The Alpha's Rival

Chapter 2

August 2022

Kelly watched as Angelica shut the door behind her after her final dress fitting, leaving her alone in her room. Sinking back into her recliner, wearing only her slip, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.

Glancing at the guest list sitting on the coffee table next to her, she reached out and pulled it over to her. Chewing on her bottom lip, her gaze instantly found Mitch’s name. As much as she hated to admit it, knowing that he wasn’t coming stung more than she had expected. The least he could have done was give her a quick call, shoot her an email, or something. She knew he was busy, but that would have taken all of five minutes if that. She would have done the same if he was the one getting married instead.

Her eyes narrowing angrily, she pushed the list away again, not wanting to see his name anymore. So much for being her bestie. Or had that only counted when she had been in Silvermoon? Had his status as one of her best friends changed as soon as she stepped over the border into Nightstalker territory? Or had it changed when Tate had put a ring on her finger? Glancing down at her ring sparkling in the dim light, she clenched her jaw tightly. If that was the reason for his sudden absence in her life, then he had never really been a friend, had he? He had just been biding his time, waiting to see if he ever got a shot. Apparently, he was more like his father than either of them had thought.

Closing her eyes again, the last time she had seen Mitch drifted to mind. It had been moving day, and she had been waiting for Angelica to show up with the van so they could pick up the handful of pups waiting to go back with them. He had been dressed nice, a pair of dark blue jeans and a button-down, the two top buttons left undone. His dark brown hair had been combed back and the stubble on his chin shaved for once. It was a pleasant change from the greasy old clothes he usually wore, but he could have worse hobbies, she guessed. Working on old cars kept him out of trouble.

She had let him in after noticing the bouquet of roses. It was a little over the top, but roses were a decent go-to since she couldn’t remember if she had told him what her favorite flower was. But did they have to be red?

After taking them from him, she had noticed something flicker in his sharp brown eyes that reminded her a bit too much of his father. Those eyes didn’t miss a thing, and they were incredibly hard to read. Trying not to let it get to her, she had handed him Griffin before turning away.

“They’d survive if you stayed here,” he had said in response to her worrying they’d get ruined during the drive, an eager expression on his face.

With a gasp, her eyes shot open. How had she been so stupid? He had been asking her to stay with him as his mate instead, and in her distracted state, she had thought he had been asking her to stay to help with the Silvermoon pack. It hadn’t been the first time he had come over asking for assistance, so she had just naturally assumed.

“f**k,” she muttered, standing up and stalking into the closet to search for something comfortable to wear. After pulling on a pair of joggers and a loose t-shirt, she made her way back to her chair and curled up in it. Closing her eyes to concentrate, she called on her wolf, grateful that she could still talk to her wolf whenever she wanted. Biting her bottom lip as she waited, she hoped her wolf could shed some light on the situation. She wanted some reassurance that she wasn’t just seeing things. Memories weren’t always super reliable after all.

What’s up, babe? Her wolf yawned, stirring in her chest as she woke up just enough to talk to Kelly.

Was Mitch ever really my friend? She asked, dreading the answer she was sure was coming.

I’m afraid not, her wolf said sadly. Pity, too. I liked the guy. He wasn’t like most of the other Alphas we’ve run into.

So it was all a lie then, Kelly breathed in disbelief.

I don’t think he meant to lie, her wolf pointed out reasonably. I think he genuinely wanted to be your friend, but because you could have been mates, it made it hard. His wolf wants us. And then, you know, he’s a male. He’s possessive by nature. Because of that, attempting to maintain a friendly relationship with you while you’re still mated to Tate would have been impossible for him.

Our friendship was doomed from the start, wasn’t it? Kelly shook her head in disbelief as her wolf nodded. Stupid f*****g possessive assholes, the lot of them.

You can say that again, babe, her wolf snickered.

Kelly shook her head again as she willed her wolf back to sleep. Sitting there for a minute in the growing darkness, she contemplated what she should do. It was too early to go to bed but too late to head to her office in the daycare to get some work done. If she tried to go that route, she’d work the night away or until Tate pried himself away from his work and dragged her upstairs with him.

“I don’t care if he can’t stand to be my friend anymore, this isn’t how he should let me know,” she griped when it became too dark to see anymore. Pushing herself out of her chair, she pocketed her phone and grabbed the baby monitor. Striding over to the door, she glanced around the room to make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything else before making her way down the stairs. She needed to do something, anything, to help calm her nerves.

