Chapter 4
chapter
four
“Welcome to Burgers and Beats, how can I…” Alexander trailed off as he looked up and glared.
Tobias grinned, unable to stop himself. There was always a self-conscious twist to Alexander’s tone when Tobias caught him in his work uniform, even before last night.
But today his recovery was different: instead of that open, almost shy expression from yesterday, Alexander’s face closed down and his chin lifted.
Tobias tried not to be offended. He wasn’t Hot Scar Guy anymore, he was the enemy. An enemy Alexander was temporarily aligned with, but still.
“Burgers N’ Beats,” Tobias corrected, leaning on the counter.
Alexander frowned at Tobias’s arm on the freshly wiped plastic. “Excuse me?”
“It’s N’ Beats,” Tobias repeated. “Not and Beats.”
Alexander’s frown deepened. “It’s incorrect.”
“It’s on the sign. It’s on your shirt, man!”
“They’re incorrect,” Alexander said, looking down at the logo on his shirt like it personally offended him. It probably did. Alexander seemed like the kind of guy who got fired up about weird shit. Which would be endearing, if that shit didn’t include ‘monsters living their lives.’
Tobias kept his smile in place as he remembered how strange Alexander had looked after that phone call last night.
He would bet his last unshredded hoodie he had called his family to offer them a dead alpha.
The only question was: was the rest of the pack included in that death? Was Tobias included?
Tobias really wished he’d managed to convince Alexander to tell him why he’d been exiled from his hunting family. He was sure it was because Alexander did have a heart under all that scowling.
Alexander had hidden depths. He had to. He wouldn’t be Tobias’s mate if they didn’t fit together. He could even feel it in the way they talked to each other, the sharp back-and-forth banter that Tobias could keep going for days. Years. Forever, if he got the chance.
He wanted to make Alexander laugh until he cried.
Wanted to find out what he looked like at three a.m. over a movie marathon, barely able to keep his eyes open.
Wanted to find out what weather he liked and what his favorite class was in high school and what seemingly innocuous subjects he had weirdly strong opinions about—Alexander seemed like the type to have a lot of those.
On the way to Tobias’s place, Tobias had pestered Alexander into admitting what his favorite dog breed was.
After several minutes of goading Alexander had finally snapped and gone on a long tangent on why the poodle was objectively the best dog breed due to their intelligence, agility, and surprising ferocity.
He had said all of this in a tone that made it clear he thought anyone who disagreed was an idiot, and Tobias had nodded along in disbelief that this, of all things, was charming the shit out of him.
“So,” Tobias said, drumming his short nails on the counter. “I was thinking—”
Alexander shushed him. “Not here. I’ll tell my manager I’m going on break early.”
A twenty-something woman appeared behind Alexander, grinning slyly at them both. “You go on right ahead, Al.”
Alexander twitched unhappily at the nickname, but nodded. “Thank you. I’ll make up for it in my afternoon break.”
Donna hummed, watching Tobias with open, lurid curiosity.
Tobias waved at her with two fingers. She gave him a cheeky smirk that reminded Tobias of a certain type of woman he ran into in the nightclub section of The Alpha Club: deeply bored and looking for anything to spice up their dull routine.
They were always a good time, as long as they understood that he was almost definitely not going to hook up with them.
“I’ll take over the counter,” Donna said, sounding far too happy about it.
She gave Alexander an arm-slap that he looked deeply resigned to.
Then she leaned in, ignoring it when Alexander tensed.
Her whisper was so loud that Tobias might have been able to pick it up even if he didn’t have werewolf hearing:
“Nice going with the hot hoodie guy! I was wondering if you were going to close the deal on that, he’s been dropping by to see you for ages.”
Alexander spluttered. He twitched like he was going to look back at Tobias before keeping his gaze on Donna. “I’m not closing any deal,” he insisted quietly. “I’m not…we’re not even…that’s ridiculous. Goodbye.”
Tobias held back a laugh as Donna met his gaze again, her eyes widening pointedly. He remembered Donna now: she had watched him with vague interest as he got his flirt on with Alexander in the last few weeks. He thought she’d been trying to listen in.
He flicked her another wave and followed Alexander out the sliding doors.
Alexander walked them around the side of the building and turned to face him. “What is it? We were supposed to meet after my shift.”
“Yeah, about that.” Tobias clicked his tongue. “He changed the time on me. I’m going over now.”
“But I’m supposed to follow,” Alexander protested. “I’m meant to listen in.”
