Page 243 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

“I’m your beta, Night. You know I can handle anything.” He gave me a cocky grin. Dom would follow any order I gave him, even at the cost of his life, but I’d never let that happen.

“Sure, sure,” I said. “I think I’m going to find Bryn.” The fact that Lance had brought her up made me want to see her again. My need to make sure she was safe overpowered anything else.

91

BRYN

Tavi accompanied me to the garden. I’d reached out to her telepathically, asking if she’d like a change of pace, and she agreed.

We entered the gardens, the scent on the air shifting from clear and pine-scented to the comforting aromas of moist soil and fresh vegetation. I’d heard that the crops had withered during the short span of Troy’s reign, and as familiar as the garden looked, I saw that things were different.

In my memory, I saw lush fields filled with rich life, with bees and butterflies flitting from flower to flower. The growing plants looked healthy, but the fields weren’t as plentiful. Harvesting of the vegetables would account for some but not all of that loss. It hurt my heart to see how Troy’s evil had hurt the health of the land.

“Wow,” Tavi said. “This is pretty amazing.”

I blinked. I’d been so focused on the fields that I’d forgotten I wasn’t alone. We walked along the perimeter of the garden. Mom and I had been among the only ones who worked the fields,but it seemed that Troy had sent a few more to help her while I was in Warg territory.

“What is?”

“Well, I knew the Kings had to have a huge garden to accommodate their size. But wow, you guys have, what, ten acres on us?”

I laughed. “That’s probably true, but many crops suffered because of Troy. I wish you could have seen it in its prime.”

“Don’t worry,” she said with a slight smile. “I’m sure things will get better in the wake of your and Night’s leadership.”

I looked at Tavi, my eyes wide. “Thank you so much, Tavi. It means a lot that you said that.”

“Well, remember, you and Night are building a lot of goodwill, right? You’re the descendant of the pack mother, and you and Night will have a baby who bridges the gap between Wargs and Kings. You’re kind of a big deal, you know?”

I’d never thought about it that way, but Tavi’s words sounded reasonable. “When you put it that way, you kind of make my baby sound like a prince or princess,” I giggled. “Or at least the heir to a huge fortune.”

She laughed with me. “I should’ve known you’d find a way to link what I said to the novels you read. But that’s not too far off, right? I think I’m right.”

“No, no, I think you’re right. It just surprised me.” I ran a hand over my stomach even though I wasn’t showing yet. I was still a little sad I wouldn’t be able to give my baby siblings, but I was happy to know I was continuing both Night’s legacy and the pack mother’s line. “Hey, Tavi?”

“Mmhm?”

“Did you know anything about the pack mother who stayed with the Wargs? I know you would’ve been a baby, but…”

She shook her head. “Not really. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It just occurred to me that I never asked you.”

“Yeah, the only thing I’ve been told was that it wasn’t known that we had the pack mother until after she’d been killed. I think only a few Wargs knew she was living among us. And somehow, the Kings who killed her knew about her.”

I was taken aback by that. “Really? I had no idea that it was a secret. Violet and Night never said that.”

“I don’t know why Violet never mentioned that, but I think Night never did because of how things deteriorated between us and the Kings. It’s less important that her identity was kept a secret from most of us than the fact that the Kings killed the last pack mother, you know?”

“Oh. I guess that makes some sense.” I mulled it over. “You’re a huge comfort to have around.”

“I’m glad you think so. I like being around you, too.” We shared smiles.

We let a few moments of silence pass between us, and I was surprised whenTavi was the first to break it.

“Can I ask you a weird question?” she asked.

“Of course.”