Page 208 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

NIGHT

Ipaced back and forth in front of the infirmary door. Behind that white wooden door, my mate was fighting. My mom, Tavi, and several doctors were there with her.

But not me. My brain was filled with worried thoughts, and my hands shook whenever they weren’t in my pockets or crossed over my chest. Dom and Lance were sitting nearby, watching me with concern. Every time I tried to sit next to them, my frazzled nerves would send me to my feet again.

I would have battled a hundred Troys right now—anything would have been better than waiting to hear how my mate was doing.

Dammit, I wanted to be in there with her, but according to Doc, I was “stressing everyone out.” I couldn’t help it, though.

Every time Bryn’s face filled with pain, every time she whimpered, my wolf and I reacted without thinking, lashing out at the doctors.

The only thing keeping me from going back in there was knowing I would distract them from my mate and pup.

We were all in the maternity ward, and there were other worried fathers pacing like I was or sitting restlessly. I felt their anxiety almost as deeply as my own.

“Night.”

I whipped around, but it was only Dom and Lance. Dom raised his hands to placate me, and I didn’t feel so much like biting his head off.

“It’s going to be okay,” Dom said. “Doc and Council Member Ellen are in there. They’ll take good care of Bryn. You know that.”

“She couldn’t be in better hands,” Lance added.

“I know!” I snapped. “I know all of that, but…”

“Yeah?”

“What if she reaches for my hand and finds nothing? What if she calls for me, but I’m stuck out here in the hallway? What if something goes wrong, and I’m not there to help her?”

The two shared a look, which only stoked my ire. “Night, that won’t happen,” Dom assured me. “But even if it did, I think we all know you’ll never let that happen.”

“But—”

The sound of Bryn’s sharp gasp had my head snapping toward the door so fast, the hallway spun. I rushed for the door, but Dom got in my way.

“Oh no, you don’t!” he said, hands flat on my chest. “You’re not about to barrel in there and bring things to a halt, Night.”

I growled at him, gripping his shoulder and pushing him out of the way.

Dom was great at grappling, so all he did was wrap his arms around my waist and pull me back.

Bryn gasped again, and I fought against my beta, but just as I was about to be free, Lance tackled us both to the ground.

We wrestled until they somehow got hold of some rope.

“Fuck both of you.” I seethed as they forced my hands behind my back and tied them. The rope was a measure for fathers like me who were too rowdy to restrain themselves. No one came out to check on what was going on because this was pretty par for the course.

The two of them hauled me to my feet and forced me into a chair. They sat on either side of me, breathing even harder than me. I wasn’t satisfied that I’d exhausted them. I wanted to put the fear of their alpha in them.

I turned to Dom. “I hope you and Tavi have kids. And when you’re in my position, I’ll enjoy keeping you out of the room.”

Lance grimaced at my threat, but Dom wasn’t affected. In fact, he started laughing. “I doubt I’ll lose control like you, Night. And even if I do, I’m sure I’ll be thanking you once all is said and done.”

“I’m not going to thank you,” I assured him. “I’ll beat you up when I’m free of these ropes.”

Dom snorted, his grin annoyingly lighthearted. “We’ll see.”

“God, you two are something else,” Lance said.

A minute later, Mom walked out of Bryn’s room. My anxiety spiked the second I saw her. “Is everything okay?”

She raised a brow. “You think I’d be out here if it wasn’t?”

“Then why—?”

“Because I heard all the commotion and thought you might need some support.” She took in my ripped and wrinkled shirt, messy hair, and the wild look in my eyes. “I see I was right.”

I frowned and looked away. There was another growl from me, but this time it was from my stomach. My face flamed.

“Oh, you’re hangry,” Dom said. “That explains it. Or part of it.”

“I guess that was our cue to grab you something to eat,” Lance said. “Violet, I’m sure you’ve got him under control.”

She chuckled. “I raised the boy on my own. Of course I do.”

“I’m right here,” I grumbled. “Why are you talking about me like I’m not?”

Dom and Lance ignored me, saying goodbye to my mom before heading off. She took Dom’s spot at my side and crossed her legs.

I waited for my lingering embarrassment to fade before I spoke. “Mom, how is she really? Is everything going all right?”

“Oh, yes. Bryn’s doing great, but right now, all we can do is wait. Tavi and I were just twiddling our thumbs while the doctors did all the real work.”

