Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother-Chapter 306: _ No More Playing Nice Girl

Mateo watched me closely, like a bloodhound sniffing for secrets. His brows pinched together in a way that made him look like someone had just insulted his abuela’s cooking.

"You okay?" he asked. "You look... dull."

I barked a laugh. "Dull?"

"Yeah," he nodded, lips twitching, "like a rusty spoon."

"A rusty—what?" I gaped.

"You know, not sharp, but bent, sad, and unused. Basically, a spoon no one wants to stir their coffee with anymore."

"Wow," I muttered, dragging my foot as I moved to sit on the small stone bench by the gate. "That might be the worst metaphor I’ve ever heard, and you once compared my anxiety to a squirrel on cocaine."

"I stand by that one," he said, handing me the tray before plopping down beside me, shoulder bumping mine. "But seriously, you alright? Aside from the whole death-by-pastry incident?"

I sighed. "You mean besides falling flat on my face in front of Álvaro, Mr. Disgusting wolf in heat?"

Mateo grunted. "I meant besides that, yeah."

"Well, then..." I exhaled slowly, the wind catching a strand of my hair and flicking it across my lips. I pushed it away, watching as the sun played peek-a-boo through the clouds. "It’s the usual."

"The usual meaning...?"

"Álvaro," I said his name like I was cursing a resilient mold in the shower. "He’s disgusting. Won’t leave me alone. Keeps hitting on me like I’m some free sample at a supermarket."

Mateo stiffened beside me, his shoulders going all tight and his jaw set in a hard line. "He did something again?"

"He exists. That’s enough."

However, Mateo knew that was a lie.

"María..."

"He touched me again. Brushed flour off my mouth like he was some kind of sensual pastry fairy," I grumbled. "And he keeps saying things. Weird things. About how I look at him, and how Axel doesn’t look at me, and how maybe my husband doesn’t love me anymore."

Mateo stood so fast I was startled. The tray wobbled on my lap.

"Something needs to be done about that bastard," he grumbled sharply like a blade just before it slid in.

"Don’t." I reached up and tugged his sleeve gently. "There’s nothing I can do. Not really."

"You could stab him."

"I could also get publicly executed for assaulting the future Alpha."

Mateo sat again, but he was vibrating with anger. "He hasn’t even been crowned yet."

"But he will be," I murmured. "Let’s not pretend that anyone else is being groomed for that role. Axel’s still... well. Complicated. And Álvaro’s every corrupt council member’s favorite grinning psychopath. Not to mention he’s the expectant fatter, not Axel."

Mateo scoffed. "So what? You’re going to just let him harass you?"

"No." I paused. "I’m going to tolerate him."

He turned his head so fast I thought he might pull something. "What?"

"I want Axel protected," I said softly. "I don’t want Álvaro to turn on him. He could demote him, humiliate him, banish him from leadership entirely. If I piss Álvaro off now, he might make our lives hell later when he becomes the Alpha. But if I... tolerate him... maybe, just maybe, I can get him to show Axel some mercy."

"You’re telling me you’re playing nice with Álvaro to keep Axel safe?"

"Yes."

I knew it sounded absurd, but even now when things weren’t rosy between us, I’d do anything for Axel. Anything at all.

Mateo shook his head and his eyes widened with disbelief. "I’m disappointed in you."

The words hit me like a slap. "Excuse me?"

"You’re stronger than this. You don’t need to succumb to your opponents, María José. You fight them. You chew them up and spit them out. That’s what you do. I’ve seen it." He threw his hands frustratingly in the air.

"This isn’t like the time I fought off three rogue wolves with a garden rake, Mateo," I muttered.

Our pack had gotten to the point where pack members who didn’t have a solid reason to leave except for fear of their safety were taking the risk of running away regardless and returning as rogues.

These rogue wolves terrorized our pack, but thankfully, they were mindless and lacked wisdom. The only language they understood was ’violence’.

So far, it’s been easy to ’take care of them’.

All of this, and Rosa was to be blamed. People feared the unknown. Our lack of knowledge about her whereabouts was concerning. People didn’t feel safe here anymore.

