Page 139 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
“That’s what I thought. You might not know this,” she continued, “but Bryn and I have been through a lot thanks to the previous Alpha, a man who doesn’t even deserve to be named. A man who attacked his own pack and who actively tried to drag literally everyone down with him. But I guess logic doesn’t count for much when we’re standing in a room filled with men. If you sorry assholes can even be called that.”
Seth’s chair squeaked across the floor as he stood up, his eyes flashing. A few things happened all at once. Seth stalked toward Tavi, and I stepped in front of her at the same time that she took a step back. As he approached, Tyrell moved, too. He took Seth’s shoulder and yanked him back to the table.
“Sit, jackass,” he said, shoving him into the chair. “Or are you trying to prove her point?”
Seth looked like he wanted to argue, but with another glare from Tyrell, he stayed quiet.
“I’m sorry, I should have stepped in sooner,” Tyrell told me.
“You should have,” I agreed.
“I’m sorry,” he said again.
“I don’t want apologies, I want answers.” I looked at the rest of the men, focusing especially on Seth. “Why are you all acting so coldly toward me? If you’re ashamed to have a woman as your Alpha, it’s only temporary. If you’re unsure how to start rebuilding the pack lands, then I can get you resources to help you. But if you’re still loyal to Troy after everything he did to the Kings, then you might as well find a new pack.”
This third silence was different. The men still refused to meet my gaze, but there was color in some of their cheeks. It read to me like shame.
Tyrell looked at the men at the table and then back to me. “To be honest, we were going through hell with Troy as our Alpha. We had to stand by and watch while ourownmen were killed by Troy for any form of disobedience or opposition. The temper tantrums, the paranoia, the public executions…” He visibly shuddered. “Despite their behavior, there isn’t a man in this room who supports the Redwolfs. We’re glad that they’re gone.”
“Then we have at least that much in common, right?” Tavi said gently. The faux joviality was gone from her voice. And when I looked at her, I found that the manic twinkle in her eye had also dissipated, but now her eyes were dark and haunted
“Right,” Seth said. He didn’t say anything more.
“Like I said, if you need help organizing, let me know. I know Wargs who are familiar with the rebuilding process. They will help if I ask them to.”
“I don’t think we need their help,” another wolf, Buck, said, “We just haven’t started up yet.”
I shook my head. “Repairs should have already started, Buck. I’ll let them know you’re in the market for some assistance whenthey come back onto the compound. When they come by to help, you can take it or leave it.”
That seemed to be a good place to end our meeting. I nodded goodbye to Tyrell, and Tavi and I moved out of the cabin as quickly as we could without looking like we were running away.
When we were outside, I turned to Tavi, who seemed to be trembling slightly. All trace of her earlier, forced pep had totally vanished. The woman who walked at my side wasn’t the Tavi I had come to know at the Wargs’ compound, but this version was more genuine, and that was a relief.
“Tavi,” I began gently. “Do you…want to talk about what happened back there?”
“I wanted to try being myself again,” she said. “That person who’s ‘good with people.’” She repeated the phrase slowly, like the words didn’t quite make sense to her. “I don’t know if that’s still me.”
“You don’t have to prove who you are, Tavi. Not to me. You’re still my best friend,” I said. “No matter what.”
She looked at me for the first time since we left the cabin. Her expression wasn’t happy, exactly, but it wasn’t sad, either. What I read in her dark eyes was…appreciation, I thought.
“It’s nice to hear you to say that,” she said. “It really is.”
56
BRYN
There was only one day left before the Alpha ceremony. I headed out on my own to walk toward the dining hall. I could have found my way with my eyes closed, I’d frequented the dining hall so many times throughout my life. But this was the first time since being back that I had gone out on my own.
Violet and the Elders had come over again to talk a bit more about the finer details of the ceremony, but after only a couple of hours, that meeting broke. Violet hated leaving her adoptive daughter for long, and she wanted to head back to the cabin where she and Tavi were staying.
I debated whether or not I ought to go outside once I was alone in the cabin, but ultimately I decided it would be best for me to get out there and interact with my pack. I was a wolf now, and their Alpha, and like it or not, they couldn’t mistreat me the way they used to. And if I was serious about being a good Alpha, I needed to do what I could to win them over.
I wasn’t naïve—I knew they wouldn’t immediately accept me with open arms. But I had to try if I wanted to earn even a shredof their respect. There was no way I would have anyone’s respect if I hid inside all day and night. I also wanted the chance to look around and see what Troy’s leadership had done to the land and its people.
Before I stepped foot outside the cabin, I spent an hour or so considering every negative possibility and what I could do in response. Only when I was satisfied that I had a plan for everything from a rotten tomato being thrown at me to a sudden attack of alien invaders, I ventured outside.
“Hey, just the wolf I wanted to see.”