Peeking into the kitchen, she spotted Romana busily putting the finishing touches on the wedding cake. Smiling to herself, she backed away, not wanting to disturb Ramona, and leaned against the wall. She had less than 48 hours to go and this mess would be all over. She’d be on her way to Ireland with Tate this time Saturday. She’d finally get to relax.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Fishing it out, she glanced at the text that flashed across her screen. Tate.

You should be upstairs, getting ready for bed. What are you doing in the hall?

Slipping her phone back into her pocket, she walked over to Tate’s office, pausing in the doorway. Tate, his eyebrow raised at her, was leaning back in his office chair. His laptop was open in front of him, with paperwork scattered here and there.

“Shouldn’t you be at Greg’s already?” she asked before he could ask her what she was doing downstairs again.

“I had a few last-minute things I needed to do,” he explained, gesturing to the paperwork in front of him. “I could have done it at Greg’s before the party started, but I have everything here, so I figured I’d sneak back in a knock it out real quick.”

“And he couldn’t have done any of this himself the day after the wedding?” she asked, bemused.

“Sure,” Tate nodded quickly, “but why let him do it when I’m more than capable?”

“Uh-huh,” Kelly snorted in disbelief as she walked over to one of the chairs on the opposite side of the desk and sank into it. Propping her slippered feet on his desk, she raised an eyebrow at him and smirked. “So, what you’re telling me is that you aren’t at all nervous like a certain mate of yours?”

“Not at all,” he murmured, a hungry look crossing his face as he stood up. Coming around the desk to stand behind her, he placed his hands on her shoulders and started to gently massage her tense muscles, earning him a deep moan. Chuckling, he placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you so we can get you back to bed?”

“Why didn’t Mitch call to let us know he couldn’t make it?” she blurted out. “I thought we were better friends than that?”

“He probably meant to,” Tate soothed, “but with trying to figure out his new position after his father’s death, I’m sure it slipped his mind. You’ve seen how busy I can get. He’s probably just as busy, if not more so, okay?”

“You’re right,” Kelly breathed, pulling away from Tate. “I should know that. I do know that. But, I don’t know, it feels like there’s more to this than him just being busy.”

“Why don’t you call him after the wedding, then?” Tate suggested as he watched her get up and pace to the door.

“I can do that,” Kelly nodded before offering her mate a quick smile.

Slipping into their room a few minutes later, Kelly fished her phone out of her pocket and tossed it onto the bed, where it bounced a couple of times before landing near Tate’s pillow. Satisfied that it wasn’t going to fall off the bed, she shimmied out of her clothes and pulled on one of Tate’s t-shirts since he wouldn’t be home until late, delighting in the comfort his scent gave her.

Nestling down in her spot, suddenly aware of how large and empty their bed was without Tate there, she started going over the list of things she needed to get done the next day. After that, she ran through everything she had done that day. She was sure she had done everything that she had needed to do, but… Glancing at her phone, she sighed and shook her head. She needed to know. She’d never sleep if she didn’t call.

Sitting up, she unlocked her phone and pulled up her contacts. Finding Mitch, she took a deep breath before pressing call.

Carefully locking the weight back in place, Mitch glanced at his phone buzzing angrily on the floor next to him. Breathing heavily, he sat up and glanced at the screen. Blinking in surprise, he did a double take. He hadn’t been seeing things. His heart racing, he picked up the phone, accepting the call.

“Hello?” he grunted, trying his best not to sound too excited to hear from her.

“Is that you, Mitch?” Kelly’s voice asked, sounding none too thrilled that he hadn’t been more enthusiastic in his greeting.

“It’s me,” he replied easily, bending over to grab his water bottle before heading upstairs to his room so he could shower. “What’s up?”

“Umm…” Kelly hesitated. The sound of rustling sheets caught his attention as he entered his room. Was she in bed?

“Is everything alright, Kelly?” he pressed.

“I was going to ask you the same thing?” she sighed. “I haven’t heard from you in a while, and, well, I was starting to get worried.”

“I’m fine,” he said quickly, disappointment washing over him. She hadn’t called to tell him she had called the wedding off. She hadn’t called to tell him she needed him to rescue her. No, she was calling because she hadn’t heard from him, which was bullshit. She had gotten his RSVP and his letter. Or had Robinson gotten to it first?

“Are you sure?” she asked softly. “You did lose your father not too long ago, and I know how hard running a pack can be.”

“I’m fine,” he reassured her, his mind racing. “How are you?”

