Page 126 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

NIGHT

Dom was helping a few Kings with a construction project.

This project was taking place near the market along the southern edge of the compound.

We were showing Kings different ways to build their buildings and cabins, instructing them on the various methods that could be used and the benefits and negatives of each one.

Most of these cabins were built with the post-and-beam method, with logs placed vertically to hold up and support the horizontally placed ones, but there was the occasional timber frame, which had a similar construction, except the logs were squared off.

The Kings had adapted quickly to our teachings. While they worked independently, it always helped to have someone around to oversee the project. Dom and another group of male wolves raised one of the four walls of what would be a cabin. When one side dipped, I stepped in to keep the frame level.

No verbal instructions needed to be exchanged.

I held up my end of the frame, Dom held the other side, and a couple of wolves inserted drills and nails into the structure to keep it from falling again.

It was an hour of hard, mindless work, which turned out to be exactly what I needed to sort out my feelings about Bryn’s pregnancy.

I was overjoyed. In fact, I could have howled about how fucking ecstatic I was that we were about to have a pup.

I’d always wanted to be a father, and I didn’t even care about its gender; I just loved knowing there would be a pup in the near future who would carry on my line.

The timing was a little inconvenient, but Bryn and I hadn’t used protection after the first few times we’d had sex.

It was only a matter of time before this happened.

Dom turned to me, wiping sweat from his chin with the back of his hand. “Long time no see, Night. I hope things went well back home.”

“Eh.” I raised my hand, seesawing it from side to side. “More importantly, I have news, but I don’t want to mention it here where there are eager ears.”

He inclined his head toward the nearby tree line.

I nodded. Before we headed to the forest to get some privacy, Dom let the King wolves know that he’d be back in a bit and to shout for him if they had any issues. With that, the two of us moved between the trees.

I paused, listening closely to make sure we were alone. The only sounds I heard were the slight whistle of the wind moving between the trunks and the rustling of a pair of rabbits. Good, we were alone.

“What’s up?” he asked. “The council give you trouble?”

“Oh, I’ve got things to say about the council,” I began, “but that’s not what I wanted to tell you.”

He tilted his head, staring at me like he could figure it out from sight. “Okay?” He raised the hem of his shirt and dabbed at some sweat that dripped down the side of his face.

I let him sit in suspense for another moment or two, then I grinned because there was no way he’d be able to predict the news. “Bryn is pregnant.”

A beat passed, then another, and finally, Dom let go of his shirt and charged me. He looped an arm around my neck, holding me in a headlock.

“You’re fucking with me,” he said. “You’re not telling me I’m about to be an uncle!”

“No, it’s true,” I laughed, hooking one of my legs behind his. I leaned back, and we fell together in the grass, Dom laughing hard with me. My chest warmed and filled with pride, love, and wonder. It was such an incredible feeling.

“Night, congratulations!” he said when he finally got control of himself. “Congratu-fucking-lations!”

“Thank you.” I sat up, offering my hand to help Dom get to his feet. I hadn’t expected to end up in the grass for the second time that day, but the Fates always had their own agenda in mind.

He took my hand, and I pulled him to his feet. “How far along is she?”

“I don’t know. Bryn said she found out while I was gone. We’ll have to set up an appointment with a doctor to find out.” I paused. “Preferably a Warg doctor.”

“Oh, absolutely. I think Doc is still around.”

I nodded. If Doc hadn’t left for our territory yet, he’d be the best person to ask about Bryn, especially since he’d examined her after we rescued her from Troy. They already had a relationship.

“Tell me more, man,” Dom said. “How did Bryn take the news?”

I thought about her smile when she asked me to take a walk with her, the way she laughed when I kissed her, and the softness of her Aegean-blue eyes. My heart stuttered. I put a hand over my chest.

“She’s happy about it,” I murmured. “Excited.”

Dom grinned so hard, you’d have thought he was the one expecting a pup. “I’m so happy for you, Night. Truly.”

