Page 163 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

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Tavi squeezed my trembling hand. In front of us, hopeful young wolves were gathered to fight for the right to be called alpha of the Kings.

Among them, of course, was Night, my soulmate.

Xavier, a man who had been little more than a bullying menace his entire life, was the Kings Council’s pick.

Xavier would fight opponent after opponent until he either won or was beaten. Unfortunately, he was in top form.

Xavier was a good fifteen years older than most of the other competitors and wasted no time humiliating and viciously killing the first few men who stepped into the ring.

It was difficult to watch. I was sure I would have nightmares about the final sounds those poor wolves made for many nights to come.

I didn’t care if they directly opposed me and Night—no one deserved to be put down like that.

An icy chill ran down the back of my neck and spine when Xavier turned to my mate, pointing at him to come forward. My heart thundered as my mate stepped forward. I tightened my grip on Tavi’s hand. Night, to his credit, didn’t seem at all afraid or intimidated.

Xavier was tall, bulky, and cruel. His battles with previous opponents had ended quickly but viciously.

Blow after brutal blow, three men had fallen under his assaults.

Though I had confidence in Night’s ability, I didn’t want him—or anyone—anywhere near Xavier.

Not when his lust for blood was so apparent.

The crowd roared for Night’s blood, calling for Xavier to kill him quickly. It made my skin crawl to hear, but when I saw the smirk on my mate’s face, my shoulders started to relax. Night knew what he was doing. I needed to believe in him just as much as he seemed to believe in himself.

He and Xavier circled each other like boxers, trading punches, but as the seconds passed by, Xavier got bolder.

He threw a punch at my mate, but in the next second, he was bent over Night’s knee, coughing.

My mate had moved so quickly, I wasn’t sure how exactly he had gotten the upper hand. But I was relieved for it.

Xavier yelled in frustration, then ripped his clothes to shit.

Night followed suit. They wrestled, snapping and growling at each other.

Hundreds of wolves pressed in closer, all of us standing in a circle around the training grounds to create a ring.

I, Tavi, Dom, and the Kings elders and council stood on an elevated platform, overlooking the battle.

I held my breath, my heart continuing to hammer behind my ribcage.

Just seconds after they turned into wolves, Night shifted things in his favor again.

He got his sharp teeth around Xavier’s throat, and with one powerful snap of his jaws, the bones shattered.

Xavier’s body went limp, and Night dropped him to the ground.

He threw his head back and howled long and loud, his voice echoing out with beautiful, haunting clarity.

I felt an answering rumble within me, my own wolf reacting to the call of our mate.

The crowd around us fell quiet as Night looked at the remaining wolves—his would-be opponents—and lowered his head, baring teeth still stained red with Xavier’s blood. I didn’t need to be a shifter to catch his meaning: Anyone else want a piece of this?

The other alpha-hopefuls shook their heads and backed away. My jaw dropped, and I glanced at Tavi to confirm that this meant what I hoped it did. Her grin was more than enough answer for me.

Night won! He was the alpha!

He shifted back into his human form, his sculpted face glowing in the orange haze of the setting sun.

His emerald eyes blazed, and his hard, taut body shone with a sheen of sweat.

I lowered my hand from my stomach—I hadn’t even realized I had been holding it through the battle—and raised my voice.

“Kings Pack, witness your new alpha: Night Shepherd!”

The Wargs in attendance broke out into whoops and cheers.

They swarmed the battlefield, eager to congratulate their alpha.

The Kings’ reactions were more mixed. Some were relieved that Night had won, some upset that a Warg would now be their alpha.

The council, too, was divided. Dana and Edward were scowling, while Colby, Ross, and Grant seemed unsurprised.

I tried not to let the mixed reactions bother me too much.

We would address their issues and hang-ups as they came up.

For now, I just wanted to be with my mate.

I rushed down to the arena with everyone else as Dom handed Night a pair of pants. Night had just pulled them on when I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. His skin was hot under my touch. I covered his face with kisses as other Wargs pressed around us, eager to share in the joy.

“I love you so much, Night,” I said into his ear. “I’m so proud of you.”

