Page 121 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

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Irushed into the bathroom and dropped to my knees in front of the toilet.

The contents of my stomach burned my throat as I heaved into the porcelain bowl.

My thoughts became a swirling mess, tears stinging my eyes as I trembled.

I gripped the bowl, willing the sickness to pass quickly.

I had so much to do today and so little time to get it done, but here I was, reduced to a shaking, sweating mess in my bathroom.

When the sickness finally subsided, I dabbed at my forehead and wiped my mouth with some toilet paper.

Feeling a little more in control of myself, I flushed the toilet and sat on my ass with my back pressed to the bathroom wall.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my stomach back and forth.

I hadn’t slept well last night, which had probably made my symptoms worse.

My body pulsed with a bone-deep ache while my stomach swam with nausea.

My brain was starting to function properly again, but all it did was tell me that I needed to get up and go to work.

Was this what I had to look forward to for the next nine months? I hoped the Fates would spare me months of this torture.

This was the first time I couldn’t rely on my body.

Even when I was unable to shift, and my body lacked the strength and speed of the wolves around me, it had always gotten me where I needed to go.

It operated exactly as I wanted it to, and even when I got sick, I got better within days.

Now that I was pregnant, things were different.

The only thing I could count on was ending up on my knees in the bathroom each morning.

I ran my hands through my hair and took deep breaths. I needed to get up, make some tea, and get to the office. If I was quick, I might be able to make up for the work I’d missed by being stuck in the bathroom.

I opened my eyes. I’d spent two nights alone in bed, but I hadn’t come any closer to figuring out how I wanted to tell Night about my pregnancy.

There were only a couple of weeks left until the alpha challenge, and I still had so much confusing paperwork to wade through.

I had to meet with the council today about the duration of my service as their alpha, and I wouldn’t have Night at my side.

The alpha challenge itself was still a mystery to me.

I knew Night would have to fight, but I wasn’t sure about the specifics.

Would it be a battle royale with wolves fighting wolves, or more of a tournament setting where one wolf fought another, progressing until the final two contenders faced off?

What if it was a different setup altogether?

Night was strong and used to fighting, but I didn’t want him to get hurt again.

He’d looked so weak the day after Evan shot him, and I didn’t want him to go through that pain again.

The council, of course, hadn’t been very forthcoming about the rules. That meant I needed to be firmer when I met with them, but I wasn’t looking forward to the potential pushback.

I had so much on my mind, but I couldn’t catch a break. I wished I could push my worries onto someone else while getting work done. Unfortunately, I had to bear the full burden.

My butt was starting to hurt from sitting on the cold, hard floor, so I pushed myself to my feet.

Fortunately, by the time I straightened, I felt well enough not to throw up again.

There was still a bit of dizziness, but that went away when I stepped into the hot shower.

I cleaned up, and when I was done, I pulled my hair into a bun.

With a towel wrapped around me, I went to my vanity and tried to cover the bags under my eyes with makeup.

Knowing this pack, any sign of exhaustion would be taken as weakness, and the last thing I needed right now was some asshole trying to challenge my authority.

I blended in the makeup, set it with some spray, and looked at myself in the mirror. My shoulders slumped; I still looked exhausted even after all that effort. Why did I even bother?

“It’s the best you can do,” I whispered to myself. “Just take it one thing at a time.”

I repeated those words like a mantra, and after another deep breath, I dressed and headed out.

Tavi was waiting for me outside the council meeting room.

She was wearing her usual oversized shirt and leggings.

I’d sent a telepathic message to her to meet me there and was glad to see her.

She gave me a half smile, which I returned.

I wouldn’t have Night by my side, but at least I wouldn’t face the council alone.

We headed inside together. Colby, Ross, Dana, Edward, and Grant were already seated. They rose as Tavi and I entered, but Dana took the longest to get to her feet. I knew it was because she didn’t like or respect me, but whatever; her pettiness wasn’t worth picking a fight.

