Page 5 of Rejected Alpha Mate

That’s when I find Cecelia shooting daggers at me with her firm glare as she approaches us, balancing a tray of shots in one hand while she points at me with the other.

“You need to behave, Nick!” she warns, drawing the attention of the rest of the group. Santo nimbly takes the tray from Cecelia, and Sean is the first to pick up a glass, as if he needs refreshments for the entertainment.

“Behave?” I scoff, shrugging nonchalantly as I remove my hand from my pocket. “What do you mean, Cece? I’m behaving.”

Cecelia rolls her eyes and turns to Dominic, but her mate simply offers her an oblivious shrug.

“It was funny, babe. An inside joke,” Dominic assures her, drawing her into his side with one arm. “I’m sure Donna understood that.”

Cecelia huffs in irritation. “She was embarrassed, okay?” She turns to me, narrowing her eyes. “You embarrassed her, and we all agreed to behave tonight.”

“She’ll be fine, Cece,” I click my tongue dismissively. “Donna is a big girl. She can handle a little lighthearted jest, I’m sure.”

“That’s not how it looked back there,” Cecelia informs me, folding her arms. “Donna seemed very upset. I think she’s trying to impress Tobias.”

Cecelia’s observation shocks me, and I freeze midway to reaching for a shot. Turning slowly, my eardrums fill with ringing, like a warning to signal danger, my inner wolf awakening and ready to be unleashed.

“What…?” The word leaves my lips along with the color on my face. I can feel the blood draining, my heartbeat slowing down.

Cecelia shrugs and turns her face toward Dominic. “Yeah. I think she might have a crush on Toby. That’s why she was so bothered by what Nick said.”

“Well, I don’t blame her,” Arianna chimes in, glancing at Emily for confirmation. “Tobias is cute.”

My eyes widen in horror at my friend’s mate. Not only is she a werewolf, but she’s also a witch, a descendant of a very powerful priestess who sacrificed herself to defeat a dark warlock in a war a few decades ago.

Is she blind, though?

Cute?

I scoff as I shake my head, hiding my contempt with a wry chuckle.

“You guys are funny, you know that?” I smirk as I look around at my friends. “You have absolutely no idea what Donna is into. It’s like you don’t know her at all. A blonde?” I point toward the bar. “Really?”

“You’re saying she doesn’t like blondes?” Tyler chuckles, to which I nod.

“Duh! If she had a preference for blondes, she would have gone for me.”

“Nick!” Dominic scolds with warning in his eyes, but I don’t take it to heart and laugh again.

“What? I’m just stating the obvious,” I shrug. “If Donna were into blondes, she would have picked the better-looking one, don’t you think?”

“Hm…so you’re saying you’re the better-looking blonde?” Sean considers with an arched brow.

“I think it’s pretty obvious,” I shrug again.

“Sounds like you’re just butt-hurt that Donna didn’t pick you,” Tyler mutters in amusement, and I shake my head.

“Me?” I say dismissively. “I could never be butt-hurt. Donna is Dom’s little sister. I could never think about her in that way.”

Everyone seems to buy the lie, letting me off the hook and allowing me to mentally crawl back into the shell where I’d been occupied, mulling over my feelings.

Irritated.

That’s what I am. How can I not be irritated when Donna openly laughs at Tobias’s jokes?

It’s my jokes she should be laughing at, my arm she should be clinging to. The only reason I’m holding myself back from making a scene is that these are my friends.

I can’t tell my friends the truth. Dominic can’t know what happened between his sister and me. He’d kill me if he did.