Page 132 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

NIGHT

Bryn sent Tavi to gather the Kings’ council members while she got dressed.

Worry churned in my stomach as I watched her get ready.

She seemed so pale and fragile, and I hated that I had to drag her out of the house.

True, the stakes were incredibly high if Troy had access to that money, and there was no way I could approach the Kings’ council with this info on my own.

But at the same time, Bryn was pregnant.

She needed to take things easy, but every time I saw her, I brought news that increased her stress.

It was only a matter of time before that stress took its toll on her.

“If it were up to me, you wouldn’t have to leave this cabin,” I said as she brushed her hair.

She put down the brush and turned to me. “Don’t say that. This is bigger than either of us. You uncovered some crucial information, and we can’t just let this go. We need to handle it now while there’s still time. If Troy is behind this, there’s no telling when he could strike.”

“I know, but…” What kind of man was I to force my pregnant mate out of bed instead of handling it myself?

A shitty excuse for one, that’s what. Bryn was right—this was out of our hands, and it was clear that she felt a little inadequate that she hadn’t handled the ledgers herself.

I understood her wanting to feel useful through this process, but that only settled the guilt more firmly on my shoulders.

Was I being the mate she most needed? How did I know I was supporting her the way she needed most?

After she dressed, we left to meet the council at the usual spot. Bryn must have reached out to Tavi telepathically because she was waiting for us by the double doors.

I had hoped that the next time I saw my sister would be under more casual circumstances, but given her grave face, she had been brought up to speed as to why we’d called this meeting. But to my delight, her expression lifted a bit when she saw me.

“Hi, Night,” she said.

“It’s good to see you, kid.”

She chuckled. “Likewise.” She held her fist out to bump, and I obliged. “Let’s hold these folks to task, huh?”

“Absolutely,” Bryn said with a bright smile. She was getting better and better at hiding the effects of her pregnancy. Her ability to adapt was impressive and intimidating at the same time.

I pulled open the door to find the council assembled and waiting for us.

“Good morning, everyone,” Bryn said, taking charge before any of them could speak.

“It would be a better morning if we were privy to the nature of the meeting,” Dana said.

“Then I won’t waste your time. I’ll get straight to it.

” Bryn tossed the documents on the table in front of the council members, drawing their attention to the circled and highlighted sections.

“There are discrepancies in the pack’s financial accounts.

Going back at least five years, thousands and thousands of dollars have been moved into an account labeled ‘for taxes,’ but there is no evidence of a tax account.

Do any of you know where that account is? ”

Edward looked through the paperwork before handing it to Colby, who was sitting next to him. His frown told me he was about to say something stupid, and the man didn’t disappoint.

“I’m sorry, Alpha Hunter,” he said in an unapologetic tone. “Maybe there’s something more at play here? It’s likely you don’t understand some of the accounts because you’re still so young, and your mind…your mind just isn’t wired to understand how our accounting systems work.”

Bryn leveled a scathing glare at him, but Tavi stepped in before Bryn or I could retort.

“That’s going too far, Edward,” Tavi said. “Are you saying because she’s female, she doesn’t know how to read?”

Pride swelled in my chest. Though Edward’s comments pissed me off, I was glad my sister had said something before I could. It was a beta’s job to have their alpha’s back, and it seemed Tavi had taken to that part of her role.

“That isn’t what I said—” Edward began.

“It’s what you implied,” Tavi interjected, putting her hands on her hips. “I recommend you rethink how you speak to your alpha.”

Edward shut his mouth. Instead of arguing the point further, he settled on glaring at Tavi for calling him out.

“Councilman,” I said, stepping forward. “My mate is more than intelligent enough to read bank statements and track money.” I trained my gaze on Edward. “And Tavi is right—don’t try to bullshit us. One way or another, we’ll track down the truth, and you will want to be on our side about this.”

“That sounds like a threat,” Dana said. “Is the alpha of the Wargs trying to usurp our authority?”

She had no idea how badly I wanted to say “yes.”

Bryn crossed her arms. “Dana, you’re not changing the subject so easily.

