Page 11 of Rivals

Viktor prowled through the forest, his steps slow, deliberate, his body still thrumming with restless energy. Every muscle was tight, coiled with something unresolved, something that should have burned off by now.

He hadn’t sought out another mate. Not yet.

Not because he was thinking abouthim.

He was just taking the night slowly. That was all.

The thrill of the chase, the satisfaction of conquest—he could find it again whenever he wanted. A willing body, a surrender beneath his hands, the satisfaction of taking and claiming and finishing what he started. It was all there, waiting for him, just like it always had been.

And yet, he hadn’t reached for it. Instead, he had spent the past hour moving through the trees, looping over old trails. His skin itched with the need to do something, but every time he thought about sinking his teeth into someone new, the thought turned sour.

He moved past a break in the trees where a human man was pressed against a thick trunk, his legs wrapped around a werewolf’s hips. His head tipped back, breathless, a sharp gasp muffled by a rough grip. The wolf rumbled above him, rolling his body slow and deliberate, savoring every inch. Their bodies moved in perfect sync, the rhythm of the chase still burning in them, all instinct and heat.

Viktor barely noticed.

His eyes flicked over them without seeing, his mind too tangled in something else. Something heavier, something he refused to name. His feet carried him forward, steps soundless over the forest floor. The night stretched on, dark and endless, and he let himself sink into it, waiting for his body to settle.

But then a voice cut through the quiet. "Hey, back off!"

Viktor stopped.

Nick.

His scent hit next, slamming into Viktor’s lungs—sweat, adrenaline, that unmistakable bite of human fear, sharp and electric. But there was something else, something wrong, something that sent heat lancing through Viktor’s veins.

Another wolf…

Viktor’s lip curled, his feet already moving before he could tell them not to. His body responded on instinct, muscles bunching with the urge to run, to hunt, to tear through whatever was in his way.

To sink his teeth into whoever had dared to touch…

Not yours.The words ripped through his skull, sharp and unforgiving, but they did nothing to slow him down.

Nick was nothing to him. A mistake. A human who had been too bold for his own good. A human he should be forgetting right now, not chasing after like some desperate, territorial—

A growl cut through the trees, low and threatening, followed by the sound of a struggle. Viktor’s breath left him in a snarl, deep and feral, his control snapping like dry kindling.

Damn it.

His control snapped. In the next instant, he was moving, tearing through the brush, branches whipping against his skin as his instincts took over. He crashed into a clearing, eyes locking onto the scene before him.

Nick was trapped against an ancient oak, his body taut with struggle. A massive werewolf loomed over him, one hand wrapped around Nick’s throat, pinning him in place.

Viktor’s blood went ice cold.

The scent of another wolf was all over Nick—tainting him, challenging what had already been marked. "You've been marked…?" the intruder sneered, nostrils flaring as he scented Nick’s skin. He grinned, his white teeth visible in the moonlight. "But not properly claimed."

A cruel grin curled his lips as he pressed closer, fingers tightening around Nick’s throat. Nick let out a strangled sound, body arching against the tree as he fought to breathe.

The other wolf’s fingers dug deeper into Nick’s throat. A sharp gasp escaped him, raw and broken."Please."

The word sent a jolt through Viktor’s spine, hot and electric. Nick. Pleading.Not taunting, not snapping back with that sharp tongue of his—no. This wasfear.Real, unguarded fear.

Viktor’s vision edged with red as something dark and violent uncoiled in his chest.

The other werewolf barely had time to turn before Viktor launched at him.

Chapter six

---