Page 42 of Rejected Alpha Mate

“Yeah,” Dominic concedes with a nod, dropping into the armchair across from me. “He said Tobias wasn’t the kind of wolf who stuck around. He sought sanctuary at Loups de Lune after claiming he was in a fight. Beaumont figured he was just passing through, so he didn’t think much of it.”

“But he wasn’t born in that pack,” Tyler adds. “They’re not his own people. He must be a loner.”

Hunter leans forward, elbows braced on his knees. “That’s probably why the whole pack was clean. No sign of dark magic, no dealings with rogues. Rousseau even let Delilah run a trace. There was nothing.”

Delilah confirms this with a nod, her eyes shadowed with fatigue. “Whatever was linking Tobias to the dark lord, he’s cut it loose for now. My guess is he’s trying to hide.”

I rake a hand through my hair, the motion sharper than it needs to be. “He can’t stay hidden forever.”

“Maybe not,” Sean mutters. “But he’s good at covering his tracks.”

“Not good enough.” Hunter pulls a folded paper from his jacket and tosses it onto the table. “Beaumont let us look through his records. Tobias didn’t use the name ‘Peck.’ The ID he gave was registered to a Tobias Louvet.”

Silence settles over the room like a storm about to crack, and everyone’s eyes fall to the coffee table where the paper is unfolded. I see the name written in black ink, read it twice, and that’s when the name hits me square in the gut.

Louvet.

“Louvet?” my voice echoes through the silence, a frown tugging at my brows. “As in Barry Louvet?”

Dominic looks up, recognition glowing in his eyes. “The informant from the Canadian op?”

“Yeah...” my voice drops lower, the memory flickering at the back of my mind like static—fuzzy but still there. “He was the one who tipped us off about the vampire ambush near Lake Abitibi. He didn’t make it out alive.”

Hunter exhales slowly. “Think Tobias is related to him?”

“Cousin, maybe. Or brother.” I rub my jaw, contemplating this new development. Barry Louvet was a friend from when we just began our missions. He lost his life tragically, but helped us take down the coven of vampires. He was a martyr in all our eyes—especially mine, since we were the closest. “Barry was working with us, so maybe Tobias got it all wrong and thinks we’re responsible for his death. That would explain the obsession. The hex bag, the attack on Donna…it’s personal.”

“Revenge,” Sean says softly, a grim silence following.

Delilah folds her arms. “That makes him unpredictable—and dangerous. A wolf with a vendetta is one thing. A wolf dabbling in dark magic for vengeance? That’s a nightmare.”

“There’s clearly a pattern…” I say, more like a thought said aloud. “First, Tyler, with the rogue wolves who were working for the warlock, and now, Tobias. They all had a vendetta against us, for things that happened during our missions.”

“We made enemies out there, and they’re coming back to haunt us,” Tyler says gloomily, glancing at Arianna with worry in his eyes.

“And it seems the dark lord is targeting our weak spots,” Sean adds. “Setting our enemies upon us.”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend…” Hunter laments with a hollow chuckle. “That fucker is smart.”

“We have to be smarter,” Dominic chimes in confidently.

I nod, turning to briefly glance at Donna, sensing her indifference when she catches my eyes. I force my mind to shift gears and turn my face away, back to the paper on the coffee table, because I can’t afford to let my thoughts drift toward the woman standing a few feet away, even when the faintest tilt of her head catches my attention. I focus on the mission instead.

The only way to drown the ache for my mate is to lead the way I’m meant to as an alpha.

“He’ll resurface,” I say firmly. “We’ll be ready when he does. But until then, we need to strengthen our defenses.”

Hunter gestures toward Donna. “Starting with her.”

I stiffen instinctively, but I know he’s right. I’ve been thinking the same thing since the ritual. If the dark lord is after the witches linked to the prophecy, Donna is next on his list, and he has Tobias on her heels. He would have gotten to her if I hadn’t intercepted his rendezvous with the malevolent, cloaked creature the night of her graduation.

I protected her then, and I will continue protecting her.

That’s why the idea of her being in danger, or learning how to fight the kind of darkness that almost devoured me, makes my stomach twist.

“She needs training,” I say finally. “The ritual worked, but she barely had control. If Tobias comes back, she won’t have Delilah or Arianna here to guide her.”

Delilah’s gaze sharpens, her witch’s intuition already working faster than my logic. “Then she’ll need someone who can train her properly.”