Page 374 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
In response, he ruffled the hair on top of my head. “Don’t worry about it.”
He assured us that he’d keep an eye on the Kings and would let us know if anything came up.
Samara split her time between the Kings and the Camas compounds, but she was here for now. She was learning about what being a den mother was. She was such a quick study, she’d taken to it right away.
We asked Mom if it was okay to leave Ember with her for the night, and she didn’t seem at all upset about it. “Of course!” she said, beaming. “I’ll have Stan and Violet over, and we’ll all have a good time.” Ember was in my mom’s arms and chewing on the collar of her shirt, which was now full of little holes. She was teething, and she often chewed holes in collars and necklines if we weren’t paying attention.
We ran to Wargs’ territory. When we arrived, Dom and Tavi met us at their temporary cabin. Their usual one was being renovated in preparation for their baby.
“How are things going with the cabin?” Night asked as we sat with them at the dining table.
“Ugh,” Tavi groaned. “Don’t even ask. Dom and I can’t agree on what color we want the baby’s room to be, and that’s slowing everything down.”
“Lemon is a better color for a newborn,” Dom piped up as Tavi paused to sip her water.
She snorted. Tavi was much more exuberant with her due date coming up. I wasn’t sure if it was more of her old self coming back or if her excitement just made her more likely to bounce around and joke. Either way, she seemed completely happy.
“Says the guy with absolutely zero sense of style.”
Dom snickered. I know my oldest brother wasn’t that married to his choice of color. He lived to mess with his mate, and he loved when Tavi gave it right back to him. She was at her sharpest and most vibrant when they bickered lovingly. They were a perfect match.
“Lilac is more flattering for a baby, but whatever. Anyway, we’re hoping to get this settled before the end of the month. I would hate for us to wait for renovations with a little one.”
Night and I chuckled. “I think we can relate,” I said. “I thought I’d never get out of the alpha cabin.”
Violet was making sure that the cabin became a preserved piece of history. Alphas, betas, and notable wolves frombothpacks were honored there, and I couldn’t imagine a better use for it. Besides being a respectful monument to our history, it was also a massive “fuck you” to Gregor and Troy’s memory. If they were out in the ether somewhere, I sincerely hoped they were existing with their regrets.
A timer went off in the kitchen, and Dom hopped to his feet before Tavi could. “I’ll bring dinner,” he said, kissing her forehead.
He brought out poached salmon with roasted root vegetables and a cauliflower mash. Tavi had used a recipe I’d given her from Mabel’s cookbook; I knew it the minute I caught a whiff of nutmeg in the mash. The conversation was lovely, and the food looked gorgeous, but the pungent scent of lemon and herbs made my stomach turn, and I ended up pushing the salmon around instead of eating much of it.
I felt terrible for it…until a realization smacked me in the face. The nausea and the tiredness were both symptoms of the samething. It should have been impossible, but I knew exactly what was going on with me.
I was pregnant.
What followed was a combination of excitement and joy, but honestly, I felt annoyed as I remembered my brother and his quip about not drinking alcohol. It didn’t matter how in touch I felt with my body these days, because Lance had realized my condition before me.
133
NIGHT
To my annoyance, Dom was much more laid-back about Tavi’s pregnancy than I’d been with Bryn’s. He was protective of Tavi, of course, making sure she got plenty of rest and wasn’t on her feet longer than necessary. But he wasn’t as intense about it.
It ticked me off because it meant that when Tavi gave birth, I probably wouldn’t get to pay him back for helping Lance tie me to a chair. I was grateful for their help that day—another thing my prick of a beta had been right about—but it was the principle of the thing.
I was sure he could sense my thoughts because all throughout dinner, he had a mischievous look in his eye. It was a look that said, “You’re never going to get your revenge.” It annoyed the hell out of me that he was probably right.
Dinner ended after we had slices of cherry pie and Tavi started to yawn. “Okay, okay,” Dom said. “It’s time for us to turn in.”
“Need help cleaning up?” Bryn asked.
“I’ve got it,” he replied. “But thanks, Bryn.”
“Let us know if you need anything,” I said. “We’re just a phone call away.”
Dom winked.
Thanks to Lance, our phone lines were in perfect order. Whenever Dom needed support and I was too far away to reach, he could just call us. It was a convenience that made keeping track of two packs a hell of a lot easier.
