Page 197 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
“That’s good to hear. What about the council? Dom mentioned that you met with them.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. I hated the idea of ruining the moment by describing how bloodthirsty the council was, but I couldn’t keep everything about that meeting a secret from her.
“I’m not looking forward to sharing my news,” I admitted. "Why don’t you go first? I got the impression that you had good news.”
I read some worry in her eyes, but she shrugged and propped herself on her elbow. “Sure, okay. I think having the Wargs dowork around the compound has done a lot of good. The council seems to be warming up to us.”
My eyebrows raised. “What do you mean?”
“Tavi and I met with them yesterday. They said that in the interest of the pack, they wouldn’t oppose the next alpha.”
“No kidding? Thatisgood news. Did they say why?”
“I think their exact words were: ‘We are interested in beginning the next phase of our pack’s future as seamlessly as possible.’ They brought us in to discuss how a merger between the Wargs and Kings would look.”
“That’s fantastic news.” In my wildest dreams, I had never thought the Kings would take the initiative with the merger. I guessed we truly had made an impression on them…which made my council’s desire for conflict all the more confusing. Doing things peacefully was working. Why fuck all that up by shedding unnecessary blood?
“I think so, too.” She stopped petting me, her hand stilling on my chest above my heartbeat. “Now it’s your turn. And don’t try to hold anything back to keep me from worrying. You know I’ll worry either way.”
“Alright, alright." I sighed and placed my hand over hers on my chest. “I didn’t have the greatest meeting with my council.”
She nodded. “I figured. What’s going on?”
“They don’t want a peaceful merger; they want things to be as brutal as possible.”
There it was—the tightness around her mouth, the furrowed eyebrows…I hated telling her things that made her worry. “Wait, what do you mean?” she asked.
I sighed, then explained the way the meeting had gone. It still made my blood boil that they were so determined to make the takeover of the Kings as bloody as possible. Bryn’s expression went from concern to shock. She was seething by the time I finished.
“I never thought they would want to do that to the innocent wolves in my pack,” she said. “It’s disgusting.”
“I hate it, too, love.” I kissed her brow, hoping to smooth it out. “I promise you I won’t let that happen. I just need to come up with a way to bring the council over to our side as effectively as we’ve done here.” Before they did something we’d all regret.
“Well, you don’t have to feel alone in that. I’ll help you in any way I can.”
“I know. You’re always so willing to fight on my side.” I couldn’t help but smile as I pushed her hair behind her ear. “You’ve already done good work here. It’ll make the merger so much easier now that the council won’t oppose it. I’m sure that once the dust settles, our packs will be in a good place. Once the repairs are done, things will be even easier.”
She nodded and let me coax her back down to the mattress. She rested her head on my shoulder. “During our meeting with the council, they mentioned that they were worried about Warg enemies becoming theirs, but I hadn’t considered that issue.”
I scoffed. “It’s funny they asked about that when Kings have always been our biggest enemies. I’m sure the Kings have moreissues with nearby packs than we do, considering how arrogant Troy and Gregor were.”
She nodded. “That’s basically what Tavi and I told them.”
My hand was on her hip, and I caressed her skin in lazy circles. “It’s not your fault you didn’t think about those finer details. Mergers between packs as large as ours are rare. Most mergers happen with smaller, newer packs, but the Wargs and Kings have hundreds of years of history on this land. There’s no need for one large pack to absorb another when things are peaceful, but our situation is different. Things have never been peaceful between our packs.”
I felt her sigh, and my hand stilled.
“When we do finally merge them, I guess we’ll have to be ready for conflicts,” she said. “I’m not looking forward to that. It’s impossible to let our guard down as it is.”
“I know, baby.” I wished I could deal with everything on my own and keep her far away from any danger or anything that would make her cry. But I couldn’t have things my way. Bryn was the alpha of the Kings, and she couldn’t just turn a blind eye to what happened in her pack.
“A merger between our packs won’t happen all at once,” I assured her. “It’ll be slow, so both packs can have some time to get used to each other. There will still be conflict and pushback, but it’ll be like…an arranged marriage. It’s not love at first sight, but over time, you get used to the person next to you and eventually grow to care for them.”
She laughed. “Are you using arranged marriages as an example because you know I’ve read about them?”
“I might have skimmed the backs of the books you’ve read,” I admitted with a grin. “I’d love to hear you tell me about your favorites.”
“You could just read them yourself.”
