Page 237 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
Cathy gently pulled the blanket from her son’s head. “Ah,” she whispered. “He’s asleep.”
“I’m glad. I’m sorry we pushed him to this state.”
She shook her head. “It’s okay. To be honest, he gets this way after he has a nightmare or hears a loud sound. It’s nothing new; I just let my worries get the best of me. It’s hard not to be overprotective when it comes to your pup.”
I resisted the urge to rub my stomach as I thought about the baby.
“I wish I knew more about what happened to him,” she said. “If we had answers, we might be able to help him through this. As things are, he never really gets better. He hasn’t said more than a hundred words to me since it happened.”
My heart ached for her. For him. “He has his art, at least.”
“That’s true. But if he were mentally healthy, he could do so much more. We could show his art to the pack and not keep him cooped up in here. He should be out with his friends and impressing girls with the portraits he does, not hidden in here.”
She touched her son’s forehead and gently pushed his hair behind his ear. He nuzzled against her. The bond between mother and son was obvious. Just being in its presence brought tears to my eyes. I felt like I was intruding on something as beautiful and precious as it was quiet and sorrowful.
“I don’t know if Night and I will find answers to what happened to Samuel and those boys, but we will try.”
She gave me a small smile. “I think I speak for all the parents of those boys when I say I appreciate your efforts. There’s nothing in this world that matters as much as the safety of your children. Nothing at all.” She looked down at her son and stroked his hairagain. “When you see your mate, will you tell him I’m sorry I snapped at him like that?”
“I will. He won’t hold it against you, I’m sure.”
She nodded. I could tell she wanted to spend time with her child, so I got up to leave, closing the door softly behind me.
I met up with Night, who looked about as shaken as me. We were technically still fighting, but I took his hand.
“Let’s go home,” I said.
“Yeah,” he said, squeezing my fingers.
We were both lost in thought as we made the trek back home. I wasn’t sure what Night was thinking about, but my mind was on our pup. I couldn’t imagine going through what the Granbys had suffered. It was just too painful—and I hadn’t even given birth yet.
When we got to our cabin, I started to go upstairs, but Night’s grip on my hand was firm. When I looked at him, his eyes were the soft green of fresh grass, and there was a sad tilt to the frown on his lips.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
“Yes.”
We adjusted our course, going to the living room instead of upstairs. Night sat on the couch, and I brought lavender and peppermint tea.
He took his mug when I handed it to him, and I sat on the couch next to him, curling my legs up on the cushion. After a moment, Night slid his hands over my legs and moved them into his lap. He let his hand rest on my thigh.
I touched his chest, and he looked at me. “I’m not ready to talk about Samuel yet,” I said.
“That makes two of us,” he agreed. “But that means we need to talk about our argument.”
I nodded. It was a relief to hear that Night wanted to talk things out. The task had seemed so daunting when I left my mom’s cabin, but after what we’d just experienced, talking things out seemed easy.
“Alright, I’ll get things started.” I took a long sip of my tea and let out a sigh. “So, it’s come to my attention that the two of us have pretty shitty communication skills.”
There was a pause, and he let out a short chuckle. “That might be an understatement, love.”
I laughed with him but sighed again. “I know I’ve got to be better about coming to you when I have an issue. And I think you need to be more open and honest with me about what’s going on with the Wargs. I don’t want you holding anything back from me, and in return, I’ll do the same.” I touched his cheek; it was slightly scruffy. He’d probably shave it soon, but I didn’t mind the stubble. “I understand now that your hands were tied with the Troy situation, but we should have discussed it one on one. I want us to be partners in all things, and I want us to trust each other with the goodandbad news.”
“I want that, too.” He nuzzled against my palm and kissed it, sending delightful tingles down my arm. “To be honest,” he said into my hand, “part of the reason I’ve been so overprotective of you is that I feel like I keep failing you.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I couldn’t protect you, my mother, or Tavi from Troy. The days you were gone were the hardest of my life, and I don’t think I could survive it if I let something like that happen again. I was too weak to kill Troy during the challenge ceremony, and I couldn’t keep him from escaping custody.” He looked at me, and my breath caught at the jewel-like shine in his eyes. “I can’t even keep myself from putting more stress on your shoulders, Bryn.”
