Page 197 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

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Iwas in the lead the next day. It was me, Lance, Dom, Night, Vince, and several from Night’s hunting team around us. We were in an arrowhead configuration, with Night and I taking point and the others flanking us in a protective diamond.

I’d expected things to look a little different, considering that the sun was out and it had been full night in the vision, but I could recall the trail with perfect clarity.

Some part of me must have been afraid that despite my best efforts, I would be leading my pack on a wild goose chase, because to find that this wasn’t the case was a huge weight off my shoulders.

We moved farther along the path, which seemed much more winding now that I was in the body of an adult wolf and not that of a boy.

It was wonderful to be in my wolf form while pregnant. I felt stronger, more capable, and my back didn’t ache so much. I was faster than I thought I’d be capable of despite my round belly hanging to the ground. I was surprised I never tripped over it.

“In another hour,” I projected to the wolves around me, “we should reach the cavern Samuel saw.”

There was a chorus of excited responses around me, of wolves rooting for Troy’s demise, and when I glanced to my left, I saw Night sporting a wolfish grin.

I grinned back at him. Above us, the sky was heather gray, and petrichor scented the air.

The minute I noticed this, I felt a drop of rain on my nose.

And then another. With the drips of frozen rain, a chill traced down my back, but it wasn’t because of the weather.

My wolf’s shoulders stiffened, and her hackles raised.

The sense of dread hit so hard and so fast, I didn’t understand where it was coming from. Not until a wolf to my right suddenly broke off, her jaws snapping at something I couldn’t see. We all came to an abrupt stop as ferals surrounded us.

“Bryn, stay close to me!” Night barked, sinking his fangs into a feral who had lunged at him. He tossed the wolf away.

I was already moving in as close as I could get without pressing against him.

Lance and Dom swarmed in next to me, forming a triangle to protect me from the attack.

I looked around, my heart racing at the sheer number of ferals darting in and out between the trees.

One by one, our wolves were being overwhelmed by the incoming ferals.

“Where the hell did they come from?” Lance growled, then snapped at a wolf when they got too close.

“We’ll figure it out later!” Dom replied. “We need to get Bryn out of here!”

Every passing second felt like a lifetime. It was like we were in the eye of a tornado of vicious, sharp teeth. My heart rate spiked. There was no way we would get out of here without more bloodshed. If we got out of this at all.

“Vince!” Night called. “Get over here!”

“On it!” I couldn’t see him approach, but I felt the press of Vince’s gray fur against mine moments later. “I’m here.”

“We’re going to create a break in their formation,” Night explained. “I need you to get Bryn out of here as far and as fast as you can.”

“I don’t want to abandon you,” I protested. “I don’t want to separate again.”

“Bryn, I’m sorry, but you have to listen to me this time,” Night’s tone was urgent but not as sharp as earlier. “Trust me. We’ve got this. You focus on getting away safely.”

I didn’t want to do it. Even my wolf wanted to stay close to our mate.

If I lost him, how would I keep living? But then I thought about the life inside me.

I was reminded of my conversation with my mom and Violet.

Sometimes being a leader, and being a mother, meant doing things that you didn’t want to do.

Thinking about the people who needed you could give you the courage and strength to keep going.

“I trust you,” I said.

Night glanced back at me, handsome with his fur as dark as obsidian. “Thank you.”

I bit back a cry even as my heart wanted to shatter into a million pieces.

When he turned around again, he, Lance, and Dom changed from a triangle to a straight line. As if they all shared one will, the three lunged at the same time, tackling the ferals and breaking up the whirlwind of fur and teeth.

Vince butted against me. “Now, Bryn.”

I wanted to hate him for pushing me to go, but I knew I could leave Night and my brothers and the others to this fight. Even if it meant going against my principles.

I darted for the opening, Vince close behind me. We leapt over my family and the ferals and just kept going. I had no idea where, but it didn’t matter. The farther away I got from the fight, the safer my baby would be. I kept reminding myself of that as we ran, even as my eyes filled with tears.

I shook my head to get rid of the blurry wetness, but I couldn’t. I didn’t see the felled tree in front of me in time. I went to leap over it, but my foot caught on one of the thick branches near the base of the trunk. I tumbled down, tucking myself into a ball to protect my pup.

