Page 137 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

Grant sighed. “Yes. To this day, we still don’t know what happened to them. Back then, we were all so paranoid that some families even left the pack with their young pups to protect them.”

“Were there any witnesses?”

“Well, there was one…” He hesitated, and his fellow council members exchanged uncomfortable looks. Even Edward and Dana, the two least friendly council members, looked uneasy. I guessed even they had to show reverence when it came to the missing children.

“What’s wrong?” Tavi asked.

“It’s just that he’s not a very reliable witness,” Grant replied.

“Tell us about him,” I said.

“His name is Samuel Granby,” Ross said. “He was with one of the children who went missing. When we started searching for them, we found Samuel wandering the woods. When we found him, he couldn’t answer any of our questions. Whatever he saw affected him so deeply that he hasn’t been the same.”

“Where is he?” Tavi asked.

“At home with his parents. They live on the southern end of the compound. The cabin’s door is painted sky-blue with white clouds.

” Ross hesitated for a few moments, looking pained.

“If you’re planning to talk to him, I assure you that you won’t get anything useful.

It will likely be a waste of your time.”

Tavi shook her head. “We’ll decide whether or not it’s a waste of our time, Ross, but thanks for your concern.”

“This information is appreciated,” I echoed. “Thank you all. We’ll let you continue your work.”

Tavi and I left them to their business, releasing deep breaths as soon as we stepped outside. Overhead, the sun had slipped lower in the sky. It would be evening soon.

“The atmosphere really shifted when you brought up those kids,” she said. “God, those poor things. My heart aches for them and their families.”

I suppressed a shiver. “Same here. I can’t even imagine the pain that they’ve dealt with.”

She ran her hand through her hair before pulling her hood over her head. “I’m going to head back to the alpha cabin. Are you coming?”

“No, I think I’ll train for a bit before heading back. And go visit Mom.” Hearing about the pups made me want to spend some time with her.

“Sure. I’ll keep an eye on Bryn and catch her up on the meeting.”

I grinned. “I knew I could rely on you, Tav.”

Tavi walked me to the tree line, then veered off to the alpha cabin.

I pushed deeper into the forest until dense trees surrounded me.

I chose a new spot each time I trained, just to keep things interesting.

This spot was my favorite thus far. Because of the packed trees, I couldn’t hear the Kings—only the sounds of nature.

I wanted to work through my lingering discomfort after that meeting with the council. I started with cardio, climbing up the trees and leaping from one to the other. Birds were startled into flight in my wake. Afterward, I did hundreds of chin-ups and squats in quick succession.

When my heart was pumping and a sheen of sweat covered my body, I started training in earnest. I used my claws to mark a circle on a thick tree, then punched and kicked it in the same spot each time.

Hours later, the sun was much lower in the sky, and I was drenched in sweat.

I ran a hand through my damp hair and caught my breath before walking back to town.

When I reached Mom’s cabin, I was relieved to see she wasn’t with Doc—and that she recently made bread because her cabin smelled like butter and baked deliciousness.

“Come in, come in,” she said, coming down the cabin steps. She paused, her nose scrunching. “Get in here and wash up, Night. You smell like you’ve been rolling around in the dirt.”

I chuckled. “I was training.”

“Yes, that’s what I said.” She moved out of my way and ushered me upstairs. “Go on, go on. I refuse to hug you before you’re clean.”

I grinned. This was the sort of interaction I wanted, this normalcy.

I washed in her shower, the hot water relaxing my taut muscles.

When the water sluicing down my body ran clear, I stepped out of the shower and toweled off.

Mom had left me some clothes while I was washing, so I dressed in them and headed downstairs.

“Ah, now that you’re clean,” she said from the kitchen, “come and have some dessert with me.”

“I shouldn’t since I’m training…” I pretended to hesitate. But the blank look she gave me made me laugh. “Yeah, I’ll have some. Do you have blueberry jam?”

She swatted me gently as I passed her. “Of course I do.”

