Page 175 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

brYN

Night arrived home a couple of hours after I did.

His shirt was ruined, and he was covered in dirt, but when I asked him about it, he didn’t seem to want to talk about it.

Instead, he grumbled something about the “training grounds” and disappeared into our bathroom.

Seconds later, I heard him turn on the shower.

That didn’t bode well. After what I’d learned from the elders, I didn’t want my mate to keep me in the dark about anything.

I went to our room with a full laundry basket. “Night,” I called, “when you’re done in there, could you help me fold some laundry?”

He grunted in response, which rubbed me the wrong way.

Why was he acting like this? He’d started being more open about his days, but the way he was acting now reminded me of when we’d first met.

Back then, he’d been rude and cagey—a real asshole, to be honest. I’d thought we’d left that phase of our life behind, dammit.

While he finished up his shower, I yanked sheets from the mattress and replaced them with clean linens that smelled like lavender. The calming scent did nothing to settle my nerves, though.

Eventually, he emerged from the shower in a cloud of steam with a towel wrapped around his waist. No matter how frustrated I was with him, I couldn’t help noticing what a beautiful man he was—hard muscles imprinted with scars from past battles, intricate tattoos that spread from his tanned right shoulder to his wrist. I loved watching his hard muscles shift under his soft skin.

When he dropped the towel, I tore my eyes away from him and focused on the laundry. I would not let his sexiness distract me.

“How was your day?” I asked.

He walked to the dresser to get clothes. “Not very interesting.”

“You don’t want to talk about it?” I asked. “Why? Did something happen?”

He mumbled something noncommittal under his breath.

“All right, I’ll talk about my day first,” I said. “I met with the elders today.”

“Oh, right.” He stood on the other side of the bed and grabbed a few items of clothing to fold. “I forgot that was today. How did it go?”

“It was productive, but from what they told me, this stuff about the portal is even more dangerous than we thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“The portals could be gateways to riches or immortality, but many legends say that they’ll take the summoner to a fiery hellscape. That tells me that Troy and his dad were desperate enough to risk condemning themselves just to achieve their crazy goals.”

“That sounds intense.” He picked off a piece of lint from one of the shirts in his pile.

Was it just me, or was Night not paying full attention to what I was saying? I watched him as I folded a T-shirt.

“They had more information about the symbols I saw in the vision, too,” I went on. “They were able to find some of them in mythological texts, but a lot of what I drew for them were actually combinations of preexisting symbols. Like whoever put them on the walls was trying to make a new language.”

“Uh huh?” He didn’t sound interested.

“But the rituals they need to perform all need blood from children or a pack mother.” I paused. When he didn’t respond, I said, “So, the blood of a pregnant descendant of a pack mother would be exactly what they needed if they wanted to try opening a portal.”

He sighed and looked up at me. “Bryn, you already know I’d never let anything happen to you. I’ll be damned if Troy ever gets within five feet of you or our pup.”

I reached for more laundry. That deadpan tone told me he wasn’t invested or interested in having this conversation. I didn’t doubt that he loved me and wanted to protect me, but it didn’t feel like he was present or cared what I was saying.

“So,” I prompted, “what did you do today?”

He sighed. “Dom and I watched the builders finish painting the last cabin. We can finally put our focus back on building Warg properties, and Graham seemed impressed by that.”

“That’s great news.” I meant it. Anything that involved progress was encouraging. “So, what were you doing on the training grounds?”

He didn’t answer, his eyes glued to the laundry as if it was the most important thing in the room.

“Did you…speak to Lance?” I asked.

“A little bit, yeah.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Not much.”

I dropped the jeans I was folding, my patience hitting its limit. “Night Shepherd. Look at me.”

When he did, I felt like I was scolding a puppy.

“Why can’t you just answer my question?”

He licked his lips and tossed aside the shirt he’d just picked up. “I went to talk to Lance, but it didn’t really go well. I brought up the idea of us being allies, but we ended up fighting instead of talking.”

“So, all this time you were being distant was because you and Lance were too focused on competing to be the biggest, baddest wolf instead of having a conversation?”

My voice was steady as I spoke, but Night must have sensed my irritation because he stiffened.

“I…wouldn’t really put it like that.”

That was too much. I had to laugh because if I didn’t, I would have exploded. “It’s been a long time since I felt this angry at you, Night.”

“Bryn—”

“No. You spent all this time beating around the fucking bush instead of just talking to me, and I’ve had enough.

” I stomped around the bed to get close to him so he could see the emotion on my face.

“I’ve been stressing out about what the elders told me, and all I wanted from you was some comfort, some presence.

Instead, I heard you hem and haw and only half-listen to what I was saying. ”

“I was listening to you, Bryn,” he insisted, but I shook my head.

“No. You were just waiting for me to stop talking so you could keep sulking about how poorly things went with Lance.” I didn’t want to cry. I wanted to be angry and strong, but these damn hormones were something else. Before I finished speaking, tears were pooling in my eyes.

“Bryn.” Night’s voice was softer, soft enough to touch my heart.

