The Alpha's Rival

Chapter 7

Growling low in his chest, Mitch struggled against Robinson’s hold on his neck. His hands scrabbling at his neck, he fought desperately. He was quickly running out of air. He’d be out cold within minutes if Robinson didn’t loosen his grip or let go. Not that he’d actually mind too much if he did, though. Passing out for a few minutes would provide some relief from the nightmare that today had become.

“Greg, I don’t know if I can let him go,” Robinson breathed, glancing over his shoulder at his beta, dashing any hopes Mitch had that he’d be put down anytime soon.

As much as he hated to hear it, Mitch didn’t blame him one bit. If their roles had been reversed, he wouldn’t let him go either. He was a threat that just wouldn’t go away, and the only way to take care of it was to exterminate it. He didn’t want to die though. Not yet.

Still struggling to breathe, he was starting to get light-headed. Realizing that his struggling was only making things worse, he dropped his hands and relaxed his body as best he could. Closing his eyes briefly, he turned his focus on getting what little air that he could. Opening his eyes again, he quickly found Kelly standing a few paces behind Robinson, an uneasy expression on her face.

Hope flickered back to life as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. One thing he had learned during the time she had spent in Silvermoon was that she hated conflict. She’d do just about anything to avoid it. She also hated seeing people hurting. It made her uncomfortable. So, if she was able, she’d step in and do whatever she could even if she really shouldn’t. He had seen it firsthand.

Turning his full attention to Kelly as she stepped closer, he swallowed anxiously. Any minute and she’d be asking Robinson to put him down. As soon as Robinson dropped him, she’d rush over to check that he was alright before she sent him packing. He had a feeling she was still too angry to invite him to stay for the rest of the party, not that he wanted to stay. Watching Robinson look at her like a lovesick puppy made him sick.

“You can,” Kelly murmured as she peered around her mate’s shoulder and met his gaze, her eyes cold, surprising him. The small flicker of hope that had started to take root quickly fizzled out. She didn’t care, not anymore. He had pushed her too far.

His eyes swept over what little of her body he could see and landed on the hand gripping Robinson’s shoulder. Her wedding ring glistened in the dying light, making his stomach churn. And just beyond that, he could see her wrist, but there was something different about it. Squinting, he could just make out a ring of angry red welts circling her wrist. His heart stopped as he realized that was where he had grabbed her, holding her in place as he had pleaded with her. He had done that. He had hurt her.

“Let him go on a warning,” she continued, a dangerous edge to her voice that caught his attention. Focusing back on her face, he held his breath, waiting. “The next time he tries this s**t, we’ll kill him together.”

Her words reverberated through his head as an icy horror washed over him, freezing him. It felt like his whole world had stopped. Eyes widening, he stared at her in disbelief. She was so angry with him that she was willing to kill him if he kept this up. How had his plans gone so horribly wrong?

In his numbness, he barely felt Robinson loosen his grip and then let go altogether. Not caring to catch himself in his shock, he slid all the way down the wall and landed in a heap on the hard ground. His body protested, his ribs screaming after being rammed and now crushed, but he didn’t care. He had hurt her. He deserved all the pain and hate that she wanted to throw at him

“I suggest you run. If you’re still here in five minutes, I won’t stop him from coming after you again,” Kelly hissed, the anger in her voice evident.

Biting back a moan of despair, he shifted, trying to figure out how to crawl away without causing any more trouble. He just wanted to disappear. Hanging his head in defeat, he wondered wow had he ever thought she cared about him enough to leave Robinson for him? Compared to Robinson, he had nothing to offer her. And after her seeing how ruthless she could be today, it was clear she preferred the violence that followed Robinson. Reveled in it. He should have seen it when she had brought back Warmouth’s severed head.

If she wants violence, we can give her violence, his wolf growled angrily.

Normally, not caring for his wolf’s overly violent ways, he would have ignored the anger pouring off his wolf, making his own blood boil. But tonight, he had a point. If she wanted violence, he could give her violence.

I bet she liked it when you hurt her, his wolf egged him on. I bet she gets off on the pain.

You’re a sadist, you know that? He shot back.

Yeah, so? I’m the one that’s going to get you what you want, his wolf reasoned. So stop being a f*****g pansy and let me take control. I promise you’ll get used to the violence eventually. Might even like it.

