Page 50 of Claiming Her Alpha

“Remember: the fight isn’t over till your opponent lays dead before you.”

Ryker stood next to Tailor and waited for him to regain consciousness. Tailor had made his life hell for months, constantly reminding Ryker of Kendra.

As soon as Tailor started to move, Ryker halted him with a foot on his chest.

“Less talking, more fighting. Or do you think you can bore your enemies to death with your mouth?”

Tailor growled, testing Ryker’s restraint over crushing the bastard’s sternum.

The rest of the morning passed with everyone practicing close combat. Most of them had gotten over the incident and had learned to trust him again–all except Tailor. Ryker loved seeing the others get sick of his shit talking. Everyone else had only gotten closer after what happened.

The biggest achievement of all, was that no one seemed to pity him anymore. No one tiptoed around him when it came to their mates and their experiences. It was almost as if everyone else finally saw him as the strong, trustworthy warrior again and not the broken man with a shattered soul. He was the only one who saw the pain he was still going through.

“Ryker.”

Ryker turned away from where Devon and Tailor were sparring, Tailor was winning, making the most predictable moves–but the others seemed to be picking that up too.

Gabriel was approaching, wearing a no-nonsense look on his face.

“How can I help you, Beta?”

“Alpha Vallerian would like us to meet with him.”

“Of course.” Ryker turned to his men. “Finish up, then group up in pairs and run the track by the creek. Sean, you’re in charge.”

They all nodded, and Ryker turned back to Gabriel.

“Not sure what he wants but he seemed tense.”

Ryker nodded, mentally preparing himself for something bad.

“Is Tailor still giving you a hard time?” Gabriel asked after they were out of earshot.

“More like himself. Everyone is slowly getting sick of him.”

“If that’s the case we might have to figure something out.”

“I was going to come talk to you about it. I just wanted to give it a few more days. I’m not sure how to handle him. I don’t want to make it seem like I’m punishing him.”

“I understand. Whatever it is, it might have to come from me or Alpha Vallerian.”

They arrived at the alpha’s house and Ryker walked into the office after Gabriel. As soon as they entered, he could feel the tension in the air.

Alpha Vallerian indicated a letter on the desk. Gabriel quickly read it, brows rising in shock. After he’d finished, he handed it to Ryker.

As soon as his eyes fell on the familiar handwriting, his heart skipped a beat. The painful void in his soul that he was trying so desperately to forget, ripped open and spilled blood and sorrow all over his mind.

Dear Alpha Vallerian,

With this letter I invite you to my Luna Ceremony fourteen days after Isis’s Moon.

To properly prepare for your arrival, return the added card with the number of guests and housing requests. To accommodate your travels, you are welcome to stay up to two nights before and after the ceremony.

Kendra,

Alpha Heir of the Shadow Wolves

Though he didn’t want to, he handed the letter back to Gabriel with a straight face. He knew they could both hear his racing heart, but he tried to keep his face stoic. She’d officially made it. She had her luna ceremony planned out, and that was her official way of telling everyone that she’d claimed what naturally belonged to her. Pride filled his heart and soothed his aching soul.

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