Page 79 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

NIGHT

Iwoke in the Kings’ Alpha cabin, and immediately the stench of it made me want to gag.

Troy was everywhere—in the sheets, the walls, the rugs—he was a stain that couldn’t be removed.

The last time I’d been in this fucked-up cabin, I’d wanted to burn it down.

Now, the urge to grab a lighter was even stronger.

I hated that I was lying in the same bed where Troy had sex with other women.

But I needed the rest—my body was sore, and I was growing weaker the longer I went without claiming Bryn.

I would have to wait a bit longer, though, because we were both injured. Especially Bryn. My body ached something fierce, but I turned on my side to see her. She was still fast asleep.

Her chestnut hair fanned around her head, blazing with hues of copper and gold in the sunlight that streamed in through the window.

She was beautiful even now, making it all the more painful to see the purple and faded brown bruises on her arms, shoulders, and legs.

When she’d shifted into her human form last night after defeating Troy, I’d seen the full extent of the torture Troy had put her through.

The bruises on her sides and on her back were almost black, they were so fresh.

And even at that distance, I’d been able to tell that she was struggling for breath.

It made my blood boil to see everything he’d done to her—especially that Alpha wound, plain as day on her neck.

I was beyond relieved that she’d been able to resist his attempt to claim her, but it destroyed me to know that he had even tried to put his mark on her. She had undoubtedly been dealing with the pain of the bite throughout the fight, and yet, she’d still won.

I reached for her face, brushing my fingers over her cheek, also bruised. A small smile lifted her pink lips, but she otherwise lay still. She would be alright once I claimed her, but it was awful to see her so hurt.

Still asleep, she moved closer to me, a slight groan slipping past her lips.

I held her against me, never wanting to let her go again.

When I closed my eyes, my heart began to race; the sight of Bryn and Troy in the ring together still lurked in my mind’s eye.

Icy fear rose from the tips of my toes and up to my shoulders as I remembered each time she had stumbled or faltered.

Those Kings had needed to hold me back, because every time Troy got a hit in, I’d lunged for the circle.

I didn’t think I would ever be able to recall those moments without wanting to die.

Being unable to look away as my mate fought for her life, and mine, while being helpless to do anything about it.

I had known she was going to die. Waiting for Troy to land that final blow had made me almost lose every shred of control I still had over myself and my wolf.

I knew that Bryn wasn’t a pushover, especially not now that she had a wolf of her own, but that ring was the last place I’d wanted her to be.

She was supposed to be safe and sound on Wargs territory, not in a battle arena with her tormentor and abuser literally inches away.

I had known there was ancient power in her, but now I saw that her power was raw and untapped.

Wild as fuck. Dangerous as hell. Bryn needed training to learn how to fight and control that power as well as her wolf, and that required patience and time.

She’d gone into the ring with so many disadvantages, but watching her finally start to figure out how to let her wolf take over, watching her get the best of Troy, had made my chest feel tight with so many emotions—pride and love chief among them.

Bryn was coming into her own more and more as time went on, and I was beyond thrilled that I had the privilege of watching it happen. But my happiness and relief were shaded by a bit of doubt. Was I still good enough to be the one by her side?

Before I could pursue that dark line of thinking, Bryn nuzzled into my chest. Her nose was a bit cold, but that didn’t bother me or my purring wolf. He hadn’t been this docile in days.

“Are you awake?” I asked, gently brushing her hair off her cheek.

“Mm-hmm…” She looked up at me and gave me a sleepy smile so warm and loving that it made all of the hardship, all of the suffering, worth it ten times over.

We kissed for the first time in a week. Her lips were soft and slightly cold, sweet as they moved in sync with mine.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and I smoothed my hand up her side.

I kissed her again, this time with tongue, and she groaned, tightening her fingers around the back of my neck. My mate was back.

I wanted to crush her to me, to feel every inch of her body against mine.

Though I knew that I could endure the aches and pains that would follow those actions, I wouldn’t put her through that.

Bryn was fragile. She was still hurt. The saccharine licorice stench of her Alpha wound warred with her sweet, floral scent, but it only made me want to cuddle her closer and hide her from the world.