Yeah, sure, he snorted in derision. However, despite his misgivings about handing over the reigns to his overly violent wolf, he was done fighting and getting nowhere. He gave up. Turning off all reason, he gave up control to his wolf who howled in triumph.

You won’t regret this, his wolf crowed.

Shifting slightly to ease the pressure on his aching ribs as his wolf set up shop in his head, he met Robinson’s hostile gaze just briefly before focusing on Kelly who was watching him uneasily once more. A smirk tugged at his lips as his eyes flashed wickedly. She knew what was coming, he was sure of it. He’d challenge Robinson right here, right now, and then claim him as his own, right here in front of everyone.

A low growl emanated from his chest as he shifted again, straightening his body. Leaning forward eagerly, he kept his eyes on Kelly who shrank back just slightly. She was scared, he could smell it on her, but she wasn’t going to run and hide like most female wolves. No, she was going to meet him head-on. Goddess, this was going to be fun.

And then, just like that, she was gone. Eyes widening in surprise, he reared back. Raising an eyebrow, he studied Robinson, who stood in her place, his whole body shaking as he fought to keep himself in check.

Leaning back even further, put out just slightly, he watched as Greg urged Robinson to take Kelly and go. Smirking to himself, he could see Robinson warring with himself. On one hand, he wanted to stay so he could see this through. On the other, he wanted Kelly safe, and knowing Kelly, she wouldn’t go unless he did.

Give it up, Robinson, he chuckled to himself. Go on and challenge me like you want. Try and put me in my place.

Still smirking as he tried to figure out how to goad Robinson into a fight, he didn’t notice when the crowd quieted just a bit. But then he heard Rowan’s voice. Dammit.

Tearing his gaze from Robinson, he turned abruptly and narrowed his eyes on his beta as he listened carefully to him try to take control of the situation. But then Robinson got in his face and anger coursed through him as his beta folded. That son of a b***h was supposed to have his back. Why was he taking orders from Robinson?

Disgusted, he turned away and caught another glimpse of Kelly. Her face was now white and her eyes were wide with shock as they darted from him on the ground back to her mate and back again. She knew as well as he did that a fight was coming. He wondered who she’d root for. Probably her mate, but if she saw him gain the upper hand, would she switch?

And then Robinson was there, gently taking her hand. Relief flooded her face as she shot one last look at him. Confused, he couldn’t quite tell what she was thinking anymore as a number of emotions crossed her face. Relief, sadness, regret, disbelief, anger, and then back to sadness. Or… wait… Was that pity? She f*****g pitied him.

Sitting back, feeling like he had been slapped, he watched Robinson lead his mate away.

“Here,” a carefully guarded voice said next to him.

Turning he found Josh standing there with his hand extended, his face unreadable. Pursing his lips, he took Josh’s hand and allowed him to pull him off the ground. Wincing as his ribs protested again, he pressed his free hand against his side.

“Are you hurt?” Josh asked, raising an eyebrow at him and nodding toward the hand he had pressed against his side.

“It’s nothing,” Mitch dismissed him.

“Doesn’t look like nothing,” Josh shrugged, leaning against the side of the shed as he inspected him. “In fact, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you’d gotten hit by a bus.”

“No thanks to you,” Mitch snapped, brushing the dirt off the front of his pants. Not that it helped much. He was covered in dirt, weeds, cobwebs, dust, and tar.

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Josh retorted. “You told us you’d be leaving before the ceremony if you couldn’t get Kelly to call it off. We waited for you at the car. I was even going to drive back with you. But you never showed.”

“I never got the chance to talk to her,” Mitch said sullenly, leaning against the shed next to Josh. “Got here a bit too late.”

“So you thought crashing the ceremony was the next best thing?” Josh asked incredulously.

“It wasn’t exactly my plan,” Mitch sighed, running a hand down his face and wincing as he discovered a tender bruise blossoming on his jaw. “I just… I don’t know. One minute I had every intention of heading back to the car and then the next I was running over to the ceremony, desperate to catch her before she started walking down the aisle. And when I still didn’t get to her in time, I sorta lost it.”

“Sorta?” Josh scoffed, shaking his head.

“Okay, I completely lost it,” Mitch admitted in defeat.

“Uh huh,” Josh grunted, still shaking his head.

“I lost control of my wolf,” Mitch continued.

“I figured,” Josh replied.

