Page 22 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

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Suddenly, a pair of warm arms wrapped around me and lifted me to my feet. I knew it was Night without having to turn around. He held me against his body, his arm firm across my chest. I was sure he could feel the hummingbird beat of my heart against his skin.

The wolves’ steps stopped at the sight of their Alpha. I shivered, my eyes still shut tight as I waited for Night to feed me to his pack. Seconds passed, during which nothing and no one made a sound.

Eventually, I slowly opened my eyes. In front of me, large wolves of various colors had gathered around us.

Some had their tongues lolling from their mouths, huffing warm puffs of air in front of them as they caught their breaths.

Others had tufts of missing fur and bloody wounds.

They had clearly dealt with the worst of the Kings’ pack.

I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye.

I yelped at the sight of another large man dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt and pants.

He walked to Night’s side, chuckling at my reaction before turning to his Alpha.

I tried to pretend I wasn’t paying close attention to them as he leaned over to speak into Night’s ear.

From the way he stood, just to the right of and behind his Alpha, I knew that this newcomer had to be Night’s beta.

Growing up in a wolf pack, I had picked up on these displays of pack hierarchy.

Though I wasn’t allowed to participate in their rituals and activities, I knew how subordinate wolves acted around their Alpha.

As I watched the two men, I realized that the new man was watching me too.

He was subtle about his observation, considering me from his periphery.

He was handsome, though in a different way from Night.

He was almost as tall as his Alpha, but Night had a few inches on him.

His face had a boyish charm to it, and his light blond hair and striking brown eyes gave him a kind, mischievous air.

The look was heightened when he smiled at me, revealing the dimple in his cheek.

He'd caught me checking him out, but I wasn’t embarrassed. I was instead more distracted by the scars that marred his tan, olive-toned skin. Old wounds were visible at the collar of his shirt and over his hands. He was built for killing and fighting, just like any wolf.

Whatever he whispered into Night’s ear caused my captor to tighten his grip around me, making it more difficult to breathe. I tried to wiggle in his arms to give myself more room, but it didn’t help. The wolves began to shift into their human forms, completely naked.

There were women as part of his team, which surprised me.

In the Kings’ pack, women were discouraged from joining patrols or from being put in any position that could get them hurt.

All children were taught that women were too valuable to be put at risk, but I had observed female wolves hefting crates of vegetables or dried goods just as easily as any man could.

Even Mom could lift or maneuver bookshelves and dressers without needing my help.

I found it oddly refreshing that Night didn’t subscribe to that same prejudice. I wondered how things would be in the Kings’ pack if the women were on a more equal footing.

Though I was, of course, no stranger to nudity, I averted my gaze as best I could to give them some respect. There wasn’t much I could do, however, with the Alpha’s arms locking me in place.

“Alright,” Night’s beta sighed, drawing my gaze again, “now that’s out of the way, Night, I think you’re strangling the prisoner.”

At his words, Night immediately loosened his grip on me, allowing me to suck in a much-needed breath of air. Thank goodness he said something. As I began to relax again, the beta slid in front of me, blocking the naked wolves from my view, another blessing.

He smirked at me. The expression was cute despite the fact that he was another wild Warg wolf. “I’m Dom,” he said, “I can’t say we get too many humans in these parts…?”

It took me a couple of seconds to realize that he was leaving room for me to tell him my name. I considered whether I ought to reveal that information before ultimately deciding it wouldn’t matter either way. “My name’s Bryn Hunter.”

“Bryn? That’s a cute name.” He gave me a brief once-over, not bothering to pretend he wasn’t. “So why would the Kings’ Alpha keep a human toy around?”

The word “toy” struck me like a blow, and my lips pulled away from my teeth. “Back off,” I snarled at him, once again surprising myself with my boldness. “I’m no one’s toy.”

Fortunately, Dom didn’t seem to take offense to my response—in fact, it made him laugh. “You’re pretty feisty for a human, aren’t you? But that doesn’t really answer my question, does it?”

