Page 140 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

brYN

“Iwant to go to my mom’s,” I said as Jasper and I walked through the compound. The last place I wanted to be right now was the alpha cabin.

“Sure, of course,” he said. His hands were in his pockets, and he hadn’t looked at me since we started walking. It sharply contrasted with how things had started—just before he revealed that Night had sent a killing squad after Troy.

“Bryn, I feel awful about what happened back there.”

“It’s fine,” I replied. But my tone was so flat, I wouldn’t have believed myself.

He winced. “Still, it sucks that I broke the news to you like that. If I had known—”

“It’s fine, I get it. It’s not your fault. I don’t blame you, Jasper.” I really wanted to leave it at that. I’d talked with Dom about Night’s secret, but my heart was still tender. The queasiness in my stomach didn’t help in the slightest. “You were just following Night’s orders, after all.”

He chewed the inside of his cheek and looked down.

He looked so guilty that I felt guilty by proxy.

That was frustrating because I knew I wasn’t wrong to be upset about the situation, though I was trying not to take it out on him.

I really, really wished I could let it go, but the more I thought about it, the tighter the angry fist in my chest got.

That was the reason I wanted to get to my mom’s.

She was great at putting things into perspective for me.

I sighed as we got closer to her cabin. “Listen, Jasper,” I said. “Night is my soulmate, so it’s not like I’ll be mad about this forever. We’ll work through it somehow. Eventually. I’m sorry I haven’t been better company on this walk—”

“You don’t have to apologize for that,” he protested.

“—but I need some time to think and process all of this on my own time, you know?” We stopped at my mom’s front door, and I patted Jasper’s shoulder. “I hope I see you again before you head back home.”

He still looked guilt-stricken, but he pulled up a smile for me. “I hope so, too. And I hope it’s under better circumstances, huh?”

I tried to smile back, though my heart wasn’t in it. Jasper was a good guy, if a little sensitive. We said our goodbyes, and I went into the cabin just as my mother came down the stairs.

“Oh,” she said. “I thought I heard you talking outside. Were you with Night?”

I shook my head and headed into the living room. I collapsed onto the old couch with fabric sewn patchwork style over the exposed tufts of filling. We’d had to make a lot of repairs over the years, but it was still the most comfortable couch I’d ever sat on.

“Ah.” Mom followed me into the living room but leaned against the doorframe. “I take it things aren’t going well between you and your mate?”

I heaved out a sigh. “Not really. We’re kinda in the middle of a fight.”

“It’s not about the baby, is it?”

I shook my head again. “No. It’s something else.”

“Okay, well, before we get into this fight, how are you feeling? Still nauseous?”

I nodded. “I threw up before I came over here.”

“I’ll get you some tea.” She turned and headed into the kitchen.

She was gone for just a few minutes, and the familiar sounds of boiling water and pottery clanking against the counter was soothingly nostalgic.

Mom was back quickly, handing me the tea.

She’d also gotten herself some salsa and corn chips.

“Thanks, Mom,” I said, accepting the mug.

She offered the paper bag of chips, and after a moment of hesitation, I accepted a handful of them, munching on them while we spoke.

“Now,” she said, easing into the old armchair, “tell me what’s been going on.”

I took a deep breath and told her about the hunting party.

I wasn’t sure whether I should mention that Troy had attacked a small pack.

Night and I hadn’t discussed whether it was safe for other people to know, so I wanted to give that development the gravity it deserved.

The whole compound already knew that Troy was on the loose, so there was nothing wrong with talking about it.

When I finished, I took a long sip of my tea, which had cooled down.

Mom’s lips were pursed in thought. “So, it sounds to me,” she began, “like the issue is communication.”

“That’s the long and short of it.”

“You feel Night doesn’t respect you enough to tell you the important things.”

I nodded. “I know the Wargs’ council put him in a difficult position, but when he got back, he omitted the part about the hunting party because he knew it would upset me.

He told me everything else the council told him, and that’s arguably just as upsetting.

He left out the bit about the hunting party because I’d told him not to do it. ”

“I understand why that hurts you, baby. It’s awful when you don’t feel like you’re on equal footing in a relationship.”

I nodded, relieved that she could empathize with my position.

“That said, from what I’ve seen of your mate, I think it’s likely that he was trying to protect you from anything that would elevate your stress too much.

All mate pairings can have communication issues, especially if they bond as early in the relationship as you and Night have.

The two of you didn’t go through the dating process that non-soulmate pairs go through before they decide to mate.