There was still a slight wheeze to each of her breaths.

It hurt my heart to hear those little gasps and the moist rattle in her lungs.

My hands were pressed gently to her back, and I felt how hard it was for her under the palms of my hands.

She had been through hell, and I wanted to respect her boundaries.

I wanted to claim her, but even my wolf was reluctant to take it any further than this kiss and these featherlight touches, even though I yearned for more.

I pulled back and pressed my forehead to hers. She panted from our kiss, her lips slightly swollen.

“I love you, Bryn.” I said it like a promise into the inches of space between us.

She gasped gently, though the gasp was more of a small sob. “Night, I love you, too.” Her hands trembled as she moved them through my hair. I would have loved to focus on how good her touch felt, but she was crying harder now and I didn’t know why.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” I asked, moving my hand up to thumb away her tears.

More fell, coating my hand. “I’m so—so sorry,” she choked. “It’s my fault that your mom—that she—” Instead of finishing, she started crying in earnest.

“Bryn, my love…” I kissed her forehead. “My mother is alive.”

She halted her sobbing just long enough to ask, “She-she’s what?”

“It would take more than a Redwolf to kill Violet Shepherd,” I told her. I’d hoped to lighten the mood, but she started crying again, though this time I knew they were tears of relief and joy rather than sadness. She was starting to cough and wheeze, so I kissed her forehead.

“I hate that you’ve had to believe all this time that she was dead,” I said, stroking her back. “It’s not your fault, and I don’t blame you at all for what happened to her. That was between my family and Redwolf. Everything is okay, you’re safe, and I won’t let anything happen to you.”

She was crying too hard to respond, so she nodded into my hand. She lifted the sheet and wiped her eyes with it. As her tears began to stop flowing, her breathing became more regular, too. She heaved a sigh and pulled back to look at me. Her eyes were so blue and bright with wetness.

“Night, I’ve been wondering about something for a while.”

“What is it?”

Her lower lip wobbled and she almost started to cry again, but my brave girl didn’t let them fall. “Why didn’t you claim me when you had the chance?”

The question caught me off guard, so I was slow to answer. “I—”

But she was speaking again, too fast for me to interrupt. “If it’s because I need to prove that I’m worthy first, I understand, but it hurts when you tell me that you love me if it’s not true.”

Her words were like a lance through my chest. And the wound that was left behind burned with shame. I had no idea—none—that she was so hurt, or that she’d been carrying this burden around even through all this shit with Troy. She must have been wondering this from the first time we' had sex.

“Bryn, look at me.”

At first, she refused, looking instead at my chest or at the blankets.

“Bryn, please…”

She lifted her head, and her gaze met mine.

“How can you think that you’re not worthy when you’re a descendant of the pack mothers, when you survived through a week of torture, when you bore an Alpha wound and lived, and when you defeated the fucker who’s tormented you your whole life?

You are incredible and brave and strong, and if anyone isn’t worthy of you, it’s…

” Me. That was what I almost said. But I wouldn’t take attention away from what she was saying about herself.

I needed to comfort her. “Bryn, how can you think something so cruel and so wrong about yourself when you’re the most amazing woman I have ever met in my life? ”

She started to push away from me, shaking her head. “Because I know I’m not. And with this ugly Alpha wound and all the bruising and…and the shit that Troy put me through…it’d be wrong of me to think that you could ever want me…”

“Bryn.” I tugged her back into my arms, and after a moment’s hesitation, she let me. “Bryn, I wouldn’t deserve to be your mate if I thought any less of you for these wounds, these battle scars.” I brushed my hand over her cheek.

She looked away, glancing at the mirror on the wall across from the bed. She gently touched the wound with her fingertips, prodding the swollen skin with her fingertips.

“But I can hardly stand to look at myself. I can only imagine what you must think about me now. Just because we’ve mated doesn’t mean you want me.”

My heart twisted at hearing her say these things about herself. “Bryn.” I silenced her with a kiss. “No,” I said. “None of that. I will always want you. No matter what, you will always be beautiful to me.”