Page 49 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

brYN

Islept for nearly forty-eight hours after the ordeal, waking just long enough to use the bathroom, drink some water, and nibble on some crackers.

On the brief occasions when I was awake, I remembered Violet telling me that I’d had visitors—Dom, Tavi, and even little Pax—but she’d sent them away with the assurance that I would be alright.

Out of my mind with exhaustion, I had nodded in response to Violet’s reports. I apologized for not finishing my gardening work before I’d left for the cave and then returned to bed.

Finally, when I had rested long enough, I got up to take a shower.

I felt sweaty and sticky with sleep, and I stayed under the water for a long time to make sure I was clean.

When I emerged in a cloud of steam, my hair wet, my face washed, dressed in comfy leggings and an oversized sweater, I went down the stairs to find Violet waiting for me with warm food.

The moment I saw the assortment of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy, I threw myself into the chair and inhaled my food. It was delicious, I knew, but I ate so quickly I was only aware of a consistent state of tastiness on my tongue. Violet calmly drank her coffee, watching me with kind eyes.

Finally, after finishing two and a half helpings, I reached for a glass of water to wash it all down. When I was finished, Violet moved to clear the table, but I stopped her, placing a hand on her arm.

“No, no let me,” I said with a smile. “It’s the least I can do after you took care of me.”

Violet eased back into her chair, and I quickly washed the dishes and wiped down the table. When I returned to where Violet had been sitting, I found that she had moved into the living room.

“Grab us some tea or coffee, girlie,” she said, “and then come sit with me.”

Tea sounded divine. I brewed two cups of lavender chamomile, each with a dollop of honey before I sat by Violet on her tiny love seat. We sat beside each other in companionable silence and enjoyed our drinks.

As the tea warmed my belly, I thought back to everything that had happened in the cave.

I remembered how terrified I had been of the wolves and how close I’d come to death.

I remembered the way Night had emerged from the tunnel, all teeth and righteous fury, and I remembered feeling safe in his arms.

Then I replayed the events leading up to the cave, how I’d spotted the russet-brown wolf between the trees, how it had come to me and led me to the cave. Now that I looked back on it, I was beyond confused. Who was that wolf?

“Violet, are there any packs near the Wargs compound?” I asked. “I know Colville National Forest is on the other side of the mountain from us, but maybe a neighboring pack came through the area?”

Violet shook her head. “There isn’t another pack within a hundred miles of us.

The three wolves who attacked you were feral wanderers, likely banished from their own packs.

But we’ll likely never know where they came from.

For all we can tell, their original pack might as well be across the country. ”

“Oh. Right…” I hadn’t been asking about those wolves.

I was thinking of the russet wolf with the silvery eyes.

I was tempted to ask if Violet had ever seen such a wolf hanging around the woods, but I felt like a crazy person the more I thought about it.

No one had mentioned seeing or smelling a fifth wolf; it might not have happened at all.

Violet surprised me when she patted the pack of my hand. “Bryn, honey, how much do you know about your past?”

I was caught off guard by the question. I thought I’d already told Violet about my origins, but I didn’t mind telling her again.

“My mom, Glenda Hunter, found me in the woods. I was just a newborn and apparently abandoned by my birth parents. I still had the umbilical cord attached to me. None of the wolves in the Kings’ pack had been pregnant, and no one knew where I had come from.

At first, Mom was certain that I was a wolf, but when she took me home, she quickly realized that I was human.

Gregor wanted her to get rid of me, but she chose to raise me anyway.

Mom always said to me that the magic of the world had brought us together,” I finished.

Violet smiled. “I think I’ll like Glenda very much.”

I gave a sad chuckle. Violet said that as if she was going to meet my mom sometime soon, but that was silly.

Mom was a four-day trek away, and Troy stood between us.

For now, I would have to settle for this.

My heart ached for my mom, but I was so grateful for the speed at which the Wargs pack had become like my family.

Twenty years with the Kings had only left me feeling like an outsider.

“Do you know much about the Wargs?” Violet asked next. “About the Alpha who ruled us two generations ago?”

I thought about it. I knew that before Night, there was a scrawny stand-in Alpha who squandered away what little was left in the wake of the Alpha before him and abandoned the pack in the prime of his youth. He was the son of the kind and benevolent Alpha, who had led the Wargs into prosperity.

I explained this to Violet, who nodded with a smile.

“I’m proud that you’ve kept up with our history. You’re right. Before Night, there was Peter, who was an idiot, and before him was Gregor, and before him was his father, Alpha Craig Stone.”

“Gregor? That Alpha has the same name as the Kings’…” I trailed off, realization slapping me in the face. “No, they’re the same Gregor, aren’t they? But I thought…”

Violet nodded. “Yes. Gregor Redwolf used to be Gregor Stone. He abandoned us to take over the Kings.”

I gasped. Suddenly, it all came into sharp focus.

I’d thought that Night’s grudge against the Kings had seemed to run deeper than simple vengeance.

If the Kings and Wargs had once shared the same Alpha, then Night would have every right to be upset at that betrayal, to want to pay Gregor back for what he’d left behind.

And yet, unlike the selfish Gregor or his arrogant, hot-headed son, Night never resorted to cheap tactics to get what he wanted.

He was open about his designs to take over the Kings, and he had the strength to do it.