We went into the kitchen, and she made us milk tea and brought out the blueberry jam. “I had a feeling you’d visit me today,” she said. “What’s going on? Is Bryn okay?”

I sighed. “She’s still waking up with morning sickness. It sucks, Mom, it really does. I had no idea it would be so hard on her.”

“Neither did I, poor thing.” She gave an empathetic frown. “What did Damon say?”

“He told us the baby was six weeks and seemed to be doing well. And he said that Bryn has only one ovary and a low egg count. She probably won’t be able to have any more children.”

“Ah. That’s unexpected.”

“It was for Bryn as well. Damon said she would have been born that way. She didn’t say anything, but I think it bothers her. She wouldn’t have been so shocked if she knew more about her birth mother.”

“I can imagine. I wish I had an update about Bryn’s mother, but I haven’t heard back from our elders yet. I’m sure they’ll get back to me, but, like everything, it’s a matter of waiting.” She chewed a slice of bread laden with butter and honey. “And how are you holding up with everything, Night?”

“I’m more than okay with having one pup, but knowing this is our only chance has hit me differently now that I’ve had time to sit with it.

I mean, Troy is still out there, and neither of the parties we sent out has any leads.

We’re swamped with the amount of work the Redwolfs left behind, and the alpha challenge is coming up.

I’m trying to make sure everything is handled, but we’re not planning to tell anyone about the pregnancy until the challenge is over. ”

“Well, I don’t think you should worry about the challenge, Night. You will win,” she assured me. “You were born to be a leader and a fighter.”

I smiled a little. “I appreciate your confidence, Mom. I’ll probably feel better about it once I’ve trained more.”

She nodded and patted my hand. “Well, you let me know if you need any help with paperwork or the challenge. I’m happy to help anywhere I can, even with ledgers or with watching over Bryn while you train.”

I didn’t know if we would ask her for that help, but it was nice to know she was open to it. Mom was always willing to support me, and it made me feel like shit that I was here to ask her about her past with Gregor.

Sensing my hesitation, she patted my arm again. “How are the Wargs? I’m sure they’re missing you.”

Thinking about my pack pulled me away from my darker thoughts. “Things went well there. It started out rocky, but by the end of it, we ended up repairing dozens of buildings and getting some supplies from Colville that we needed. I think you’ll be surprised when you go back.”

“I’m glad I asked,” she said. “Your eyes look brighter when you talk about our people.”

I nodded. “I just wish everything else could be solved with a hammer and some paint.”

“Wouldn’t that make things easier?” She chuckled. “Now, tell me more about whatever mess you have, Night. I can tell it’s weighing you down.”

I caught her up on the missing money and the search we were doing through the Redwolfs’ belongings—a search that was going nowhere—and the fable about portals to realms holding other shifters.

She nodded as I spoke. She digested the information easier than Bryn, Tavi, or I had. I wondered if it was because few things surprised her or because of her connection to the spirits and belief in fate and destiny.

“I hate having to ask you about my father,” I said after I finished. “But I have to know if he mentioned anything about this strange story to you?”

“It’s not easy for me to talk about my history with that man,” she said slowly, “but it’s much easier now than it was even a few months ago.

” She took a few breaths, then continued.

“I’ve told you more than once, but I’ll say again that Gregor wasn’t always a monster.

He and I grew up together with Damon, and back then, he was sweet, gentle, and even kind.

He grew up to be a strong, capable fighter and leader, and he was ready to take over as alpha for the Wargs.

It was kind of a given that we would end up together—we were always hanging out with each other, and even though my connection to the spirits wasn’t as strong as it is now, I had a feeling that my future was inextricably tied to his.

“When I told him I was pregnant, he was happy and excited at first. He’d always wanted a boy, and when we found out your gender, he was even more thrilled.

But after a couple of months, he became more withdrawn and exhausted.

He wasn’t sleeping very well. He took over as alpha for the Wargs when I was about four months pregnant with you, and then his behavior changed even more.