The connection between you was so strong that the two of you just acted. ”

I felt that familiar stinging sensation behind my eyes, but I didn’t have the same impulse to keep the tears from falling around my mom. “Did we do all of this wrong?” I asked. “Did we mess things up?”

“Oh, honey.” She lay her hand on my knee in reassurance. “No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. All I’m saying is that you two aren’t talking things through. You need time to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses and work through them together.”

I nibbled sadly on a chip. “I feel like I put more effort into communicating.”

“You didn’t tell Night about the baby right away.”

“I wanted to make it special,” I argued. “And I did tell him. I didn’t wait for someone else to break the news to him.”

She chuckled. “That’s true, but that wasn’t the real reason you didn’t tell him immediately. It was because you were worried about how he’d react to the news. If Night didn’t have the ability to sense you were pregnant, how long would you have waited to tell him?”

I opened my mouth to argue more, but dammit, she had a point.

I had worried Night would reject me when I told him about the baby.

Looking back, though, it was stupid of me to think my mate would react that way.

And I would have probably waited a while to figure out how best to tell him, especially now when things were so busy.

Mom patted my knee again. “Give Night some time, Bryn. He should have told you about the hunting party, but he is an alpha and used to keeping things from the people he cares most about to protect them and the rest of his pack. It will take him a while to realize and accept that he doesn’t need to hold things back from you. ”

I sniffled and wiped away a tear with the back of my hand.

Mom’s words reminded me of my conversation with Dom.

I appreciated that they were considering both my and Night’s perspectives.

Those two were more correct than my ego was willing to admit, but I needed to let that go if I wanted to move forward with Night.

He had been pulling double duty all around, and other than this secret, he was nothing short of amazing.

“You’ve given me a lot to think about, Mom. Thank you…I think,” I added jokingly.

She chuckled. “That’s what I’m here for. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”

I was about to say no, but then I remembered the doctor’s appointment.

“Oh, I got an ultrasound at the infirmary.” As happy as I’d been to see the life growing inside me, the other stuff Dr. Stan told me brought me low again.

“Mom, getting to see the baby was…amazing. It’s so tiny, this life inside me.

” I touched my stomach. “But Dr. Stan told me I wouldn’t be able to have more children. ”

Her eyes widened, eyebrows scrunching together in alarm. “What? Why not?”

“Apparently, I only have one ovary and a low egg count.” Admitting it out loud was like a slap to the face. “I never knew about that, but Dr. Stan said I was born with this condition.”

“So you’ve had this all your life?” She slowly absorbed the news, slumping back against her chair. “Oh, Bryn, I should have taken you to get a physical when you were younger. We could have done something to try and save the eggs you had.”

I shook my head. “You can’t blame yourself, Mom. It’s not your fault. You were working yourself down to the bone to keep me clothed and fed while the rest of the pack shunned us.” I finished my chips and picked up my tea. “It’s just how things worked out.”

Mom sighed but didn’t push against my words. “I guess that means we have to treat this baby with extra special care,” she said, trying to smile. “Have you and Night given much thought about a nursery?”

I was glad for the change in subject. “Not yet. We’ve been a little preoccupied. But he’s willing to move out of the alpha cabin if I want to.”

“Oh? How do you feel about that?”

“It surprised me. The pack is his birthright, and I know having the alpha cabin means a lot. But…I’m not sure how I feel yet.”

Mom nodded for me to continue.

“The cabin has symbolic importance to the Kings, and the alpha has lived there for generations. But Night and I are trying to change so much about this pack…perhaps it’s for the better that we switch up that tradition, too.

Just think about the location. It’s in a good position for the Kings to have easy access to us, but if we merge the packs, shouldn’t we think about positioning ourselves somewhere more accessible to the Wargs as well? ”

"A lot of pros and cons to leaving the cabin,” Mom remarked.

“Yeah. I’m still weighing them. I need to decide soon so we can get everything ready for the baby.”

“You do, but you’ve got time, honey. You have a lot on your mind right now, so don’t stress too much about it. Whenever there’s some time for you two to address things, do it.”

I nodded and smiled. “Thanks again, Mom. I’m sorry I haven’t been by more often.”

“It’s okay, baby. I cherish every moment we get to spend together, even if some of that time is devoted to you venting about your mate.” She grinned. “I thank the Fates every day that you come to me when you need to.”

Her words were enough to make me want to burst into tears. I tried to get some control of my emotions by taking a long drink of tea.