Page 307 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

“I don’t recognize this at all. Gregor was so thorough, he may have gotten rid of the books he got his information from. That said, it’s possible that Troy wasn’t nearly as diligent.”

She turned the page and read for a few minutes before looking up, her eyes wide with concern.

“It’s dangerous if Troy has ever seen this. This book talks a lot about the mystical power within pack mothers and blood being used to strengthen rituals. Take a look at this passage.” She read it out loud. “‘If one should desire to try and access the mysteries of the universe, spill the blood of a pack mother and a young child. Only then will there be enough magic potential to split the veil between worlds.’”

I shuddered. “That doesn’t sound great.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Night said. “I just want to be clear, this is a book of legends, right?”

Violet nodded. “On the surface, this has the same historic significance as a collection of fairytales, so it makes sense that it would be in a library. But this story is far too close to what Troy might be trying to achieve. In light of what he and Gregor were doing, I’m glad you got this away from the public eye.”

Night nodded.

“The books the elders and I have been working through are not primary sources; the long-dead authors talk about these oldlegends from memory. It’s been impossible to get our hands on direct sources likethis.” She ran her hand over the page, a mix of reverence and fear in the gesture. “This book is dangerous as long as it’s out in the open.”

“Yeah, I was thinking about destroying it.” My mate looked pale. I rubbed the back of his shoulder, feeling the tension that had built between the blade and his spine. He placed his hand over mine.

“Destroying it might not be the best solution. Maybe we should get the council involved in this,” she said.

Night shook his head. “We can’t. I don’t even want you to show this to the elders, Mom.”

“But this might help them in their research.”

“I know, but there’s no way to tell who knows about this book’s existence. It’s possible Troy knows about it, which means there could be people in this pack who want to get their hands on it. The Wargs Council is already fighting the merger, and the threat of them trying to find a wolf to replace me is real.”

“Night.” Violet’s voice was soft and somber. “You don’t think they’d kill Bryn to try to use the portal, do you?”

“No. I don’t think anyone is as depraved as Troy. They’re people of logic and action, and talking about this mystical stuff might encourage them to find someone to challenge me even faster. We can’t risk telling anyone what we know.”

She nodded, but this didn’t sit right with me.

“More and more secrets,” I grumbled. “I hate this.”

Night looked at me, and something flashed in his eyes. It was there and gone before I could figure out what it was.

He took my hand from his shoulder and kissed my fingers. “I know you do,” he said gently. “But right now, we don’t have another option.”

I sighed. “I’d rather be as transparent as possible. I get keeping some stuff close to the chest, but to not even tell the elders?” I shook my head. “Secrets were Gregor and Troy’s tools.”

“But aren’t they necessary sometimes?” Night asked. “If it’s for the purpose of safety?”

I hesitated. “I guess so, but only for as long as it takes us to find more information about this or about where Troy’s hiding.”

“It’s a deal.” He kissed my fingers again. “I’m going to talk to Lance.”

My eyebrows raised. “Really? Even though it didn’t go well last time?”

“Don’t worry, love. I’m going to do a lot better this time.”

“Okay.” I smiled. “I trust you.”

112

NIGHT

Amonth had passed since I convinced Bryn it was best to keep the book and those passages a secret from the councils and elders. I knew it bothered her, but we had enough to keep us occupied as we spent time on Wargs’ territory. We had set up building crews and finalized the plans for the marketplace expansion.

And in even happier news, the baby had grown more active. They kicked and moved around more and more often as the weeks went by. Bryn was probably just as relieved as I was to focus on something positive, something that wasn’t Troy or blood rituals.