Page 67 of Claiming Her Alpha

Wrestling with his emotions, Ryker watched as the men he’d trained for years walked away from him. The boys he’d groomed into men weren’t even allowed to say proper goodbyes as their alpha commanded them to leave. Even after the cars had left his sight, Ryker was fighting tears.

“I’m sorry,” Gabriel whispered, resting his hand on his shoulder. “I tried to reason with him, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“It’s not my fault,” Ryker tried to defend himself.

“We know that,” Andrew reassured him as he stepped up to his other side.

“I…”

“It’s okay, Ryker. C’mon let’s get you inside.” Andrew pulled him inside and shoved him onto the couch before looking around. “Glad I found that whiskey earlier.”

“You’re on official duty,” Gabriel growled.

“With all due respect, Beta, I’m not the one that needs a fucking drink.”

A moment later Andrew handed Ryker a glass with a few fingers of amber liquid. Ryker gulped it down all at once. Instinctively, he reached his mind out to Kendra but he wasn’t part of her pack so he couldn’t find her.

“Out,” Gabriel barked, and Ryker needed a moment to figure out he meant Andrew.

Andrew bowed his head and turned on his heels.

Gabriel waited a few moments for him to leave, then sat down in the armchair across from Ryker. “It isn’t your fault but my next words are meant for you and you only, do you understand?”

Ryker straightened his spine and squared his shoulders. “Yes.”

“He raised you, fed you, and gave you a place to stay when you had nothing. He groomed you to his warrior and watched as you put everyone else in your shadow. Now, you sleep with his enemy–making you his enemy. You know our secrets, know us better than anyone else. You created our defences, and know our territory by heart. You are alpha now, and one of the most powerful too. Not only could you destroy us with your knowledge, but you have the backup of nearly every surrounding pack.”

A cold shiver ran down his spine.

“Your luna is more powerful than any I’ve seen, and not just because of her physicality. She understands the inner workings and she’s well liked among the packs. In less than a year she’s not only overthrown her brother as the heir, but has done so without leaving a path of destruction behind her. She has done so with half her soul missing. Everything she discovered and revealed today, makes this personal to him.”

“I don’t want to be your enemy.”

“You need to shift, Ryker. You are no longer Ryker–you’re Alpha Ryker. Though you’ve learned to put your pack first, you have another pack to speak for now. I know this will take time, but from now on you’re no longer Ryker of the Blood Wolves. You’re Alpha Ryker of the Shadow Wolves.”

Ryker knew that, but even talking as Alpha Ryker he didn’t want Gabriel nor the Blood Wolves as his enemies. “I don’t want you as my enemy and my luna would say the same,” Ryker repeated in a sterner tone.

Pleased, Gabriel nodded.

Ryker stood up, the whisky only slightly making his head spin. “Thank you.”

“It was an honour to know you as a friend.”

“`You still are my friend.”

Before walking out into the afternoon sun, Ryker grabbed his belongings. Curious eyes rested on him here and there as he walked to the main house, but he wasn’t sure how much they knew. Deep down, insecurity grew like a weed. It was small, only faintly peeking through, but it was there. He would be their alpha, and he wasn’t sure how–or if–they would accept him.

He hesitated as he stood before the house. Technically, this was his home now, but he felt odd to walk inside without knocking.

“I don’t think she would mind if you just went inside. I do it all the time,” a male voice laughed from behind.

Ryker turned and saw Mike walking up to him with a baking dish in his hands. His face was friendly, his body relaxed, and his aura much easier than what he’d shown in the office.

“She told me about you.” It sounded stupid but Ryker didn’t know what else to say.

“Why does that frighten me?”

Ryker held the door open for him. He had a feeling he and Mike would get along quite well. “Are you her lead warrior now?”

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