“Thank you for meeting with us today, Alpha Hunter,” Ross said. His salt-and-pepper hair normally fell down his back, but he’d tied it back in a low bun. Long strands of hair were in their usual place over the scar on the left side of his face. “We wanted to talk to you about the alpha challenge.”

I nodded as Tavi and I took seats across from them. “I wanted to talk about that, too. I’m unclear about what the specifics of the challenge will be.”

“We are still deciding on a system,” he replied. “We want to ensure this is a fair struggle between the contenders, and to do that, we need to vote on the rules.”

Tavi shot me a quick look. I didn’t need my telepathic connection with her to understand her meaning. They’re still deciding on rules with only a few weeks left before the challenge?

I agreed with her disbelief. “Do you have an estimated time for when you’ll have that decided?”

“We’re hoping to settle on the ground rules at least five days before the challenge. We will let you and your beta know what we’ve decided.”

“Very well.” That wasn’t much, but at least I’d followed up with them about it. “Then what are your concerns?”

“As you know, the council will nominate a candidate for the ceremony,” he began.

Again, I nodded. I and each member of the council could nominate someone for the challenge ceremony.

I would, of course, nominate Night, and I expected the choices from each council member would be fearsome.

I hoped to find out their picks in this meeting so I could let Night know as soon as possible.

“But if your Night Shepherd wins, it is the opinion of this council that we do not push back against the win. In other words, we see no point in standing in his way.”

That surprised me, and I didn’t try to hide my reaction from them. I looked at their faces, and only Dana refused to meet my gaze. If they were planning on accepting the tournament results no matter what, it would make for an easier transition between Night becoming alpha and merging the packs.

“This wasn’t expected,” I said.

Tavi added, “Does that mean most of you support a merger between the packs?”

“‘Support’ is far from accurate,” Dana said. Her cinnamon-brown hair was slicked back into an elegant updo. “We don’t support a Warg getting his filthy claws—”

“Dana,” Grant, the oldest council member, growled. “That’s enough. We are not here to sling insults back and forth, and we will not retread the same territory of previous conversations.”

She looked away, and Grant sighed.

“But Dana is right, ‘support’ isn’t the word we would use. We are interested in beginning the next phase of our pack’s future as seamlessly as possible.”

“For the health of the Kings pack,” Colby added, “we would prefer to make the transition to new leadership as easily as possible for everyone. And if that includes a discussion of a merger, should Shepherd win,” he continued with some reluctance, “we want to be sure of what to expect.”

“Oh, I see,” I said. The council’s reasoning made sense—they were trying to be pragmatic to get ahead of any potential conflicts.

If they were considering the real possibility that Night would win, that was a good sign.

I was sure there was a time not too long ago when they would have been diametrically opposed to having a Warg in the alpha seat.

Having the Wargs initiate repair and reconstruction efforts throughout the compound had been an excellent idea. The goodwill we had fostered made it more difficult for the council to hold an openly hostile position.

“At least they have some sense,” Tavi thought to me. “It’s good that they’re not trying to drag this out but are hoping to meet us halfway.”

Agreed. “So, what are your concerns?” I asked the council.

“Well, there’s the matter of allocating resources and housing, and there’s the matter of outside threats.

” Colby’s gray mustache moved up and down as he spoke.

It completely covered his upper lip. “Merging two packs usually leads to the two packs sharing enemies, and we’re concerned about the Wargs’ enemies and how they will react to the two packs merging. Would they stage an attack?”

“These are reasonable questions,” I said.

“And I appreciate you all showing initiative for trying to get answers now. To be honest with you, the biggest threat to the Wargs has always been the Kings, so in the event that Night wins the ceremony, that threat will be eradicated. I am unaware of any significant threats outside of that.”

I glanced at Tavi, but she shook her head. “None that I am aware of. I’ll ask around to double-check, though.”

“That said, I can’t speak for how other packs will react to two powerful packs combining,” I continued. “I imagine we’ll want to be prepared for anything.”