Page 58 of Rejected Alpha Mate

The world…my world…is narrowed down into a single instinct.

Protect Donna.

Every movement, every sound, is caught between the palms of my heightened senses, then sniffed and detected for traces of foul play. Like Tobias’s breathing, the rise and fall of his chest, the flicker of his eyes from side to side, then the rising of his hand before it comes crashing down to his side, and the eruption of the Loups de Lune wolves charging forward once again.

But Tobias doesn’t move, and I’m prompted to reach back for Donna, a protective hand on her arm, where I can be reassured that she’s safe behind me.

The wolves continue thrashing around us, attacking the others in a frenzy, but Tobias…Tobias only watches me, chest heaving, eyes flickering like candlelight caught between red and pitch-black.

“You…” he rasps from across the meadow, voice trembling between fury and something that sounds eerily like grief, the sound carrying over the thrashing of the others as they fight. “You killed my brother.”

The words hit like a blade driven straight between my ribs.

“No, you’re mistaken…” I stare at him. “Tobias—”

“You killed him!” Tobias roars to cut me off, his voice distorted, warped by the darkness curling around his vocal cords. “You killed Barry! You left him there to die!”

Donna’s breath catches behind me, and my heart drops into a void, memories of that mission resurfacing from where I thought I had them buried.

My blood runs cold. “Tobias…Barry wasn’t murdered. I didn’t kill him.”

“You watched him burn!” Tobias shrieks, stepping closer, shoulders shaking, rage pulsing from him like heat from a wildfire. “The dark lord showed me! He showed me everything!”

My world tilts on its axis, brought on by Tobias’s furious grief, memory slamming into me with brutal force.

Canada…three years ago…the snow-packed forest, and an ambush that came out of nowhere.

Barry was dragged between the trees by a rogue vampire that was faster than any of us could track. I was ripping after them, screaming his name, the scent of blood staining the ice.

And then…

A burst of fire ahead…a spell detonating under the vampire’s feet.

Barry shoved me away in time to keep me from being caught in the blast.

His last words were, “Go. Save the others,” before he pushed the vampire further into the blast, sacrificing himself.

I called out his name again, an anguished cry ripping from my throat, but I wouldn’t let his sacrifice be in vain, and that’s how the vampires were defeated.

It wasn’t murder, it wasn’t abandonment.

It was war, and I have relived it every night since.

My voice breaks, my throat dry. “He died protecting us, Tobias! He was my friend! He died a hero, sacrificing himself for us. No one asked that of him. He gave his life willingly, for the greater good of our kind, so that we wouldn’t be plagued by a greater threat!”

Tobias staggers, confusion rippling through his expression. The blackness in his eyes flickers, wavers, showing an unsteadiness. His bottom lip trembles, grief surfacing beneath the rage.

Donna steps around me, gently but firmly placing herself where he can see her fully.

“Tobias…” she whispers, voice thick with emotion as she appeals to him. “Nicholas is telling the truth. Please…please listen.” Her voice is a balm even I feel in my bones, and I glance toward her, for the first time taking my eyes off Tobias. Our hands reach for each other at the same time, my sharp claws retracting to hold her hand in mine, like a show of surrender. We exchange gentle nods before turning back to Tobias, like a rhythmic unit of two souls who become one in the face of adversity.

My chest swells with pride while Tobias blinks rapidly. His breathing stutters, and the darkness in his eyes recedes for a split second, letting the blue hues return.

Then, out of nowhere, a cold wind slices through the clearing. Donna’s hair whips around her from the impact, and my stomach drops.

The air turns frigid. Heavy.

Wrong.