Page 143 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

brYN

While Cathy rocked Samuel back and forth, I told him one of the stories I had read to Pax about a knight who protected his princess. I was surprised I still remembered the story after so many weeks, but what surprised me more were the emotions that hit me as I recited it.

I associated the story with children, the adorable ones who still had wonder behind their eyes.

Now, I was telling the story to a boy whose childhood had been stolen from him.

Whatever he’d experienced or seen, it had done incredible harm.

He still hadn’t healed. And how could he heal?

I thought of Pax, who was around the age Samuel had been ten years ago.

If he were to die or go missing, we would feel insurmountable loss.

And with a little one of my own on the way, the weight of Samuel’s fear and sadness hit hard. The more I spoke, the more he calmed down. Eventually, his sobs and whimpers died down, and he lay still.

Cathy gently pulled the blanket from her son’s head. “Ah,” she whispered. “He’s asleep.”

“I’m glad. I’m sorry we pushed him to this state.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay. To be honest, he gets this way after he has a nightmare or hears a loud sound. It’s nothing new; I just let my worries get the best of me. It’s hard not to be overprotective when it comes to your pup.”

I resisted the urge to rub my stomach as I thought about the baby.

“I wish I knew more about what happened to him,” she said. “If we had answers, we might be able to help him through this. As things are, he never really gets better. He hasn’t said more than a hundred words to me since it happened.”

My heart ached for her. For him. “He has his art, at least.”

“That’s true. But if he were mentally healthy, he could do so much more. We could show his art to the pack and not keep him cooped up in here. He should be out with his friends and impressing girls with the portraits he does, not hidden in here.”

She touched her son’s forehead and gently pushed his hair behind his ear. He nuzzled against her. The bond between mother and son was obvious. Just being in its presence brought tears to my eyes. I felt like I was intruding on something as beautiful and precious as it was quiet and sorrowful.

“I don’t know if Night and I will find answers to what happened to Samuel and those boys, but we will try.”

She gave me a small smile. “I think I speak for all the parents of those boys when I say I appreciate your efforts. There’s nothing in this world that matters as much as the safety of your children.

Nothing at all.” She looked down at her son and stroked his hair again.

“When you see your mate, will you tell him I’m sorry I snapped at him like that? ”

“I will. He won’t hold it against you, I’m sure.”

She nodded. I could tell she wanted to spend time with her child, so I got up to leave, closing the door softly behind me.

I met up with Night, who looked about as shaken as me. We were technically still fighting, but I took his hand.

“Let’s go home,” I said.

“Yeah,” he said, squeezing my fingers.

We were both lost in thought as we made the trek back home. I wasn’t sure what Night was thinking about, but my mind was on our pup. I couldn’t imagine going through what the Granbys had suffered. It was just too painful—and I hadn’t even given birth yet.

When we got to our cabin, I started to go upstairs, but Night’s grip on my hand was firm. When I looked at him, his eyes were the soft green of fresh grass, and there was a sad tilt to the frown on his lips.

“Can we talk?” he asked.

“Yes.”

We adjusted our course, going to the living room instead of upstairs. Night sat on the couch, and I brought lavender and peppermint tea.

He took his mug when I handed it to him, and I sat on the couch next to him, curling my legs up on the cushion. After a moment, Night slid his hands over my legs and moved them into his lap. He let his hand rest on my thigh.

I touched his chest, and he looked at me. “I’m not ready to talk about Samuel yet,” I said.

“That makes two of us,” he agreed. “But that means we need to talk about our argument.”

I nodded. It was a relief to hear that Night wanted to talk things out. The task had seemed so daunting when I left my mom’s cabin, but after what we’d just experienced, talking things out seemed easy.

“Alright, I’ll get things started.” I took a long sip of my tea and let out a sigh. “So, it’s come to my attention that the two of us have pretty shitty communication skills.”

There was a pause, and he let out a short chuckle. “That might be an understatement, love.”

I laughed with him but sighed again. “I know I’ve got to be better about coming to you when I have an issue.

And I think you need to be more open and honest with me about what’s going on with the Wargs.

