Page 319 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

“Yes, I know.”

Lance hesitated for a few seconds. I steeled myself for what he was about to say.

“I have to be the one to give Bryn blood,” he said, swallowing so hard that I saw his Adam’s apple bob. “Because Blossom was my mother, too.”

Tavi and Dom were stunned into silence. Bryn drew in a sharp breath, and I looked at her. I read the confusion in her frown, followed swiftly by betrayal. But before she could speak, her eyes rolled back, and she was unconscious once more.

115

BRYN

Iwoke slowly from a dreamless place. My vision was blurry as I looked around the white room…until I found Lance sitting in the chair next to my bed. When I saw him, my vision cleared, and I remembered the feral attack. And I remembered him saying that he was my brother.

His dark auburn hair was a mess, and he was nodding off in his chair with his arms crossed. It was strange to think that this man who’d spoken in riddles and generally been strange around me was not only my blood relative but my sibling. I had so many things I wanted to say to him.

When I moved my hand to scratch my other arm, Lance snapped to attention.

“You’re awake?” He started to stand. “I’ll get Night.”

“No.” My voice was a croak, but clearing my throat didn’t help. “Not yet. I have some things I want to say to you.”

“Oh. Um, sure. How are you? Can I get you anything?”

“Water.”

He nodded. There was a pitcher of water and cups on a table across the room. He filled one of the cups and brought it toward me. I tried to push myself into a seated position, but it was difficult. He set the cup down on the bedside table and rushed to help me. His palms were rough on my back and shoulders, scarred like Night’s. When he handed me my water, I noticed the callouses on his knuckles. He was a fighter, like all the men I knew. And in that way, he was familiar, but he was still such a stranger to me.

“How long was I out?” I asked.

“Two days.”

I winced. “Jeez.”

“Yeah.”

I sipped the water and watched him sit back down. He ran his palms over the knees of his jeans, and then his knee started bouncing. I glanced at his face, and he quickly looked away from me.

“You seem nervous,” I said. Thanks to the water, my throat was less scratchy.

He forced a laugh. “Ah, maybe a little. Night will probably kill me if he finds out you’re awake and I didn’t tell him immediately.”

“That’s funny.”

He blinked. “It is?”

“Yeah. You should be worried about the threat sitting right next to you.” I leveled a glare at him, and he had the decency to duck his head. “I’ll probably kill you both the minute I can get up fromthis bed. You lied to me.” I sighed and leaned back against my pillow. “And so did Night. But what else is new?”

“Hold on.” He leaned toward me. “You shouldn’t blame Night. He was innocent in this.”

I raised a brow. Lance defending my mate was the last thing I’d expected, given their history. “How exactly is he innocent? He helped you keep the secret, didn’t he?”

He paused, but only for about a second. “Okay—yes, he did. But he did that because I made him. He asked me multiple times to tell you the truth, but I refused because I was sure it would keep you safer if you didn’t know. But now, I know it was because I was too much of a coward to tell you.”

I stared at him, waiting for more.

“He sent Tavi and Dom home to take care of your packs and stayed by your side the entire time you were out. He only left about an hour ago, and that was because I forced him to get some rest.”

My wolf yipped happily at that, and I almost smiled. Almost.