Page 63 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

NIGHT

Hours passed, and I didn’t sleep for even one of them.

I spent all night reminding Mom of the fun we had when we were younger, the adventures we went on, the plants I helped her harvest (or stomped on as I played), and all the trouble I’d gotten into as a pup.

I spoke both for her benefit—to let her know that I was there and that I wasn’t going anywhere until she was better—and for my own.

As the night wore on, the ache in my chest worsened. I felt like I was going crazy the longer I sat there, but I couldn’t get up to leave because what if she took her last breath while I was away?

The stories I told Mom were all I had to keep myself sane.

The stories, and the memory of Bryn’s smile.

If she were with me, I knew I wouldn’t feel so lost. If I could hold her in my arms or feel her touch, I knew I’d be able to do anything.

As it was, I felt weak, like an Alpha wound was sapping my strength in addition to Mom’s.

As dawn pierced through the midnight-blue sky, I heard Doc open my bedroom door. Seconds later, he walked into the room.

“Morning, Alpha Night,” he said, kneeling next to Mom. “How did she do last night?”

“She’s alive, thank everything.”

Doc pressed his fingers to her wrist and nodded to himself. “When did her wheezing stop?”

I blinked. I hadn’t even noticed. “Ah—to be honest, Doc, I’m not sure. But that’s a good thing, right?”

“Yes, it’s an improvement.” He smiled. “She’s far from her usual, exuberant self, but she’s much better than she was last night.”

My heart ached. I breathed a sigh of relief. Even that little bit of good news was enough to make me want to cry.

“She could wake up at any time,” Doc said. “If it’s alright with you, Alpha, I’d love to stick around until she’s awake.”

“That would put my mind at ease, but will things be alright at the infirmary?”

He nodded. “I’ve got good doctors on shift, and if there’s an issue, they know where to find me. The only thing I’d like to do is bring a few more supplies over.”

I nodded. As he headed for the door, I pulled him in for a tight hug. “Thank you, Doc. Thank you so much.”

A bit awkward, Doc lightly patted my back. “I did hardly anything, Alpha. She did most of the work. Your mother is an incredible woman.”

I let him go and smiled. “Yes, she is.”

Doc straightened his shirt and avoided looking at me. I knew that he’d never been good with compliments or expressions of gratitude. The man could live without ever receiving a single word of thanks from any of his patients, but when it came to my family, I couldn’t let him off so easily.

I walked him out, and as we opened the door, we spotted Dom jogging toward us. Doc nodded at me, and then left as Dom neared.

“Any updates?” I asked, letting him inside.

Dom sighed and shook his head. “No. I’ve got everyone on this, but they don’t have any updates for us. I thought I’d check on you and Violet in the meantime.”

We walked back upstairs. “Doc says she’s doing better. He told me that she should wake up soon.”

“Finally, some good news.”

“You’re telling me.” We went into Mom’s room to find her breathing peacefully.

Even in the short time since I had walked Dr. Stan to the door, she looked much better.

There was more color to her cheeks, and she wasn’t sweating.

I could still see the ends of the veins that spread from the wound like the rays of a black sun, but she was alive, and hopefully she would be waking up soon.

“How are you, Night?” Dom asked. “Did you sleep?”

I looked at him, eyebrow raised. How the hell could I have slept with my mom dying right in front of me and Bryn and Tavi missing?

Dom winced. “Okay, point taken. You do look terrible.”

I sighed. “Yeah, I’m not surprised. I feel like shit.” And then after a pause, I added, “I feel like I’m being torn up inside. Like, if I don’t do something right now, I might just burst into flames.”

“That’s probably the mating bond, Night. After finding your mate, you’re supposed to feel powerful, not weak. But because you’re an idiot, you didn’t complete the claiming.”

I couldn’t even muster the energy to glare at him. “So what do I do?”

“You need to claim Bryn, but obviously, Redwolf has made that impossible. Until you can do that, your body and your wolf will start reacting to her absence, too. You’re only going to get weaker and weaker as time passes.”

His words chilled me, but what was even more chilling was that Bryn would have to suffer the same effects, but she wouldn’t have the same support that I had. “So, Bryn is going to be feeling this, too.”

“Yes.” Like Dr. Stan, Dom never sugarcoated the truth, not to me. “The pain won’t stop until one of you dies, and then the survivor will be free from the soulmate bond. But that isn’t to say that they’ll be ‘okay.’” He put air quotes around the last word.

“What do you mean?”

