Page 146 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

“Yes, Alpha Night,” he said, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

“What happened, Ricky?”

“I was out taking a walk, but those Kings jumped me.” His voice trembled as he spoke—not with fear, I was happy to see, but with anger. “I should have seen them coming, but they got the better of me, Alpha. I’m sorry.”

I offered my hand, and he accepted it, allowing me to pull him to his feet. “You’re here to learn, Ricky. It’s okay that you’re not an expert at fighting yet. Besides, those two didn’t exactly leave without a scratch. You held your own.”

Some of the anger and shame burning Ricky’s cheeks faded as he nodded. “Th-thank you, Alpha.”

“No thanks necessary. Just head to the infirmary and get yourself looked at.”

“Right.” He nodded once more at me before limping toward the infirmary.

I watched him go. I sent a message to Dom to either keep an eye on him on his way or have another Warg go with him.

I turned to Lance, who was now within a few paces of me. I hadn’t even heard the kid move. Dammit, he is good.

I kept my thoughts from showing on my face, but the slight smirk on Lance’s lips irked me. Cocky bastard.

“We haven’t met,” I said. “I’m Night Shepherd.”

“I know who you are,” he replied. “Just like you know who I am.” He slipped his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. “I watched your fight with Troy. It wasn’t what I’d expect from an alpha like you.”

Another twinge of annoyance went through me, even though I knew he was trying to get a rise out of me. I ought to be unbothered, but everything about this kid set me on edge, and I wasn’t sure why. He just screamed “threat” to me.

“You ought to know that wasn’t a fair fight,” I replied. “I won’t let another wolf have any advantage over me.”

I meant it as a warning. Lance was overly confident, even when he stood face-to-face with me. I knew he would be a hard fight during the alpha challenge, even with my history of life-or-death fights under my belt. But I had complete confidence in my abilities, especially after my days of training.

He ignored my warning, his face hardening. “Let’s cut the bullshit, Night. I see what you and your pack are trying to do here, schmoozing up to the Kings by helping rebuild homes, but it’s not going to work.”

“And what are we trying to do?”

“Don’t be coy. This pack will never let a merger between the Wargs and Kings happen. The few who would benefit are outweighed by those who are loyal to the Redwolfs. It won’t be as easy as you seem to think it is.”

Now I was the one smirking. “Well then, I have nothing to worry about. I’ve got Redwolf blood in me. But what about you? What blood flows through your veins?”

“Red.” His eyes dropped briefly to my bracelet, and he frowned. “You and your mate should go as far away from here as possible before it’s too late and you’re killed during the alpha challenge.”

My lips pulled away from my teeth as my wolf growled. I didn’t like him mentioning Bryn. “You seem to forget that my mate is your alpha, Lance. You shouldn’t make that mistake again. And I won’t lose the challenge. Not that that’s any of your business.”

“It is my business.”

“Why?” I stared hard at him, trying to spot any hint of deception. “Because you’re loyal to the Redwolfs? I know Troy brought you in when you were younger.”

He scoffed. “My loyalties lie with my family and no one else.”

“Who’s your family?”

A beat passed, and then another. Finally, that cocky expression was back on his face. “I’ve got things to do, Night. I’m sure you do as well. I’m sure we’ll get another chance to talk later.” He winked before walking back to the compound.

With him gone, the tension began to seep out of my muscles.

I hated that I hadn’t gotten more information about him, but the fact that we’d had a conversation was a start.

What he had said only made me dislike and distrust him more.

Part of me was really looking forward to seeing that confidence disappear during the alpha challenge.

I stood there a bit longer, letting the worst of my frustration drain out of me before I headed back onto the compound. I felt a mental nudge from Dom, indicating he was headed my way.

“Hey,” he said as he reached me. “I made sure that Ricky got to the infirmary okay. He said he got jumped?”

I nodded. “I found two Kings beating him up. We need to keep a better eye on the newer recruits.”

“Agreed. I’ll make sure they step up their training.”

“Appreciate that.” I let out a sigh. “Lance was there.”

Dom’s eyebrows rose. “Was he one of the wolves beating on Ricky?”

I shook my head and explained. “I wasn’t able to find out anything more about him or where his loyalties lie,” I said. “It was overall a very frustrating conversation.”

“That checks out,” he replied. “Like I told you before, no one knows much about him. That said, a lot of wolves fear and respect him, but I haven’t heard any reasons why that is.”

“What do you mean?”

“He hasn’t been involved in any fights or kills. The only thing he’s known for is being one of Troy’s men, but that alone shouldn’t make people fear him so much.”

I grunted in annoyance. “Let’s make sure we’ve got eyes on him as often as possible. But tell the men to be discreet.”

“Of course.” Dom nodded. “So, how’s Bryn? Did you two make up?”

“We did, and we’re in a much better place. I spent the morning looking at a new home for us.”

“You’re okay with not living in the alpha cabin?”

“Absolutely. It’s better if Bryn can start fresh in a new cabin. There are a few spots that seem promising, but I’ll have to see what she thinks.”

“That’s good news. It would be cool if you and Bryn could find a place between here and Warg territory. After you win the challenge and redraw territory lines, it’ll be closer to the middle.”

“That’d be nice for sure. We’ll see, huh?”

“True. Let me know if I can help you at all, Night.”

I snickered. “What, you don’t have enough work?”

“I’m your beta, Night. You know I can handle anything.” He gave me a cocky grin. Dom would follow any order I gave him, even at the cost of his life, but I’d never let that happen.

“Sure, sure,” I said. “I think I’m going to find Bryn.” The fact that Lance had brought her up made me want to see her again. My need to make sure she was safe overpowered anything else.