“You’re supposed to be my partner, Night,” I told him. “When I ask you something, I want a straight answer. I never, ever want to feel like you’re keeping things from me again. Why do I have to keep reminding you of that?”

Now the tears were flowing freely. I rubbed uselessly at my eyes, but I couldn’t stop them.

“Baby.” Night’s arms went around me, and he pulled me against him. I pressed my damp face to his chest, and he rubbed my back as my shoulders trembled. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“You’re just saying that because I started crying,” I muttered.

I felt his chuckle rumble through his chest, and I pressed closer to him. “No. It’s because you’re right. I lost control earlier today. I was just too ashamed to admit it.”

I sniffled. “You don’t have to be ashamed around me.” I peered up at him, looking deep into his viridian eyes. “I’m going to be here for you no matter what. There’s nothing you could say that would make me stop loving you.”

“You mean that, don’t you?” he asked gently.

“Of course I do.”

He bent to kiss me. I leaned into the kiss, only for him to pull away and drag his shirt over his head. I kissed his collarbone as I slipped my dress down my body. When it pooled around my feet, Night pulled me to his chest and kissed me again. His kisses made me feel wonderfully dizzy.

“I love you,” I told him between kisses. “I love you so much.”

His arms tightened around me, and he held me so close, I felt the quick rhythm of his heartbeat in my body. He stopped kissing me to say, “I love you, too, Bryn. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

Tears stung behind my eyes again as I pressed into him. He had hurt my feelings, but I didn’t want to shed more tears. I wanted to feel him, and I wanted him to feel me. I needed to stop my thoughts from circling around lies, fights, and most importantly, the looming danger of Troy.

“Let’s talk about that later,” I said. “For now, let’s just make love.”

He brushed my hair behind my ear, then lowered his head until our lips were just inches apart. “All right.”

His next kiss breathed fire through my blood, the heat concentrating around my heart and my core.

My mate was such a big, intimidating man, yet his gentleness left me breathless.

The rest of our clothes melted off, and soon I was straddling his lap, my hands on his shoulders.

He gripped my hips to support me, his cock erect between us.

I raised myself, but before I lowered myself onto his length, he peppered my collarbones with kisses.

I shivered at the caress of his soft lips and moaned as he trailed lower to pull one of my nipples into his mouth.

They were so sensitive these days, but his hot tongue was a relief.

Though each lap of his tongue stung just the slightest bit, the feeling was electric, and so very lovely.

My nipple fell from his lips with a slight pop, and he moved on to the other one. I rubbed myself against his erection, and he moaned into my skin, his hands massaging up and down my back.

When he released my other nipple, I reached between us to hold him still while I slowly lowered myself.

I watched his face as I took him in. His head tilted back slightly, pleasure causing his eyes to slip shut.

My heartbeat quickened, and not just from the way his cock filled me with heat.

Seeing him in ecstasy pushed the worst of my worries and stress away.

For now, it was just him and me and pleasure.

His arms tightened around me as I began to move.

In this position, my stomach wasn’t in the way; there wasn’t too much pressure, even when my chest was flush with his.

I brushed his hair out of his face, and his eyes opened again.

Making love had made them shift to the dark, deep green of the forest. I could ride him for hours just to stare into his eyes.

Bliss steadily built as the minutes passed, and my slow rhythm became more insistent. Ecstasy bloomed from my core until every inch of my body was tingling.

He touched his forehead to mine. “Bryn, I’m close,” he whispered.

“Me too.” I held his face there, gyrating my hips in his lap and making him hiss with pleasure. “I want to come with you.”

He made a sound that was somewhere between a chuckle and a moan. “I can make that happen.”

He held me more tightly and then pumped up into me.

The thrust of his hips pushed the tip of his cock up against that oh-so-sensitive spot inside my pussy.

I gasped, my fingers digging into his shoulders.

He knew my body so well, was intimately familiar with every inch of it, and knew exactly how deep to go to push me over the edge.

I tossed my head back as my orgasm coursed through me, my body stiffening. I trembled, and Night held me all the while. He pressed his forehead to my shoulder and spilled hot inside me. He kept pumping until he was spent, until I felt it seep out of my pussy and onto the bed.

I opened my eyes as my muscles slowly relaxed. I kissed the side of his head and rubbed his back in gentle circles. Even when my head was cleared of lust, I loved having him inside me. I’d gotten what I needed: connection, love, comfort. And I hoped he’d gotten those things from me, too.

“Night,” I whispered.

“Yes, love?” he murmured against my shoulder.

“Promise me we’ll always find peace with each other,” I said. “Promise me we’ll never try and shield each other from the truth, even if it’s to protect feelings or because we’re ashamed.”

He pulled back to look me in the eye. “I promise,” he said, brushing his hand across my cheek.

I nuzzled into his hand. “I promise, too. It’s you and me against the world, love. Don’t forget that.”

“You and me against the world,” he repeated, then smiled. “I love you.”

I kissed his forehead. “I love you, too.”