Page 157 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

NIGHT

After kissing Bryn goodbye, I planned to meet up with Dom but decided to stop at the library.

All the talk about fate and magic reminded me of the portal legend Gregor and Troy supposedly believed.

I wanted to know if anything in the Kings’ libraries had more information.

Gregor had hoarded most of the books about it and stored them away somewhere, but he might have missed something.

I spotted Tavi in one of the rows, debating between two novels.

“Hey, Tav,” I said, walking toward her.

She flinched but relaxed when she saw me. “Hey, Night. What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I just thought I’d do some light reading,” I joked. “What about you? Looking through the romances?”

She snorted. “I haven’t had the stomach for romance lately.

I’m trying to decide if this novel about battles in space is more appealing than this one about battles in space.

” She put the books back on the shelf. “I want something that will help me relax, but I don’t know if science fiction is doing it for me. ”

“Do you want to go outside for a bit?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

We headed outside and moved into the trees until we found a massive oak tree. We climbed it the way we used to when we were kids. I sat on one of the thicker branches, and she took one a bit higher than me.

“Well, this takes me back,” I said. “We haven’t been tree-climbing in, what, ten years?”

“At least,” she said. Smiling, she peered down at me through the leaves. “So what’s going on? Is Bryn okay?”

“She’s fine. Actually, I think she’s doing a little better than fine after last night.”

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Gross, Night. I hope you didn’t interrupt me just to talk about what you and my best friend do in your alone time.”

I plucked an acorn from my branch and tossed it at her. “Don’t be an idiot, Tav.”

The way she joked with me wasn’t the same as the Tavi I’d grown up with, but the fact that she still joked eased some of my worries about her.

A warm breeze chased through the leaves, and Tavi let out a long sigh. Now was a good time to ask how she felt about Dom.

“So, you and Dom,” I began slowly. “Are you interested in him?”

There was a pause, and then a handful of acorns bounced off the top of my head. I looked up at her bright red face. “Um, ouch?” I said.

She was still flushed, but her tone was teasing when she said, “That was probably the most awkward way you could ask me a question like that, Night Shepherd.”

“Can you blame me? It’s an awkward subject for me to bring up.”

“Then why are you?”

“Because I care about you both, and from where I’m standing, it seems like you’re interested in each other, but your relationship is staying in one spot instead of moving forward. I want to give you space, but I’m curious about where you stand.”

She didn’t say anything.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I said.

“No, it’s okay.” She sighed. “I guess I’m not sure.

I do like Dom, and I care a lot about him, but after everything that happened when I was kidnapped…

” She gave a slight shake of her head. “I don’t think I’m the best person for him.

I already feel like I fall short of being a good friend to Bryn or a good sister to you.

How can I expect to be a good partner for Dom? ”

My heart twisted painfully. “Octavia, that’s not true. Dom doesn’t think that about you, and neither do I or Bryn. You’re an amazing person, and anyone with eyes can see that.”

She shifted on her branch. “I don’t see that in myself. Not anymore. I don’t think I would be good for Dom as I am now. He needs a woman who can stand at his side, not someone who can barely convince herself to go to the commons.”

“But what about what you need, Tav?” I asked. “Don’t you deserve a man who will stand by you even when you’re at your lowest? Do you genuinely believe Dom would reject you if you let him in?”

Tavi picked at the bark. “No…I don’t know. I don’t want to think that, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to find out what he thinks about me. I’m satisfied just being friends with him right now.”

I nodded. “I’m not trying to push you into a relationship before you’re ready. But you need to know that none of us—not Bryn, me, Dom, or Violet—would ever abandon you. We’re all here for you as much as you want and need us to be. Because you’re worth it.”

She sniffled. “Thanks, Night. You’re such a strong figure in my life, and I’ve always looked up to you. I think I needed to hear you say that.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to say it. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable or crowd your space or—”

“No, no, I get it.” She wiped her eyes and smiled down at me. “You’re a good big brother, Night. I hope you know that even when I’m feeling at my lowest, I’m glad I have you and the others in my life.”

