Escaping the Alpha, Claimed in the End novel Chapter 2

Chapter 2: There’s Nothing Here

Amelia’s POV

The second those words left his mouth, I made a sound I couldn’t control.

A soft, shaky whimper escaped me before I could stop it. My whole body tensed in embarrassment.

I wanted to pretend it hadn’t happened, but it had.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. Not just from fear–though that still had a grip on me–but from something else.

Something I didn’t understand and didn’t want to feel. Shame. Confusion. A strange flicker of arousal that I hated myself for.

His eyes shifted.

Gone was the cold, dead stare I’d first seen. Now, they looked focused. Like I’d caught his attention in a way that didn’t make sense.

“Mmm… oh… yes,” I said, forcing the words out. I didn’t know what I was supposed to sound like. I didn’t know what kind of act I was performing. I just knew I had to keep going if I wanted to live.

The train jolted to a stop.

Before I could think, his hand pressed hard between my thighs. My whole body froze. Then his lips brushed against my ear.

“Louder,” he whispered.

I flinched.

But I did what he said.

“Yes–ahh–please…”

The sound of heavy boots pounded outside the compartment. The door handle rattled. My pulse raced.

Then he pushed his full weight against me. Warm and solid. I could feel every inch of his body. For a moment, I couldn’t even breathe.

And then something strange happened.

It felt like a jolt–like warmth spreading from my fingertips into him the second they brushed his side. That’s when I realized -I’d touched something wet. His wound. His breath hitched. His body shuddered. A low grunt slipped from his throat, like pain and relief had hit him at once.

Was he healing?

Did I have such abilities? How-

The door swung open.

A young soldier stood in the doorway. He froze like someone had hit pause.

His eyes landed on us–me flat on my back, skirt rucked up just enough to imply the worst, him hovering over me like we’d been caught mid–sin.

The color drained from the soldier’s face–then came rushing back in full force. His ears went bright red. His mouth opened like he wanted to say something, anything, but no words came out.

He looked like he’d walked straight into a live wire.

I met his eyes, wide and glassy. My cheeks were burning. My body was still stiff beneath the stranger’s weight.

I knew we weren’t really doing anything but the shame and embarrassment that filled me could rival actual couples caught in the middle of sex.

The soldier blinked, panicked. His gaze bounced from my face to the stranger’s hand still gripping my thigh. His lips moved -but nothing came out.

“There’s… uh-” His voice cracked. “There’s nothing here,” he mumbled, stepping back like he’d touched fire.

The door slammed shut, and he was gone.

Silence fell again.

But the man didn’t move off me.

He stayed exactly where he was, heavy and still. His hand was still on my thigh. I could feel his breath against my cheek The knife wasn’t touching me anymore, but the memory of it hadn’t faded.

Chapter 2. There’s Nothing Here

I ‘should’ve fought back. Should’ve yelled. Hit him. Something.

But I was scared.

So I did the only thing left to do–I turned my head to the side, closed my eyes, and kept moaning.

His voice dipped lower, more curious than aggressive now. “Which pack are you from?”

I stayed quiet. Saying too much could be a mistake. If he was connected to my father–even by accident–it could all come back to me. I couldn’t take that risk.

His gaze lingered on me, thoughtful. He probably took my silence for bashfulness.

“Alright, little fox,” he said with a crooked smirk. “The train will reach Brimwatch in three days. Someone will be waiting for you at the station. Just follow the scent markers.”

Before I could speak–before I could question or protest–he rose fluidly to his feet and moved toward the door.

“Try not to run too far, Emily,” he added, throwing the name back at me like a taunt. “I’d like to find you again.”

Then he was gone, slipping out into the corridor without a sound.

The quiet that followed was somehow heavier than his presence had been. I sat there, heart pounding, every part of me still burning from adrenaline and suppressed rage. My hands curled into fists on my lap.

I didn’t have a wolf yet, so there was no way to sense his rank–whether he was an Alpha, a Beta, or something else. But I didn’t need instincts to know one thing: he wasn’t ordinary.

The way the air shifted when he walked in, the way everything stilled–it felt like the whole world held its breath around him. A man like that didn’t travel without purpose.

He looked like he was in his mid–twenties, but his eyes told a different story. Cold. Calculative. Like he’d seen too much, done worse, and never lost sleep over any of it.

Dangerous didn’t even begin to cover it.

But none of that mattered now.

I just needed to get off this train. I needed to disappear before the Silverlight Pack picked up my trail.

Meet him at Brimwatch?

Yeah, right.

I didn’t run away from one prison just to walk into another. Let him wait.

He would never see me again.