“Thanks.” I contemplated the future with a little pup running around, just as rambunctious as Dom or I had been—or maybe they’d be a quieter kid like Tavi.

It warmed me, but almost immediately, Troy’s ugly mug burst into my mind, shattering the vision.

“To be honest, I would’ve preferred to already be alpha of the Kings or at least have Troy dead at my feet before I considered starting a family. ”

He nodded. “Naturally.”

“But I’m not going to let my anxieties get in the way of my and Bryn’s happiness. This is huge, but we have months until the baby comes. That should be plenty of time to get things where we want them.”

“Absolutely. We have plenty of time to get our shit in order before the little one comes. Of course, you already know I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make things as comfortable for you and Bryn as possible.”

“I do know that.” I patted his shoulder. We had to do so many things for our packs, but with good people like Dom on our side, I felt confident we could accomplish them. And if anyone tried to stand in our way, we’d have the power to take them out.

“Have you told Violet or Tavi yet?” Dom asked.

“I think Bryn is on her way to tell Tavi, if she hasn’t told her already. The only other person who knows right now is Glenda. But no, Mom doesn’t know yet. Bryn wants to know more about her birth parents, and I told her I’d ask Mom if she could help her find more information.”

“I see. So Bryn wants to know more about where she comes from before the baby gets here.”

“Exactly. She wants to know herself better, and wants to be able to tell our child about the kind of people their grandparents were. I can’t say I blame her.”

“Neither can I. A lot of wolves in our own pack were adopted by other families because of death or illness. People like you and me…we’re lucky we know anything about our parents.” He paused. “Not that you had it easy with your father.”

“No, no, I get what you’re saying.”

He seemed relieved that I wasn’t offended. “Bryn is bound to have questions and feel like some part of her is missing. There’s no telling what kind of family she could have out there or what her parents got up to in the months leading up to her birth.”

“It’s true…but I’m worried there won’t be any answers to find. I just don’t want her to be upset if we can’t get the information she feels she needs.”

“I get that. I don’t want more pain to come Bryn’s way, either. But if I were in her shoes, knowing that there’s nothing more to learn about my parents is better than living in wonder for the rest of my life.”

I nodded. “I think that’s how Bryn feels. She’d rather have some answers than nothing at all.” And I knew I would be there for her, even if there were no good news. “By the way, do you have time to come over tonight for dinner? We want to celebrate, and Bryn is going to try to get Tavi to join us.”

Dom’s cedar-brown eyes had lit up at the mention of a celebration, and when he heard Tavi might be there, his face softened. I wondered if he knew how obvious his feelings for her were. “I’ll be there,” he said.

“Good.” I would have loved to stay on the topic of Bryn and my future pups, but I needed to tell him how things went with the council. “You asked me how things went when I went home…” I began.

Dom, sensing my shift in mood, dropped all excitement from his expression and focused. “Tell me.”

“The council wants a complete takeover of the Kings, not a merger. And from the way they were talking, it was clear they wouldn’t mind if things turned bloody.”

As I recapped what they’d said, I watched Dom’s eyebrows draw together and his upper lip curl. I’d begun to think I was going crazy—that I’d somehow missed the council’s real intentions the entire time, so it was a relief to read the disgust on his face that matched mine.

Hearing the council’s true opinion had blindsided me so much, I was second-guessing whether the people in my circle wanted the same things I did.

I never really doubted Dom—he was my beta and my right hand.

My goals would always align with his, even if we differed on which paths to accomplish those goals.

Still, I was glad to see we were still on the same page about how we wanted to achieve peace.

“I don’t know why they made us think they wanted things to go peacefully,” he said when I finished. “If they had just been upfront about it, we wouldn’t feel like they were yanking the rug from under us after all the progress we’ve made.”

“That’s exactly my feeling. That meeting made it clear they were manipulating us from behind the scenes, encouraging us to get the Kings to let their guard down before we turn around with our teeth at their throats.

” It had me seething all over again. Maybe Pete, the pathetic man who had been alpha after Gregor and before me, would have rolled over for them, but I never would.