I grinned. “I couldn’t imagine a better little sister.”

She snorted, sniffled again, then moved to a branch closer to me. “So, what were you doing in the library?”

“I’m looking for books on old wolf legends and magic,” I said.

“Oh, is this about the portal stuff?”

“Yeah. According to the Kings’ elders, there are stories about shadow monsters. Those legends might be why the kids went into the woods.”

“Sounds like you’re after books about our mythologies. Need my help?”

I was taken aback by her offer. “I can’t ask you to look into that. You were just talking about looking for a book that would help you relax.”

She waved my words away. “Yeah, but I was going to look into the fantasy section next, anyway.” She shrugged.

“Might as well help you out. And besides, looking through books about myth and legends will be a hell of a lot more interesting than looking through old invoices for that elusive account number.”

“I guess that’s fair.” I chuckled. “I’ll leave it to you, then.”

We didn’t hug or kiss each other on the cheek, but I felt closer to Tavi than I had in weeks. It was a relief to reconnect with her like this, and I was glad we’d had the chance to talk again.

Iarrived at the training grounds to find Dom already there. He was keeping an eye on our men as they did drills. Some Kings had decided to join them, which was nice to see. Off to the side, Xavier and Lance were each doing their own thing.

I hadn’t seen them train for a while. Seeing them now reminded me how stiff the competition would be if I faced off against either of them. But I was preparing for that scenario, and I’d improved a lot as a fighter because of my regimen. I intended to win, and it didn’t matter who got in my way.

I went to stand next to Dom, bumping him with my shoulder. “How are you doing?”

“Can’t you tell?” He gave me a half-smile. There were bags under his eyes, and he looked paler than usual. “My brain hasn’t been able to work through it all yet. I’m still shocked. Part of me feels like I imagined everything you and Bryn told me, even though I know it’s real.”

“It is real,” I said, knowing he needed someone else to confirm it for him. “I’m sorry you had a rough morning.”

“I just can’t stop thinking about it. How’s Bryn doing?”

“She’s doing a lot better. I feel like an idiot, though. She told me over and over again that she wanted to find out more about her mother so she could learn more about herself, but I didn’t want her to do the ritual.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know, Dom. Everything in me told me it was dangerous to let her do it.

It was like I was letting her walk off the edge of a cliff.

But now that it’s all over and she and I have talked, I have to acknowledge that my instincts were totally off.

Bryn was fine at the end of the ritual, and it’s helped us connect on a level we couldn’t reach before. ”

“That’s great to hear, Night. It was a long time coming.”

I scoffed and nudged him. “Yeah, yeah…there is still one thing about it that worries me, though.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Blossom said Bryn and I had a destiny we needed to fulfill, but neither of us has any idea what it might be.”

“I guess that’s something you won’t know until it’s staring you in the face, you know? But in the end, it doesn’t matter. Between you and me and everyone else who cares about us, Bryn is protected and supported. We’re not going to let anything happen to her or the baby.”

There was resolve in his voice as he spoke.

He hadn’t sounded that fired up in a while.

Dom was already protective of Bryn, but now that he knew they were blood, his drive to keep her safe must have increased.

I couldn’t be happier about that. He was a powerful wolf, and I knew if something happened to me, he would keep Bryn and our pup safe and loved.

I had no intention of dying anytime soon, but my beta made me feel more secure.

Dom and I watched the training a while longer, and my gaze wandered to Xavier and Lance again.

“Any new intel on those two?” I asked.

“I’ve got something on Xavier. He has a bad right knee. If you watch him long enough, you’ll see he eventually favors his left leg and overcompensates for it.”

I took a look at Xavier’s leg. Dom was right; he always stepped with his left leg first and protected his right leg slightly more while he sparred.

“That’s really good intel,” I said. “What about Lance?”

“I haven’t been able to dig up anything about him, and it’s frustrating the hell out of me.”

“Well, we’ve still got time. We should be able to figure something out about him.”