I looked longingly at the door. “But maybe she wants someone to hold her hand.”

“Bryn has Tavi and nurses to do that for her. My son, on the other hand…” She looked at me with a knowing smile.

I looked down at the white tiled floor. “You can’t hold my hand if I’m tied up.”

“I know. But if I undo the ropes, do you promise to behave?”

I nodded. It didn’t matter if I broke the promise. She’d have much better control over me than Dom and Lance combined.

Lance had known what to do with that rope. He’d tied such a firm knot around my wrists that I couldn’t break it, but it took Mom only seconds to pull it free. I flexed my hands and rubbed my wrists.

“So, want to talk about it?” Mom asked.

“About Bryn?”

She smiled. “I know she’s your favorite subject, especially right now, but I’m talking about you. How are you holding up?”

“Oh.” I ran a hand through my hair. “If you want to know the truth, I feel like I’m going out of my mind.”

“Of course you are. Any man in your position would be. But is there more behind your worry than just Bryn and the baby? Anything about yourself? About fatherhood?”

I almost wished she hadn’t been so specific. My anxiety for Bryn had taken up all my mental real estate, but now that Mom had brought it up, my insecurities came rushing to the forefront of my brain.

Mom’s smile saddened when I didn’t immediately answer. “It’s been weeks since you’ve confided in me, Night. We used to talk about so much, but lately, you’ve been so hush-hush.”

I winced, guilt lancing through my chest. “It’s not that I don’t want to. I’ve been busy…”

“I know. Between the merger, Troy, the ferals, Bryn’s pregnancy, and everything else on your plate, you’ve had a lot going on. Still, can you blame me for feeling a little disconnected from you?”

“No. I can’t.”

“So, tell me. How are you really, Night?”

Once again, I didn’t answer her right away, but only because I was collecting my thoughts. She seemed to understand that, because she waited quietly for me to speak.

I sighed. “I don’t want to fuck this up. I know I’m not a perfect alpha, and I’m far from being a perfect man. I’ve hurt and disappointed Bryn more times than I ever want to count. There are secrets I kept from her that threatened our relationship.”

“Oh, Night.” She put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “That must be tough on you.”

Her acknowledgment of my pain struck a chord in me.

It wasn’t so hard to keep going now that I’d started.

“There are times when all I can do is focus on the ways I’ve failed my people and Bryn, and when I get that low, I think about Gregor.

I don’t want to be the sort of father he was—a man who abandoned one of his sons and drove the other one insane.

I wouldn’t be capable of that today, obviously, but there was a time when Gregor wasn’t capable of being what he became, either.

“When you loved him, he was good. But then he changed and threw everyone who loved him away. What if I go down the same path? Am I even capable of being a good father when I have Redwolf blood in me?”

“Of course. You are more than capable.” Her answer came so quickly and decisively that I almost believed her.

“You’ve done what even I thought was impossible: merge two packs with decades of hate and tragedy between them without a war.

You chose to rehabilitate those feral children rather than kill them, even though killing them would be easier.

You have lived your life making tough choices that anyone else would have crumbled in the face of. ”

“But not all of those decisions were right.”

“That’s okay. No one is perfect, baby.”

She squeezed my shoulder again, then touched my hair. She stroked the top of my head the way she used to when I was a kid, when I’d rush to her room after having a nightmare.

“Before you left to take care of Troy, Bryn told me and Glenda that you kept Lance’s identity a secret from her.”

I grimaced. “Yeah?”

“The two of us were pretty ticked off with you.”

“Well, you had every right to be.”

“But you know what? Bryn wasn’t. She explained the situation to us, and she advocated for you.

It was clear to us that it was silly to be angry at you when she had already forgiven you.

Night, your soulmate’s acceptance is more important than anything else.

You should have faith in her because she’ll be your biggest advocate.

Even more than your mother or beta could ever be.

” She sighed. “Remember always, Night, that you are not your father. You are a good man, a strong man. I tried to raise you to be, but all I did was keep you fed and housed and point you in the right direction. You did all the actual work, and look at what you’ve become.

Look at what you’ve accomplished. You’ve come a long, long way from the little boy who had a lot to prove. ”

I smiled as she tugged my ear.

“It’s normal to worry about following in your father’s footsteps, but you’re so much better than he was. And even if you started going down the wrong path, you have more than enough people to bring you back. That’s something Gregor never had.”