“The Kings have shown they’re willing to put in the work to make their pack better.

Why would we want to fuck up that progress with a hostile takeover? ”

“There’s no point to it but revenge for old wounds.” He shook his head. “How do you plan on handling it?”

“Very carefully,” I said. “I want to wait until the alpha challenge ends before I take a stance against them. Better that than risk forming a rift in the pack between those who side with me and those who side with them. If worse comes to worst, I want the power to protect my people.”

Dom nodded. “It might be difficult to get the council to sit tight for a month, but I’ve got your back. Not that I like the idea of my niece or nephew being used as a tool in any way, but don’t you think telling them about the new heir might get them off your back for a bit?”

I sighed. “Possibly. But I think it would be better to make that announcement after I’m alpha here. That’ll give us time to meet with a doctor and find more information about the baby’s due date.”

“Good point. You’re right—maybe waiting is the best thing to do for now.” He hesitated, then asked, “So, about the hunting party you sent for Troy…”

I winced. “Let’s just take this one thing at a time, huh?”

“Oh, so you didn’t tell her about that?”

“Not yet. Once we’re sure the baby is healthy, I’ll feel more comfortable letting Bryn know. I don’t want to put any more stress on her.”

Dom gave a resigned sigh that dripped with disapproval. “I understand why you’re not telling her right away. But all you’re doing is delaying the inevitable.” He crossed his arms. “But I’m sure you already know that.”

“I’m just trying to avoid a fight.”

He raised a brow. “For Bryn’s sake or yours?”

“For both our sakes.”

Dom didn’t look convinced. “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

A moment of silence passed between us, one that felt like a stalemate. When Dom spoke again, I knew it was because he didn’t want the conversation to end on that note.

“Speaking about the alpha challenge, you need to start training. Like yesterday.”

“I know. After we finish up here, I’ll get started on that.” I had a training regimen in mind that I wanted to try. “Mind sparring with me at some point tomorrow?”

Dom grinned, and an answering smile played on my lips.

He was the closest to me in terms of raw power and endurance.

If I wanted to see real improvement in my fighting—and quickly—Dom was the best person to train with.

He’d helped me train when I became alpha of the Wargs.

My wolf growled and hopped about in anticipation of battle.

“Today, I’ll focus on agility and cardio,” I said. “But after…”

“Any time, any place, Night,” he said. “Just know I take no pleasure in whooping my alpha’s ass.”

I snorted. “You haven’t beaten me since we were kids.”

He smirked. “How do you know I haven’t just been taking it easy on you?”

“I’m glad to see my beta’s so fired up about fighting me.” I chuckled. “After dinner, we’ll talk more about where and when we’ll spar.”

“Sounds great to me.”

Dom returned to the building site while I headed deeper into the forest to get started on my training regimen. I began with a jog to get my blood flowing and loosen up.

As I jogged, I allowed my mind to wander.

When I took over the Wargs from Pete, I’d trained for weeks beforehand.

I ran for miles and miles, bulked up, and worked myself until I was too exhausted to do anything but sleep in my off time.

I remembered everything I did back then to get the hard physique I had now.

Compared to the first time I fought to be alpha, this challenge would be different.

It wouldn’t just be older wolves who didn’t expect me to hold my own in battle; it would be men like me, who were trained to be protectors for their pack.

All the competitors would know how to fight, and they would all be strong.

I would have the advantage of already being an alpha, but I couldn’t rely solely on strength.

My training would need to focus on full-body workouts and honing my existing abilities.

I needed to make each strike deadlier, sharper, and quicker.

I didn’t get to show my best at the alpha ceremony with Troy.

I knew some Kings believed I wasn’t strong enough to rule them.

This time, I wanted to eliminate all doubt.

I’d prove to everyone that I deserved to be the alpha of the Wargs and the Kings, no questions asked.

It would probably be tough to keep up my regimen and help Bryn around the King compound, but there were still a couple of weeks before the challenge. I had time.

I’d create the kind of environment where I could keep Bryn, my pup, and my people safe. That was my mission.