What Night said wasn’t a threat; it’s the truth.

We’ll find out the purpose of that tax account somehow, and when we do, I doubt the Kings will be happy to hear that members of their council got in our way.

Let’s not forget we’re talking about pack funds—money that’s meant to benefit the Kings.

This isn’t just a little skimming off the top of some surplus account. ”

An uneasy silence filled the room. Dana tried to stare Bryn down, but Bryn wasn’t having it. She crossed her arms and met her gaze without flinching. If I didn’t know any better, I would never have guessed she wasn’t feeling her best.

Had I been in her position, I would have threatened the council with death to find out what they knew.

It would be well within Bryn’s right as alpha to have them killed for concealing the truth, but that wasn’t my mate’s style.

Not for the first time, I felt real pride for my mate.

Being alpha suited her much better than even I would have thought.

I was so attracted to Bryn at that moment, I would’ve pulled her against me in full view of the council had I not known it would undermine her authority.

The silence broke when Grant collected the papers and tapped them into a neat pile. He was the oldest member of the pack, and from his solemn expression, he understood the stakes more than Edward and Dana.

“You don’t look surprised,” Tavi pointed out to Grant. “Were you all aware of this already?”

“Yes,” he said. “The tax account you are talking about is over five years old. We’ve known that money was missing as early as seven years ago.”

“Why wasn’t I informed of this?” Bryn demanded. A reasonable question.

“It’s the way things have been for decades.”

“That’s not good enough. Every alpha—even interim ones—should be informed of the pack’s affairs. It’s ridiculous to keep something a secret just because you’ve gotten complacent.”

Grant inclined his head to take her point.

Bryn’s shoulders lost some of their stiffness. We were finally getting somewhere, and she didn’t need to keep herself as rigid.

“So the account is at least seven years old,” she said. “Did you confront Gregor about this?”

“We did. Alpha Gregor claimed he would handle it, but the money continued to disappear.”

Encouraged by Grant’s willingness to talk, Councilman Ross said, “We waited a little while for Gregor to put a stop to the payments, but he never did. The only thing he seemed to do was lessen the amounts withdrawn from each account.”

“Do you think he was the one hoarding it or someone else?” Bryn asked.

“We suspected Troy was squirreling the money away,” Councilman Colby said. “We figured that was why Alpha Gregor didn’t stop the withdrawals. We tried to stop it ourselves, but he wouldn’t stand for it. He demanded we stop looking into it and prioritized his son over his pack.”

He let that silence sit for a few moments. Bryn, Tavi, and I weren’t the least surprised by Gregor’s selfishness, but we gave the council some time to mourn the man who had been their alpha.

“The day before he died, I spoke to Alpha Gregor,” Grant finally said.

“I asked him to tell me the truth behind the missing money. Even after he made me promise I wouldn’t reveal anything to anyone outside of the council, he wouldn’t give me any details about the account or what it was for; all he told me was that Troy was doing what he had to do to ensure the pack’s future.

I don’t have any proof of this, but I got the impression that Gregor was the one who advised Troy to take the money and hide it. ”

I frowned. That speculation only raised more questions.

Gregor had been the alpha and a tyrant who no doubt used money however he wanted.

Why would he cover up that money was being moved around?

And why would he let Troy, of all fucking people, take that money?

Gregor had known his son was a loose cannon, so why give him access to such a huge amount of money?

Bryn was on the same page. “Troy wasn’t exactly the most stable or rational man. Why would Gregor let him do that?”

Grant shook his head. “We have no idea. I can only imagine his love for his son was greater than his rational mind.”

I said nothing to that. From what Bryn had told me, I doubted very much that “love” was why Gregor had let Troy do what he wanted. It would make more sense if Gregor had thought Troy was the only person capable of carrying out their sinister plans.

“As Colby said,” Grant continued, “we brought up the issue multiple times, but we were shot down every time. And when Troy became alpha, it was too dangerous to try to get information out of him. As a council, we couldn’t go against our alpha.”

“Do you have any idea how much money was in the account?” Tavi asked.