I took a few moments to calm down. The exhaustion was getting to me. “I’ve lived with the Kings’ pack my entire life. That’s all I’m going to say about it.”

“That’s fine, that’s fine. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to tell me all about it later.” He smirked at me again. I felt myself begin to bristle, but I didn’t snap at him again.

“That’s enough, Dom. I need you to make sure we’ve got everyone here. If there are stragglers or badly wounded, you need to round them up.”

Dom nodded once and jogged off to do as his Alpha ordered. I yelped as Night lifted me from the ground, holding me bridal style in his arms.

“Put me down!” I wiggled in his arms, trying to kick myself free. But his grip remained viselike. “I can walk just fine, damn you!”

He ignored me.

I continued to fight, but I was much weaker now than I had been when he first kidnapped me.

I gritted my teeth, thinking about how stubborn Night was.

How was my luck so terrible that I could plan my escape from one terrible wolf only to wind up the prisoner of this jughead Alpha?

Didn’t he have parents? Or a mother? Did he ever stop to think of how upset she’d be if she saw him treating another woman this way?

But no, he was just a typical Alpha male from what I’d seen.

“Why do you never listen?” I demanded. “I said, put me down!”

Night stopped walking and pressed his lips to my ear, his breath hot on the side of my face. I immediately froze at his closeness. “Listen, girl, my wolves have just come from a fight, and they’re a little hostile right now.”

His words made me shiver.

“I can’t put you down and risk you trying to run again. If you want to live, you need to stay close to me until I’ve explained the situation to them, or I won’t be able to guarantee your safety.”

My mouth clamped shut. That was more than enough reason for me to stop fighting him so much. Given the fact that I felt unsafe even in my own home whenever the Kings’ wolves got a little too excited at night, I wasn’t too keen on seeing how rowdy wolves could get when I was within yards of them.

Night moved a little farther away from his team as they calmed themselves down and got dressed.

Meanwhile, I tried to regain control of the thunderous pace of my heart.

I was too close to the Alpha, and it was so hard to keep my mind from straying to the times when the man from my dreams and I had been…

intimate. Especially when I could feel the beat of Night’s own heart through my shoulder, which was pressed against his naked chest.

Fortunately, I was only alone with Night for a few more seconds before Dom returned, holding something in his arms. I couldn’t tell what it was in the darkness. He glanced from Night to me and back again. His smile was more relaxed than it’d been a few minutes ago.

“Good news, Night,” Dom said. “All of our team are accounted for and relatively healthy.”

Night nodded and let out a breath. He gently let me stand on the ground, still close enough that he could grab me at a moment’s notice. I winced as my raw, tender feet felt the sharp sticks and rocks beneath me. “I’m glad to hear that we didn’t suffer any casualties.”

“You and me both. It’s a relief that everyone got out in one piece despite the sudden shift in the plan. But we can discuss that later. For now…” he turned his attention to me and offered me the bundle, “here.”

I stepped away from Night to accept the bundle—pants and boots from the looks of it.

I stepped into the pants, which were so big that the ankles pooled at my feet on the ground.

The boots would also be big, but they would be better than traversing the forest barefoot.

I didn’t care. I was just grateful for the comfort of wearing clothes again.

Night, snarling, grabbed hold of the waistband of the pants. Before I could react, he had ripped them off me and tossed them aside. For the second time, I stood shivering in the cold, my second pair of clothing in hours taken away from me in only the blink of an eye. I could have cried.

I whirled on Night, my body trembling from the anger flowing through my veins.

But I found that Night had Dom backed up to a tree, growling at him for some reason.

Dom had his hands up in supplication, confusion evident in the furrowing of his bushy, honey-blond eyebrows.

Chilled at the sight of an Alpha manhandling his beta like that, I took a few healthy steps back.

Why would he allow Dom to offer me the clothing, only to rip it away seconds later?

