally as coarse, dirty cream fur bursts through his skin. His scream twists into a feral snarl, and his teeth distend into sharp fangs.

I stumble back a step, stunned. He’s a wolf?

No.

He’s not supposed to be.

Tobias lunges before I can gather my thoughts, pain searing through my shoulder as his jaw clamps down, teeth sinking deep into my flesh. I roar, my body instinctively shifting, the wolf surging forward with vengeance.

My bones snap mid-motion, muscles contorting to fit my wolf’s large size. In seconds, the forest fills with the sounds of snarling and snapping teeth. I grab him by the scruff, distending claws slicing his furry flesh as I fling him off me, slamming him into the earth. But the bastard is faster than I expected, and rolls over onto his paws, then darts into the darkness, vanishing like a shadow through the trees.