I don’t want you holding anything back from me, and in return, I’ll do the same.

” I touched his cheek; it was slightly scruffy.

He’d probably shave it soon, but I didn’t mind the stubble.

“I understand now that your hands were tied with the Troy situation, but we should have discussed it one on one. I want us to be partners in all things, and I want us to trust each other with the good and bad news.”

“I want that, too.” He nuzzled against my palm and kissed it, sending delightful tingles down my arm. “To be honest,” he said into my hand, “part of the reason I’ve been so overprotective of you is that I feel like I keep failing you.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I couldn’t protect you, my mother, or Tavi from Troy.

The days you were gone were the hardest of my life, and I don’t think I could survive it if I let something like that happen again.

I was too weak to kill Troy during the challenge ceremony, and I couldn’t keep him from escaping custody.

” He looked at me, and my breath caught at the jewel-like shine in his eyes.

“I can’t even keep myself from putting more stress on your shoulders, Bryn. ”

“Oh, Night.” I pulled him close to kiss him, needing that closeness, needing him to feel how deeply I loved him.

“I have no idea how I would’ve felt or what I would’ve done if things were reversed.

But none of that was your fault.” I pulled back, framing his face with my hands.

“We can’t keep letting fear of the unknown stop us from living in the present, or we’ll keep hurting each other. ”

He let out a tight breath. “You’re right. I’m sorry I’ve put you through so much.”

“I’m sorry, too. I know I haven’t been the most receptive to bad news lately.

And before you say anything,” I rushed when I saw him open his mouth to protest, “I know I should be avoiding stressful things and taking it easy, but I still need to be a good partner to you. I can be there for you and take things easy.”

He chuckled and moved his hand up my thigh to my waist to pull me onto his lap. Resting his chin on top of my head, he said, “My brave little mate. You keep reminding me why I love you.”

I laughed and relaxed against his chest. “So, I guess we should talk about Samuel, huh?”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “That was so…heavy. I’m glad you insisted on going together. I doubt I would’ve been as successful by myself.”

“If you can call that ‘successful.’” I sighed. “Cathy asked me to tell you she was sorry for snapping at you.”

His breath fluttered against my cheek. “Did she really?”

“Mmhm.”

“After the way she looked at me, I was sure she hated me because I’m alpha of the Wargs. I’m surprised she’d apologize to me when she didn’t do anything wrong.” He sipped his tea and set the mug on the table. “I’m still reeling from all of that.”

I nodded. “I think I told you that I remembered how tense things were back then. I’d heard about Samuel, but with him holed up inside his home, I had no idea he was like that.

You were right when you said the Kings are still dealing with what happened ten years ago.

I get the feeling that the entire pack just forced themselves to move forward, but you can’t leave something like that behind.

We all remember. And Samuel, his parents, and the parents of those missing kids are living proof of that tragedy. ”

Night let out a shaky sigh. “Bryn, seeing that poor kid so broken did something to me. All I could think about was our baby and how awful it would be if they went missing and were never found, or had come back so traumatized, they could hardly leave their room. Samuel’s parents have real strength, but I don’t know what I’d do if I experienced that. ”

I felt something wet on my head, and I looked up, surprised to see Night with tears in his eyes. With the tip of my finger, I gently brushed away the tear that had escaped.

“I know what you mean,” I said. “All that time, I kept thinking how dangerous the world we’re bringing our baby into can be.

” I kissed him gently. “But Night, my love, what happened to the Granbys couldn’t happen to us.

We can be smarter parents who never let their baby wander around unsupervised.

And even if something did try to attack our baby, you are more than strong enough to protect them.

” I kissed him again, gentler this time.

“And guess what? Together, you and I are even stronger than you on your own. After the baby is born, I want you to train me so I can be a warrior like you.”

His eyes widened. “Bryn, are you sure? It’ll be really hard work.”

“I know, but when it comes to you, our baby, our family, and our packs, I know I can do anything. This way, I’ll be strong enough to protect them.”

“Bryn,” he sighed, kissing me slow and sweet. “You’re amazing.”