If he didn’t want me to have clothes, why had he given me his shirt?

Yet again, it hit me that I was in the middle of the woods surrounded by a pack of psychotic wolves whose own Alpha could snap at his beta for no apparent reason.

I shivered and held my arms tightly around myself.

How could I have ever felt secure in Night’s presence when he was capable of acting so unhinged?

What could be waiting for me at the Wargs compound?

Would I even make it there with Night acting like this?

After a few more tense moments, Night slowly stepped away from his beta, but his shoulders were still taut with rage.

Dom, keeping an eye on his Alpha, slowly walked toward the spot where the ripped pants had landed.

He gathered them up along with the shoes and reached up into the branches of a nearby pine tree.

He pulled down a black bag and stuffed the clothes inside it.

Now that the clothes were gone, Night’s shoulders finally began to relax.

He kept a close eye on his beta, watching him move to one of the nearby trees.

Dom pulled down another bag from the branches and removed a pair of pants and shoes from them.

He slowly approached Night and showed him the clothes.

Night relaxed a bit more and nodded. I frowned, confused.

Was I watching a Warg ritual? But no, once Dom had Night’s approval, he walked back to me and gave me the new clothes.

I pulled on the new pants, boots, and a second long-sleeved shirt over my head.

I was finally warm, and I realized that these clothes smelled familiar. They were Night’s.

A shiver ran through my body as I crossed my arms. Great. Either Night is a control freak, or he’s claimed me as his own personal human plaything. I seethed even as dread penetrated down to my bones. This marked the second time that I was stuck with an Alpha who seemed hell-bent on ruining my life.

“There, now that you’re comfortable,” Night said, walking toward me, “take a seat over there and stay quiet. Don’t even think about running off, or I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to keep you safe.”

I huffed a sigh, but I didn’t have the energy to argue. I rolled my eyes and found a spot to sit down against a tree. I was planning on escaping, but I could take this opportunity to both rest up and hear what Night had planned for me.

Now that the rest of the pack was dressed, Dom instructed them to establish a camp. Those who were injured were seen to by Dom, Night, and a few other wolves, while the able-bodied went off to collect wood.

They worked as a unit, everyone knowing exactly what they were doing without having to be told.

This was a sharp contrast to the few training exercises I’d observed in the Kings’ pack.

The Kings were a fearsome force who were known for their strength, but I had seen the men use their exercises to show off for the women.

I couldn’t say how the men behaved outside of the compound, but it was clear that they didn’t take their training seriously.

I watched the Wargs put together a fire and make pallets from tree branches.

They even set up a pallet for me. I knew it was for me because it was the only one that Night paid close attention to.

He was particular about its positioning in relation to his own pallet, as well as in relation to other male wolves.

I tried not to roll my eyes when he snapped at one of his men for placing my pallet too close to the tree line.

When the preparations were done, and the fire was crackling away, I moved closer to the fire, eager for its warmth. The wolves had gathered in a circle around Night to hear what he had to say.

“I’m sure you all must be confused by this turn of events. We go in to challenge Redwolf, and we leave with a human girl. Unfortunately, the plan changed when I infiltrated the Redwolf cabin. I found her,” he nodded toward where I sat huddled by the fire, “tied up in Troy’s room.”

Murmuring began among the wolves as they looked at each other and snuck glances at me. I tried to ignore their curious stares, but my face heated at their attention.

“Troy returned to the cabin unexpectedly, and I realized we could use her to our advantage.”

Shivers coursed down my spine. I don’t like where this is going. At all. I lifted my head, turning my attention from the fire to meet Night’s blazing emerald gaze.

“We lost out on the opportunity to challenge Troy tonight, but she’ll give us another opportunity.” He smirked at me, and the shadows cast over his face in the firelight gave his handsome face a sinister edge. “Troy clearly values her, so she’ll be a perfect bargaining chip for our next move.”