Page 135 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
I laughed as I let her go. Her hair was gray and gathered into one thick braid down her back, and her eyes were every bit as vibrantas ever. The only difference was the paleness to her skin and the black veins that spread from the locus of Troy’s bite. It angered me to see it, to remember who had put it there, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on those sorts of sad things.
“What about me?” Tavi jumped in. “I think I should get at least two hugs.”
I turned to her and gathered her into my arms carefully, hugging her just as fiercely as I had hugged Violet. I could sense that Tavi hadn’t fully recovered. Her hug was weaker than I was used to, and there was a slight, trembling fragility to her that I didn’t understand. When I pulled back to look at her, I found her features bold and beautiful as ever, but her dark brown eyes were haunted. It was obvious that it took a lot for her to be here, even though the woman I knew usually jumped at the opportunity to meet new people or to hang out.
I wanted to ask her so many questions, the one standing out most prominently in my mind being, “What did those sons of bitches do to you?” But I knew it wasn’t the time to ask her all of that. I would talk to her when it was just the two of us and we had some privacy.
As things were, I pulled her in for a second, quick hug, and took her hand. I led her and Violet into my mother’s cabin, to where Mom had already prepared two more steaming cups of tea. I noticed Tavi eyeing her cup with appreciation.
“Mom,” I said, “this is Tavi, my best friend, and this is Violet, Night’s mother, and the woman who protected me the way I know you would have if you had been with me. Tavi, Violet, this is my mom, Glenda Hunter.”
“Aha,” Violet said, walking up to my mother. “I’ve heard so much about you, but it’s good to finally put a face to a name.” She stuck out her hand. “We’ll have to share gardening tips with each other.”
Mom laughed and took Violet’s hand. “I agree. It’s always nice to get to know another woman who isn’t afraid to get to know her land.”
They each had a twinkle in their eye as they shared smiles. I watched as the woman who had raised me shook hands with the two women who had kept me sane and accepted me when I needed it most, and my heart swelled with joy.
I took my seat among them, and the four of us began to chat.
55
BRYN
The next day, Violet and I walked together to the Elders’ cabin to speak with them about the Alpha ceremony. It was a clear, shiny day, which clashed with the nervous storm brewing in my mind. I knew the Wargs’ Elders were lovely, but I had no idea what the Kings’ Elders were like. They’d never cared about me before, and maybe that dispassion would continue through this meeting.
As we walked, I shot a nervous glance at Violet. She was on the Wargs’ council and worked closely with the Wargs’ Elders, so she would know tons about the goings-on of Elders, and she would help me understand things I was confused about or misunderstood. I needed her in my corner.
“Don’t worry, Bryn,” Violet said. “This meeting is going to go by easily.”
“I’m glad you’re so confident,” I said with a laugh. “I can’t seem to get myself under control.”
“Have faith, girlie,” she said. “We’ve got this.”
I took a deep breath and tried to walk a little taller, but when we arrived at the Elders’ white cabin, my hand trembled when I lifted it to knock on the door.
The door opened almost immediately, which startled me. “You two are right on time,” said an Elder with wavy black hair. “Follow me inside.”
Violet, unbothered, walked in after him, and I followed a bit more slowly after her. The walls and floors were painted white and left unadorned. The floor creaked underneath us as we went down a long corridor and into a small room, where the other two Elders stood waiting for us. The room was sparsely furnished, aside from a long, rectangular, varnished pine wood table and six chairs made from the same wood.
All three Elders were male and wore simple linens. Elder Sage was probably in his late seventies, and he was the one who had done most of the talking the day of the challenge ceremony. The top of his head was bald and shiny, but his jaw was covered in a thick, silver beard that was almost long enough to braid.
Elder Queene appeared to be the youngest and tallest of the three. He was the one who’d answered the door. He might have been in his early sixties, and he boasted a full head of thick wavy hair. He towered over Violet and me. He might have even been taller than Night.
Finally, Elder Forsythe was clean-shaven with thinning gray hair and a jagged scar that cut across his nose. It was difficult to tell who was older between Elder Forsythe and Elder Sage just based on the way they looked and the number of wrinkles on their faces, but something about Elder Forsythe’s air told me that he had several years on Elder Sage.
“We’re pleased to be here,” Violet said, curtsying.
“Yes,” I said, following her lead. I could have raided Troy’s mother’s closet for clothes, but I hadn’t wanted to do that. Instead, I chose my outfit from the clothes my mom and I had available to us. I’d found a pair of slacks that had needed to be hemmed, and a blouse that was only a size too big for me. Something about wearing these simple clothes felt more right to me.
As we straightened, the Elders inclined their heads in acknowledgement. They gestured for Violet and me to take a seat, and we obliged them. After we were seated on one end of the square table, they took the chairs on the other side.
“We wanted to inform you of the ceremony,” Elder Sage said. “It’s fairly straightforward; all you need to do is make a vow to the pack, a vow to the spirits of the pack mothers, and a vow to yourself. Afterward, you will bind your vows with your blood and throw it into the fire. And then you will announce your beta, who will swear fealty to you.”
“Mmhm,” Violet nodded. “After that, we can all party.”
Her addition startled the Elders, but none of them disagreed.
The word “beta” stood out to me. Though I hadn’t thought about who would take the position, a name immediately came to mind—Octavia Black. Of course, it was possible that Tavi wasn’t the best person for the position or that she’d refuse to take it. The girl I had known a few weeks ago would have nominated herself as my beta, but I had no idea how she would react to the suggestion now.
