Page 201 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

I blinked, surprised that she’d gotten the information so quickly. "Are you sure that we’re talking about the same caves?”

The three Garou wolves shrugged. “I guess it’s impossible to say for sure without seeing them,” Mariah said. “But we stopped playing in those caves when we found strange carvings on the wall and remnants of fire.”

“It felt wrong to hang around there,” Ryan added. “We didn’t want to run into anyone dangerous.”

“Well, that helps narrow things down,” I said.

“Doesn’t it?” Bryn turned a bright smile at them. “Thanks so much. I can’t even tell you how important this information is to us.”

The Garou wolves couldn’t keep from smiling back at her, and neither could Tavi, Lance, or Dom.

Even Oakley and Birchen seemed impressed.

When I looked at Bryn, I saw my relief reflected back at me.

She’d found a solution to our issue, and she’d even learned the names of not just those three Garou but others.

She’d endeared herself to this pack as easily as she had with the Wargs.

“Maybe it would have been better to have you speak to Leo after all,” I muttered. “You would’ve had him eating out of your hand.”

She snorted, then something over my shoulder caught her eye. I turned to see what it was as she said, “I don’t know, Night, I think you were pretty successful.”

Leo and Cat rejoined us. Cat was trying to keep her emotions off her face, but the corners of her mouth curled ever so slightly upward. It told me that I’d gotten through to Leo before either of them said anything.

“Very well,” he said to me. “I spoke to Cat, and we see your logic about working together. I don’t want to put my pack at more risk. And it’s better to attack the threat head-on than wait for him to move first.”

“So, you’ll help us?” Dom asked.

Cat nodded. “Yes. We’ll put our best people in your hands, and we’ll send those of us who know the area best with you.”

Lance let out a whoop. “I think the odds have shifted back in our favor.”

“You’ve got us on your team, too,” Oakley said. “I can send for reinforcements from my pack. We’re not more than a few hours from Camas territory, and they’ll be eager to help.”

“That’s amazing,” I said, not trying to hide my surprise at his offer. “But it means you’ll have to get involved in this fight.”

“I know. I’ve thought about this ever since you helped us recover from Troy’s attack. The Camas haven’t been involved in a fight in the forty years since I took over as alpha, but that ends today.” The look in his eyes was lethal. “I haven’t felt more ready to take a life in decades.”

His determination was infectious. It spread from him to me and the others nearby. We were united in one goal—to kill the man who’d led to our alliance in the first place.

We spent the night talking and planning and coming up with a new path to get to Troy’s hideout.

The next morning, I woke earlier than the others to do some light training.

Just enough to get the blood flowing. I would have asked Dom to spar with me, but I’d sent him, Tavi, and Birchen to bring reinforcements from the Camas Pack. They weren’t back yet.

I entered the forest, but before I could begin, the sound of heavy breathing lured me from my spot. It was Lance. He was up training as well. The two of us must have felt the same impulse.

“Hey,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at me. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Actually, I slept through the night,” I replied. “You couldn’t?”

“No. I tried, but I just lay awake for hours. My mind keeps turning over everything that might go wrong today.”

“I see.”

“I’m surprised you’re not having the same problem,” he said. “There’s a lot riding on tomorrow’s success.”

“True.” I started shadowboxing.

“Then again”—he leaned against a tree trunk—“what else is new? I guess you’re used to it by now.”

I chuckled. “I think the truth is that I’m just ready for all of this to be over.”

“I hear that, but we brought Bryn along. I’m worried about her. Now that she knows she’s my sister, I don’t want to lose her.”

“I understand that. Believe me.”

“I know you do. Though I’ve been aware of her since I was a kid, you know her much better than I do. She trusts you, you trust her. You two are soulmates.”

“Lance, she trusts you, too. Just as much as she trusts Dom and Tavi.”

“I’d like to think she does. Sometimes, I don’t know. We haven’t had a ton of time to talk or get to know each other.”

I paused in my boxing, my breath a bit labored.

I wanted to point out all the moments where the two of them had gotten to connect, but other than when she learned who he was, I couldn’t think of any.

I’d gotten the sibling experience with Tavi and Dom, but Bryn and Lance had grown up isolated.

It was a sad thought. Thinking about that just added to the many tragedies that Troy had heaped onto our lives.

“Once this is over, I’m sure you’ll get that opportunity. You can make time for it.”

He gave a small smile but didn’t seem convinced. “I hope that’s the case.”

“No. It will be the case. You, me, Dom, everyone here will keep Bryn safe, and as long as she’s around, you’ll be able to connect with her. I can guarantee it.”

He stared at me for a long time. It was one of those searching stares, like he wasn’t sure if he believed me. But then he nodded, and the look in his cerulean eyes was very steady, very serious.

“I’ll hold you to that, Night.” And then, after a pause. “Does that add more pressure on your shoulders?”

“Not at all.” I resumed shadowboxing. “I’m already going to protect my mate with everything I’ve got. And you ought to hold me accountable for that because I’m sure that’s what Blossom would’ve wanted.”

