Page 201 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
“Well, not just for them,” I admitted. “I also want to know more about who I am and where I come from. I mean, for all I know, I could have another family out there somewhere. What if they think I died with my mother?”
I was relieved when Night nodded. “I get where you’re coming from. I don’t know if it’s possible to find any answers, but if they’re out there, I will help you find them.” He paused, thinking a bit more. “My mother might be of use here. I’ll talk to her. Perhaps she knows something more. I mean, we know you’re the daughter of a pack mother, so that’s already a starting point.”
“Thank you, Night. Really, it means so much to me that you understand.”
He leaned down to kiss the top of my head. “I’m here for you, love. Don’t forget that.”
I smiled to myself. “I won’t.”
We walked a bit farther before slowing to a stop. “I wish I could spend all day with you, Bryn, but I should probably find Dom and let him know how things went with the council,” he said.
I shivered, remembering how heartless Night had told me they were. “I also have stuff to do today.”For one, I want to head back to the office to finally put a dentin that stupid mountain of paperwork.“We’ll reconnect later, okay?”
He kissed my forehead. “Don’t work too hard, okay? If you feel tired, please get some real rest, okay?”
“I will. And I’ll have Tavi with me—” I cut myself off with a gasp. “Tavi doesn’t know about the baby yet. Only you and my mom know, and that’s because Mom was with me when I found out.”
“I’m surprised you were able to keep it a secret for so long.” He laughed. “I’m glad you told me first.”
“Well, it’s only right that you’re one of the first to know,” I grinned. “Maybe we could have Tavi and Dom over for dinner? Then we could celebrate with both of them at the same time. And they’ll have the chance to talk to each other.”
“Are they still avoiding each other?”
I nodded. “More on Tavi’s side, I think. But she told me she wouldn’t mind having some excuse to reconnect with him.”
“Good, good. I’ll talk to Dom and see if he has time to come over. Do we want to do this tonight?”
“Yes, absolutely.” I stood on tiptoe and hugged Night tightly. “I’ll see you later, okay? I’ll be in the office.”
“I’ll find you.” He kissed me deeply and passionately, and then we parted ways.
79
NIGHT
Dom was helping a few Kings with a construction project. This project was taking place near the market along the southern edge of the compound. We were showing Kings different ways to build their buildings and cabins, instructing them on the various methods that could be used and the benefits and negatives of each one. Most of these cabins were built with the post-and-beam method, with logs placed vertically to hold up and support the horizontally placed ones, but there was the occasional timber frame, which had a similar construction, except the logs were squared off.
The Kings had adapted quickly to our teachings. While they worked independently, it always helped to have someone around to oversee the project. Dom and another group of male wolves raised one of the four walls of what would be a cabin. When one side dipped, I stepped in to keep the frame level.
No verbal instructions needed to be exchanged. I held up my end of the frame, Dom held the other side, and a couple of wolves inserted drills and nails into the structure to keep it from falling again. It was an hour of hard, mindless work, which turned outto be exactly what I needed to sort out my feelings about Bryn’s pregnancy.
I was overjoyed. In fact, I could have howled about how fucking ecstatic I was that we were about to have a pup. I’d always wanted to be a father, and I didn’t even care about its gender; I just loved knowing there would be a pup in the near future who would carry on my line. The timing was a little inconvenient, but Bryn and I hadn’t used protection after the first few times we’d had sex. It was only a matter of time before this happened.
Dom turned to me, wiping sweat from his chin with the back of his hand. “Long time no see, Night. I hope things went well back home.”
“Eh.” I raised my hand, seesawing it from side to side. “More importantly, I have news, but I don’t want to mention it here where there are eager ears.”
He inclined his head toward the nearby tree line.
I nodded. Before we headed to the forest to get some privacy, Dom let the King wolves know that he’d be back in a bit and to shout for him if they had any issues. With that, the two of us moved between the trees.
I paused, listening closely to make sure we were alone. The only sounds I heard were the slight whistle of the wind moving between the trunks and the rustling of a pair of rabbits. Good, we were alone.
“What’s up?” he asked. “The council give you trouble?”
“Oh, I’ve got things to say about the council,” I began, “but that’s not what I wanted to tell you.”
He tilted his head, staring at me like he could figure it out from sight. “Okay?” He raised the hem of his shirt and dabbed at some sweat that dripped down the side of his face.