They weren’t to be blamed, but running away was foolish since they risked turning into beasts.

"That fight was still your finest hour." Mateo’s voice cut through my thoughts.

I tried to laugh but it came out bitter. "This is different. This is politics. This is bloodlines and succession and power plays. You think I want to play nice? I want to scratch Álvaro’s eyes out and mail them to his wife with a coupon for therapy."

He choked on a laugh, then cleared his throat. "Look. There are still chances. You and Axel? You’re not done. Not by a long shot."

I glanced at him, my fingers twitching nervously over the dented tray.

"Tomorrow, it could be discovered you’ve been pregnant all along," he said, as if it were the weather.

I blinked. "What?"

"Think about it," he continued, eyes alight. "Maybe the tests were wrong. Maybe something’s blocking them. You’ve been tired lately. Moody. Eating more."

"I am not moody."

"You just threatened to mail eyeballs to someone’s wife."

I opened my mouth. Closed it. "Okay, fine. Maybe a little moody."

He smiled. "And what if Camila gives birth to a girl instead of a boy?"

"She’s showing all the signs of a boy pregnancy."

"Yeah, and I was sure I was gonna grow taller in my twenties. Look how that turned out."

I smiled despite myself. "So you’re saying Axel and I... we’ve still got a shot."

"I’m saying," he looked into my eyes now, earnest and certain and maybe a little reckless, "you and Axel have a million chances. You just have to stop giving up before they’re used up."

I stared at him, feeling something warm and fragile blooming in my chest. "I really hope so."

"You don’t just hope. You believe. Right?"

I inhaled deeply. Then I nodded slowly. "I do. I really, really want Axel to become the Alpha."

Mateo tilted his head. "Is that what you want?"

"More than anything."

He studied me for a moment, letting the air stretch between us in a soft and weighty feel. "Then Axel’s going to be Alpha."

Look at him stating that as a matter of fact.

I rolled my eyes"Why are you so sure?"

He shrugged, casually, but there was something serious in his tone. "I just have a stinging feeling."

I laughed. "Your stinging feelings are usually about tacos and impending hangovers."

"This one’s different."

I leaned back against the bench, hand drifting to my stomach. My fingertips splayed across it like I could do something to grow there. I wished something could grow there.

"I really hope I’m pregnant," I whispered. "But the test slips keep coming back negative. Again and again."

Mateo was silent for a moment too long.

Then he said, completely straight-faced, "You want me to come help you secure the baby?"

My mouth dropped open. W-what on earth did he just say?!

Help me secure the baby? Whatever the hell was that even supposed to mean?

He grinned. "Kidding! Kidding! I’m joking. Sort of."

I stared at him, speechless and a little horrified.

"Okay, okay, that came out wrong." He raised his hands in surrender, trying to keep a straight face and failing. "You know I’d never actually—unless, like, it was a magical ritual and required no... NO! Nope. Not even going down that road. Forget I said anything."

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. It spilled out of me, loud and ridiculous and slightly hysterical. Mateo was just so... childlike? Childish sometimes and scary at the same time.

It amuses me.

"You’re such an idiot," I said, wiping tears of laughter from my eyes.

"An idiot who is your best friend," he said proudly.

"God help me."

"Seriously though," his tone softened again, "if you want this—Axel, the baby, the Alpha seat... you have to stop letting Álvaro get in your head. The second he knows he has power over you, he’ll use it."

"He already does."

"Then take it back."

I looked down at my hands. At the soft smudges of flour still ghosting across my skin. I hadn’t even noticed it before, but my hands were trembling again. Not from fear or from pain.

From restraint.

Because I wanted to fight. I wanted to scream and shift and burn Álvaro’s stupid smirk off his stupid face. But I couldn’t afford recklessness. Not yet.

Still, Mateo’s words found a home inside me.

I nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay," I repeated. "No more playing nice."

Mateo grinned. "There’s my girl."

For some reason, the way he emboldens me all the time made me wonder why we hadn’t been friends since way back.

He was to me like an elixir of strength in the body of a nice-looking man with a permanent grin.