Violet watched as I navigated through my thoughts. “It looks like you understand my son a bit better now, Bryn,” she said gently, “but the story I want to tell isn’t really about Gregor. It’s about his father, Craig.”

“Oh.” I turned my focus back to Violet. I didn’t know anything about that Alpha.

“You’ve heard that Craig was the loving and kind Alpha of the Wargs, but that wasn’t originally true.

Craig ruled the Wargs with an iron fist. He was an angry, bitter Alpha with a chip on his shoulder and a lot to prove.

His father before him had also been angry, jealous, and mistrustful of everyone, including his pack and his mates.

Though he would take many lovers, he doubted that any of his children were truly his.

Many said that it was because he was crazy or driven so by his own paranoia.

But it doesn’t matter now. His children were abused by him and grew to loathe their father and themselves.

“Craig was the only one of his father’s sons who wanted to take the role of Alpha, but when he did take over, he was shaping up to rule just the way his father had.

He treated his pack like he hated and resented them for his misfortunes.

Many Wargs left, fed up with his treatment, but Craig didn’t care.

The only person he trusted was his younger brother.

When his brother was murdered, Craig snapped.

With vengeance on his mind, he relentlessly pursued the man who had done it.

But when Craig had stalked the man into a corner, and it was time to deal the final blow, the murderer’s daughter, Dawna, came out of hiding and protected her father with her body.

She begged Craig to spare her father’s life in exchange for her own. ”

I gasped, enthralled by the story. I felt like I could see it happening in my mind’s eye, all of it playing out in perfect clarity.

“Craig accepted the exchange, but for years afterward, he wouldn’t understand why.

He didn’t abuse Dawna, even though he had treated his own pack like they would eventually abandon him.

The woman, true to her word, stayed by his side even when he was emotionally closed off or said cruel things to her.

Over time—over years—she coaxed him into trusting her bit by bit until finally he realized the error of his ways.

He announced to his pack that he had turned a new leaf, that he would never mistrust them or hurt them again.

He lived his life seeking repentance for being a poor Alpha, and under him, we flourished. ”

“But how did she change him?” I asked. “She was the daughter of the man who killed his brother. How did he learn to trust her?”

“It wouldn’t have happened if she was an ordinary woman. To Craig, she was the world, the moon, and the sky. She was his soul mate.”

“Soul mate,” I repeated, tasting the word.

“Yes. Soul mates are chosen by the spirits, not by two wolves who have fallen in love. It’s the rarest, most precious kind of love there is, and it produces some of the strongest loves the world has ever known.”

Though I was enchanted by the story, it felt too much like a fairy tale. I looked at Violet with some suspicion. “Is that a true story?”

“It is! You can read our history books if you don’t believe me. Though, to be honest, I wrote the most recent ones.” She grinned.

“But if Gregor was born from the love between Craig and Dawna, why did he turn out so awful?”

“Ah.” Violet’s smile faded. “That I don’t know, Bryn. All I can say is that sometimes, people change on their own, and there’s nothing we can do to stop them.” She turned away, but not before I saw her wipe away a stray tear.

I placed my hand on Violet’s back and patted gently. She must have suffered greatly at the hands of the Kings. “Thank you so much for sharing that story with me. You told it beautifully.”

Violet laughed. “You’re a fantastic listener, Bryn. Much, much better than my hardheaded son.”

I laughed and took our empty mugs to the kitchen to be washed. “Honestly, Violet, I’m not sure if that’s a compliment.” I turned on the tap to wash the cups when a knock sounded on the door. I jumped, almost dropping one of the mugs.

I started to walk to the door, but Violet was already most of the way there.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get it.” She walked to the door and pulled it open.

“Hello, Violet.” It was Jasper’s voice. “Is Bryn awake?”

Violet must have answered in the affirmative because he bounced into the kitchen, a bright smile on his face.

“Hey, Jasper,” I said, smiling back. “Long time no see.”

“Yeah, no kidding. It’s a huge relief to see you on your feet again.”

I finished washing the mugs, and Jasper and I sat at the table to chat.

It was the first time we’d had a conversation with just the two of us, but things weren’t awkward or stilted between us.

Jasper could talk and talk like Tavi, but his ramblings were more chilled.

He had a smooth voice, and it was nice to listen to.

As he spoke to me, I tried to admire his lean, muscular frame, his soft, bronze hair, and his big, blue eyes.

I knew I ought to be more attracted to him, but whenever I thought about getting closer to him or kissing him, my mind wandered instead to a pair of bright-green, soul-searching eyes, to black, silken hair, and to a kissable mouth.

That mouth could scowl at me or smile at me—either way, he left me feeling breathless and excited.

“Bryn?”

I blinked, coming out of my daydream. “Sorry, what was that, Jasper?”

He smiled back at me, not at all upset by the fact that I’d missed what he’d said. “I was saying that there’s a big get-together tonight, and I’d like you to come with me if you’re interested.”

I thought it over, wondering why Tavi hadn’t invited me. But I shook my head, figuring she must have sent Jasper to do it. She might have been too busy helping prepare for…whatever the get-together was for.

“Sure,” I said. Having a bit of fun might help the ache in my chest and the longing I felt for a certain someone. I wished I were sitting across from Night instead of Jasper.

He whooped in excitement and hopped to his feet. “I’ll pick you up in a couple of hours, alright?”

“Sure,” I said again with a smile. I watched him zip out the door, a moment of confusion settling over me. We were going together, but just as friends, right?