Chapter 22: Alpha Rising

Neal couldn't believe what Tina told him. "Why would you do that? It wasn't your place to say anything to Dimitri, especially about what Bane expects me to do." Neal knew Tina was only trying to help, perhaps warn Dimitri off, but all she really did was prove to the new guy that Neal was just not alpha material.

She leaned back against the kitchen island, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared at him—glared would be a better word for it. "Whose place was it? Yours? You've already said you have no intention of standing up to Dimitri, of maintaining your position as alpha. What do you want me to do? Just stand here and wait for Bane to show up and keep his promise? This isn't just about the humans any more, Neal. This is about my life. Your life. You should be thinking about how to protect your mate."

Neal took a deep breath, running his hand through his light brown hair. Tina would not be satisfied until she caused total chaos. "Bane isn't going to kill you. He's just hoping to m