Page 246 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
I wanted to agree to do it right away, but I hesitated. As desperate as I was to discover more about my birth mother, I knew if I saw things through her eyes, I might see something traumatic. But if it was the only way for me to learn more about her, I didn’t have much of a choice. Dr. Stan had warned me against doing anything stressful, but if I could survive Troy, I could survive anything. The more I thought about it, the surer I felt about doing it.
After some deep thinking, I nodded. “When can we do it?”
“Tonight is a full moon, which will help the ritual.”
“Okay. Where will the ritual happen?”
“The elders’ garden.”
My eyebrows shot up toward my hairline. “The Kings’ elders are involved in this, too?”
She nodded. “This is a matter of spiritual significance, so they’ll want to be present.”
“Got it.”
Violet grinned at me and stood. “Wonderful. I’ll make some soup. It’ll give you strength for the ritual and be easy on your stomach.”
“That sounds lovely. I’ve only had tea and a few pieces of toast today.” I followed Violet into the kitchen and sat at the table. “What’s in it?”
“Well, the ingredients vary depending on what you’ve got in your kitchen—which is the best part about the recipe.” She winkedat me as she rummaged through the pantry. “It always has a tomato-based broth, beans, about a spoonful of peanut butter, and a bit of a spicy kick to it.”
“Night told me you didn’t have an easy time when you were pregnant with him,” I said. “Was this soup something you ate a lot back then?”
“Oh,yes. That boy was an even bigger pain back then, and he wasn’t even born yet.” She chuckled to herself. “Those were some of the hardest months of my life, and this soup was pretty much the only thing I ate besides bananas, peanut butter, and pickles.”
“I see.” I made mental notes as she cooked the soup. When it was bubbling on the stove, she had me taste it. I found the broth rich and filling, with the peanut butter adding an interesting complexity to the flavor.
She fixed us each a bowl, and we ate at the table. The cabin felt warm and happy and full of potential. While Violet entertained me with stories of Night’s childhood, I thought again about the ritual and my baby. I was so close to learning more about my birth parents, and I couldn’t wait.
92
NIGHT
Icaught the savory scent of dinner even before stepping into the cabin. As delicious as it smelled, it worried me that Bryn cooked dinner when it was usually my responsibility. I called her name as I stepped inside the cabin.
“In the kitchen,” she said. “Violet’s here with me.”
Oh. Well, that answered that question—Mom wouldn’t have let Bryn cook on her watch. I walked into the kitchen and kissed Bryn on the forehead before kissing my mother on the cheek.
“How are you two doing?” I asked.
“Good,” Mom said. “Just bonding over girl things.”
I took that to mean that they were talking about pregnancy. I was glad Bryn had listened to my advice.
I went to the stove and ladled some soup into a bowl. Now that I was closer to the pot, I recognized the scent. I should’ve known Mom had been the one to make dinner.
“How are you?” Bryn asked as I grabbed a beer from the fridge. “And how’s the pack?”
I joined them at the table, sitting next to Bryn. I told her about the cabins I’d seen that seemed like promising new homes for us. I hesitated to talk about the fight I’d broken up, and my conversation with Lance, but it was best not to keep anything from her.
“Huh,” Bryn said after I recounted everything. “I’m glad you were there in time for Ricky, but…Lance is kind of weird, isn’t he?”
I raised my eyebrow. “You know him?”
“Not really. He’s been a mystery since he joined the pack. We never talked to each other. Well…actually, the first time we spoke was at the market when I bought your bracelet.” She paused. “He bartered down the price.”
I frowned at her, alarm shuddering through my veins. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”