I don’t know what happened, but it was like his heart had been replaced with someone else’s.

“He got irritable and angry with me, he’d disappear at night, and he would stay at his beta’s home instead of mine if I annoyed him even the slightest bit.

It all came to a head one night when he told me he didn’t love me…

or you.” She closed her eyes briefly. “It hurt, Night. It hurt me deeply. At first, I suspected he’d found his real mate, but that wouldn’t have made him treat me so badly or say such awful things about you.

He’d always wanted a son, and I couldn’t figure out why he would say he wanted nothing to do with you.

I asked him to tell me what was making him behave like this, but he wouldn’t answer me.

Not long after that, he abandoned us and took over the Kings’ pack. ”

Hatred burned in my chest for the man who had hurt my mother. “Did you see him again after that?”

“No, but a couple of years after you were born, I heard he’d had a son with a woman from the Kings’ pack.

It tore my heart to pieces.” She shook her head.

“I’m sure you know this, but the Wargs and Kings have always had conflicts.

After Gregor took over the Kings, relations between the packs got worse, not better.

The Kings were much more hostile toward us, even coming into our territory to hurt us or mess with our things.

Peter, of course, rolled over and did nothing, and the pack suffered.

“The pack mother we were hiding was probably the only one left in the world we knew. Everyone believed the Kings had killed her, and that deepened the rift between the two packs. But Gregor had kidnapped her first.”

“What?” I jumped to my feet, and my chair clattered to the floor. I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. “He took her?”

“Yes, he did. Lucian tried to get her back because he was the strongest and best fighter in the pack. Peter didn’t want him to risk his life for the pack mother, but Lucian ignored him. He tried to get them out, but they were both killed. You and Dom were just little boys when we lost him.”

I picked up the chair and set it down. I had no idea that was why Dom’s father had died. “That pack mother was Bryn’s mother, right?”

“I believe so, but it will be hard to prove that. No one knew she was a pack mother. After she was killed, I suspected she might have been. The pack immediately loved her, and there was her kind yet firm way of dealing with pack conflict. But it was her skill with the soil that confirmed it the most for me. That’s a skill Bryn also has.

It’s only with hindsight that I’m able to put these things together. ”

“Who was she?”

“I’m sure you will remember her in time.”

“Okay. Who was Bryn’s father?”

“We were never sure. She was as secretive about that as she was about everything else, and we weren’t going to press someone we were sure was a pack mother for information.

I’m waiting to hear from the elders about whether there’s a ritual that would allow Bryn to see what happened through her mother’s eyes.

That’s the best way for her to find the answers she seeks. ”

“Would that be safe for her to do while pregnant?”

“It should be, but it’s ultimately Bryn’s decision whether she wants to do it. We can talk more about that after the Warg elders have gotten back to me.”

The idea of letting Bryn do some random ritual didn’t sit right with me, but that was something I could raise with her some other time. “So, what about the realm portals?”

“Oh, Gregor was always obsessed with that story. His father told him about it when he was a pup, and he loved going on research adventures to gather books that were said to have mentioned it. I’d tell him it was a waste of time, that there was no way those books would prove it was true, but he was determined to find out more. ”

“You never believed in the legend, then?”

“Hell, no.” She grimaced. “If it had happened, we would have other proof than just a legend. And the spirits would give some indication that it was true. The idea that there are other shifters somewhere in the universe doesn’t sound far-fetched, but that legend mentions bird shifters.

” She shook her head. “Could you imagine a man as large as you shifting into a kestrel? Or a hawk? I just don’t see how that would work. ”

I grinned as she continued her rant. I deferred to her on all matters of ancient wolf history and stories, so I was glad to hear my mother also regarded this fable as bullshit.

But this made me wonder…could we use Troy’s belief in the portals to our advantage?

Maybe there was a book or an artifact supposedly connected to the legend that we could use to set a trap for him?

The best way to find out was to find the books he’d hidden.

I was sure they’d have something we could use.