Page 172 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

brYN

The next day, I helped my mom with her little herb garden. She was one of the few women in the pack who grew her herbs in the window; most other folks went to the commons to buy them dried. We were harvesting the dead plants for their seeds and planting new herbs.

Today, the pack would be finishing up jarring or drying any vegetation yields we didn’t use, and the farming equipment would be checked and cleaned before being stored away to survive the frost. I wouldn’t have much opportunity to get my hands in the soil once the ground was frozen and my pregnancy progressed.

In another hour or so, I’d be meeting with the elders, but for now, I enjoyed spending this time with my mom and getting my hands dirty after such a long time.

“I’m excited to get these chives planted,” Mom said. She had cleared off her little dining table and laid some papers on it to prevent a mess while we mixed fertilizer and nutrients into the soil.

“I know. You cook with them, and a lot,” I replied.

“That’s why I’m so excited! Violet brought them for me from her garden.”

“I thought they smelled a little different from the ones near here,” I said with a grin. “But I didn’t know she was back from Wargs’ land.”

“She came by last night to give them to me, but she and her beau are probably recovering from the trip in their cabin. She seemed exhausted.”

“Makes sense.” Violet had recovered from the alpha wound Troy had given her, but she still couldn’t shift and run around like she would otherwise be able to. “I’m glad you and Violet have become such close friends.”

“So am I. You remember how awful things were before. No one would spend time with us because Gregor forbade it.”

I nodded. The first twenty-one years of my life had been hell because of that, and yet so many things had changed that I hardly thought about it anymore.

“Now, I have my old friends back, plus some new ones. You know Mabel, don’t you?”

I grinned. “Oh, yes. When Night took me to the Wargs Pack, she helped me get a position in the kitchen. I met a lot of Wargs when I cleaned and cooked.”

Mom’s eyes brightened. Her hair was tied back in its usual long braid, but she’d wound it around so it sat in a cute bun at the top of her head.

It made her look like a ballerina. “Oh, she didn’t mention that.

Sometimes I look at you, Bryn, and I think you’re a completely different person from the person I raised.

You’re so determined to see things through no matter what gets in your way, and you don’t back down when the pack gives you trouble.

But you’re still so sweet, so kind. It’s nice to know I still have my little girl. ”

“Aw, Mom.” I felt myself tearing up. “You can’t say things like that. You know my hormones make me all emotional.” I sniffled and touched her hand. “I’m still your daughter, no matter what.”

“I know you are, baby. I know.” She grinned at me, her eyes watery with tears. “But since you brought up hormones, I want a baby update! How are you and the little one?”

“We’re doing good. My morning sickness is all but gone, and I’m starting to feel a lot stronger.”

“Just in time to get too big to see your feet.”

I laughed with her. “Yeah, yeah. Night and I are shocked that my baby bump is so huge now. It really snuck up on me.” I had the impulse to touch my stomach but stopped myself before I smeared soil over my shirt.

“I’ve heard it can be like that.” She nodded. “What about your appointments? You haven’t mentioned them in a while.”

“My last appointment with Dr. Stan was a month ago. I’m probably overdue for another one, but things have been so hectic lately, I’ll have to make time for one.”

“Aren’t times always hectic?”

I snorted. “Ha, true. Now that the pregnancy has gotten easier, I can’t wait for the little one to get here.

Both packs are making so much progress toward accepting this merger, it feels like we’ve created a safe place for our baby.

I just hope that by the time I give birth, things have calmed down completely. ”

“What do you mean?”

“Some of the kids aren’t getting along well. I think they’re acting out because they sense the tension in their parents. There have been fights, which put the parents even more on edge.” I sighed. “And to be honest, it stresses me out. I hate hearing that they’ve been mistreating each other.”

“I imagine it reminds you of the environment you grew up in.”

It hadn’t occurred to me that hearing about the kids fighting would remind me of being bullied, but my mother was right. “Yes,” I said. “I don’t want my child to have a hard time growing up. I’m sure having parents who are the alpha and den mother will help, but I just don’t know.”

“Oh, sweetheart. It makes sense that you would be concerned about these things. There will be times when your pup acts in ways you don’t expect, and it’s possible that behavior might be negative or disappoint you. There’s no such thing as a perfectly behaved child.”

Her words irked me, making me feel scolded.

I shook my head. “I’m not talking about sneaking candy before dinner.

I’m worried about my baby absorbing the prejudices of the adults in the pack.

What if it makes them become a loner like I was, or…

or…what if they become a bully?” I shuddered at the thought.

Mom reached over and squeezed my hand. “Honey, don’t let these thoughts spiral out of control.

Your little one isn’t even born, and even if they were, they wouldn’t start school for a few years.

It makes sense for you to worry about all this, but you have to remember that you are not powerless.

If there are problems, the teachers will let you know, and then you, Night, and your child will work on that behavior. ”

“Oh.” Her words sunk in further as the seconds ticked by. “I…I guess that’s true.”

She nodded. “Bryn, raising a child will present its own set of issues. And some of those issues will be unpredictable. But you and Night will overcome them, just like you’ve overcome other obstacles.”

I squeezed her hand. “Thanks, Mom. I needed to hear that.” I paused. “Sorry I snapped at you.”

“It’s okay, honey. I didn’t take offense.”

We scooped the fresh soil into planters, then my mother spoke again. “Have you and Night started getting baby necessities yet? I bet your cabin is overrun with things for the baby.”

“Um…” I hesitated. “Not yet.”

“What?” Mom burst out. “But you only have two, maybe three months left! What’s holding you up?”

“You sound like Night,” I groaned. “We still have some time. Besides, we still need to move into our new cabin, and I don’t want piles of baby stuff collecting dust in one of the huge rooms in the alpha cabin.”