“You’re right,” Lance said. “Thanks for the talk, Night.”

Hours later, we all stood at the entrance to Garou territory to meet Dom and Tavi. They had returned with reinforcements from the Camas Pack, and among them was…a woman? All of us looked at Oakley and Birchen. The Camas adding a woman to their ranks was unheard of.

Oakley grinned when he saw the confusion on our faces. I’d never seen the man so happy and excited.

“I was so impressed by how the women have stepped up in Alpha Night’s pack that I’m instilling some changes—starting today,” he announced.

“Dawn is the best tracker we have; she proved as much when I had my pack track my own footsteps in the forest. She picked mine out from other wolves close to my height and build. She’ll be happy to assist.”

Dawn nodded. She wore the linen dresses that were indicative of the Camas Pack. She seemed sheepish, but in her eyes was a determination I hadn’t ever seen in the Camas women. I could only imagine how Samara would react when she heard that her father had brought Dawn along.

“We’ll all work hard to keep you safe, Dawn,” Lance told her.

She looked at him and blushed bright red. “Th-thank you. I’m in your care.”

Leo clapped his hands, directing our attention to where he and Cat stood. “Great. Let’s get things going.”

He’d spread a map out on a large, flat boulder. It must have been an older map because the edges were frayed. The map itself had soft creases from years of use, and the cave systems were marked in faded black ink. We all gathered around the rock to get a good view of it.

Leo pointed to the map. “From what Bryn said, this is the best route to get to Troy’s hideout. Heading this way would prevent the ferals from cutting us off because we won’t be going at them head-on.”

“Alpha Oakley, could I take a closer look?” Dawn’s soft voice pulled our attention. It was silly that she would need permission before looking at the map. Obviously, Oakley had a long way to go if he wanted to make his pack more equal.

He nodded. “Of course.”

She leaned over the map, squinting at the route.

“Yes, it’s as I thought.” She pointed to another cave system about five miles from the one Leo had shown us.

“If our enemy is after seclusion, these caves would be more remote. They’re not visible unless you’re close to them, and they’re easy to miss when running past them.

Like the other caves, this cave system gives you plenty of access to other systems in the area. ”

Leo shook his head. “No, I considered this last night. This other area matches more closely with what Bryn described.”

“Ah, of course.” She lowered her head in deference. “I’m so sorry for presuming.”

Her apology must have touched all of us because we started speaking simultaneously, rushing to reassure her that she’d done nothing wrong. Birchen and Oakley seemed amused by our efforts.

A few minutes later, we all headed out. We decided to make the majority of the trip in wolf form and then enter the cave in human form, hoping it would catch the ferals off-guard. We were prepared with a paralytic that the Garou Pack had created.

“That was how we escaped our previous pack,” Cat explained.

The paralytic would start working within seconds of entering the bloodstream, which was obviously a huge point in our favor. We were ready for anything. But when we approached the cave, it looked deserted. I struggled to stem my disappointment.

“This is the place,” Bryn said, leading us forward.

There were many caverns in the cave, but she led us through a winding tunnel that opened to a secluded clearing.

She shivered and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, but I doubted this had anything to do with the cold or the snow that still blanketed the ground.

She pointed to the symbols carved on the cave wall. “This is the spot,” she said. “This is where it happened. But there’s no magic here, just death.”

I didn’t have anywhere near the spiritual sense that she had, but even I could feel that something about this place wasn’t right. The ground near the cave wall was stained red. Even after ten years of snow and rain and wind, the symbols and bloodied markings looked recent.

“Shit,” Leo said. “Did he leave?”

“Let’s head back to the main cave,” I said. “I’m sure he’s hiding here. His scent is all over the fucking place.”

We started to backtrack, Bryn in the lead. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. “Something’s wrong—”

Before the words had left her mouth, growls erupted throughout the cave. Moments later, ferals poured into the cave from the many tunnels around us.

Fuck! We’d headed straight into another of Troy’s traps.

“Bryn!” I called to her, but one of the wolves had jumped on her, clamping its teeth into the collar of her dress.

It yanked her off her feet, knocking her head against the hard ground.

She lay there, limp. I started for her, but one feral bit into my shoulder and another into my arm.

I screamed in pain and fury. I tossed the one on my arm away, an arc of my blood spreading across the cave as I shifted into my wolf form.

I looked in Bryn’s direction and saw a wolf dragging her away. Neither Lance nor Dom could get to her—they were overrun with feral wolves snapping at them.

“Octavia, don’t!”

Dom’s shout came just as my sister, moving as lithe and graceful as a gazelle, leapt over the wolves and headed toward Bryn.

As I fought off the ferals, Tavi tackled the wolf, who screamed as her sharpened nails dug into its flesh.

It dropped Bryn. Tavi fought it and bashed its head with a rock until it ceased moving.

But when she went to check on Bryn, more ferals surrounded them.

The next thing I knew, Bryn and Tavi were gone, and the rest of us had dozens of ferals to deal with. Lance, Dom, and I roared at the losses, then turned our rage onto our attackers.