Page 29 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

NIGHT

Iwoke to the sound of a door closing shut. I knew it was Bryn’s door when I heard Mom’s footsteps walking down the hallway, the sound of silverware jingling in time with her gait. She’d taken to having breakfast with Bryn every morning. I wondered what they talked about or if they talked at all.

When my mind went to Bryn, I thought again about what had happened a few days ago, after her shower.

She’d stood there, her hair wet, my shirt hanging from her shoulders, her face red from the tiny moan she’d made as she showered…

I guess it’s no wonder those steely-blue eyes continued to follow me into my dreams.

Alluring woman that she was, Bryn had quickly become the bane of my existence.

I sat up with a growl and tossed my legs over the side of the bed. I heaved a sigh, resting my elbows on my knees and letting my hair fall forward. I wasn’t sure what I should do now that I was awake. That dream made me want to go for a run.

I took a deep breath and was immediately inundated with Bryn’s sweet scent. It brought me back to my dream, to the memory of the soft woman in my arms and the way she felt bouncing on my cock—

I stood up quickly when my wolf began to pace with energy. I needed to go for a run alright, but not in my wolf form. I couldn’t trust him to behave himself, not when Bryn smelled so good and was so close.

Something needed to change about this arrangement.

When I’d first brought her onto my territory, having her stay in my cabin had seemed like the only option.

But if just the scent of her could drive me wild, this setup was unsustainable.

And it wasn’t just her smell or her closeness that disturbed me and set me on edge—it was also the way she sobbed at night when she thought I was asleep.

Her cries agitated my wolf, and it was impossible for me to get any rest.

Bryn was going to drive me into an early grave if I let things go on like this. I needed to find a solution, and maybe going for a run would help.

I got dressed and washed up. When I was ready, I stopped by Bryn’s door just to make sure Mom had locked it.

The bolt held tight, and I let out a quiet, relieved breath.

Honestly, I didn’t feel like I could fully trust Mom when it came to Bryn.

She had taken an immediate interest in Bryn, and I didn’t understand why.

I had tried once to talk Mom out of visiting with Bryn, declaring that making nice with Bryn wouldn’t matter in the end because she wasn’t staying once she’d served her purpose. But of course, Mom had ignored me.

I guess she must get something out of these morning meetings with Bryn if she kept coming. I knew better than to continue debating the issue with her, so I allowed the morning chats and meal drop-offs to continue, even though I knew it was pointless.

Outside, the air was crisp and cool, and the sky was pale blue with splotches of gray clouds spread out along the horizon.

Ideal weather for a morning run. I began at a jog, heading into the forest, my breath puffing out as white steam in front of me as I fell into a rhythm.

The forest seemed to open up for me as I moved deeper along the path that I, and so many other wolves before me, had worn into the ground.

I upped my pace as I went deeper into the forest. I could almost close my eyes—I knew the path so well.

When I went on runs, I felt connected to the ground beneath my feet, the trees on either side, and the tree leaves and sky above.

My mind would become a blank slate, filled with nothing but the satisfaction and joy of being in my own skin.

But today, my thoughts refused to shut up.

Like the incessant buzzing of a wasp, they were all concerned with the huge, Bryn-sized thorn in my side.

I put my head down and pushed myself into a sprint. The woods began to blur around me as I ran faster, hoping I could force her from my mind. It didn’t work.

As I came up to the hot springs, I slid to a stop.

The springs were one of the few luxuries that the Wargs enjoyed.

There were about a dozen pools ranging in size to accommodate two to twenty wolves at one time.

The pools were built by generations of Wargs lining up large, flat river stones to delineate each one.

The water was crystal clear and deliciously warm.

I was tempted to get inside one of the smaller pools, but I decided to take a seat at the foot of a tall pine tree instead.

I wiped sweat from my forehead with my sleeve and leaned against the trunk.

I couldn’t keep ignoring the issue—I needed to figure out what I wanted to do with Bryn.

I knew my wolves were curious about what exactly I was going to do with her, and keeping them in the dark for so long would be bad for morale. I needed to give them an answer soon.

