Page 16 of Rejected Alpha Mate

I turn to Dominic with a long, drawn-out sigh, holding back the need to explain what that was about.

I know it's because of last summer, but that's not why I'm making this offer.

I have to protect her. My inner wolf demands it.

“She's furious,” I lament, feigning amusement with a nervous chuckle.

“Yeah, of course, she is,” Dominic responds with an equally nervous half-chuckle. “I'm literally selling her off to my best friend. She's bound to be livid.”

“This is for her own safety, Dom. I know what I saw out there, I know what I heard. She’s—”

Dominic stops me by placing a hand on my shoulder for reassurance, and that’s when I realize I’ve been rambling on. Only to hide the truth from my best friend. Only to hide my guilt, because I know why Donna ran off. I’m the only one who knows.

“I know why you’re doing this, Nick,” Dom sighs, his dark brown eyes softened with gratitude. “You’re my best friend, and you’re worried about my sister’s safety. There’s no one else I’d trust more than you to do this. Thank you for this selfless offer.”

Selfless?

There’s nothing selfless about my offer, except fulfilling my inner wolf’s need to protect its fated mate. Donna’s reaction was enough to tell me that she hates me for what I did last summer, and it was unforgivable. I can barely forgive myself.

But I can’t let her be in danger.

“Don’t worry, Nick,” Dominic assures me. “I’ll speak to her. She’ll come around.”

The group disperses slowly, everyone retreating to their tents with subdued murmurs. The air feels heavier now, weighed down by the latest revelation and Donna’s reaction to my offer. Even the forest seems to hold its breath the way I am, the usual night chorus fading into silence.

I linger at the fire pit for a moment, watching the spot where Donna had been sitting before she vanished into the dark, knowing that she’s scared.

Scared of me, maybe. Of what I remind her of. Of what we once were.

I nod slowly in recognition of this one detail, my jaw tight, the copper tang of my own blood still bitter on my tongue.

I sink onto one of the logs, pressing my palm to the wound at my shoulder. The skin is already knitting together, the pain dulling, but it’s not the kind of wound that matters. The real damage lies somewhere deeper, somewhere a wolf’s healing can’t reach.

I lift my gaze toward the skeletal canopy of the forest, watching the way the trees sway gently in the wind, shadows breathing in and out, and for the first time since I found Tobias in the woods, I let the truth sink in.

Tobias isn’t the enemy. Not in a true sense. He’s a pawn. Someone, or something, much darker is pulling the strings.

And Donna is at the center of it.

A low growl rumbles in my chest as my wolf stirs, restless again. Protect her, it urges. No matter the cost.

The vow takes root in the silence, heavy and unbreakable.

Even if she hates me for it.

Even if it breaks me all over again.

This is what I have to do.

Chapter 5 - Donna

Two Days Later

I used to think that I had my life figured out well enough. No shocks or disruptions that could possibly change the trajectory of my life, and I preferred it that way. I felt like I was in control, and control meant that nothing could frighten me, nothing could hurt me.

I once lost control of my life, and it was the moment my lips found Nicholas’s, and we kissed. The explosion of sensations meant there was no space for logic, no space for control, and I let my guard slip.

That’s when it hurt the most.