Page 241 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

I shoved the two Kings off the kid and stood in front of him. “What the fuck is this?” I demanded, glaring at the men.

They pushed themselves up to their feet. Their surprise quickly shifted to annoyance when they saw it was me who’d stopped their fun.

“We don’t want Wargs on our land anymore!” one of them spat. Given their builds, they were fighters.

“That’s the way you speak to an alpha? Are you stupid enough to think you could take me?”

“You’re notouralpha,” the other growled. He was already close to shifting—the glow of his irises revealed it. “Go back to your shitty territory and stay the fuck away from ours!”

I stepped forward but caught myself. These kids were idiots, and I figured situations like this were bound to happen when I took over their pack and merged them with the Wargs. I needed to seize this opportunity to set them right.

“I don’t control this pack, but I am an alpha, and you will yield to me,” I said in a low voice. I was tempted to call on my power as an alpha to make them submit to me, but that would only last as long as I held it. It wouldn’t ensure their obedience forever.

They hesitated for a moment. Then, to my surprise, they started inching toward me. Their eyes were glowing now, and suddenly I was in battle mode. I needed to protect the Warg lying at my feet, which presented some complications for a fight?—

“Hey!” a new voice sounded from my right. I glanced in that direction and blinked. Lance was leaning against the tree with his arms crossed over his chest. “Mace, Charley,” he said. “Get out of here.”

The wolves—Mace and Charley, I guess—stood straight and faced Lance like he was their alpha. “L-Lance,” Mace stuttered, “we were only trying to?—”

“I think I told you to leave.” Lance’s voice was icy, but he looked bored, like he was watching paint dry. “So go. Now.”

Mace and Charley didn’t argue. They inclined their heads in respect to Lance and shuffled off into the trees, heading back to the King compound.

Annoyance jabbed me in the ribs. Though I didn’t want to admit it, Lance’s stepping in was a bit of a blow to my pride. He had ended the fight before it had started, not me.

Instead of thinking too deeply about that, I turned my attention to the young Warg and crouched beside him. “Your name’s Ricky, right?”

“Yes, Alpha Night,” he said, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

“What happened, Ricky?”

“I was out taking a walk, but those Kings jumped me.” His voice trembled as he spoke—not with fear, I was happy to see, but with anger. “I should have seen them coming, but they got the better of me, Alpha. I’m sorry.”

I offered my hand, and he accepted it, allowing me to pull him to his feet. “You’re here to learn, Ricky. It’s okay that you’re not an expert at fighting yet. Besides, those two didn’t exactly leave without a scratch. You held your own.”

Some of the anger and shame burning Ricky’s cheeks faded as he nodded. “Th-thank you, Alpha.”

“No thanks necessary. Just head to the infirmary and get yourself looked at.”

“Right.” He nodded once more at me before limping toward the infirmary.

I watched him go. I sent a message to Dom to either keep an eye on him on his way or have another Warg go with him.

I turned to Lance, who was now within a few paces of me. I hadn’t even heard the kid move.Dammit, heisgood.

I kept my thoughts from showing on my face, but the slight smirk on Lance’s lips irked me. Cocky bastard.

“We haven’t met,” I said. “I’m Night Shepherd.”

“I know who you are,” he replied. “Just like you know who I am.” He slipped his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. “I watched your fight with Troy. It wasn’t what I’d expect from an alpha like you.”

Another twinge of annoyance went through me, even though I knew he was trying to get a rise out of me. I ought to be unbothered, but everything about this kid set me on edge, and I wasn’t sure why. He just screamed “threat” to me.

“You ought to know that wasn’t a fair fight,” I replied. “I won’t let another wolf have any advantage over me.”

I meant it as a warning. Lance was overly confident, even when he stood face-to-face with me. I knew he would be a hard fight during the alpha challenge, even with my history of life-or-death fights under my belt. But I had complete confidence in my abilities, especially after my days of training.

He ignored my warning, his face hardening. “Let’s cut the bullshit, Night. I see what you and your pack are trying to do here, schmoozing up to the Kings by helping rebuild homes, but it’s not going to work.”