Page 36 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

NIGHT

According to Mom, Bryn had not only stopped trying to escape, but she’d also requested to work in the kitchens. I didn’t like it, but we would benefit from the extra pair of hands, so I couldn’t find a good reason to refuse her request. I had no choice but to allow it.

I’d wondered if this wasn’t all a ruse orchestrated by Bryn.

If she could get me to drop my guard, she would have more opportunities to escape.

That was the excuse I used as I watched her all through dinner.

Though I finished two helpings of food, I couldn’t remember the taste or the texture of the meal—hell, I could hardly recall eating at all.

I had hoped the time away from Bryn would give me the opportunity to regain control of myself, but the moment she was nearby, she was all I could focus on.

After lunch ended, I stormed back into my cabin, throwing open the door and slamming it shut behind me. I dropped down on my sofa, head in my hands, and when I closed my eyes, it was Bryn’s soft face, tight body, and those damnable steel-blue eyes that I saw in my mind.

She was everywhere. Ever since she left my cabin, I swore I could smell her at the most random times of the day, in places of the house she had never been to.

I could hear her voice echoing in the halls, a ghost tormenting me with her closeness.

I tried to stay far away from Mom’s cabin (and my own damn cabin with her aroma permeating every corner of it) during the day, but occasionally, I caught glimpses of her working in the gardens.

Apparently, she was really talented; Mom couldn’t stop talking about how overjoyed she was to see the new growths and the quality of the vegetables.

I could make the rules even stricter and forbid her from leaving the cabin at all, but even I couldn’t be so cruel as deny her the small glimpses of freedom she had.

And, if I’d confined Bryn to the cabin, she wouldn’t have appeared with Octavia for lunch, and I wouldn’t have seen the smile on Tavi’s face.

Thinking of Tavi made me lean against the backrest of my couch and stare up at the ceiling.

Tavi had been through a lot, to put it lightly.

Though she was young, she was one of the wolves who had suffered the most at the hands of the Kings not that long ago.

Because of her hardships, I made sure to teach her how to fight, though I never expected her to be a hunter or a scout or a sentinel.

Though Tavi had friends, it wasn’t uncommon to see her wandering the grounds by herself, her melancholy expression nothing like the light smile she normally wore.

But I hadn’t seen Tavi going off by herself at all these last few days. In fact, she had seemed even more lively than usual. She was so much like a little sister to me that it made me happy to see her smile—even if it meant she had befriended the girl I had taken prisoner.

Every time Bryn and I had spoken, it ended in an argument or a snark-off. How had she managed to make friends in the short time she’d been here? When all she had for me was sarcasm and callousness, how had she made such huge impressions not only on Dom and Mom but on Tavi, too?

And it wasn’t just those three—it seemed she was well on her way to charming the entire pack.

The only interactions I’d witnessed between Bryn and my pack were born from curiosity, friendliness, or interest. The latter point always sent my stress level as high as it would be on an intense mission.

I had fought to keep the jealousy off my face, but whenever I watched Bryn receiving attention from a male wolf during the meal, I couldn’t keep from breaking plates and bending utensils in my hands.

I told myself I was reacting so intensely because I wanted to make sure the interactions were safe ones, but the truth was that I could hardly stomach the sight of them drooling over her. It made my wolf growl and snap his fangs.

Dom, who never failed to capitalize on moments when I was off my game, had talked nonstop about Bryn through lunch.

He went on and on about how much he liked her, how quickly the younger wolves had accepted her, and how interesting she was.

It got to the point that I chastised him for caring so much about a human woman—though I couldn’t admit to feeling the same fascination about her.

As if thinking of my beta had summoned him, I heard a knock on the door. I knew it was Dom.

“Come in,” I said.

Dom entered, closing the door behind him. As he looked at me, he gave a low whistle. “Wow, you look as tired as you sound.” He plopped down on the sofa next to me. “I bet I have some news that’ll wake you up.”

I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. I was in no mood to rise to Dom’s teasing. “What is it?”

“We received a reply.”

Those four words had me sitting up again. I turned my full attention his way. “And?”

