Page 163 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
But then my wolf sensed something that instantly put me on high alert. I stopped cold and turned my head. Bryn continued to kiss my face, but my attention was on the surrounding area. There was danger, and it was close by.
It didn’t take her long to realize that my mood had changed. “Night, are you okay?”
I set her gently back down and moved in front of her, so that she stood between me and the tree. “I’m not sure,” I said. “Something’s wrong.”
“What?” She grew quiet and tried to listen. “I don’t feel anything…”
“No, you probably won’t. You haven’t fully attuned with your wolf just yet.” I tore my eyes from the trees around us and looked down at her. “You need to head back to the cabin. I’ll check this out.”
“No.” She stepped around me. “We’regoing to check it out.”
I shook my head. “It’s not safe.”
She frowned at me. “So you think it’s better for me to find my way home on my own in the dead of night?”
Well. She had a point.
“Night, I’m officially the Alpha of the Kings now. Even though it’s temporary, I can’t let danger lurk around while I go and hide somewhere else. If something’s up, I need to be there to help. My pack needs to see me helping.”
Damn. Another good point. I didn’t like it, but if we wanted to merge these packs, we needed to present a united front. She was right; we couldn’t afford for her to come off as weak.
“Fine,” I said, “but stay close.”
Her frown eased into a smile, and she took my hand. “Always, my love.”
We emerged from the trees and returned to the main path. I let my wolf guide us toward the danger, but as we neared it, I started to feel like the threat was coming from all directions. We were close to the center of the compound, which only heightened my anxiety. If our guests had started departing, they should all be near this area. It made my skin itch to know that there was so much danger so close to our loved ones.
We drew nearer still, and then I felt Bryn shiver beside me. I turned to ask her what was wrong, but howls of pain split the night. My heart jumped to my throat. I recognized one of those howls—my beta. And from the sounds of it, he was in the middle of a fight.
Bryn and I sprinted to the center of the compound, which was already a mess. People had been knocked over, their clothes ruined. Whatever food they’d brought from the ceremony was scattered across the ground. Bryn gasped and immediately bent to help the nearest wolf, making sure they were alive. I spotted Jasper heading somewhere—likely to wherever Dom was fighting, but I caught him as he dashed by.
“Go check on Tavi and my mother,” I ordered. “Make sure they’re safe.”
“Yes, Alpha.” He nodded, and then sprinted off.
Kings wolves had started to leave their homes to check on what was going on. Many of the men there tried to assess the danger, but they were obviously just as confused as I was. Women, too, were drawn toward the commotion.
“Hey,” I called to one of the male Kings. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Our borders are under siege,” he said, eyes glowing. He looked like he was close to shifting. “Ferals are all over the goddamn place.”
“How could this happen?” Bryn demanded. She stood, her hands and the hem of her dress stained in blood.
“We were taken by surprise, Alpha Hunter,” he replied. “Ferals have never, ever attacked us on our own turf.”
Shock panged through me. Of course. This sort of organization from ferals was unheard of. They were too few and far between to mount a concerted attack like this. And yet, another guard entered the area holding a bloodied woman in his arms. Bryn hadn’t had time to establish a telepathic link with her team. It was like the ferals knew that and were taking advantage of it. But that should have been impossible.
“Did we fuck with them somehow?” Bryn asked. “What would lead them to do this?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, his eyes growing wild. “There haven’t been any reports. No one is telling me anything!”
Bryn and I looked at each other. The man was losing his cool.
“What are you thinking, Night?” she asked.
Despite the chaos, my heart beat with pride for her. She was so fierce, but she wasn’t afraid to ask for help. Looking at her now reminded me of how brave she’d looked right after she had defeated Troy in the challenge ceremony.
“Listen up,” I called, using my Alpha voice. “I need every available man out where the border patrols are.” That would reinforce our numbers. “I’ll be right behind you.”
