Page 158 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

brYN

After hugging Dom and kissing Night goodbye, I took the drawings to the elders’ cabin.

It was much shorter to walk in a straight line through the forest than follow the compound’s curving path.

In about half a mile, the trees would give way to the elders’ cabin, and I decided it was worth being out of public sight for a few minutes if it reduced my travel time.

It was shaping up to be a bizarre day, but at least I felt more certain about everything. Night seemed confident that the challenge would work out. I needed to have faith that he knew what he was doing, but I’d never be able to let go of my worry for him.

Was this what it had been like for Night to watch me go through the ritual? If so, I could empathize a lot more with his position.

I let out a sigh. The tote bag hardly weighed anything but seemed to gain ten pounds with each step I took.

When I thought about the drawings, I felt less sure they were legible.

A lot was riding on my ability to draw them accurately.

If things turned out well, I would know even more about what happened to my mother.

I hoped with everything in me that I’d done a good enough job, but I felt so uncertain.

“Wait up, Interim Alpha.”

I stopped walking, turning towards the voice. Lance was leaning against the tree closest to me.

I hopped away from him, immediately on guard. He’d just been at the training grounds, yet he’d somehow managed to catch up to me without me hearing. That should have been impossible.

Lance had never threatened me or said anything that seemed concerning on the surface, but he could be a spy, and Night viewed him as competition. All that told me he was powerful and dangerous.

“You sure it’s okay for you to wander off by yourself?” he asked. “Wouldn’t you be better off with an escort?”

I stared at him. The way he said “escort” made me suspicious. Did he know something about my meeting with the council?

“What are you talking about?” I demanded, thankful that my voice sounded every bit as powerful as I wanted it to.

A wolf ought to present a strong stance in the face of potential opposition, and I didn’t know what this guy wanted from me.

“This is my pack. I can walk wherever I want, whether I’m alone or not. ”

“Ideally, that would be true, but someone in your condition should be guarded at all times, don’t you think?”

“My ‘condition?’”

“You know what I’m talking about.” He glanced at my stomach and back up at me. “You could say I’ve got a sixth sense when it comes to things like this. Not that I needed that extra sense; anyone keeping an eye on you would have figured it out.”

I instinctively stepped back from him, my arms covering my belly protectively. My lips pulled back from my teeth as my wolf growled. Dammit. With that one sentence, he’d put me on the defensive. How did he know about the baby? I had zero clue who he was, yet he seemed to know everything about me.

I continued to glare at him, and Lance took a small step back, which confused me even more. It was almost like he was giving me space, but if he wanted to give me space, why didn’t he just leave me the hell alone?

“You should stick close to your mate,” he said. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that there are people in this pack who hate Night, the Wargs, and everything you represent.”

“And what do I represent? Change?”

“Exactly.”

“And how do I know you’re not one of them?” I demanded. “You must be watching me at all times if you know so much about my personal business.”

He didn’t deny it.

“Why are you keeping tabs on me?”

He gave me a level stare, and I couldn’t tell if he was trying to intimidate me or scold me.

“Because I know that the alpha challenge is only five days away, and once it’s over, no one will listen to you.

Because I know that if there’s one thing these small-minded wolves believe, it’s that women are subservient to men.

And because your being pregnant only makes that belief worse, but I’m sure you already had a taste of that when you spoke to the elders earlier. ”

I had to navigate this conversation with more poise. At the very least, I should try to be civil—for all I knew, I was talking to someone who was in direct contact with Troy. But the day had been too taxing, and I couldn’t keep myself from getting pissed off.

“Do not patronize me,” I said. My voice took on a growl, thanks to my wolf.

She was also sick of whatever game he was playing.

“I am not a child, and I’m not the stupid girl that you, the council, and most of the pack thinks I am.

I’ve been through hell, and I’ve made the best of it.

I’ve made mistakes, and I’ve tried to make up for them.

I’ve reached my lowest point, and I’ve crawled my way back.

You don’t get to tell me what to do and pretend you give a damn about me or the people I care about. ”

Lance took another step back, and for a second, something bright flashed across his eyes, but it was gone before I could read it.

“Have you considered that you might have just gotten lucky?” he asked. “You’re alive today, true, but that doesn’t mean you’ll keep succeeding. You’re making a huge mistake if you think the wolves in this pack won’t turn against you and your mate the minute they have the chance.”

“Night is going to be the next alpha. They won’t have a choice but to listen to him.”

“It’s never that simple, Bryn. And if your mate is telling you that, he’s either lying to you, or he’s an even bigger idiot than he looks.”

My temper spiked again, and my wolf seethed within me. But I caught myself before I exploded again.

“If anyone is lying, it’s you. After all, no one knows anything about you. Someone who’s being truthful wouldn’t need to keep so many secrets.”

He let out a brief chuckle. “You’ll know who I am when it’s time, but until then, you really should listen to my advice. I say it with your safety and the safety of that little wolf in mind.” He turned from me and started walking away.

“Sure you do,” I muttered under my breath, staring after him until the trees swallowed him up.

It was only the second time Lance and I had interacted, but he left me more confused each time.

I shook my head and resumed my trek to the elders’ cabin at a much quicker pace.

I didn’t have time to parse my way through Lance’s possible motives to seek me out and talk to me.

