Page 55 of Cruel Alpha Daddy

Kyle nods, stepping back.

Tobias makes a fluttery motion with his hand. “Yeah. Get back, traitorous pup.”

“Tobias,” Bae says, crossing his arms. “I’m assuming you have an offer for me? You must have intercepted the old lady carrying my message and decided to come along, even though you were uninvited. Can we get to the point?”

“I need your help to kill Rider,” Tobias growls. “He has betrayed the pack over and over again. I’ve tried to take him out, but he’s too strong. The pack is afraid of him. They want me to rule them, I just need help.”

Bae shakes his head. “Why should I help you? I’m not usually in the business of helping wolves that kidnap and brutalize innocent women.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Tobias grumbles, leaning down. I see the flash of a knife in his hand, and terror streaks through me, but all he does is cut the ropes.

“There,” Tobias grunts. “You happy now?”

“Why was she tied up in the first place?” Bae asks.

“The poor girl has been locked up for days. She doesn’t trust any of us,” Tobias answers. “It was the only way to get her here. I want to do the right thing and send her back where she belongs, but I need your help in return.”

I sit up slowly, and Tobias gives me a hard look in warning.

Don’t say a word.

“So, Rider kidnapped her, then?” Bae asks.

“Yes,” Tobias answers. “He’s mad. He took her as his mate, then kept her chained up. But that wasn’t enough for him. He came for all your mates.”

“That fucking bastard,” Bae mutters. “It was him?”

Tobias nods. “It was all a sham. The whole alliance thing was a lie. He just wanted to get you into a place of false security so he could nail you later.”

Even with the lack of light, and the distance between us, I can still see Bae’s eyes glint with anger.

“I didn’t trust him,” Bae swears. “This whole time, I suspected he was behind this.”

Tobias stands up, stepping away from me slowly. “Too many of our wolves just died,” he says solemnly. “And I shouldhave moved against him when he kidnapped this girl. I hope I’ve done enough to earn your trust, and your help.”

Bae nods. “You have it. At this time tomorrow night, we will come to you at Sawpit.”

“In the main town,” Tobias instructs. “Don’t go to the village in the woods; Rider has it well-defended. I’ll lure him into the town, and we can take him out.”

“Agreed,” Bailey says, nodding.

Tobias looks down at me, and I see his teeth glint behind his lips as he snarls just slightly. Then he hurries to the car and drives away.

Suddenly, Bae, Kyle, and Jack are around me, asking if I’m injured, talking all at once. I can’t stop sobbing, shivering, and crying as I cling to them.

“You can’t trust him, Bae,” Kyle says over my head. “I know him. He’s got something planned, and I don’t believe Rider would do this.”

“Your loyalty and faith are admirable,” Bae says. “But I think you need to let this go. Clearly, Rider is a loose cannon. Of course I’m not going to trust Tobias, but defending Rider isn’t going to help anyone.”

“He didn’t do it,” I stammer, forcing my voice out between sobs. “Rider didn’t do it—Tobias did!”

The men go completely silent, and Kyle rubs my back gently.

“Tell us, Fiona,” he says.

“Tobias kidnapped me when I was running in the forest,” I blurt out. “Rider did take me as his mate and keep me locked up, but he was trying to keep me safe.”

“That’s not my definition of ‘safe,’” Jack grumbles.

---