Page 40 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

NIGHT

Iwoke the morning after the bonfire to a pounding headache.

Sitting up slowly and pressing the heels of my hands to my temples, I reached into my nightstand for some ibuprofen and took three dry.

As I waited for them to kick in, I heard movement in my cabin.

I stilled, listening, and then relaxed. I recognized the pattern of footsteps, the humming, and the smell of coffee. Mom was downstairs.

I got up and changed from last night’s clothes.

My hair was still a bit damp from the long shower I’d taken after I got back from the border.

The strands fell over my forehead as I entered the kitchen.

Mom was indeed buzzing from cabinet to cabinet, rearranging things as she saw fit.

I used to hate her habit of reorganizing my things, but I’d gotten used to it.

I’d change the spices around or move the plates back into the cabinet I used most often some other time, but I didn’t mind letting her do what she liked.

She looked at me as I walked in, her eyes wide and a careful smile on her lips. I know that look, I thought with a sigh. She’s about to give me her mystical “fate” talk. I glanced behind me at the kitchen table. At least there’s coffee.

“Night,” she said, setting the silverware she had been holding back into the drawer, “you know it’s going to rain in the next few days.”

“Yeah?” I sipped my coffee. We both knew she hadn’t come to me to talk about the weather.

“You look tired, Night.” She slid into the chair across from me, where her own cup of coffee sat. “Could I have an update on what happened last night?”

I sighed. “The Kings sent a group of five to the north side of the border to start shit. We had two wolves patrolling the area at the time, so they were immediately outnumbered.” I closed my eyes, letting the grief wash over me as I gripped the handle of my mug tightly. “We lost one of them.”

“Oh, no…” she breathed.

“Of course, the Kings didn’t stick around for a fair fight.

” Here, my grief mixed with rage. “They’d accomplished what they set out to do the minute Iggy’s heart stopped beating.

By the time my team and I showed up, they were running off.

I sent a few after them, but they’d made it over the river before we could catch them. ”

She reached across the table, setting her hand on top of mine. “You did the best you could, baby,” she soothed. “You acted quickly, just the way a true Alpha would.”

She said that, but she wasn’t the one who’d had to sit down with Iggy’s family and tell them that she wouldn’t be coming home that night. Mom didn’t have to see the sorrow and rage in the eyes of Iggy’s family. It ate me up remembering the way her pups had wailed for her.

“…Colville?”

I looked up. Mom had been speaking, but I’d been too in my head to pay attention.

Seeing the confusion on my face, she patted my hand and smiled gently. “I asked when the next group is going into Colville.”

Colville was the closest human town, and we often stopped there for clothing and materials. I hadn’t been expecting her to ask when we were going for our next supply run. Mom was usually self-sufficient, preferring to make or repair the things she already had rather than get something new.

“Why?” I asked. “Did you need something?”

She shook her head. “I don’t, but Bryn could use a few things.”

At the mention of her name, I briefly remembered last night’s dream, but I pushed it away before I could lose myself in the memory.

“Mom, I don’t understand why you give a damn about a human girl,” I said, not bothering to hide my annoyance.

“You have never cared about humans—you’ve never gone into Colville or interacted with them when they come through the area. So why are you so focused on this one?”

She pulled her hand back so she could hold her cup with both hands and stared at me with eyes that were every bit as green and intent as my own. “Night, you’re only seeing what your eyes can take in.”

Whatever the hell that means, I thought, taking a deep sip of my coffee.

“Night, are you really planning on turning Bryn over to the Kings’ monster?”

I hesitated, glancing up at her over the rim of my cup. There was disappointment in the furrow of her brow and the frown on her lips. It hurt to see that I was letting her down, so I quickly changed the subject.

“You mentioned rain earlier,” I said. “We’re going to want to get a new roof on the schoolhouse before the real heat of the summer starts. And we’ll need to rethink the way we ration our food once it gets colder and food becomes more scarce.”

She sighed and nodded, allowing me to shift gears. “You know, it’s funny you mention food. Thanks to Bryn, I’ve expanded the garden to nearly double what it was before. So you can expect an increase in fresh fruits and veggies shortly.”

“Wait, really?” I knew Bryn was helping Mom out with her garden, but I’d had no idea she was so efficient. “She’s only been here a couple of weeks.”

“I know. Isn’t she amazing? That girl might know more than I do about how to cater to the land and give it what it deserves.

I think she works so hard because she doesn’t want to think about her home.

She’s probably grateful for any opportunity not to think about the life she was forced to leave behind or what her poor mother must think about her sudden absence. ”

I winced. Obviously, she was trying to get me to ease off Bryn. “Alright, you don’t have to guilt-trip me, Mom. I get the point.”

“Good.” She finished the rest of her coffee. “I’ll do the dishes. Why don’t you get some breakfast at the mess hall? They should still be serving some.”

The moment she mentioned breakfast, my stomach began to rumble. She chuckled at me as she collected our cups from the table.

Ismelled Bryn the moment I stepped into the mess hall, her sweet, earthy scent overpowering me.

For the second time that morning, I remembered flashes of my dream, the way her gray-blue eyes looked up at me, wide and wanting, and the way I made her scream my name in ecstasy as she gripped the bed sheets in her hands.

I had to physically shake away those thoughts.

As I scanned the room, I watched her bring the last of the food out from the kitchen and to the buffet tables. Against my better judgment, I started to approach her.

I wasn’t sure what I’d say to her. Last night, I had demanded that she not leave Mom’s house, but she’d obviously disregarded my order. Though her disobedience ought to annoy me, I couldn’t hold on to that negativity as I watched her talk and laugh with the wolves who were getting breakfast.

Our fight last night had amounted to nothing; Bryn’s fiery temper had made me zone out and say ridiculous things, things I couldn’t quite recall after I learned of Iggy’s death.