“He agreed to your terms, but he said that this can only go down on Kings’ territory.”

“Yes.” They would all be my lands anyway; it made sense that the battle should happen there.

“We need to prep the team—who should we bring with us?”

I had already considered this question. “The same group. Minus Jasper and the other juniors we brought with us before.”

Dom nodded. “Of course.”

This was good. Troy had agreed to the terms easily, and before long, word that I had challenged Troy would spread across the Idaho panhandle.

“Did Redwolf say anything else?” I asked.

“Yes. He talked about Bryn.” Dom’s eyes grew dark, and his placid expression turned into a grimace. “You were right—the fucker wants her back. Badly.”

My lips pulled away from my teeth as my wolf growled. “What did he say?”

“He said that if he found out anyone had touched her or mated her, he would kill her in front of her mother and place her body parts along the Kings’ compound lines. He wants her, but he wants her pure, otherwise the deal is off.”

I gripped the armrest of the couch unconsciously.

My hand had shifted, and my claws drew lines through the upholstery as I clenched it into a fist. Bryn was human, so it shouldn’t matter to a wolf whether she was a virgin.

He was probably saying that just to remind me of the way I’d found Bryn.

It was a tactic to get inside my head—to intimidate, to make himself sound like the big, bad Alpha he wanted everyone to believe he was.

But all the idiot had done was piss me off.

“That sick fuck doesn’t deserve an honorable death,” I said quietly. “He deserves to die as slowly and painfully as possible.”

Dom leapt to his feet. “Then let’s go and murder the fucker. Why even do all of this?”

“As much as I want to watch him bleed out at my feet, it isn’t right to just assassinate him, the deal—”

“Screw the fucking deal! Let’s forget all about giving Bryn back, and let’s go rip him apart. Tonight.”

I glared at Dom. “Then what was any of this for, Dom? Why go through the trouble of kidnapping Bryn and setting the terms of the deal? We have the eyes of other packs on us now. The deal is done.”

“Night.” Dom met my glare. “I have never questioned you about anything. I would lay down my life just to carry out your will, but I can’t condone this.”

“You’re letting your affection for her cloud your senses, Dom.”

“The hell I am. I wouldn’t force anyone back into the hands of someone who wants to do any of the batshit awful things that Troy said he wanted to do to Bryn. It’s wrong, Night.”

Dom and I held each other’s stare until we both looked away. I heaved a sigh.

“I hear what you’re saying, Dom. I really, really don’t like the idea of Bryn being anywhere near Redwolf, but I won’t let him hurt her.”

Dom scoffed. It was an extremely disrespectful thing to do to an Alpha, but I knew emotions were high. “How do you plan to follow through on that, Night?”

“He won’t have time to do anything to her. We take her back, and the challenge starts. I’ll have sentries keeping an eye on her the entire time. Nothing will happen.”

“Any time that she has to spend on the Kings’ grounds is too fucking long. What if one of our sentries loses sight of her? What if they kill her the moment Troy has eyes on her? Anything could happen, Night. Anything.”

Dom was right. Even though I had no intention of letting Troy spend any time alone with Bryn, there was a lot of risk to this plan. I hated leaving anything up to chance, but the terms were set. We had just over two weeks to come up with a solution to make sure Bryn was safe.

“Dom, do you think I don’t hate this? You know just as well as I do that our pack is renowned for being uncivilized. Violent. How would it look if we went back on the deal? How would anyone respect us if we proved the worst things they think about us are true?”

“We’ll be strong enough to keep anyone who doubts us quiet.”

I shook my head. “Then we’re no fucking better than the Redwolfs. You’re getting too wound up, Dom. Don’t forget that we have the Kings’ pack lands within our grasp. We just need to see the rest of this through.”

Dom wasn’t impressed by my words. But then, he wouldn’t be. He’d heard this explanation before, and he understood why we had to do things this way, but that didn’t take away the sour taste from the back of my mouth.

“Whatever, Night,” he said, walking toward the door. “You just better hope you win.”

“I know I’ll win.”

Minutes after Dom left the cabin, I shifted into my wolf form.

