Page 173 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

NIGHT

Dom and I watched the builders finish painting the latest cabin they’d constructed near the southwest corner of Kings territory.

Among them were Steven and Aiden, two wolves we’d met months ago when we started the rebuilding project.

They worked alongside Wargs, joking and laughing as they put the finishing touches on the home.

“I hadn’t expected that craftsmen and builders would be the quickest to be accepted by the Kings,” Dom said. “But they’ve fit in quickly.”

I nodded. “It was good to show our people how the Redwolfs mistreated their builders. The Wargs had no idea that the Kings were suffering, too.”

“They don’t seem to be suffering.”

Dom and I turned to see Graham standing nearby. With the chatter around us, neither of us had noticed him approach. He crossed his arms over his barrel chest.

“All I see when I walk around Kings’ territory is beautiful homes—homes that are much newer than what we have back home.” He looked pointedly at me. “Makes a man wonder if you still have the Wargs’ best interest in mind.”

I glared at him. He’d spoken loud enough that the chatter died down. Both the Kings and Wargs builders were listening now. It was clear to me that he was trying to do what Jasmine had tried yesterday: breed discord and mistrust.

“You’re short-sighted, Graham,” I said. “If that’s all you can see, then you must have no compassion.”

“I have plenty of compassion, Alpha. I just think the people in our homeland would benefit from a fresh coat of paint.”

“Hey,” Dom spoke to me through our bond. “Before you rip into him, think.”

I looked at my beta.

“Graham’s not totally wrong, is he? We didn’t have much of a budget to do more than repair old cabins, and it’s been a couple of months since we went home. A lot of folks might feel resentful about that.”

I didn’t want to admit that Graham was right, but Dom’s input gave me no choice. I had done a bit of construction the last time I was on Wargs’ land, but it wasn’t anything to the scale we’d done here. It wouldn’t do any good to argue with Graham. Maybe I could try a different strategy.

“You’re right,” I said out loud, turning again to Graham.

He raised an eyebrow. “Am I.” It wasn’t a question.

“Absolutely. With this last cabin, we’ve helped the Kings recover from the damage that Troy and the ferals did here. Any further building here will be for new families or Wargs wanting to move here. But it’s not as much of a priority.”

“I see.” Graham’s crossed arms loosened a bit. “And what does that mean for our people?”

“We’ll be able to shift our focus to them, of course.

We can start updating the older buildings and, more importantly, expand the marketplace there to match the Kings’ commons.

” I smiled as I made eye contact with the builders.

“I’ll start sending Kings to Wargs’ territory to help get things underway.

I imagine with all the experience we’ve given them on this project, it’ll take less time to get these things done. ”

The smiles from the Wargs encouraged me.

They were undoubtedly eager to transform our territory to the same glory that the Kings had enjoyed simply because of their proximity to valuable resources.

They would spread the word about this decision to others, and I imagined their excitement would buzz through the pack.

And I was pleased to see excitement flash in Aiden and Steven’s eyes.

They, like many Kings wolves, were young, unmated, and ready to see new places, experience new things.

The more I thought about it, the better it sounded.

There were plenty of unmated Warg women who would like to meet new men as well.

It would actually help a lot to show these men what they’d been missing here.

“I don’t think Wargs want to live in a place that’s an exact copy of the Kings,” Graham argued. “They want something that’s their own.”

“Of course we do.” I emphasized “we” to convey that being alpha of the Kings didn’t mean I’d abandoned my heritage.

I was a Warg through and through, and I always would be.

“Warg builders will take point on the project. Their designs and aesthetics will put our culture front and center. Our marketplace and new buildings will be just as functional and vibrant as the ones here, but it will scream Warg.”

Graham hesitated, reaching for something to poke holes in my plans. “Aren’t you worried that some Kings might feel threatened by us making so many improvements?”

“They can take that up with me or send in a complaint if they want. But anyone who thinks that way should remember that Kings and Wargs are one pack now. We should want every aspect of our homes to show strength and pride and unity. We can’t do that if we neglect one side for the other, can we?”

Graham hesitated. He didn’t seem as bloodthirsty as other Warg council members. If anything, he just wanted to make sure the Wargs got their fair share. It wasn’t too late for us to get back on the same page if we worked together.

“I owe you an apology, Graham,” I said gently.

He blinked at me. “What?”

