Page 148 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

She opened her eyes, gasping when her gaze landed on the bracelet. “Oh!” Then, a bit more quietly, “Oh, Bryn, you didn’t.”

“I did!” I beamed at her. “This is my way of thanking you for everything you’ve done for me, Tavi. You’re a great beta, a wonderful person, and my best, best friend.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “Bryn, I don’t think I can…” She hesitated, then shook her head and sniffled. “Thank you so much. If I’d known you were getting me a gift, I would’ve gotten you something.”

“I don’t want anything in return,” I assured her. “This was something small I wanted to do for you.”

“This is huge to me.” She wrapped her arms around me, surprising me; she rarely initiated hugs these days. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

I embraced her as hard as I could. “You’re welcome, Tavi. I hope this proves that I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you. You’re my sister now and forever.”

She chuckled. “Of course.” And then she added telepathically, “We’re sisters for life.”

I could have held onto her for hours, but she pulled away, and we said our goodbyes. I went to the kitchen to make tea and toast, and then curled up on the couch because I didn’t feel like walking upstairs again. After finishing my tea and snack, I napped for a couple of hours.

A knock on the door woke me. I yawned, stretching my arms over my head before getting up.

It was Violet. When I opened the door, she gave me a warm hug. “Hello, sweetheart,” she said. “How are you?”

“Hi, Violet,” I hugged her back. “I’m doing okay today, though I’m a little tired.”

“Ah, I remember those days.” She gave an empathetic smile. “Is my son around?”

“Not right now, but he’ll probably be home soon. Did you need something from him?”

“Not really. I wanted to talk to you.” I led her into the living room and sat on the couch, patting the spot beside me. “Night told me you wanted to know more about your biological parents,” Violet said when she sat down.

I nodded.

“Do you think knowing about them will make you a better mother?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. But it’ll make me feel more secure in my own skin. On top of that, I’d like to be able to tell my kids that their grandparents were good people and not be lying. If we could find out whether my mother also had reproductive issues, that would be another huge help.”

Violet nodded. “I understand where you’re coming from. It’s only natural that you’d want to know.”

“Did you find something about my parents?” I asked, my heartbeat speeding up.

“Sort of. But let me explain a bit more.” She cleared her throat.

“The pack mother came to the Wargs decades ago when she had nowhere else to go. A few packs were after her because of the power she possessed, and the Kings were the largest and most powerful of the packs. We accepted her, and she lived peacefully with us.”

“I spoke to Tavi, and she said that most Wargs had no idea she was a pack mother.”

“That’s true. I think only the elders knew her true identity.”

“You’ve never mentioned this before. Is it because it wasn’t the right time for you to tell me about it or something?”

She chuckled. “If the spirits were directing me, I wasn’t aware of it, but I wouldn’t have kept it from you intentionally. After the pack mother was killed, every wolf felt the ripple of it. I suppose the fact that we didn’t know who she was at first didn’t seem like a necessary part of the story.”

“Oh, I see.” I pulled my legs onto the couch. “What did she look like?”

“I wish I could recall her features with perfect clarity, but most of the details of her face have faded with time.” She closed her eyes as she cast her mind back.

“I remember she had hair as brown as yours, but her eyes were brown, too, not the pretty shade of blue that yours are. Of course, she was beautiful, with a bright, bright smile.” She opened her eyes again and smiled. “Like yours.”

It warmed me to hear that the pack mother and I shared a resemblance, but I wished there was more substance to the description, more certainty. “Is there a way for us to learn anything more about her?”

“There might be a way. But only you can do it.”

I leaned forward, eager. “Yes?”

“The Warg elders have found a ritual you could do. It would allow you to see through your mother’s eyes, and it could reveal a birthmark, her reflection, or reveal who your father was.”

“A ritual…” I chewed my lip nervously. “Would it be safe for the baby?”

“Yes. It doesn’t involve you doing anything or drinking anything that would put you or your baby in a compromising position, but I can’t guarantee that you won’t see anything unpleasant.” She touched my leg. “It’s your choice if you want to do this, of course.”

I wanted to agree to do it right away, but I hesitated.

As desperate as I was to discover more about my birth mother, I knew if I saw things through her eyes, I might see something traumatic.

But if it was the only way for me to learn more about her, I didn’t have much of a choice.

Dr. Stan had warned me against doing anything stressful, but if I could survive Troy, I could survive anything.

The more I thought about it, the surer I felt about doing it.

After some deep thinking, I nodded. “When can we do it?”

“Tonight is a full moon, which will help the ritual.”

“Okay. Where will the ritual happen?”

“The elders’ garden.”

My eyebrows shot up toward my hairline. “The Kings’ elders are involved in this, too?”

She nodded. “This is a matter of spiritual significance, so they’ll want to be present.”

“Got it.”

Violet grinned at me and stood. “Wonderful. I’ll make some soup. It’ll give you strength for the ritual and be easy on your stomach.”

“That sounds lovely. I’ve only had tea and a few pieces of toast today.” I followed Violet into the kitchen and sat at the table. “What’s in it?”

“Well, the ingredients vary depending on what you’ve got in your kitchen—which is the best part about the recipe.” She winked at me as she rummaged through the pantry. “It always has a tomato-based broth, beans, about a spoonful of peanut butter, and a bit of a spicy kick to it.”

“Night told me you didn’t have an easy time when you were pregnant with him,” I said. “Was this soup something you ate a lot back then?”

“Oh, yes. That boy was an even bigger pain back then, and he wasn’t even born yet.” She chuckled to herself. “Those were some of the hardest months of my life, and this soup was pretty much the only thing I ate besides bananas, peanut butter, and pickles.”

“I see.” I made mental notes as she cooked the soup. When it was bubbling on the stove, she had me taste it. I found the broth rich and filling, with the peanut butter adding an interesting complexity to the flavor.

She fixed us each a bowl, and we ate at the table. The cabin felt warm and happy and full of potential. While Violet entertained me with stories of Night’s childhood, I thought again about the ritual and my baby. I was so close to learning more about my birth parents, and I couldn’t wait.