Page 70 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

NIGHT

My wolves and I stood along the Canadian border in Kings pack territory.

It was dark, and crickets and cicadas were lending their voices to the night.

The wind whispered through the leaves and between the trunks of the trees and bushes around us, carrying the scent of autumn.

Soon, it would be fall, soon the leaves would change and fall to the forest floor, and I was determined to see the season change with Bryn and Tavi by my side.

Though I had a plan in place, though I was surrounded by a dozen members of my pack, I didn’t feel better. I wouldn’t until I had eyes on my family, until I had Bryn in my arms again.

Along with Dom and the rest of my team, I darted into the thicket of trees, silent as moonlight.

Evan had returned to the Kings’ compound, and he’d sent a message back to us.

He’d learned of a potential location for Bryn and Tavi—a cave near the Kootenai, one that was rarely used because it was out of the way of most foot traffic.

The moment I heard the news, we all shifted for the trip.

My wolf and I hadn’t been on the best terms, but tonight, we were in sync.

We both believed without a doubt that Bryn would soon be with us again; we just needed to stay strong a bit longer.

I was glad that Dom had convinced me to bring so many wolves.

I preferred to go in as stealthily as possible, but I didn’t want to take unnecessary chances with Troy.

Soon, we reached the mouth of the cave. We all crouched low in our wolf forms, approaching the cave without so much as a snapped twig or a crushed leaf.

As we neared the entrance, I smelled Bryn.

Her sweet, earthy scent was like the most intoxicating perfume.

It made my wolf vibrate with pleasure. She was here. She had to be!

But there were no wolves guarding the cave.

Despite Bryn’s scent, it seemed abandoned.

They couldn’t be on break or in between shifts.

Troy wouldn’t be so stupid as to leave the girls unguarded.

.. The thought sent a sharp stab of dread through me that pinned me to the spot. Bryn and Tavi weren’t here.

“This doesn’t look good, Night,” Dom said, speaking through our telepathic bond. “He must’ve moved them already.”

“We should investigate the cave.” I wasn’t just speaking to Dom, but to all of my wolves. This was easier to do in my wolf form, but my Alpha powers weren’t coming to me as naturally as they usually did. “There might be some indication of where Redwolf took them.”

Two of my men stood outside the cave while the rest of us entered.

Tavi and Bryn’s scents were all over the walls, as well as Troy’s.

But there was no sign of the girls. All we found were traces of blood splatter and shackles left in the cave walls.

The sight made Dom and I tremble and growl with rage, and the rest of my wolves, too.

They had known Tavi as long as I had, and Bryn had easily endeared herself to them.

The girls were their family, too, and none of us took this most recent failure lightly.

Finally, we forced ourselves to leave. Staying in the cave would only make us angrier, and there were no clues to where Troy would have taken them. As we neared the entrance, I reached out to my men outside.

“How’s it look out there?” I waited, but didn’t receive a response. I glanced at Dom, who met my gaze with a grave look of his own. Shit.

We upped the pace, bursting from the cave to find Troy standing in his human form with two dozen wolves backing him. The wolves we’d left as sentinels lay bloody at Troy’s feet, but they were still breathing.

I shifted to my human form, but Dom and the rest of my team remained in their wolf forms. Dom stuck close to my side as I walked toward Troy, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice.

“I can’t say I’m happy to see you, Night,” Troy said. I wished so very badly that I could rip the smirk right off the prick’s face.

“Where are Bryn and Octavia?” I demanded.

“You just missed them. I took them to a secure location because, you see, I was enjoying Bryn far too much to just let her go back to you.” His tongue ran over his lips and his canines, which were sharper than usual.

“You know, I’ve never tasted blood so sweet.

I had a filling meal for dinner, and then I had Bryn for dessert. ”

I growled before I could stop myself. Damn him. Damn him. “I’ll make sure you pay for every mark on her before I kill you, Troy.”

“Ohh. I’m shaking. You pose such a large threat with just a handful of men behind you.”

Every cell in my body urged me to attack Troy, but I forced myself to stay still.

I needed to play this smart, or I risked not only Tavi and Bryn, but the rest of my wolves as well.

I was weak, and I shouldn’t push things now with all of Troy’s wolves backing him up.

Don’t let him get a rise out of you. Focus.

“It’s obvious that you want something,” I said. “So what is it?”

Troy gave an exaggerated pout, like a child disappointed that an adult wasn’t playing his stupid game. “I just want the chance to kill you, Night.”