So, I thought back to the night we met. Why had I taken her?

At the time, seeing her strapped up against the wall, I’d known immediately what Troy, the son of a bitch, wanted to do with her.

Before I’d known her name, before I’d even heard her voice, the knowledge of what was soon to be her fate had almost sent me into a rage.

Just thinking about the paleness of her face, the quick, frightened beating of her heart, and the dull, hopeless look in her eyes had me jumping back up to my feet.

I started to pace back and forth in front of the pools.

When Troy had returned to his cabin, speaking in that disgusting singsong tone, the possessiveness and need to control had wafted off the new Alpha like a bad stench.

At the time, I had sensed so much hatred in Troy—paired with a strange obsession for Bryn—that I hadn’t even questioned my decision to leave with her.

If I hadn’t left with her, I knew I’d be abandoning her to whatever torture he had planned for her before the challenge ceremony.

At that moment, I had only wanted to get her as far away from Troy as possible. It was only after the fact that I started to believe I could use her as a bargaining chip. Now I had something that Troy wanted, just like Troy had something that I deserved.

Though I didn’t understand it, I could admit to myself that I wasn’t a neutral party when it came to Bryn.

Whatever conclusion I came to now would be tainted by this illogical interest I had in her.

What I needed to do was present our options to my most trusted wolves and then have someone else make the decisions about Bryn until I could figure out how to get my head on straight.

With my mind made up about my next steps, I started the jog home. As I neared the compound, I tapped into the telepathic link I shared with my pack. I sent out a call to Dom and the others I was closest with. “We need to have a meeting. Head to the conference room.”

I didn’t need to follow up to make sure they would follow through with my command—I knew they would. So I headed to the mess hall. When I walked inside, I found several families enjoying their breakfasts. I put on an easy smile as they watched me pass.

“Good morning, Alpha,” Janet, an older female wolf, greeted. “I’m glad I caught you.”

“Good morning, Janet,” I nodded. Though I needed to head to the conference room at the back of the mess hall, it wasn’t so dire that I couldn’t give her a few minutes of my time.

“I wanted to thank you for the work you did on our roof last week.” She reached into her hand-stitched bag made from worn denim jeans and removed a small, green jar. “I made you some mint jelly.”

I accepted the small jar with a wider smile. As was the case with my mom and so many of the other female wolves of my pack, I knew better than to argue about receiving these gifts.

“Thank you so much, Janet. I appreciate it.”

She beamed at me. “Let me know if you need any recipes for it, but as you already know, it is absolutely divine on lamb.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I nodded goodbye to her and then continued toward my destination.

The conference room was small, with a table in the center of it—a table that I’d built myself after I became Alpha.

My wolves stood around the table at attention, all ready to carry out whatever order I had for them.

As I approached the table, Dom caught my eye.

A question glinted in his gaze. I usually told him beforehand about meetings.

I nodded back at him; Dom would find out the purpose of this meeting soon enough.

“Let’s get this meeting underway,” I said, taking a seat at the head of the table. Everyone followed suit. “First, what news do we have?”

“Not much from me, Alpha,” Redford said. “My mate’s just happy to have me back home.”

“Same here,” Anthony said. A scar cut across the middle of his face. “Mine told me expressly to let you know she appreciated you making sure that we all arrived in one piece.”

I smiled, though guilt again gnawed at me. Things could have gone a hell of a lot worse, thanks to my impromptu decision. To distract myself, I turned to William. He was a fantastic tracker, and he had been one of the wolves who were injured in the altercation with the Kings.

“How’s your leg?” I asked. I knew William had recovered, but I could see that he had something on his mind from the way he shifted in his seat.

“Completely healed, thank you, Alpha,” William nodded. He was an excellent man for me to have on my team, but he was a bit shy. “I did want to announce that my mate let me know that she’s expecting.”

“Hot damn!” Dom exclaimed, pounding his fist against the table. “What is this, pup number three for you?”

William nodded again, the apples of his cheeks turning slightly pink with pride.