Page 355 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

I paused in my boxing, my breath a bit labored. I wanted to point out all the moments where the two of them had gotten to connect, but other than when she learned who he was, I couldn’t think of any. I’d gotten the sibling experience with Tavi and Dom, but Bryn and Lance had grown up isolated. It was a sad thought. Thinking about that just added to the many tragedies that Troy had heaped onto our lives.

“Once this is over, I’m sure you’ll get that opportunity. You can make time for it.”

He gave a small smile but didn’t seem convinced. “I hope that’s the case.”

“No. Itwillbe the case. You, me, Dom, everyone here will keep Bryn safe, and as long as she’s around, you’ll be able to connect with her. I can guarantee it.”

He stared at me for a long time. It was one of those searching stares, like he wasn’t sure if he believed me. But then he nodded, and the look in his cerulean eyes was very steady, very serious.

“I’ll hold you to that, Night.” And then, after a pause. “Does that add more pressure on your shoulders?”

“Not at all.” I resumed shadowboxing. “I’m already going to protect my mate with everything I’ve got. And you ought to hold me accountable for that because I’m sure that’s what Blossom would’ve wanted.”

“You’re right,” Lance said. “Thanks for the talk, Night.”

Hours later, we all stood at the entrance to Garou territory to meet Dom and Tavi. They had returned with reinforcements from the Camas Pack, and among them was…a woman? All of us looked at Oakley and Birchen. The Camas adding a woman to their ranks was unheard of.

Oakley grinned when he saw the confusion on our faces. I’d never seen the man so happy and excited.

“I was so impressed by how the women have stepped up in Alpha Night’s pack that I’m instilling some changes—starting today,” he announced. “Dawn is the best tracker we have; she proved as much when I had my pack track my own footsteps in the forest. She picked mine out from other wolves close to my height and build. She’ll be happy to assist.”

Dawn nodded. She wore the linen dresses that were indicative of the Camas Pack. She seemed sheepish, but in her eyes was a determination I hadn’t ever seen in the Camas women. I could only imagine how Samara would react when she heard that her father had brought Dawn along.

“We’ll all work hard to keep you safe, Dawn,” Lance told her.

She looked at him and blushed bright red. “Th-thank you. I’m in your care.”

Leo clapped his hands, directing our attention to where he and Cat stood. “Great. Let’s get things going.”

He’d spread a map out on a large, flat boulder. It must have been an older map because the edges were frayed. The map itself had soft creases from years of use, and the cave systems were marked in faded black ink. We all gathered around the rock to get a good view of it.

Leo pointed to the map. “From what Bryn said, this is the best route to get to Troy’s hideout. Heading this way would prevent the ferals from cutting us off because we won’t be going at them head-on.”

“Alpha Oakley, could I take a closer look?” Dawn’s soft voice pulled our attention. It was silly that she would need permission before looking at the map. Obviously, Oakley had a long way to go if he wanted to make his pack more equal.

He nodded. “Of course.”

She leaned over the map, squinting at the route. “Yes, it’s as I thought.” She pointed to another cave system about five miles from the one Leo had shown us. “If our enemy is after seclusion, these caves would be more remote. They’re not visible unless you’re close to them, and they’re easy to miss when running past them. Like the other caves, this cave system gives you plenty of access to other systems in the area.”

Leo shook his head. “No, I considered this last night. This other area matches more closely with what Bryn described.”

“Ah, of course.” She lowered her head in deference. “I’m so sorry for presuming.”

Her apology must have touched all of us because we started speaking simultaneously, rushing to reassure her that she’d done nothing wrong. Birchen and Oakley seemed amused by our efforts.

A few minutes later, we all headed out. We decided to make the majority of the trip in wolf form and then enter the cave in human form, hoping it would catch the ferals off-guard. We were prepared with a paralytic that the Garou Pack had created.

“That was how we escaped our previous pack,” Cat explained.

The paralytic would start working within seconds of entering the bloodstream, which was obviously a huge point in our favor. We were ready for anything. But when we approached the cave, it looked deserted. I struggled to stem my disappointment.

“This is the place,” Bryn said, leading us forward. There were many caverns in the cave, but she led us through a winding tunnel that opened to a secluded clearing. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, but I doubted this had anything to do with the cold or the snow that still blanketed the ground.

She pointed to the symbols carved on the cave wall. “This is the spot,” she said. “This is where it happened. But there’s no magic here, just death.”

I didn’t have anywhere near the spiritual sense that she had, but even I could feel that something about this place wasn’t right. The ground near the cave wall was stained red. Even after ten years of snow and rain and wind, the symbols and bloodied markings looked recent.

“Shit,” Leo said. “Did he leave?”