“That’s true, but it’s bizarre that nobody knows anything about him. He could be a spy for Troy, but nobody is talking. It puts me on edge.”

I agreed with him. I was sure there were spies within the Kings that we hadn’t had time to weed out, and there was a real possibility that Lance was one of them.

“Night, Dom.”

Bryn’s voice pulled my and Dom’s attention. She was striding toward us with a flat, unreadable expression on her face. Tavi was at her side, but she just shrugged when I shot her a questioning look. Bryn must not have filled her in, either.

“Night said you’re not feeling so sick today,” Dom said to Bryn when she and Tavi neared us. “Still true?”

“Yeah, I’m feeling great physically, but emotionally…” She trailed off and frowned in annoyance. “We’ve got a problem.”

“What’s wrong?”

She glanced over my shoulder at the training grounds. I glanced behind me and saw Lance looking at us—specifically at Bryn. There wasn’t anything threatening about his look, but I didn’t like it.

I returned my gaze to Bryn. She and Tavi looked just as wary of Lance as I was.

I took Bryn’s hand and led her a few steps to the side, Tavi following. I blocked Bryn from Lance’s view, and Dom, catching on to what we were doing, stood close to my shoulder, ensuring Lance would see no part of her.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” I said.

“The council found out I’m pregnant,” she said. “They’re using it as an excuse to move the alpha challenge up and replace me.”

“They’re what?”

She sighed, then went into more detail about what had happened.

As she spoke, she became more agitated, her hands moving faster and faster with every word.

I was right there with her. The council had no reason to vote her out just because she hadn’t told them about the baby.

They had never had a female alpha, so there was no precedent for their decision.

Tavi was so angry, she growled. “Those bastards. And to do that to you without me by your side? Fucking cowards.”

“True,” Dom agreed. “And they’ve moved the alpha challenge to five days from now, which means we have half as much time as we thought.” He looked at me. “If one wolf ends up fighting each challenger after another, that could be bad for you, Night.”

“I can handle it,” I said immediately.

He rolled his eyes. “It’s not about whether you can handle it; it’s whether you’ll make it through in one piece. Knowing how vicious Kings can be, I’m concerned they’ll put you first.”

But Bryn shook her head. “That’s not how it works. They would have to nominate Night, and they won’t do that. Xavier is their nominee.”

“Oh.” Well, that changed things. “I think that setup works in our favor. It sounds like I should nominate myself last and let the Kings kill each other.” That would take care of either Lance or Xavier, and I would just have to fight the winner.

But Dom still looked doubtful. “I don’t think that’s the best play here. If you wait until the end, it’ll be obvious what you’re doing. Logically, your plan works fine, but you’ll come off as a coward if you’re waiting for your opponent to tire out.”

I sighed. He had a point, but considering how often the Kings had cheated us, it was hard not to want to do it, anyway.

“You could try to go sometime in the middle,” Bryn suggested.

“That’s an idea.” Tavi seemed calmer now. “Who knows? There might only be a handful of wolves who nominate themselves.”

Bryn nodded. “And if that’s the case, you might only fight five wolves. It shouldn’t be hard for you to win, Night.”

I grinned at my mate. Her confidence in me was a massive ego boost, and I was tempted to pull her away for some fun…but now wasn’t the time.

“Don’t look at me like that, Night Shepherd,” she said, a pink tinge creeping into her cheeks. “I’m still worried about you. I’ll have to watch every second of these fights, and I want you to be careful.”

I couldn’t resist pulling her against me and kissing her cheek. “I will be, love. I promise.”

“Don’t worry, Bryn,” Dom added. “He’s got too much riding on this challenge to do badly, and this time around, he won’t have to worry about Troy hamstringing him with hostages.”

It was true. I was five days away from everything I’d spent my life working toward.

Soon, we could start building our ideal pack and bring peace.

I could deal with the extraneous things, like the Wargs’ council and Troy, once I had everything in my hands.

I was too close to let things slip through my fingers again.