Page 107 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
“What?” I snapped. A similarly horrified ripple spread through my team. “That’s fucking ridic?—”
“If you don’t agree to the challenge, I’ll give that she-wolf over to my men to be whored out and mated. I’ll have Bryn myself. She’ll do well keeping my bed warm.”
White-hot fury boiled through my body, and I knew Dom and the others felt the same. We all wanted to kill the fucker right then and there, but we still had no idea where Tavi and Bryn were. Troy said they were in a secure location; he probably kept close contact with the men guarding them. If we killed him now, it was possible his men had orders to kill them. I couldn’t risk that.
“Night, you can’t!” That was Dom, but I heard the thoughts of others who were against this as well.
I didn’t answer them. What Troy was suggesting was the very definition of cowardly and sick, but what other choice did I have?
“Show me proof that they’re still alive,” I said.
“Doesn’t your weakness prove that she’s still around?”
I growled, my teeth sharpening. “Show me. Now.”
Troy gave me that shit-eating smirk. He reached into his pocket. My wolves and I tensed…until Troy revealed a smartphone. He called someone and put them on speaker.
“Alpha Redwolf,”a male voice answered.
“Show me.” Troy waited a few seconds and then showed me the screen.
I stepped closer, my heart beating hard in my chest. The video showed Bryn and Tavi lying next to each other on the ground. They were unconscious and covered in injuries, their clotheswere in tatters, and their hair was knotted with dirt and blood. They looked like they’d barely survived hell. The sight of them made me sick to my stomach, but they were alive.
“I’ll pay you back a hundred times for each injury,” I swore. I was so angry, my ears were ringing.
Troy snorted. “No, you won’t.” He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket. “You have twenty-four hours to make your decision, Night.”
“I don’t know if you understand, Troy. I am making a promise to you now that I will make your death a slow and painful one.”
Troy chuckled. “I’m the one with all the power here, Night, like I’ve always had. You’d be smart to remember that. And by the way? I win whether you accept this or not. When you’re dead, your pack and your land are as good as mine.”
Without another word, Troy shifted and ran with his men—back to the Kings’ compound or to the girls, I didn’t know which. But once again, we were going home empty-handed.
44
NIGHT
Ipaced in the living room of my cabin. Both Dom and Mom were there with me. I’d just finished telling Mom about the meeting and the details of Troy’s deal. I was waiting for her to digest the information and give her opinion, but in the meantime, I couldn’t sit still. My wolf was the same, treading back and forth inside me, just as eager to get out and do something.
Mom was sitting in the armchair, her fingers rubbing absently at the bandage that covered the Alpha wound. She was still dealing with the effects of it on the fifth day since Troy’s attack, but according to Dr. Stan, she was doing better than all of his best predictions.
Suddenly, she burst into a string of curses and launched out of her chair. I stopped pacing to watch her take up my rhythm, walking back and forth between the walls. Dom moved away from the wall and reached for her, but she waved away his helping hand. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for her to say something that wasn’t just a curse on Troy’s head.
Finally, she said, “Night, you can’t do this. It’s suicide.”
"I don’t want to do it, but he has Bryn and Tavi.”
“But you won’t survive it.”
It stung to hear her say that, but she was right. Agreeing to the plan meant agreeing to die by Troy’s hands. If I was being honest, I would have told her that I’d never felt weaker or more sluggish than I did then. I was sure that I could have killed Troy yesterday in a one-on-one fight—I was certainly angry enough to do it after seeing Bryn and Tavi—but I wasn’t as confident now.
“I don’t have a choice at this point. I have to bring them home.”
“But you know that Troy isn’t an honorable man. He’s not going to give them back to you even if you lose.”
“I know. That’s why fighting him is only part of the plan.” I glanced at Dom.
He looked away from me, his face pinched tight with fury. I had already discussed this with him, and he hated my plan.