After that intense argument and after hearing what Troy had said about Bryn, it was time for me to check in with my sentries.

It was good timing because I had to shift to reach the border of my territory quickly, and I longed to get rid of some of my pent-up aggression.

As the change took over me, forcing me onto all fours as fur sprouted along my body, my thoughts became less structured.

Instead of thinking of Bryn or Dom or worrying about the future, I could focus on the moment—on the simple task of running.

I sprinted into the forest, and the trees seemed to part around me as I zipped by.

I stopped to check in with my sentries to make sure the borders were safe.

In my wolf form, communicating telepathically with my team was as easy as communicating verbally.

According to them, the Kings hadn’t had the chance to injure any more of my pack, though they continued to sniff around the borders.

After I’d checked in with everyone, I yawned and stretched.

It seemed I could allow myself to relax a bit and release the rest of my frustration.

I could hear the quick steps of rabbits and foxes around me—time for a bit of a snack.

My wolf whined for control, and I didn’t fight him, letting him take over for a bit to give myself a few minutes of rest.

When I came to, I skidded to a halt. I was back in the village, the taste of rabbit still warm on my tongue, and I was standing—shit. I was standing below Bryn’s bedroom window.

My mom’s cabin was a dark, comforting silhouette against the night sky except for the light coming from Bryn’s room.

She had a candle lit, and her arms were stretched over her head.

She was naked, and her smooth back and perfect ass were on display in the warm, flickering light.

As I watched, she turned a bit to the side, revealing her profile as she reached for the candle.

Seconds before she blew out the light, I watched her hands move down from her hair to her breasts.

I had to bite my tongue to keep from howling.

Immediately, I shifted into my human form. I shivered and crouched on the ground. Seeing Bryn like this…it was too much. My wolf wanted nothing more than to run to her and claim her right then. I wasn’t sure I would have been able to stop it.

I stuck to the shadows and ran quickly to my cabin. The stealth wasn’t necessary—I sensed no wolf nearby enough to see me—but I didn’t want to risk the embarrassment of someone catching me all alone, naked, and fully erect.

Once inside, I rushed into the bathroom and closed the door.

I pressed my back to the wood and then slowly sank down to the floor.

What the hell was wrong with me? I was a grown man who was no stranger to nudity.

Nakedness was part of the werewolf experience; I had long grown out of the teenage stage when every sight of a breast got me aroused.

So why was it that Bryn affected me like this?

Why did even a glimpse of her naked form send me fucking wild?

I sighed and stood. I needed to shower and then get to bed and sleep this off.

I turned on the shower and stepped into the hot water.

As I lathered up, Bryn again flashed through my mind.

I couldn’t resist it anymore, so I took my cock in my hand, stroking it as I recalled the image of her—the way the firelight had glowed across her skin, how soft and supple every curve of hers looked.

If she had turned to look at me the way that she had in the mess hall, her pink tongue licking over those full, pouty lips… I would have come undone.

I could picture her lying across my bed, her gorgeous hair spread out around her, her hands on my chest, her thighs pressing into my sides as I buried myself as deep inside her as possible.

I imagined nuzzling into her neck as she pressed her nails into my back, begging me for more and more.

I wondered if her lips would taste as sweet as they did in my dreams—if her keening cries would drive me as wild.

I pressed my free hand flat to the shower wall, growling low as my climax rumbled through me. I stood there for so long, shuddering in the wake of my orgasm, that the water temperature began to cool. I shivered, quickly finished up my shower, and then turned off the water.

I knew I had gotten too attached to Bryn, which didn’t bode well for my plan.

In seventeen days, she would be going back to the Kings.

Though her stay would be brief—no more than a few hours—my wolf snarled at the thought of her being anywhere near that abusive fucker.

But what choice did I have? The terms had been set, and now the future of my pack was at stake.

Still, I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of sending Bryn back into that hell.

It would be better for me if I could send Bryn somewhere far, far away.

That way, she wouldn’t be in danger from Redwolf, and I wouldn’t feel tempted to visit her or find some excuse to see her.

She was going to ruin me if I wasn’t careful.