Page 57 of Rejected Alpha Mate

“They’re under a spell!” I scream as the witches gather behind me. “Don’t kill them!”

The wolves approach us with terrifying force. Hunter shifts into wolf form mid-leap, colliding with two wolves and forcing them to the ground. Dominic barrels into another, teeth snapping at empty air. Sean and Tyler work together, knocking wolves aside without piercing skin.

Nicholas grabs a wolf by the scruff when it charges at us, and he slams it down with the force of his wolf claw, careful not to break anything. His fangs flash, but he restrains the killing blow.

“Something’s controlling them!” Gwen yells, her palms glowing with the first stirrings of her magic.

A wolf leaps toward her, and with Nicholas handling the other wolf, I lunge forward, a cry ripping from my chest.

“No!”

Gold explodes from my palms, forming a shimmering shield that slams into the cursed wolf, throwing it backward without harming it.

Arianna’s energy blends into mine, and Delilah adds more, reinforcing the barrier encircling the witches.

But the pressure increases when more wolves emerge from the shadows, and more darkness coils around them. I glance at the other witches, a silent plea to figure out what we should do next as Nicholas fights off another wolf, choosing hands over claws because claws would kill.

He plants himself firmly in front of me, bare-chested when the first wolf ripped his T-shirt off, and now covered in grime and scrapes, growling low in his throat.

“Nicholas—" I start, but his hand snaps back, gripping my forearm, pulling me behind him gently but firmly.

“I said stay close!” his voice trembles, but not with fear for himself, but fear for me.

My heart stutters.

The wolves circle us, their growls vibrating through the ground. The air thickens, heavy with dark magic. Even the witches pause, sensing something shift, when suddenly, the forest parts.

A figure steps out, its clothes hanging from its body in tatters. His skin is pale, almost grey. And his eyes…oh Goddess…his eyes glow red like dying embers.

My knees almost buckle under the weight of my shock.

“Tobias…” I whisper, my body quaking.

That's not the boy I once knew, someone I considered a friend. Now, he appears before us like a deranged monster, eyes void of any semblance of humanity.

Tobias tilts his head, studying me, eyes hollow and twisted into something unrecognizable.

“You shouldn’t have come…” he rasps, voice distorted as if layered with another, darker presence that serves as his current lifeforce.

Nicholas immediately positions himself between me and Tobias, muscles tense, chest rising and falling with barely contained rage, his claws readied at his sides. He snarls in warning at Tobias.

A smirk cracks across Tobias’s face, dark and sinister. “Aah,” he croons, gaze sliding to Nicholas. “I see you’ve taken my place beside her.”

The clearing falls completely still at the sound of his bitter voice echoing around us with malice. Even the cursed wolves stop their attacks, taking up formation on either side of Tobias as if he’s their master.

Every breath, every heartbeat, hangs suspended in the air as our friends prepare for the war.

The standoff has begun, and the raging silence threatens to consume us all.

Chapter 20 - Nicholas

“Aah,” Tobias taunts, his gaze turning to me. “I see you’ve taken my place beside her.”

His words enrage me, filling me with the seething anger that should compel me to shift into wolf form, but instead, I remain in human form. The other wolves are unmoving, only their chests heaving and tongues hanging, drooling from the sides of their muzzles, while they remain on either side of Tobias.

He’s made an army of ravenous, black-eyed, monstrous creatures, and they’re not in control—just like Donna suspected.

My knuckles snap and distend as far as I can get them into claws as I plant myself steadily on my legs, still half-covered in dirt and blood. The wind whistles through the fur covering my forearms, my breath matching the sound before it escalates into a firm growl when Tobias’s crimson eyes meet mine. My vision narrows on him as I keep myself planted in front of Donna, shielding her with my body.