Page 178 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

brYN

The next morning, I woke alone to the scent of frying bacon. My stomach rumbled, and the baby did a somersault.

I put my hand over my belly and smiled. “Okay. Let’s get something to eat.”

I rolled out of bed and made myself presentable. I could hear several people shuffling around in the kitchen. One of them would be the person who would get as much bacon in me as I could stand.

I made my way downstairs and found Violet, Mom, Night, and Dr. Stan talking in the kitchen. They all looked at me as I walked in.

“Morning, everyone,” I said. Night came to me and hugged me tightly, as if this was the first time he’d seen me in days. I peeked around him to see our visitors. “Violet, Dr. Stan, long time no see.”

“Likewise,” the doc replied. “But remember, you can call me Damon if you like.”

“Oh, right.” I giggled. “Sorry.”

“We’ll have another checkup when you and Night have the time,” he said.

“Of course. We’ll figure out the best time to do that.”

Night finally let me go, and I went to the island to snag a piece of bacon.

“Bryn,” Mom said, “you should know that now that Violet’s back, we’re going to start getting things prepped for the baby.”

“Oh, really?” Night and I shared a look.

“I don’t know if Glenda made this clear or not,” Violet said, looking from Night to me, her jewel-green eyes glinting with mischief, “but we’re going to absolutely spoil this baby.”

“Believe me, Mom,” Night replied. “We know.”

I chuckled. “How are things in Wargs’ territory? Anything we should know?”

“Things are great there,” Violet said. “Pax asks about you every day. He had an oral presentation for class and almost refused to do it unless you attended.”

“Really?” An ache spread through me. “I’m sorry I missed it. I’ll have to make it up to him.”

“Oh, he’s expecting you to,” she replied. “He told me and just about everyone else who’d listen that, and I’m quoting this directly, ‘When Bryn gets home, she’s going to read me a whole book after I show her my presentation.’”

Night and I laughed. I could hear Pax with his little voice, the little boy with golden hair whose dark eyes shone whenever he got some attention. And how precious was it that he’d called Wargs’ territory my home? He was right, but both territories were home to me now.

“I guess my schedule is set when I get down there,” I said. “I can’t wait.”

“Oh, yeah,” Violet agreed. “And Night’s going to have his work cut out for him as well.” Her gaze shifted to her son. “Word about the renovations you promised has spread like wildfire. Everyone’s expecting massive changes.”

Grinning, he nodded. “Don’t worry, I plan to get on that as soon as possible.”

I snagged another piece of bacon, an omelet, and some toast with honey.

After only eating toast and tea for breakfast for months, this simple spread felt like a luxury.

I could feel Night watching me as I ate.

When I caught him staring, he smiled gently.

I smiled back, but my head tilted as I stared at him.

I got the impression that he was trying to tell me something with his eyes.

If he and I shared the same kind of bond that Tavi and I or he and Dom had, I could ask him what he wanted.

There was a knock on the front door before it swung open.

Seconds later, Tavi and Dom appeared, as if the scent of bacon had summoned them.

Given the way they proceeded to attack the plates, I was almost positive this was the case.

They sat near each other at the dining table, and I eyed Tavi.

There was something different about her, something brighter.

I chewed on the toast, trying to figure it out by sight alone, and when I realized what must have happened, I straightened in my chair. “Tavi!” I exclaimed. “Did you and Dom…?”

I didn’t need to finish the question. The blush that touched her cheeks and the way she bit her lip to hide her smile was enough of an answer.

I danced in my chair. To everyone else, I must have looked like I was really enjoying my breakfast, but I was ecstatic that my best friend had taken such a huge step with Dom. It meant things were progressing healthily between them at a pace they were comfortable with.

“We haven’t claimed each other yet, but that’s okay,” she said. “We’re taking things slow, but I think Dom is just happy that we’re moving forward at all.”

“That’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you!”

“I am, too.” She touched Dom’s hand where it rested on the table, and he immediately took hold of hers without breaking the conversation he and Mom were having about the chives she’d planted. The gesture looked so natural, so sweet.

After everyone had eaten, Mom left and Damon went to check on the infirmary.

Dom and Tavi went last after Frankie, Kai, and Vince arrived.

They were headed to the office to resume their search through the documents.

Violet, Night, and I stayed seated at the table with after-breakfast coffee and tea. I had chamomile.

“So,” Violet began, “I’ve been thinking nonstop about that ritual, Bryn. When I was at home, I spoke to the elders to get information out of them. They told me the elders here were planning on speaking to you?”

“They did.” The reminder of blood rituals and portals lowered my mood a bit, but I didn’t mind filling her in on my meeting with the elders.