I’d do that later with Night, hopefully in the safety of our cabin.

Until we had the chance to talk, I’d file the conversation away.

For now, I wanted to see my original mission through.

The sight of the elders’ white cabin had never been more welcoming. I knocked on the door, and Elder Queene let me in.

“Hello, Alpha Hunter,” he said.

“Hello, Elder Queene,” I replied. “I thought Elder Woods would be with you?”

“I am still here.” She came in from the side room and gave me a kind smile. “I will be heading back to Warg territory soon enough, but I wanted to be here when we discussed what you saw in your visions.”

“I’m glad you’re still around,” I said, returning her smile.

“I trust you have the sketches?” Elder Queene asked me.

“I do, yes.” I took off my tote and pulled out the drawings. I went to the nearest table and set them up the way I wanted. As Elders Forsythe and Sage entered the foyer, I explained which wall each paper represented. The three bent over the papers, poring over the drawings with obvious fascination.

“Oh, and I don’t know if this helps, or if it means anything,” I said as I finished my explanation, “but when I was in the room with my mother, I felt…different.”

“Could you clarify what you mean?” Elder Forsythe asked at the same time Elder Woods asked, “Different how?”

“Well, in the other memories, I could see them clearly as long as I stayed calm,” I said.

“But when I was in that room, I felt weaker, and my vision had this weird, foggy quality. It was like I was looking through a curtain of mist. I wrote it off as a side effect of my mother going into labor, but it’s occurred to me that it might have been because of these symbols.

I think they might have affected my mother somehow. ”

“Fascinating,” Elder Woods said.

“I suppose that could be possible,” Elder Queene said. “There are oral histories that talk about the existence of symbols that can block magic, but those accounts are so old, it’s difficult to verify their truth.”

“It’s also possible,” Elder Sage added, “that the symbols were used to keep your mother from shifting. It’s obvious that the symbols had some sort of magical effect. The real challenge will be trying to understand what effect it was.”

“It made me feel awful,” I said. “I don’t think these symbols were meant to calm her down or keep her happy. I’m pretty sure they were meant to harm her.”

“Given the situation you described in your vision, I understand your interpretation. However, we need to come at this reasonably. The symbols themselves might have a positive meaning—for example, to strengthen the bond between mates or friends or to calm someone. It’s possible that this combination of symbols was meant to disorient her, not outright harm her.

Until we’ve had some time to analyze them, it’s far too early to discern their purpose. ”

I’d known before coming that I probably wouldn’t get answers today, but it was disappointing all the same. The elders were almost as in the dark about the symbols’ purpose as I was. Apparently, they weren’t even sure if the individual symbols were meant to do something positive or negative.

I was pretty damn sure that they had hurt Blossom.

The room itself had felt wrong. I couldn’t see how it could strengthen a bond when it didn’t make me feel anywhere near as nice as when I was with Night or someone I cared about.

And if that was the effect those symbols had on me, I imagine Blossom had felt much worse.

Who knew how long she had been cooped up in that awful room?

Furthering my theory that the symbols were meant to harm was how Blossom had been tied to the bed and held against her will in King territory. This, to me, was more than enough evidence to show that she had wanted to be as far away from that room as possible.

But I kept those thoughts to myself. I knew absolutely nothing about these writings, and my interpretation of the situation wouldn’t be as accurate as what the elders would find in their research. I just had to wait and see what they were able to find.

“Thank you for helping me,” I said. “It means a lot that you all are helping me find answers.”

“Your thanks are unnecessary,” Elder Queene told me, his eyes riveted to the pages. “We are very curious to find the answers to this mystery ourselves. If anything, we should be thanking you for giving us the opportunity to further our knowledge.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what to say to that. I appreciated the honesty, but I didn’t know whether I should thank him again or tell him, “You’re welcome.”

“I guess I’ll head out now,” I told them. “I want to get back home.”

“Make sure you’re careful, Alpha,” Elder Sage said as I picked up the empty tote.

“Until we know where that room is located and what these symbols mean, it would be best for you to stick to populated areas of the compound or walk with someone you trust—just as a precaution. You are a descendant of pack mothers, and it’s imperative that you stay alive and healthy. ”

I hesitated, unease curling in my stomach. The warning was eerily similar to what Lance had told me. It was like he was two steps ahead of me. What did he know that I didn’t?

“I’ll be careful,” I promised.

I headed home. This time, I stuck to more populated paths rather than taking my usual shortcuts. I didn’t want to risk coming into contact with Lance—or someone worse—again.

Within five days, things would start to change.

I wasn’t an idiot; I knew most Kings wouldn’t be happy about Night becoming their alpha, but it was too cynical to assume nobody would be on our side.

The Wargs had helped many King families, and that accumulated goodwill had to amount to something.

I had to believe that because otherwise, how would I find the motivation to keep trying as hard as I was?

But I was tired and beyond done. I didn’t intend to look at any work or think too much about the things that stressed me out for the rest of the day.

I needed to make sure that I was keeping myself alert and healthy.

Night would protect me, I knew, but I needed to do my part, too.

I’d focus on growing the life inside me, and then when the baby was born, I could stand at Night’s side to protect the baby and everyone else I held dear.