“With your handy-dandy listening device, I know.” Tobias grinned, nudging him. Trying to make Alexander realize that planting a bug on Tobias and listening in was cool and hilarious, no matter how serious Alexander tried to play it.
Predictably, Alexander moved away from the nudge with a glare.
“You can meet me after,” Tobias told him. “We’ll go for a drink. Maybe go dancing.”
Alexander didn’t roll his eyes, like he expected.
He didn’t even scoff. It made Tobias wonder if the guy had ever been dancing.
If he’d attended any high school since he got exiled.
If he got to go to prom, or graduation. If he had friends or hobbies or had any normal nineteen-year-old experiences.
Had this guy’s life become shitty shifts by day, hunting monsters by night?
“You don’t trust me.” Tobias realized the problem. “You think I’m going to lie to you if you’re not listening in? What, you think I’m a double agent?”
“I don’t know what you are,” Alexander said hastily.
“If I wanted you dead, I would’ve just killed you,” Tobias pointed out, yet again.
“I don’t know you! I don’t know what you’re planning!”
“I’m planning for you to help me kill my—” Tobias doubled over as a wave of agony radiated through his body. It lit up his joints, glowing under his scar tissue and driving the breath from his lungs.
Alexander’s voice was fuzzy in his ears. “Tobias? Are you hurt?”
Tobias gritted his teeth as he forced himself to stay standing. The last part of him that wasn’t consumed by pain was excited that Alexander had said his name. It sounded so sweet in his mouth, tinged with concern that Alexander would no doubt write off as nonexistent.
“I didn’t see any substantial injuries last night,” Alexander continued, his voice coming clearer now. “Your shoulder should be almost healed.”
“I don’t know,” Tobias forced out. “Y-you got me pretty good.”
A pair of hands gripped his shoulder and pulled his sleeve down to expose the skin. Alexander rubbed a thumb over the pink scar, the only remaining trace of the slash wound from last night.
“You look fine,” Alexander insisted. “What’s happening? Are you transforming?”
Tobias breathed in deep, inhaling Alexander’s strange, clean scent. There was the faint hint of deep-fryer oil clinging to it, but that was nothing compared to Alexander’s true scent, searing through everything else until Tobias was focusing on him, not the pain.
“I’m fine,” he managed. He eased himself back up, squeezing Alexander’s arm. “But thanks for your concern. I’m touched.”
Alexander dropped his shoulder like it burned him. “I’m not concerned for you. I’m concerned that I was going to have a rabid wolf on my hands. That my…my reluctant co-conspirator isn’t in optimal condition for what comes next.”
“It’s just a talk,” Tobias reminded him, jaw clenched as the pain receded to a dull throb.
“After that.”
“Yeah?” Tobias smiled, pained. “What are we planning?”
Alexander stood back, no concern in his voice anymore. Every inch the hunter planning a hunt. “You’re the one who’s supposed to figure that out. Now wait here, I’m going to tell Donna something urgent came up.”
Tobias laughed hoarsely. “Oh, yeah? An urgent date with your hot, scarred boyfriend?”
“Actually, I’m thinking I have diarrhea,” Alexander snapped back.
Tobias laughed so hard it quickly turned into groans in agony. Alexander didn’t look back as he walked around the building, but Tobias thought he saw the faintest twitch of a smile before Alexander flattened it out.
Muzzle’s office was on the second floor of The Alpha Club. It was the only room in a long, dark hallway on the eastern side of the building. As far away from the underground barracks as you could get without walking out the front door.
Muzzle took a long, slow puff of a cigar, not bothering to look up as guards guided Tobias into the uncomfortable seat in front of his mahogany desk.
Tobias winked at the guards. They still insisted on shoving him into that chair, like Tobias hadn’t been in here a dozen times. Muzzle liked to check up on his pack at least once a month. More, if they were getting flighty.
Tobias had been flighty ever since he was dragged into the pack.
Muzzle blew out a long, thick stream of cigar smoke. It stunk. Tobias used to think that he didn’t even enjoy the thing, he just used it to piss off his wolves and their sensitive noses.
“You disappeared,” Muzzle said finally.
“That’s a little dramatic,” Tobias replied. “I finished the fight. I left.”
“The bouncer didn’t see you coming up. You went out through the barracks?”
Tobias shrugged, looking toward the huge, gleaming windows taking up half the wall of the office. The curtains were drawn, but when the moon was full, it bathed the office in white light.
That was what the other wolves whispered, at least. Tobias had never been invited during a full moon.