Page 68 of Brutal Reign
“I know, I’ve heard the story.”
“Then you know that sometimes there’s a bigger plan at play,” she muses.
I heave a sigh as I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees and staring down at the patterned rug on the floor beneath my feet.
“What do the two of them have to say about it?” Mom asks gently. “Are they trying to make you pick one of them?”
“No, they want to try to make it work,” I grumble.
I’m not sure what response I expect from her, but it definitely isn’t a laugh. I turn to look at her as she chuckles softly, shaking her head and mumbling, “I should’ve seen this coming.”
I narrow my eyes on her in question.
“The three of you were always inseparable,” she continues. “I know Vienna and I used to tease you and Seb a lot, but you were just as close with Ace. It was hard to imagine you winding up with one of them over the other, you three were a unit.”
“Did you forget about the part where we stopped being friends?” I grumble bitterly.
“No, but this changes things, doesn’t it?” she asks, tilting her head. “Childhood arguments are a dime a dozen, but the fated mate bond only comes around once in a lifetime, Riv. Some people never get to experience it. No matter what’s happened in the past, you have to at least consider putting it behind you to explore whether you could have a future.”
I blink back at my mom as I turn over her words in my mind. “So, you think I should give them a chance.”
The corner of her mouth ticks up in a wistful smile. “I know if I didn’t give your dad a chance, I would’ve regretted it for the rest of my life,” she replies, pausing before adding, “And we wouldn’t be here having this conversation.”
I drop my face into my hands, scrubbing them down my face. “What will people think?” I groan, my voice muffled behind my palms.
“Who cares?” Mom scoffs back. “The opinions of other people don’t matter when it comes to your own happiness. Focus on what feels right for you.”
Lifting my head, I turn my skeptical gaze on her. “And Dad?” I bite out. “You really think he’ll let me go back to training camp if he knows?”
She hisses in a breath through her teeth, wincing. “I’d maybe wait to tell your dad,” she says, reaching over to pat my knee. “Why don’t you let me lay some groundwork, subtly prepare him a little bit so it doesn’t come as such a shock when you do tell him.”
I quickly nod in agreement, relieved she’s not pushing me to confess my secrets to him yet. This whole situation is hard enough to navigate without my dad flying off the handle. Which hewilldo, no matter how much Mom thinks she can prepare him for receiving the news.
“Thanks, Mom,” I breathe, “you have no idea how much I needed your advice.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” she laughs, slinging an arm around my shoulders and yanking me in. She presses a kiss to my hair affectionately as she murmurs, “I love you, River. And no matter what happens, that’ll never change.”
I sink into her warmth, my eyes falling closed as I whisper back, “no matter what.”
23
I’ve always been adept at controlling my emotions. I’m acutely in tune with them, often expressing myself through art or music, but I can also compartmentalize my feelings into little boxes in my mind, tucking them away and retrieving them only when necessary. That’s why it comes as such a surprise when I feel my malevolence for Jake Decker oozing through the cracks of the box I created for it as he takes his place across from me, smug in his confidence that he has this final matchup in the bag.
For the past two days, we’ve been clawing our way to the top of the bracket in the wolf tournament, each of us emerging victorious over our prior opponents. Unlike Jake, I don’t give a shit about the clout of winning this thing, though. My sole purpose in making it to the end has been to preventhimfrom being declared the victor.
Every prior win has only inflated his ego, and I’m looking forward to being the one who gets to knock him down a peg in this final round. I’ll bet he’ll think twice about challenging River for Alpha rank after I wipe the floor with him.
This would’ve been a perfect opportunity for her to gather intel on her opponent. Alphas were excused from participatingin the wolf tournament, but Riv could’ve stuck around to observe how Jake fights in wolf form so she could strategize how to approach their challenge. Instead, the stress of navigating our mate bonds drove her away, and since I’m partially responsible for that, I’ve taken it upon myself to mentally catalog everything about the way Jake fights. When she gets back, I’ll fill her in, and maybe that’ll help to bridge this divide between us.
Though he hasn’t come out and said it, I can tell Seb’s feeling the same weight of responsibility for River’s absence this week. He’d normally jump at the chance to go fuck off for a few days, but instead he’s been firmly planted on the bleachers of the indoor arena, watching every matchup like it’s his damn job. I’ve never seen him so focused, though he’s also sullen and withdrawn. I guess I can’t fault him for it when I’ve been the same.
My inner wolf has been keening for our mate, so for the past two nights, I’ve snuck out of the barracks while the other recruits slept and made the trek to Summervale to indulge him. Concealing myself in the forest, I sat outside the packhouse for hours just to feel close to her. I’d open up the box in my mind and let myself feel every bit of repressed longing, then pack it back up and return to the squad complex to catch a few hours of sleep. Not the healthiest system, but it’s kept me motivated to see this thing through to the end.
The squad recruits are clustered on the bleachers, giddy with anticipation for the final matchup to begin and a victor to be declared. As sour as some of them were to be eliminated from the tournament, everyone’s eager to see how this last fight will play out. Nothing gets a crowd going quite like violence for sport.
The squad leaders are all here, too, positioned around the arena to observe the matchup and tally points. I don’t plan on this ending in a way they’ll need to score. I’ve paid close attention to Jake’s strengths and weaknesses over the past twodays, and I’ve strategized exactly how to exploit them. I’ve held back in my prior matchups to cripple his ability to do the same, even though I doubt he’s bothered to put in much planning on his end. He’s too cocky for his own good.Yet another weakness ripe for exploitation.
“Who’s ready for the final battle?” Madd calls out, amping up the crowd even more as he steps between Jake and I. “Same rules apply, eight minutes, single elimination. Time starts when the buzzer sounds.”