Page 101 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
“Our priority should be to rescue Bryn and Tavi,” I announced. “I’ll deal with Troy after they’re safe.”
“But taking the Kings over is still part of the plan, right?” Kai asked.
I felt a flash of annoyance, but I quickly tamped that down. I couldn’t get frustrated with my own people for asking clarifying questions. “Of course. The plan hasn’t changed, we’re just taking a slight detour. Once Tavi and Bryn are safe, I’ll kill the fucker, and the Kings pack will be ours.” As I finished speaking, the room began to spin.
I steadied myself by placing my fingertips on the table. My body was growing weaker by the day, which made our window for making all this happen much tighter. If we didn’t find Bryn and Tavi soon, I’d be too weak to win against Troy.
“Are you alright, Night?” Kai asked.
“I’m fine. Thanks.”
Thinking of Bryn made my wolf whine, and I felt an echoing ache in my chest. Bryn. I missed her so fucking much, I could hardly stand it.
I pushed away from the table and addressed Evan. “What about Bryn and Tavi?” I asked. “Has there been any talk of where Redwolf is keeping them?”
Evan shook his head. “I’ve tried to look around, but it’s impossible to dig too deep because of Troy’s state of mind as oflate. There have been talks of him coming for you, Night, but no plans have been shared with us yet.”
Dammit!I resisted the urge to take out my frustration on the table. Evan’s intel on the Kings was vital, but his lack of information about my mate and my sister almost rendered that intel useless. My own trackers hadn’t found a trace of them because their scents had been too closely mixed up with Troy’s and the other wolves’.
We weren’t going to give up. I knew in my bones that Bryn was still alive, but I had no idea how long that would last. I hoped against hope that Tavi was with her, too, and that she was safe.
“If he’s so unhinged, maybe now’s the time to strike,” Vince said. “He won’t be expecting it if he’s this unbalanced.”
“No, that won’t work,” I said, almost snapping at the young hunter. “Just because he seems insane doesn’t mean that he’s an idiot. He’s paranoid and unhinged, but that can work to his advantage, too. For all we know, he might already be thinking ten steps ahead of us.” I shook my head. “We can’t underestimate him at all, and we need to be prepared for anything that he might throw our way.”
The silence that followed my words was deafeningly sober. The Wargs were still on our back foot here, and we needed to shape up if we wanted to be on equal footing with the Kings again.
“Night,” Evan was the first to break the silence. “You talking about your mate has got me thinking about something I saw this morning.”
“What is it?”
“It’s not uncommon to see Troy walking around the territory splattered with blood, but today was different. I hadn’t seen Troy for a while until this morning, shortly before I left the Kings compound. His hair and his clothes were a mess, and there was blood all over his hands and on his shirt. Usually the blood on him smells vaguely familiar, like someone in the pack, but I knew this blood wasn’t from any wolf that I’ve met.”
My wolf reacted before I did. The table split right down the middle before I knew what I’d done. As the wood came apart, sending splinters and sawdust through the room, rage blazed through me. In the seconds that followed—seconds that would have seen me letting my wolf take control and wreak fucking havoc—I wrested control back.
The room was still, everyone watching me with wide eyes. The only one among them who didn’t seem surprised was Dom, who stared knowingly, stoically, at me. He alone fully understood the toll that this had taken on his Alpha.
I walked around the mess to stand in front of the group. I towered over them, showing myself to be every bit the commanding presence my weakening power had prevented me from becoming.
“It’s time to stop talking and start acting,” I said. “Gather the others here. I want this room filled with my best fighters. We’re finalizing a plan of action tonight because tomorrow, we’re getting them back.”
Dom nodded. He and the others filed out of the room, which left me alone again, though it wouldn’t last long.
I looked at the ruined table and closed my eyes. I had built this table a decade ago, and now it lay ruined at my feet. I hoped that this wasn’t a sign of things to come.
41
BRYN
In my dream, Night and I were together. Finally. We were naked, and the sensation of his skin brushing against mine, already hot and dewy with sweat, was pleasurable on its own, but I knew there was more gratification to come.
We sat together in what felt like a leather chair. I sat sideways in his lap, kissing him, tasting the love and passion on his tongue, devouring it like he was a home-cooked meal. His hands were everywhere—my hips, my sides, my back. Fire trailed in the wake of his touch.
He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, holding it gently between his teeth. At the same time, one of his hands found the coveted heat between my thighs, and I cried out, breaking the kiss so I could gasp for breath.
“Night…” I moaned, burying my hands in his thick, silken hair. “Yes!”
He kissed my cheek, my jaw, my chin, and each press of his lips grew more insistent. He sucked at my throat, the sting heightening the electric pleasure as his thumb circled my clit. Ithrew my head back, but his hand on my back kept me sitting upright. I spread my legs wider for him as he continued to leave love bites along my skin. One bite could be the thing that finished me. It could make me whole again. If only he would sink his fangs in me.
