Chapter 233: Part 6

Ivan

Running gave me time to cool down and think. I'd done nothing but fight since Alba's death. Fighting cats was the easy part and I did it to punish myself. I punished my children, my prior clan, and my friends. Facing them meant facing my inability to keep Alba safe. Her image was fuzzy, but the memory of her voice rang in my head.

"I didn't need you keeping me safe."

She hated anytime I interfered with her place in the clan. She, like Talya, was alpha. The two of them had a lot in common. I remembered my challenge against her for leadership of Marcus's clan. Death for one of us was the only outcome, until I kissed her. Days later, I claimed her as my mate. My wolf never desired a weak mate. But why the hell did the Goddess choose a cat?

Talya was so damn young. Nicolas would want to kick my ass if he knew I'd claimed her without waiting another year until her twenty-first birthday. But she no longer belonged to Nicolas. She was mine and I had to find a way to accept that.