I looked around and held out my arms. “There’s no better opportunity than right now, Redwolf. Why not settle this now?”

He tilted his head. “How like you, Night. Always pretending to be the big bad wolf, when the loss of a woman is enough to bring you to your knees.”

I remembered the day I’d rescued Bryn. I had knocked him flat on his ass and I’d very nearly killed him then. If I could go back, I would have taken the opportunity to end Troy’s life.

“Too scared that I’ll embarrass you in front of your men, Troy? In a fair, one-on-one fight?”

“Not at all, but you Wargs have a tendency of surviving no matter how often your betters try to squash you. You’re more like cockroaches than wolves.”

A few of my wolves growled low, but they quieted as I lowered my arms. “Doesn’t that say more about you, then? If you can’t take care of a few cockroaches, how could you be able to run a pack?”

His eye twitched. “You want your whores back, don’t you? If so, then you’ll fucking listen to me.”

Dom gnashed his teeth, digging his claws into the ground. He was about to take a step toward Troy, but I shot my hand out to stop him.

“You’re a coward and a piece of shit, Troy. The Kings are the dominant pack in the area, and still you let them suffer under your leadership. You’re even worse than your fuckhead of a father—” I paused, and then smirked. “Sorry, I guess I should say our fuckhead of a father.”

A ripple of shock and confusion spread through Troy’s men. His wolves glanced at each other, at Troy, and finally at me. They were putting together the puzzle pieces in real time.

Troy’s face turned puce. “Fuck you, Night!” he snarled, taking a step forward. “You’re nothing but a bastard, and your mother is a whore. I’m the only son of Gregor!”

I let Troy continue his tirade, the smirk still on my face. It had only taken a small push to get him to this state, to make him look like a fool in front of his own men.

“Fuck you,” he said again. “You think you’re the one in control here, but you’re not. I’m the one who’s got Bryn and your sister. If you want either of them to see the light of day again, then you’ll fight me in the ring in front of my pack, and you will lose.”

“Fuck that. I’ll fight you and win.”

“No. You didn’t let me finish.” He’d recovered from his tirade enough that he could sneer at me. “We’ll fight, but if you win, I’ll have my men kill both of them. If you lose, I vow to my men and yours now that I’ll let them go back to your pack”

“What?” I snapped. A similarly horrified ripple spread through my team. “That’s fucking ridic—”

“If you don’t agree to the challenge, I’ll give that she-wolf over to my men to be whored out and mated. I’ll have Bryn myself. She’ll do well keeping my bed warm.”

White-hot fury boiled through my body, and I knew Dom and the others felt the same.

We all wanted to kill the fucker right then and there, but we still had no idea where Tavi and Bryn were.

Troy said they were in a secure location; he probably kept close contact with the men guarding them.

If we killed him now, it was possible his men had orders to kill them. I couldn’t risk that.

“Night, you can’t!” That was Dom, but I heard the thoughts of others who were against this as well.

I didn’t answer them. What Troy was suggesting was the very definition of cowardly and sick, but what other choice did I have?

“Show me proof that they’re still alive,” I said.

“Doesn’t your weakness prove that she’s still around?”

I growled, my teeth sharpening. “Show me. Now.”

Troy gave me that shit-eating smirk. He reached into his pocket. My wolves and I tensed…until Troy revealed a smartphone. He called someone and put them on speaker.

“Alpha Redwolf,” a male voice answered.

“Show me.” Troy waited a few seconds and then showed me the screen.

I stepped closer, my heart beating hard in my chest. The video showed Bryn and Tavi lying next to each other on the ground.

They were unconscious and covered in injuries, their clothes were in tatters, and their hair was knotted with dirt and blood.

They looked like they’d barely survived hell.

The sight of them made me sick to my stomach, but they were alive.

“I’ll pay you back a hundred times for each injury,” I swore. I was so angry, my ears were ringing.

Troy snorted. “No, you won’t.” He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket. “You have twenty-four hours to make your decision, Night.”

“I don’t know if you understand, Troy. I am making a promise to you now that I will make your death a slow and painful one.”

Troy chuckled. “I’m the one with all the power here, Night, like I’ve always had. You’d be smart to remember that. And by the way? I win whether you accept this or not. When you’re dead, your pack and your land are as good as mine.”

Without another word, Troy shifted and ran with his men—back to the Kings’ compound or to the girls, I didn’t know which. But once again, we were going home empty-handed.