Page 375 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
When we left their place, we were greeted with a beautiful night. There was a new moon, which allowed the stars to shine as brightly as possible. August had given us many warm nights, but it was chilly enough that our breath steamed in front of us as Bryn and I walked hand-in-hand.
“Hey, Night?”
“Yes, love?”
“You talk a lot about the hot springs here, but it’s been almost two years, and we haven’t found the time to go.”
I had been ready for bed before, but this suggestion chased the exhaustion away. “You want to go tonight? Seriously?”
She pressed closer to me. Under her blouse, her breasts were soft against my arm. “Why not? Now’s the best time, right? And I don’t have any rituals planned for tomorrow. We could spend some time in the springs, relax, and…talk?”
“Talk, huh?” I squeezed her hand. “I think that that’s the perfect way to end the night. But we should do something else first.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” I grinned. “Since it’s not Ember’s bedtime just yet, mind if we give your mom a call to say goodnight?”
Bryn’s laugh was like music to me. “Iknewyou were going to say that,” she said. “Of course we can.”
At home, we called Glenda, and she answered after just a few rings. “Hello? Night?”
Bryn gave me a knowing smirk that I pretended not to see. She liked to tease that Ember had me wrapped around her tiny finger, but she could only take things so far. I knew she wanted to hear our baby’s voice just as much as I did, and she doted on and spoiled hereven morethan I did sometimes. Though she would probably say the opposite.
“Yeah, it’s me. Bryn’s here, too. Is Ember still up?”
“She is! Hold on, I’ll get her from Stan.”
She walked away for just a second, and we knew that she had come back when we heard the rustling, popping noises of Ember playing with the receiver.
“Emmy!” Bryn and I said at once.
She squealed happily in response. “Tsah-ah!” she declared, having recognized our voices right away.
We cooed at her for a few minutes. The way she tried to parrot our words was beyond adorable. She spoke gibberish now, but she’d say her first word in no time, and Bryn was convinced it would be some variation of “daddy.” I hoped every day that she was right.
After we hung up, Bryn and I shifted and went out to run. I’d always suspected that Bryn was faster than me if she reallysprinted, and I was right. She raced me to the hot springs. Her sleek body darted between the trees with so much grace and speed, she was just a streak of darkness yards ahead of me. It took so much energy just to keep her in sight, and I was content just to watch her.
Of course, she reached the springs ahead of me. We were both panting, though I was more out of breath. “I thought you were tired,” I said.
“I was.” She wore a wolfish smile. “But I had to leave you in the dust just for fun.”
I shifted and pushed my hair out of my face. “‘Fun,’ she says,” I grumbled.
She laughed and also shifted to her human form. The sight of her took my breath away. She’d only gotten more beautiful since having Emmy. Her hair was longer and even curlier, extending all the way down to her upper back, and her petite body was all lean muscle. It was hard to tell that she’d given birth, aside from the silvery stretchmarks around her breasts and hips. I loved that she didn’t hide them, and I loved the texture they added to her body.
She held out her hand. “Come to me, handsome.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I went to her, and our fingers intertwined.
There were pools of various sizes. Choosing one of the more intimate ones, we eased into the hot water. I leaned back against the wall of the pool, smoothed by decades and decades of hot water, and Bryn cozied up next to me. She propped her elbows up on the side of the pool.
“You were right, love. This place is gorgeous,” she said.
“I’m glad you think so. I’ve wanted to take you here for so long.”
She turned to me with a coy smile. Nearby, there was a firefly hovering around a small violet flower. It flitted away when she reached for it and plucked it free.
She kissed it and said, “Please, Night, accept this gift.”