When I finished talking, she nodded. “I brought some books with me, but they didn’t have anything more in them than what you’ve just said: portals to hell, rituals requiring blood, it’s all there.

I didn’t know about the symbols, though.

It’s interesting that the room you saw through Blossom’s eyes had a new language of symbols written on the walls.

Well,” she amended, “I guess it’s more a bastardization of runic languages than anything new. ”

“When I remember being in that room with her, all I can think about was how much they’d affected her. Bastardization or not, they had to have some magic in them, right?”

“Oh, definitely. But it’s hard to know how much magic or what exactly it was meant to do without translating it.”

“I went on a run with Dom last night,” Night said. “On my way back, I ended up going to the library. I found a book on blood rituals in the glass cases they keep in the back.”

“Oh? Show me.”

Night left the kitchen, then returned with a thick tome. He set it in the center of the table, and when he opened it, its spine cracked in protest. We all bent to take a closer look at the book.

“Oh,” Violet hummed. She started flipping carefully through the pages until my hand flashed out to stop her.

“Wait,” I said. I ignored the words on the page and pointed to the illustration. “I recognize a few of these. I don’t think they were in the books the elders showed me.”

“Fascinating.” Violet bent closer. “These symbols are newer than the others I remember from your drawings.”

“Oh, you’ve seen them?”

She nodded. “The elders in Wargs’ territory had them copied.”

“Gotcha.”

“Mom, do you recognize this at all?” Night asked. “Could this be one of the books that Gregor was using to guide him?”

“I don’t recognize this at all. Gregor was so thorough, he may have gotten rid of the books he got his information from. That said, it’s possible that Troy wasn’t nearly as diligent.”

She turned the page and read for a few minutes before looking up, her eyes wide with concern.

“It’s dangerous if Troy has ever seen this.

This book talks a lot about the mystical power within pack mothers and blood being used to strengthen rituals.

Take a look at this passage.” She read it out loud.

“‘If one should desire to try and access the mysteries of the universe, spill the blood of a pack mother and a young child. Only then will there be enough magic potential to split the veil between worlds.’”

I shuddered. “That doesn’t sound great.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Night said. “I just want to be clear, this is a book of legends, right?”

Violet nodded. “On the surface, this has the same historic significance as a collection of fairytales, so it makes sense that it would be in a library. But this story is far too close to what Troy might be trying to achieve. In light of what he and Gregor were doing, I’m glad you got this away from the public eye. ”

Night nodded.

“The books the elders and I have been working through are not primary sources; the long-dead authors talk about these old legends from memory. It’s been impossible to get our hands on direct sources like this.

” She ran her hand over the page, a mix of reverence and fear in the gesture.

“This book is dangerous as long as it’s out in the open. ”

“Yeah, I was thinking about destroying it.” My mate looked pale. I rubbed the back of his shoulder, feeling the tension that had built between the blade and his spine. He placed his hand over mine.

“Destroying it might not be the best solution. Maybe we should get the council involved in this,” she said.

Night shook his head. “We can’t. I don’t even want you to show this to the elders, Mom.”

“But this might help them in their research.”

“I know, but there’s no way to tell who knows about this book’s existence.

It’s possible Troy knows about it, which means there could be people in this pack who want to get their hands on it.

The Wargs Council is already fighting the merger, and the threat of them trying to find a wolf to replace me is real. ”

“Night.” Violet’s voice was soft and somber. “You don’t think they’d kill Bryn to try to use the portal, do you?”

“No. I don’t think anyone is as depraved as Troy. They’re people of logic and action, and talking about this mystical stuff might encourage them to find someone to challenge me even faster. We can’t risk telling anyone what we know.”

She nodded, but this didn’t sit right with me.

“More and more secrets,” I grumbled. “I hate this.”

Night looked at me, and something flashed in his eyes. It was there and gone before I could figure out what it was.

He took my hand from his shoulder and kissed my fingers. “I know you do,” he said gently. “But right now, we don’t have another option.”

I sighed. “I’d rather be as transparent as possible. I get keeping some stuff close to the chest, but to not even tell the elders?” I shook my head. “Secrets were Gregor and Troy’s tools.”

“But aren’t they necessary sometimes?” Night asked. “If it’s for the purpose of safety?”

I hesitated. “I guess so, but only for as long as it takes us to find more information about this or about where Troy’s hiding.”

“It’s a deal.” He kissed my fingers again. “I’m going to talk to Lance.”

My eyebrows raised. “Really? Even though it didn’t go well last time?”

“Don’t worry, love. I’m going to do a lot better this time.”

“Okay.” I smiled. “I trust you.”