His arms tightened around my waist, and he kissed me deeply. It wasn’t until this moment that it all felt real, and everything came into focus. From this point forward, he and I would work hard to make the Wargs and Kings better for the wolves who depended on us. For our baby.

As we separated, we hugged my mom, Violet, Tavi, and Dom. Vince, Jasper, Redford, and other wolves drew close. Laughter bubbled up from us as we all felt some combination of relief and excitement that things had gone so well, that we could start to face the future head-on.

“Attention!” That was the voice of Elder Queene, whose long, thick salt-and-pepper hair was pulled away from his face in a low ponytail.

His voice called the crowd to order. We turned to him and the other two elders—Forsythe, who stood silent and unaffected as ever, and Sage, who was stroking his long, silver beard.

“With this, the alpha title has shifted from Bryn Hunter to Night Shepherd,” Elder Queene said. “In accordance with pack law, this change will be made official at sunset tomorrow. That is all.”

I hugged Night again, tears of relief welling up in my eyes. Shortly after the elder’s announcement, beer and soda appeared, and the smell of fire and burning charcoal filled the air.

The party mobilized around us, filling the training grounds. Musicians took spots on the platform so that their music would be heard over the raucous laughter and conversations. Night and I were at the center, our closest friends and family at our side.

As the festivities started in earnest, the elders and a little over half of the Kings decided to head to their homes.

Most of those who were leaving were older, but there were also some young ones who would otherwise have jumped at the opportunity to let loose.

Those were the ones who had screamed the loudest for Night’s death.

Either shame or anger over Night’s win drove them to turn in early.

The Kings who stayed to enjoy the festivities with the Wargs were those Night and I had interacted with: parents, fighters, organizers, and the like. People who liked us. Smiling, they shook Night’s hand and gave me hugs, all under the watchful eye of Night’s best men.

“It’ll be exciting to see what happens next,” said Aiden, one of the men who worked on the construction of the new cabins. “It’s high time that we had someone trustworthy at the helm.”

A woman named Barbara wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging me and Night tightly in turn.

“We lost our cabin when Troy and those ferals attacked us,” she said.

“We thought we would have to stay with family and friends for months, but you were so quick and efficient with the reconstruction that we had a place to call our own in just a couple of weeks. Thank you for doing what the Redwolfs never could.”

I beamed at her as she thanked us again before walking back to her mate and son.

Many of the people who had stayed to speak to us had benefited directly from the reconstruction project.

It was nice to hear their confidence in us, and it went a long way to prove that we were on the right track to get the rest of the Kings to warm to us.

Claire, one of the young mothers I’d spoken to, came up to us, holding two wine coolers. “Consider these a token of my relief for your win,” she said, “I wish you both nothing but the best.”

As Night took both coolers from her, I said, “Thanks, but only one of us will be able to drink that.”

She seemed confused at first. “But I thought I saw you drinking this at your claiming ceremony…oh!” Her eyes brightened. “Bryn, no way! Are you…?”

I nodded, touching my stomach.

She gasped, and those closest to us who’d overheard began to cheer. Night and I laughed as word of my pregnancy carried through the crowd. There had been rumors of it, so this was, if anything, just confirmation for many of those folks. But it felt official now.

“Congrats, you two,” Tanya said, smiling widely. She clasped my hand in both of hers. “It feels like we’re standing at the start of something new.”

Tara nodded enthusiastically. “It’s amazing how quickly things have been getting done since you two took charge of things. And now with the baby, things feel even more hopeful.”

“Thanks, Tara, Tanya.” I grinned at them.

Next in line was Tyrell. He had been in charge of the reconstruction project but had stepped down shortly after Tavi and I spoke to him about getting it underway.

The responsibility had proven too much for him and his family, but he was still involved in the process, just not at the helm.

“There is a slew of people who would love to personally thank you both for how efficiently you’ve been taking care of things. ”

It was clear I wasn’t the only one thinking about what all this meant, because Dom leaned in to speak to us when there was a lull in the influx of thankful Kings.

“Not a bad way to take the temperature of how they feel about us and the changes we’ve made,” he said with a smile.