“From the moment Bryn became alpha of the Kings, it’s been a balancing act for us.

We never wanted to ignore the Wargs, but while we tried to get Kings to warm up to a merger, the Wargs had to wait.

As alpha, I’m still getting the hang of things, but I hate that I’ve given the impression that I don’t care about my home.

I plan on correcting that as soon as possible. ”

“Right.” Uncrossing his arms, he looked down. “That is helpful to hear, but I won’t put my stock in your words until I see some action to back them up.”

I nodded. “Of course.”

“Well…I’ll continue my walk. We can talk more about your plans soon.”

Again, I nodded, and Graham walked away.

When I turned my attention to Dom, I found him grinning at me. “Look at you, being all diplomatic.”

I scoffed and pushed his shoulder. “Fuck off.”

“No, really. Who would’ve thought you’d get a member of our council to shut up?” He chuckled. “So, what’s next for you?”

“I should probably talk to Lance. Know where he’d be?”

“I spoke to Lance earlier,” Aiden said as he walked toward us. There was a smear of marigold paint on his cheek. “He said he’d be on the training grounds for most of the day.”

I looked at Dom, who nodded. “That’s where I was going to say you should head to.”

“I see. Thanks, Aiden.”

“No problem, Alpha Night.” He hesitated, his cheeks turning pink. “By the way, I’d like to volunteer to be one of the men you send to Wargs’ territory.”

“Yeah?” I pretended to be surprised. “You want to help us out?”

He nodded. “I’m not a hunter; I’ve never been anywhere outside of Kings’ territory. I…I’m eager to see what your homeland is like.”

“Me too,” Steven called.

Soon, there was a chorus of men offering up their services. I didn’t hide my grin as I looked at them. The only thing that would make the moment better was if Graham had stuck around to hear it, but I’d tell him and the rest of the council that we had plenty of eager volunteers.

“Night, you get going,” Dom said. “I’ll put together a list of those who want to help out. Lance won’t be training forever.”

“Great.” I inclined my head in thanks to my beta and the builders for their enthusiasm, then headed to the training grounds.

I expected to see Lance training with the other men, but that wasn’t what I found. He was talking to Vince. From the way he was gesturing, he was telling Vince how to improve his form, which Vince always struggled with.

I felt a twinge of something just behind my sternum.

It wasn’t quite jealousy, more like resentment—a sense that Lance was overstepping by doing this with one of my men.

It was illogical and stupid, but the feeling struck me so quickly, I couldn’t stop it.

I tried to stuff that emotion down and smother it before I reached them, but when Lance looked at me, another pang shot through me.

“Hey,” I said as nonchalantly as possible. “Hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Not at all, Alpha,” Vince replied. “Did you need me for something?”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to Lance.”

Both men stared at me, Lance with eyebrows raised toward his hairline and Vince with a slight, knowing smile. “Got it. I’ll find something else to do while you talk.”

“If you’ve got time, there’s still paperwork that needs to be sorted.”

Vince’s smile waned a bit. “Oh. Right. I’ll get on that. Thanks for the assistance, Lance.”

“Anytime.”

Vince went off in the direction of the alpha cabin, leaving Lance and me alone.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Lance asked.

“Since we’re on training grounds, why don’t we spar and talk?”

Again, Lance raised his eyebrows. I could almost see the gears turning in his mind as he considered my offer. “Yeah,” he said slowly. “Why not?”

We dropped into fighting stances, our fists up.

“So, you’re sending that poor guy to look through paperwork?” Lance asked. “You talking about the papers the Redwolfs were hoarding in their office?”

I jabbed at his shoulder, but he blocked. “You know about it?”

“Course I do.” He ducked another jab. “But you’re not going to find anything interesting.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“You have to ask?” He kicked at my right leg. I stepped out of the way.

“So you’ve looked through them then. You must have been pretty high up in the Redwolfs’ ranks if they let you see those documents.”

His eyebrow twitched, and the following punch he aimed at my jaw was sharper than needed in a sparring session.

“What are you getting at, Night?”

I noticed he’d left off the alpha honorific.

It bothered the hell out of me, but at the same time, I wondered if Lance was just trying to get a rise out of me.

If so, it wouldn’t work. I had a goal, and I wouldn’t let him convince me to change the subject.

The kick I aimed at his upper body was also sharper than necessary. Of course, he blocked it.