Page 159 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
A slow song began to play, and I looped an arm around her waist while the other held her hand. She smoothed her hands over my shoulders, and we swayed to the music.
“You must feel on top of the world,” I said.
“Almost,” she said. “I’ll get there once you and I finally have our ceremony.”
Fuck me, had she always been so smooth? “You sure know how to make a man feel wanted.”
She giggled and squeezed my hand. “I wish Tavi could have stayed longer, but she told me she was feeling tired.”
I nodded. “Maybe she’ll stay longer at our binding ceremony.”
“I hope so.” When her smile began to wane, I led her into a spin that made her laugh. It was illegal for her to feel anything negative right now. This night was all about Bryn, and how incredible she was.
“You’re pretty light on your feet for such a big, bad Alpha,” she said. “Who knew you could be so gentle?”
I chuckled and dipped her to the whooping applause of onlookers. “I think you know exactly how gentle I can be,” I said, and kissed her.
She bit her lip as I lifted her up, her gaze the blue of fire. I knew exactly what she wanted, what she needed. Hell, in my mind I was halfway to our cabin already. As the slow song ended, she opened her mouth to say what was on both of our minds. Beforeshe could speak, our mothers literally, and very dramatically, pulled her away.
“Sorry, Night,” Glenda said with a teasing smirk. “You’re not allowed to see her before the night of your binding ceremony. Tonight, she’s spending time with us.”
“What?” Bryn asked, confused and a bit dazed. “What?”
“I know, sweetie, you’re so tired and you have to get some rest at my cabin.” Glenda and my mom led her away.
“Mom, not you, too!” I called after them.
“It’s tradition, kid,” she replied, like that would help. “But don’t worry, you’ll have her all to yourself tomorrow.”
“I’ll hold you to that!”
The remaining Wargs laughed at our antics, and I laughed with them. I wouldn’t have my mate with me tonight, which would be tough, but this was too warm and sweet of a night for even that to sour my mood. I felt like for the first time in my life, things were going right.
63
BRYN
Iwoke the next day in the bed I thought I’d never sleep in again. As my eyelids parted to the sunlight peering in through my window, I took in the familiar sights and smells of my childhood bedroom. The worn quilt that Mom had sewed me for my fourteenth birthday, the dried wildflowers decorating the walls and surfaces, the overloaded bookshelves across from the bed.
Though I had spent the majority of my life in this room, it was just now hitting me how small my bedroom was. In the short time that I’d been away, I’d done so much growing up that this space—no matter how nostalgic I felt about it—could no longer contain the person, thewolf, I was becoming.
In just a few hours, I would be bound to my soulmate. In a month, the Alpha hopefuls would get together to battle, and Night would come out on top. After that, everything I and Night and the Wargs had worked for would come to pass. Until then, I just had to survive the rest of this month as the temporary Alpha. I would do my best at this, even if I had never intended to assume this position.
I rolled out of bed, showered, put my hair in a towel, and pulled on a terry cloth robe. Mom, Violet, and I enjoyed creamy chai lattes and tomato basil scones with onion jam as the sun rose higher in the sky. I watched the two women chat with each other about their gardens, comparing notes.
“I’ve always mixed a few coffee grounds in the fertilizer,” Mom was saying. “Ever since I started doing that, my plants have been even more flavorful.”
“Interesting.” Violet nodded. “I’ve done that for my mums a few times, but I’d never thought to do it with fruit. How often do you compost?”
I smiled over my cup, enjoying the chatter. Just as I’d hoped, the two of them were fast friends. After twenty years of raising me on her own, after spending those decades without real companionship, it was so nice to see Mom giggle and laugh with someone her own age. It seemed that Violet’s passionate, blunt personality meshed well with Mom’s easygoing friendliness. It was like they’d always been friends.
Maybe, in some cosmic or magical way, they always had been.
After breakfast, Violet stretched her arms over her head and pushed away from the table. She was recovering nicely. She wasn’t able to stay on her feet very long, but that hadn’t stopped her from walking as often as she could.
“I should make sure that stubborn son of mine is getting himself ready,” she said. “I’ll see you soon, Bryn.” She walked around the table to kiss my cheek.
“See you, Violet.”