“Oh, um, fine, I guess,” she groaned as more rustling sounded in the background. Was Robinson in bed with her? “Just getting ready for bed. I’ve got a long day tomorrow. But I felt like I needed to check in, you know. I haven’t exactly been the greatest of friends myself. I should have called sooner.”

“No, you’re fine,” he said quickly as he tried to keep his anger in check. What was she playing at, calling him when her mate was in bed with her, touching her the way he wanted to touch her? Loving her? “You’ve been busy. So have I. But if you’re heading to bed, I’ll let you go then. Tell Tate I said hi.”

“I can do that when I see him tomorrow,” she replied quickly. “Night Mitch.”

The line went dead.

What did she mean when she saw him tomorrow? Did that mean Robinson hadn’t been in bed with her? Had they separated? Did that mean that she had been in bed thinking about him? Did she want… He shook his head. He was reading too much into what he had heard in the background. For all he knew, Kelly was here in Silvermoon again visiting her grandmother and because she’d have to head home tomorrow in order to get ready for the wedding, she’d see Robinson when she got to the packhouse. But, still…

Keep it together, Mitch, he muttered to himself. She doesn’t want you. She’d be here already if she did.

“I haven’t heard from you in a while,” Kelly’s voice floated through his head.

Passing his room as his anger started to boil over, he walked into his father’s room for the second time since his death. His hands shaking, he set his water bottle and phone down on the floor in the corner and picked up the sledgehammer he had brought up with him months ago. Grasping the handle firmly in his hands, a grin spread across his face

“f*****g Robinson,” he swore as he swung the hammer into his father’s dresser, splintering the top drawer in two.

Kelly wasn’t Robinson’s to control. How dare he keep his letter from her. She had every right to know how he, as her friend, felt about her relationship. She had every right to know that he could love her better than Robinson could. Hell, he’d do his damnedest to give her everything she had ever wanted. Family nearby? Check. Stability? Check. A handful of pups? Check. The ability to work on what she wanted, when she wanted? Check. Respect? Double check.

Grunting as he finished destroying the dresser, he turned to his father’s bed. Swinging the hammer again and again, he calculated how long he had until Robinson showed up on his doorstep demanding to know what he was on about with his letter. He wouldn’t show up tomorrow or the day after, he was sure of that. And if they were going on a honeymoon, then he’d be safe until they got back. All in all, if he was guessing correctly, he had about two and a half weeks to prepare.

But why wait? He could show up before the wedding and tell Kelly how he felt in person. He could convince her to run away with him. They’d have to hide out for a bit, and he’d probably be replaced as alpha, but he’d risk it all for her.

Setting the hammer down, Mitch sank to the floor. No, as much as he wanted to go on Saturday, his people needed him here. He’d have to settle for a widow or some rejected female unless he found another potential mate out there. As long as Kelly was happy, he could do that.

Leaning against the door, Tate shook his head as he listened to Kelly hang up the phone with Mitch. It was silent for a minute, and then the sounds of rustling sheets told him she had gotten into bed. And then more silence. She was satisfied with whatever Mitch had told her, and from what he could hear, it hadn’t sounded like he had professed his undying love for her. If he had, Tate was sure he would have heard Kelly chew him out, or Goddess forbid, say she felt the same way about him.

Speaking about how she felt about Mitch, Tate was curious to know how she felt now that she had had time to distance herself from him. For a while there, he had actually been worried that she was starting to feel something for the guy, especially after watching her light up when he stopped by.

Taking a deep breath, he cracked the door ever so slightly to see if Kelly had fallen asleep. Instead of being greeted by her deep, even breathing, silent sobs drifted over to him. Frowning, he stepped back into the hall, pulled out his phone, and sent Greg a quick text letting him know the bachelor party was off because Kelly needed him. Not that it was going to be much of a party, anyway. All they had planned was to play a game of poker in Greg’s kitchen. They could do that any old time.

Creeping back into the room, he shrugged out of his clothes before climbing into bed. Pulling his mate close, he rubbed her back as she continued to cry into his chest.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, dreading the worst.

“I’m worried about Mitch,” she cried. “He sounds so lonely. And right now, I’m too tired to do anything more than see if my grandma can invite him over for dinner more tomorrow.”

“Is that all?” he asked, feeling relieved.

“No,” she shook her head. “I’m ready for this complete fiasco to be over. I officially hate planning weddings. I’m so f*****g tired.”

“Me, too,” he agreed, kissing the top of her head as he felt her relax. “Just a bit longer and then we can relax as much as we want.”

“Our honeymoon can’t come soon enough.”