Vince skidded to a halt and came running back to me. He pressed his nose to my fur and my back, checking for injuries. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I pushed myself to my feet and felt a burst of pain in my side. I must have landed on it wrong, but at least it wasn’t bleeding. “I can keep go—Vince, look out!”

One of the ferals had pursued us, and thanks to my blunder, it had caught up. Vince turned just as the feral went to strike. I tried to help and bit into its hind leg, not wanting to kill it. But I would incapacitate it to protect my pack.

“Bryn, don’t worry about me,” Vince snapped. “You need to go!”

“But there’s only one of them!” The minute the word left my mouth, I felt another prickle of danger. I let go of the feral, but three more of them had appeared. They approached slowly, crimson-tinged saliva dripping from their jowls.

“Dammit! Vince, let’s go!”

“Go without me.” In the time it’d taken me to see the three ferals, he had tossed an unconscious feral away. “Even more are probably on the way. I’ll hold them off. Don’t stop until you get somewhere safe.”

“Vince, please.”

“No.” He stood protectively in front of me. “Bryn, ever since you saved me from the ferals in that cave, I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to show you how much I appreciate what you did for me.”

My blood turned to ice. “You don’t have to repay me for that. I’d do it again and again.”

“I know you would. That’s the kind of person you are.” I couldn’t understand how, but I knew he was smiling as he spoke. “I won’t let them kill me, Bryn. Don’t worry. I’ll meet up with you again, and you can berate me all you want for this.”

I cursed over and over again, but I had to trust that he knew what he was doing. “Okay. I’ll hold you to that, Vince.”

I started running. I heard a feral lunge after me, but the sharp yelp of pain told me that Vince had stopped it.

An hour later, I found a human hunting cabin nestled deep in the trees.

I knew from the scent of dust that it wasn’t in use, so I went inside.

The snow had come down faster since I’d left Vince, and I shook clumps of it from my fur.

I paced the living room until the ache in my side forced me to sit in front of the unlit fireplace.

I shifted back into my human form and wrapped my arms around myself as I stared at the old, blackened remnants of the fire.

Soon, it would get so cold that I’d need to light it, but I felt so numb with worry, it felt wrong to enjoy any comfort.

After all, how could I relax when this cabin was so far off track?

I could find my way back to where we were, but there were ferals waiting for us.

We would lose too many wolves if we attacked directly like that again.

And that meant the path I’d seen was as close to useless as it could get. It felt like I was back to square one.

I leaned my head against the brick fireplace and inhaled the scent of soot and wood.

I listened for any sound outside, but something told me I was safe.

It was snowing hard enough that my tracks would be hard to follow.

But I took little comfort in that because it meant Night would have a hard time finding me—if he was in any state to find me at all.

My wolf and I whimpered as I thought of him, of my family.

I would find my way back to the pack eventually, but I was on my own.

And for all I knew, it could be days until I learned what happened.

What if my being out of the fight had doomed my pack, left them at Troy’s mercy?

Had I chosen my baby over the safety of my people?

I trembled with worry, felt sick with it.

At some point, I must have fallen asleep, because I suddenly awoke with the knowledge that I was no longer alone. I leapt to my feet. It was a good thing that I was in my human form now—it would be easier to hide.

The pain in my side was negligible as I quickly and quietly went up the stairs. There weren’t a ton of places to hide. The room held bunk beds, but I saw the cord that told me there was an attic upstairs. I pulled it and caught the ladder as it fell so it wouldn’t bang against the wood floor.

I climbed up, pulled up the ladder, and got the attic door closed just as the door opened and the sound of panting wolves filled the cabin.

I felt around in the attic for something to protect myself.

I touched the point of something sharp, and as my eyes adjusted, I saw it was a hunting knife.

I gripped it and waited, my heart pounding.

There was a blanket next to me, and I clutched it to my bare chest.

Below, the cabin creaked as the wolves searched for me. I gripped the knife even more tightly and held my breath. There were footsteps coming up the stairs, and the door to the bedroom opened, and then—

“Bryn!” The desperation in my mate’s voice brought everything to a stop. I think even my heart ceased beating. “Bryn, are you here?”