“Honey.” Her tone was gently reproachful, making me duck my head. “Violet and I will take the lead on getting prep stuff done. If you’re worried about keeping your baby’s things in that place, we can store most of them. We’ll take care of getting everything you need while you focus on your work.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. Something in her tone told me she and Violet had already started. “I guess I can talk to Night about it—”

“Wonderful!” she cut me off with a beaming smile. “Don’t worry about anything, honey. Violet and I have got this covered.”

“Right…” I’d have to accept that it was out of my hands for now, but I hoped they weren’t planning on filling every space in our home with baby things.

When we were done planting the new herbs, I left my mother to clean up. We’d talked so much that I hadn’t noticed how much time had passed. If I stayed to help clean up, I’d be late for my meeting with the elders.

Months ago, I’d done a memory walk ritual to learn more about my birth mother, Blossom. Now, I was finally going to hear what the elders had found out. I knocked on the door of the white cabin, and Elder Sage answered the door.

“You’re late,” he pointed out.

“Am I?” I raised a brow. “I think I’m right on time.”

He turned away from me, quiet disapproval evident in his stiff shoulders. I didn’t take it personally. Elder Sage tended to be pretty blunt, but he cared about his pack.

The inside was also a clean, sterile white, but not in the same way that infirmaries were white; it was more the color of abalone shells or pearls. It had a purity that infirmaries didn’t have, and it made me feel calm.

“Take a seat, Den Mother Bryn,” Elder Patrice Woods said. Her cotton-white hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. “We have some things to discuss.”

“Sure.” I glanced around the room as I sat down on the white couch. “Where are Elders Forsythe and Queene?”

“That’s part of what we’ll be talking about,” Elder Woods said.

“We elders have decided to work together to tackle these symbols. To do that, we’re doing a kind of exchange.

Half of us are doing research here, and the other half are in Wargs’ territory.

Elder Thread is here with me.” She gestured behind me, where Elder Neil Thread had just entered from a side door.

He inclined his head, which showed the old, brown scar that tore through the center of his head. It looked like a scar from an axe wound. He had once been a fighter in the Wargs Pack, but I didn’t know how he’d been wounded.

“Oh,” I said. “When did you all decide this?”

“Last night,” Elder Woods replied. “Elders Forsythe and Queene are already on Wargs’ territory with Elder Westley.”

“I think your alpha and I would’ve liked to be informed about this beforehand, just so we don’t have to play catch-up,” I said reproachfully. “But I’m glad you’re working together. Your cooperation will help us with this merger.”

They nodded. “Apologies, Bryn. We’ll do a better job of informing you ahead of time,” Elder Thread said.

I nodded. Honestly, I wasn’t upset that they were doing this on their own, but I knew Night hated being left in the dark. Really, I was just glad that the elders were so willing to be a team about this, especially because this directly concerned my own history.

“What have you all found out about the symbols?”

“They’re even older than we expected,” Elder Sage said. He placed the drawings I’d made on the coffee table in front of me. “Thankfully, between our libraries, we’re finally piecing information together.”

“We were looking in historical texts for these symbols,” Elder Woods said, “but we found nothing. Eventually, Elder Sage had the idea to look through mythology and folklore, where we found a few depictions of the symbols.”

The elders placed a thick book with gilded pages on the table. Elder Thread opened the book to a bookmarked page that showed an illustration of a cave wall on which some of the symbols had been carved.

“Oh, wow,” I breathed.

“Yes.” Elder Woods nodded. “We’ve found that these symbols are linked to the portals Gregor and Troy were hellbent on finding.”

My eyes shot from the book to her, my heart slamming against my ribcage. “You’re sure about that?”

“Yes. It seems the portals do more than just take the summoner to other dimensions. They give eternal life, provide a gateway to the first shifter race, give access to caves filled with dragon’s gold, or even lead to a fiery place not unlike a human Christian’s version of Hell.

” She paused. “Quite a few legends say the portal will take the summoner to Hell.”

I wasn’t as familiar with human religious texts, but hell and heaven were popular enough motifs mentioned in many of the novels I loved. That the Redwolfs were so desperate and greedy, they would put any stock in myths that could result in them ending up in such a dreadful place intrigued me.

“What’s more,” Elder Thread said, “there are a number of suggestions for rituals that will open the gate. There are some discrepancies about what symbols need to be drawn, the best time of day for the ritual, what things to eat beforehand, whether to fast, or even the age of those doing the summoning. But one thing that is always consistent is that a lot of blood is needed.”

A shiver passed between my shoulder blades. I didn’t want to ask the next question, but I had to. “Blood from where? Or from whom?”

“Young children,” Elder Sage said. “Or a pack mother.”

I touched my belly as another shiver crept over my skin. Not only was I a pack mother, but I was also carrying a child. I satisfied both requirements.

“The symbols in your vision are odd,” Elder Sage went on.

“Some of them are actually amalgamations of several symbols, while others are not that ancient or have been stolen from more benign rituals, like the one we performed with you. It’s almost like someone was trying to create a new mystical language. ”

Elder Woods nodded. “That said, there are a few symbols that remain untouched.” She seemed hesitant to continue.

“What are they?” I asked, my voice soft and raspy.

She sighed, pointing to the book and the pictures I’d drawn. “Those for ‘death,’ ‘blood,’ and ‘open’ are very clear.”

A few moments of silence passed as I digested this information.

“Is there anything else?”

“We’re learning new things every day,” Elder Thread said, “but that’s all we have on the symbols for now.”

“Thank you for keeping me informed. Let me know if you come across any more relevant information.” Feeling numb, I stood and walked to the door. As I thought about what they’d told me, an intense cold settled over me.

I pressed my hands more firmly to my belly, as if I could push my baby into a more protected part of my body.