“The wolf who survives their soulmate’s death could very well go crazy from the grief.”

I couldn’t care less about myself, but the thought of Bryn being harmed ignited the need to be beside her again.

My wolf began to snarl and grasp for control again, but he began to calm again as I spotted Doc through the window, carrying a tote bag of things.

He nodded at Dom and me and headed inside. I heard the front door open downstairs.

“Is he staying over?” Dom asked.

“Yeah, just until Mom wakes up. He said he’s got things covered at the infirmary.”

“Good. I can’t imagine a better man keeping an eye on her. And it’ll give you a chance to rest.”

“Dom—”

“Night, listen, you won’t be any good to anyone if you don’t get a nap at least. You’re really going to want to conserve as much strength as you can until you can claim Bryn.”

I understood the logic—I even agreed with it—but dammit, it felt wrong to sleep when I knew my mate was in danger. Dom, seeing straight through my hesitation, grabbed my shirt and tugged me out of Mom’s room and down the hall to my own.

“Wait, hold up—”

He ignored me, pulling me toward my bedroom door and pushing me inside. “This is the only way I know you’ll take a fucking break,” he said.

“I could just leave,” I replied with a glare. “What’s to stop me from leaving through the window?”

“You could, but the minute I catch you walking around outside your cabin, I’ll ask Doc for a sedative. Don’t play games with me, Night.”

I heaved a sigh. “Alright. I’ll try to get some sleep.”

He smiled and nodded. “That’s all I’m asking from you.” He closed the door, and I heard his steps retreating downstairs.

Alone in my room now, I sighed and ran my hands through my hair.

Every corner of my room should have felt familiar, but as I glanced around, nothing felt real.

My body was here, but my mind wasn’t. I’d lived in this cabin since I was sixteen, but it might as well have belonged to a stranger.

Without Bryn here, the space could never feel like home.

I paced back and forth. I intended to keep my mind on Bryn and Tavi and what I could do to help them, but the more I paced, the more sluggish my body became. After an hour of it, exhaustion began to weigh me down even more than my stress, and I crawled into bed.

Doc’s scent was present in the room, but Bryn's scent was stronger, lingering in the sheets and the pillows. The bed itself felt eerily cold and empty. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I hadn’t earned the right to lie down and relax when Bryn and Tavi were in Troy’s custody.

But Dom was right—I wasn’t a machine, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t force myself to keep going.

I turned onto my side, pulling the covers and pillows that smelled most like Bryn to me. If I closed my eyes, I could almost pretend that I held her in my arms. I thought I would spend the next while tossing and turning and worrying, but before long, I fell asleep.

Iwoke up a few hours later. The sun was still out, and I felt a bit more rested. I got out of bed, stretched, and headed out to look after Mom.

Because I’d broken off the doorknob, the door to her room was ajar, unable to close. Through the opening, I saw Doc sitting in the chair next to her bed. He held her wrist in one hand. With the other, he dabbed away the sweat that collected on her forehead with a cloth.

Something about the slow, gentle way he swiped the cloth across her forehead and the way he held her wrist had me tilting my head.

I appreciated his care, but I couldn’t help but wonder if his bedside manner was so attentive with all of his patients.

Or, was he taking extra care with her because she was my mother?

I pushed the door open a bit more and started to form the question, but then I heard the front door open followed by Dom’s quick steps. I turned from the door and met him at the top of the stairs.

“Hey,” he said, jogging up the steps. “I would’ve knocked if I thought you were awake. Did you get any sleep?”

I nodded. “Do you have any updates for me?”

“No. There haven’t been any breakthroughs as yet.”

“How’s the pack?”

“Everyone is talking about what’s happened, but other than that, things are pretty quiet.”

“I see.” It was stupid of me, but I’d hoped that some real progress would be made while I slept.

“Have you checked on your mom?”

“Not yet, I—”

“Alpha Night.” That was Doc’s voice. He wasn’t yelling, but excitement elevated the volume of his voice. “I think Violet is about to wake up.”

Dom and I were in the room in seconds. On the bed, Mom stirred, her head turning from side to side as she fought her way through unconsciousness. I neared the bed, peering down at her, my heart beating quickly. Doc kept hold of her wrist, squeezing gently.

She huffed, her eyes slowly parting open. “Damon?” she asked gently, her voice hoarse. “That you?” Her hand tightened around his.

“It’s me, Violet.” He smiled. “And I’m not alone.”

Her eyes, just as vibrant and green as I remembered them being, swept across the room until they settled on me.