“He’s still mostly in control,” Mitch admitted.

“He is?” Josh asked sharply, shooting Rowan a quick look. “We need to get you out of here before you do something else stupid. You’ve already jeopardized the peace treaty we signed a few months back. I’d hate to think what else you’d do with your deranged wolf in control.”

“No, it’s fine,” Mitch protested. “I’m fine. They left just now. And I’d like to apologize, at least to Greg, before we head out. I know that’s not exactly sufficient, but it’s a start.”

“What do you mean, they left?” Josh asked, his eyebrows shooting up. “They didn’t leave, man. They’re still here. They just went inside to cool down before heading out.”

“They didn’t leave?” Mitch repeated hoarsely, his eyes widening as his wolf started egging him on again. Looking up at the packhouse in front of them, he quickly noticed that all the lights on the second and third floors were still off except for one on the third floor. The alpha’s suite.

“We need to get you out of here,” Josh repeated, signaling to Rowan that they needed to leave asap.

“Is he alright?” Rowan asked, not bothering to look at Mitch as he walked over with Greg on his heels.

“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Mitch replied dryly, folding his arms across his chest.

“We need to get him out of here,” Josh stated firmly. “He’s not the one behind the wheel right now.”

“Kelly and Tate should be back down in about twenty minutes,” Greg muttered, checking his watch. “Is that enough time to get him in the car and on the road?”

“It should be,” Rowan nodded, shooting Mitch a quick look of disappointment.

“Wait…” Mitch protested, pushing off the shed.

“What now?” Greg growled, his eyes darkening as he turned to glare at Mitch. “Haven’t you caused enough trouble today?”

“I… I…” he hesitated.

“Well?” Greg huffed impatiently. “You’re down to fifteen minutes, and I don’t want you anywhere near here when they come back down. You heard Kelly, Tate will kill you if he sees you still hanging around and we both know she won’t stop him this time. Hell, she might even kill you before Tate catches up to you.”

“I…” his mouth was dry. Swallowing nervously, he glanced up at the third-story window again and noticed that it had been turned off. They were already on their way down. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I… I’ve been struggling with my wolf and today, I don’t know. I just couldn’t keep him in check.”

“You couldn’t or didn’t want to?” Greg scoffed, glancing at his watch again.

“I couldn’t and towards the end, I didn’t want to,” Mitch admitted. “I’ve just been… I don’t know. Lost I guess. Especially once I didn’t have you guys around to help with the transition.”

“So you decided trying to get Kelly to leave Tate gave you some sort of purpose then? Made you feel a little less lost?” Greg snorted as Mitch opened his mouth to protest and then shut his mouth.

It sounded bad when Greg put it that way, but yes, having Kelly around made him feel less lost. But he hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone even if he wasn’t overly fond of Robinson.

“You’re pathetic,” Greg muttered, turning away as the sound of a door being shut drifted back to them. Pulling his phone out of his pocket a second later, he ran his hand over his face wearily. “Look, I need to go. They’re ready to say their farewells already. Keep him back here until I give you the all-clear. Can you handle that?”

“Sure can,” Rowan nodded.

“I don’t need to remind you of what Tate said, do I?” Greg asked, arching an eyebrow at Rowan as he pocketed his phone.

“No, I remember perfectly,” Rowan reassured him. “We’ll keep an eye on him and we won’t let him anywhere near the Nightstalker border.”

“Good,” Greg nodded. “And just a heads up, we will be filing a report. There will probably be a meeting to discuss this sometime after they get back from Ireland, so keep an eye out.”

“Noted,” Rowan nodded quickly before turning to Mitch, a disappointed look on his face.

Glancing over his shoulder as Greg’s footsteps died away, Rowan relaxed slightly. They were alone.

“What the hell?” he hissed as cheering erupted from the front of the packhouse.

“I don’t know,” Mitch shrugged, his eyes on the packhouse.

“Well, you have over two f*****g hours to figure it out,” Rowan growled as the sound of Robinson’s ancient truck roaring to life cut through the noise of the crowd. “When we get back home, we are going to talk about this. And don’t think that because you’re the alpha that you’re going to get off scott free. We can’t have an unstable alpha, and you know it.”

“I know,” Mitch hung his head as Rowan’s words sunk in. He had more than f****d up at this point and he’d be paying the price for months by the sounds of it. “Let's go.”