All I could remember of our argument was the sight of her full, pink lips and the way her chest rose and fell with her heavy breathing.

And that outfit. Why did thinking of her legs in those stockings and the few inches of skin that weren’t hidden under her dress make my heartbeat race?

I think I would have kissed her last night if not for the timing of the attack.

I drew nearer to her, my mind still blank about what I planned to say, when Mabel and Frankie, two older female wolves, entered the mess hall carrying a large tub.

Bryn stopped what she was doing and rushed to help them carry it.

They smiled at her with adoration glimmering in their eyes.

Immediately, my chest began to ache in that way that made me want to draw close to her, to hold her.

No longer hungry and no longer brave enough to go and talk to her, I found a place to sit and watched Bryn throughout the remainder of breakfast. She only sat down to her own food after she was sure that everyone else had plenty to eat.

And once she was done, she was the first to get up and start cleaning.

The other families on cleaning duty tried to convince her not to help, but she laughed them off, and soon they were smiling at her and working together.

I was amazed. Somehow, a human woman had my entire pack eating out of her hands after just over a week of interacting with them. They seemed enraptured by her.

I rested my elbows on the table and really looked at her and tried to see what they saw.

Her warm chestnut hair was pulled into a messy bun at the top of her head, held in place with only a few clips.

Tendrils stuck out around her face, fluttering in the wind of her graceful movements.

She stopped wiping down a table and removed her gray sweatshirt, exposing an inch of her stomach as she did.

She wrapped it around her waist and returned to work, the t-shirt she wore underneath clinging to her chest. My eyes moved a bit lower to where the jeans she loved to wear were practically painted to the curves of her ass and thighs.

Though Bryn was drop-dead sexy, she didn’t seem to be aware of it.

She had no idea that nearly every single wolf in my pack was drooling after her.

I’d even heard them talk about her during training.

I had silenced that talk the moment I was aware of it, but looking at her now, I couldn’t blame them for obsessing over her.

“Hey, Night.” Tavi’s voice surprised me. She stood just behind me, her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face. “I’ve got a bone to pick with you.”

“You and everyone else.” I turned my full attention to her. “What’s up?”

“Don’t you think it’s time that Bryn became less a prisoner and more a live-in human?”

I raised a brow. I should have expected that this would be about Bryn.

“I mean, it’s just that she’s so intelligent and attentive to everyone’s needs. Mom tells me she’s doing a kick-ass job in the garden, and, I mean, everyone loves her, so by this point, keeping her on house arrest is a little unnecessary, don’t you think?”

“In your opinion, sure.”

“Aw, Night, come on.” Her voice dropped into a whine. “I’ve never asked you for a favor or anything, but Bryn is so depressed and trapped inside all the time. Couldn’t she have free rein of the compound so she can breathe a little? Please? I’ll take full responsibility for her.”

I snorted. “You can barely take care of a houseplant.”

“Night—”

I raised my hands, and she quieted. “Alright. I suppose I can ease up on her restrictions a little more.”

Tavi’s eyes brightened. “That’s great! Night, I promise you won’t regret this!”

I nodded along. I’d agreed begrudgingly since I couldn’t think of a good reason to keep tight reins on Bryn anymore.

What she’d said last night about being unable to escape the camp was true; I would drop everything to track her down myself if I found out she had escaped into the forest. Keeping her bound to Mom’s cabin had been more to make sure Bryn stayed in line than anything, but now that she’d stopped trying to escape, those restrictions weren’t really necessary.

As Tavi started to ramble beside me about something or other, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.

A young pup—I thought his name might be Pax—ran in through the door.

He paused near the entrance, frantically looking from left to right, and then his face lit up when he spotted what he was looking for.

I watched him maneuver easily through the crowd of wolves and make a beeline for… Bryn?

The moment the boy reached her, he hugged her from behind.

His little arms were just long enough to wrap around one of her thighs.

At first, I wasn’t sure what to think. Could the little boy have somehow mistaken Bryn for his mother?

But no, Bryn laughed as she crouched to hug him back.

He cupped his hand to his mouth and whispered something in her ear.

I tilted my head. If I focused on Pax, I might just get a read on what the boy was saying…

I paused. Something Tavi had said stole my focus, but I hadn’t quite heard it. Returning my full attention to her, I stopped her as she got up to leave.

“I missed that last bit,” I said. “What were you saying?

“Oh! I was talking about Jasper,” Tavi said, not missing a beat. “He’s been asking me about Bryn nonstop, and I think it’s because he has a gigantic crush on her.” She giggled.

Those words caused my wolf to growl, but Tavi, who was unaware of the bomb she’d set off, went on talking.

“Anyway, he’s a really good guy, and I think he’s maybe the only person who could treat her the way she deserves. Plus, I think they’d look really cute together—”

“Tav,” I started talking before I could think better of it. “Bryn can have free rein of the grounds, but she can’t leave the territory.”

“For real?” Tavi gasped. She jumped up and down and then hugged me tightly. “You won’t regret this! I promise you!” She zipped away to tell Bryn the good news, leaving me to stew on my own.

I sat on the bench, seething. Jasper was the only one who could treat Bryn well? Those words made me want to break the table in half. I was so eager to get Tavi to stop talking about Bryn and Jasper together that I’d ended up giving Bryn more freedom than I’d intended.

I tried to let go of the rage pumping through my blood, but my wolf was holding on to it with his fangs. I knew I had no right to the anger that burned inside me, but my wolf disagreed. I didn’t have any claim on Bryn, but I was acting like a jealous boyfriend. What was wrong with me?

I turned away from Bryn and Tavi and pressed a hand to my chest, rubbing at the spot where a new ache had started to form.