Page 88 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha
“P-Pax,” I whispered, my heart pounding in my chest.
His hands began to sharpen to little wolf claws, and his ears became pointed and tufted with fur. He scratched at Troy, who watched him with cold, passionless eyes. Crimson dripped from Troy’s hand, the one still smeared with Violet’s blood, and fellto the floor, forming a small pool. Troy’s claws twitched as Pax tried to bite him.
“Pax, no!” I yelled, fear for him forcing me into action. I elbowed free of Harlon’s hold. “Pax, get out of here!”
But it was too late. Troy lifted the boy by the back of his shirt, and Pax yelped. The sound of it tore me in half. Harlon, surprised by my sudden strength, recovered quickly. He grabbed me by the back of my neck and forced me against the wall. I tried to push away, but he gripped my hands and held them behind my back. I squeaked with pain as he pressed me to the wooden wall.
Troy chuckled and approached with Pax, who fought and kicked and whimpered to little effect. I watched with wide eyes. My wolf was quiet, which only added to my terror. Once again, I was alone, with Troy leering down at me. I tried to fight Harlon’s hold, but he tightened his grip until I felt the joints of my wrists pinch against each other.
“I see your love for pups hasn’t changed,” Troy said. I felt his hot breath on my face; it reeked of Violet’s blood. “I’m going to kill this boy and your friend the same way I killed that old bitch.”
I forced myself not to look at where Violet lay with blood pooling around her.
“I’ll make you watch me bleed them dry,” he said, staring into my eyes, his gaze piercing my soul.
“No!” I said with tears in my eyes. “Troy, I—I’ll go with you willingly—just, please, let the boy and Tavi go.” It hurt to say, but I meant it. Though I had formed lifelong relationships with the Wargs, though I had found the love of my life here, I wouldleave it all behind so long as it guaranteed the safety of Pax and Tavi.
Troy chuckled. “That’s what I like to hear.” He looked at Harlon and winked.
The next thing I knew, there was a sharp pain at the back of my neck, and my vision swam. I sagged against the wall. The last thing I heard was Pax’s whimpers.
And now I was here in this cave, with only the occasional drips of water from the stalactites above to keep me company. I pulled my knees against my chest and wrapped my arms around them. The darkness pressed in around me, oppressively opaque…until I heard a howl from somewhere distant.
My wolf!Immediately, I remembered the lessons I’d had with Night, and I closed my eyes and searched for my wolf. I found her crowded toward the back of my mind, just as she’d been when I had no idea that I was a shifter.I’m so sorry, girl. I did it again, didn’t I?In the wake of Troy’s presence, I’d been so afraid that I had forgotten who I was.
I worried that my wolf would be angry, but as she came bounding toward me from that far place, all I sensed from her was relief. My own relief swept over me, I could have trembled and cried with the force of it. When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer blind.
I was indeed in a cave, and I was alone—wait, no! There was another scent on the air, a sweeter, lighter note that I immediately recognized as belonging to Tavi. I turned my head, and found my friend a few yards from me, still unconscious,slumped forward where I was placed against the wall. Her long, black hair fell over her face, obscuring her features from me.
“Tavi!” I called, my voice echoing just slightly.
Tavi didn’t move.
I tried again. “Tavi, wake up!”
Again, my friend remained still. Dread began to drip down my spine like the cold water sliding down my leg. For a moment, I worried that Tavi might be dead. I tugged at my bindings again, but I wasn’t strong enough to pull them apart. I heaved a desperate sigh, almost a sob, and used my feet to drag myself away from the wall and closer to Tavi.
“Octavia, please…” My voice wavered. “Please, open your eyes. Don’t be dead…”I don’t want to be alone again.
And this time, though my voice was softer and thick with tears, Tavi began to stir, her sneaker twitching against the ground.
“Tavi!” I exclaimed, as her eyes fluttered open.
“Bryn?” Tavi lifted her head and looked from side to side, her shifter eyes glimmering amber in the dark. She, like me, had her arms and ankles bound. “What the fuck is this?” she demanded, testing her bonds. “What happened?”
“Troy happened,” I whispered. “He kidnapped us.”
Tavi’s lips pulled back from her teeth and I saw the flash of her sharp, white canines gleaming through the darkness. “That son of a bitch,” she spat. This was in such sharp contrast to the young woman I had come to know that it put a shiver down my spine. But I was just happy that my friend was alive, unlike?—
I shifted closer to Tavi. “Are you hurt?”
“My back is still sore, and my head hurts something awful.” She tilted her head first to one side and then to the other until a soft crack came from her neck. “Ah, that helps.” She turned to me. “How about you? Are you feeling alright?”
“Yeah, I’m…I’m okay.” But that wasn’t true. In answering the question, my thoughts again returned to the compound—to Violet, to Night, and to Pax. I snipped that thought at its root before it could take hold and spread through my mind like a weed. I couldn’t think about Violet or worry about Pax. Not right now. Instead, I tried to calm myself, focusing on the sounds of the cave. In the distance, I heard the faint babbling of a river.
“Where are we?” Tavi asked.
“I’m not sure, but it can’t be very far from the Kings’ compound.” I paused, thinking a bit more, trying to remember the geography of the area.Were there any caves on the maps I’ve seen?As I racked my brain, the sound of the river reached my ears again, and I knew that it wasn’t within the cave but outside it. “I think we’re on the outskirts of the Kings’ territory,” I said slowly. “Near the Kootenai River.” If I was right, that put us very close to the Canadian border.
