Page 249 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

“Once the ritual has begun, you’ll be able to see through the eyes of your mother,” Elder Woods said. “You’ll be able to control which memories you see, but it can be difficult.”

“Why?” Bryn asked.

“Because you’ll have to remain calm through the process,” Mom replied. She had moved a few candles closer to the circle. “You’ll need to open your mind to memories that aren’t your own so they’ll flow naturally toward you.”

“Gotcha.” Bryn sat down in the circle, and the candlelight flickered again. “Now what?”

“Just close your eyes and take deep breaths in and out,” Elder Woods said.

Bryn set her hands on her knees, closed her eyes, and breathed. When she looked relaxed, the elders and my mom formed a circle around her. They closed their eyes and raised them to the sky. At first, I could hardly hear them chanting anything,and then their voices grew louder until they were at a normal speaking volume.

They were speaking a language I’d never heard before. It was guttural and sounded as old as the earth itself. Their voices never went louder, but as they lowered their arms, the circle and symbols started to glow an ethereal white.

Bryn slumped forward. I cursed, heading toward her, but I stopped myself before entering the circle. I didn’t know much about magic, but I knew it was a huge fuck-up to interrupt its flow. So, I clenched my hands at my sides, my eyes riveted on my mate, my wolf howling inside me.

When the circle was as bright as the moon, the elders’ chanting lowered again to a barely audible whisper before they went completely silent. A second passed, and then another, and suddenly Bryn sat up straight. Her eyes shot open, but they weren’t the silvery blue I knew. They had turned completely white.

93

BRYN

When my eyes opened, I knew I wasn’t in my own body anymore. My soul had traveled to another plane of existence while my physical self had been left behind. I looked around and felt like I was peering through a membrane that cast the world in a faint gray hue.

Tall, densely packed coniferous trees surrounded me. I didn’t know how I knew this, but I was certain this forest went on forever and ever. I didn’t know what I expected when going into this ritual, but it wasn’t an infinity of trees. My shoulders sagged with pressure at the vastness of it all. The trees weren’t moving toward me, but it seemed they were somehow pressing closer, further illustrating how small I felt around them.

I had the sense that something was moving between the trees. When I turned toward whatever it was, I was thrown to the ground. Memories flashed across my vision, appearing and disappearing so quickly, I couldn’t comprehend them. My head started to pound, and my vision swam. The dizziness took hold of me and made me spin. What little control I had started to slipfrom me until I remembered what Violet had told me: “… you’ll have to remain calm…open your mind…”

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. I tried to focus. I had control over these memories; I just needed to quiet my mind so I could see one of them at a time. I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth a few times, and when I opened my eyes again, I found myself standing on the Warg compound…but it wasn’t the same as I remembered it.

This version of the compound was smaller, more like a little village. There were far fewer cabins, and they all looked rundown. I looked down and held my hands out. They weren’t my hands; they were smaller and more delicate than mine, the skin a few shades darker. I turned them back and forth, but I saw no scars or tattoos or other markings that distinguished them. I lowered my hands, then spotted my protruding belly. My mom was pregnant. With me?

My hands rubbed my stomach in slow circles. I didn’t have control over this body, so my mother was moving on her own. It was almost like she knew I was here somehow and was trying to show me as much as she could.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps running toward me permeated my mind. A little boy, maybe six or seven years old, sprint my way. One hand stayed on my belly as the boy got close. I hadn’t expected to hear my mother’s voice, but I felt her mouth open. I would have felt a shiver of anticipation had I been able to shiver.

“My, you’re in a hurry, aren’t you?” she said as a smile spread across my face. She had a slow, smooth voice, like a fresh honeycomb pulled from the hive. It was easy to listen to, which made me wonder if she had been a good singer.

The boy nodded. He couldn’t immediately answer her because he was still panting from his sprint. His black hair was an adorable mess. She chuckled and tried to pat the unruly locks into a more presentable style, but it didn’t work. If anything, she made the curls stick up more.

She gave a resigned sigh. “How are you doing today, Night?”

Shock arced through me. Night had known my mother?Why hadn’t he ever said anything?Maybe he didn’t know.He looks so young. Maybe he doesn’t remember her.Amid the questions, I felt a pang of regret that Night had met my mother when I’d missed out on everything.

My mind swam as more questions filled my thoughts. As they inundated me, the image of the little Night began to grow fuzzy around the edges of my vision. I was losing focus, which meant I was losing my grip on the memory. I tried to push away my shock and open my mind again. Slowly, the memory cleared once more.

Night gave her a big toothy grin. My heart twisted at the unrestrained innocence on his cherubic face. I would never have imagined that my mate had ever smiled so openly. This version of Night had never known a day of real sadness in his young life, but that would change as he grew. Sadness overwhelmed me for a moment as I mourned for the little boy who had been forced to grow up too quickly.

“I rushed over here ’cause Dom and me are supposed to be practicing our tracking,” Night said in one breath. “But I can’t find him anywhere. Have you seen him?”

My mother laughed again. It was light and almost airy despite the lower, more mellow tone of her voice. “Silly boy. I don’t think I should tell you even if I did know where he is.”

“Why not?”

“Because if I tell where he is, you’ll never get better at tracking.”

Night paused and pouted. He looked up with large jade-green eyes, and my heart melted for him. There was no way I could have said no to that face, but my mother wasn’t as easily swayed.

She patted his head. “Don’t give me that face, young man. You know I’m right. And you know Dom will tease you for the rest of your life if you can’t find him on your own.”