Page 22 of Messy AF
“Damn it, let go of me!”
“You smell like shit,” a deep, guttural voice responded.
Peter.
“And you’re an asshole,” Tobi shot back. “So, I guess we’re even.”
Tobi didn’t sound distressed, but that didn’t matter. Instincts took over, burning away any humanity I possessed. My canines burst through my gums, and a deep, primal growl ripped from my throat as I charged into the alley, moving too fast for human eyes to follow.
Grabbing the shifter by the throat, I pinned him against the side of the building, a sort of dark glee filling me when his head met the bricks with a satisfying crack. The asshole bared his canines, snarling back at me, his muddy brown eyes flashing with the amber glow of his kind.
“Get your fucking hands off me.”
He surged forward, trying to push himself away from the wall, but I slammed him against the bricks again, holding him in place easily.
“Give it up. I’m older and stronger.”
And far more pissed off.
“Fuck off,” he spat.
“Angel, are you okay?” I asked, still holding Peter’s gaze.
Tobi shuffled closer but stopped outside of the shifter’s reach. “I’m not hurt. Just mad.”
“I just wanted to talk,” the shifter tried to reason, his tone milder when addressing Tobi.
“And I told you there’s nothing to talk about,” my mate shot back. “I’m not mad because you have feelings for me, Peter. I know you can’t help that.”
It was far more kindness than the asshole deserved in my opinion, but it didn’t surprise me. Honestly, I would have expected nothing less, even if it frustrated the hell out of me.
“I’m mad because you don’t give a damn about what I want.”
“That’s not true,” Peter blurted. “Of course, I care. I love you.”
I growled at his confession, my fingers digging into his windpipe. “Watch yourself, pup.”
“I’m not going to argue whether you love me or not,” Tobi countered. “I don’t love you back, though. I’ve never seen you as anything more than a neighbor.”
“But what about—?”
“I love Warren,” Tobi interrupted, a note of finality in his voice. His shoes scuffed over the cobblestone as he took another step forward and lifted his hand, showing Peter the mating mark on his palm. “I love my mate.”
“Mate?” He snapped his attention to me, his eyes wide and panicked.
While humans frowned on it, according to shadeling law, I was well within my rights to end his miserable existence right then and there. And he knew it.
“I could rip out your throat and leave you to bleed out in this alley,” I said, smirking when I felt his pulse jump beneath my palm. “But I won’t because that would upset Tobi.”
I had expected an immediate agreement, but Tobi said nothing.
Interesting.
“If you ever come near my mate again, though,” I continued, my voice laced with dark promise, “I will end you. I don’t forgive, pup, and I sure as fuck don’t give second chances. Are we clear?”
The light faded from his eyes as his gaze flickered to Tobi and back. After a significant pause, he offered a reluctant nod.
“Then go.” I tossed him to the side, flicking him away like an annoying mosquito. “Don’t let me see you again.”
