Escaping the Alpha, Claimed in the End novel Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Amelia’s POV

I woke up slowly, the soft morning light leaking through

beside me, one arm heavy around my waist, has beratang der dad weby sha

that made everything inside me feel calm for fhe first time

its own heartbeat, answering his

For a moment, I didn’t move. I just lay there listening to hom

made it through the storm. The basement. The poison. The fear that hard

breathe. It all felt distant now. like a nightmare fading in dayhugger

Then Ryder shifted behind me and let out a soft groan, the kind people make when y awake. His arm tightened slightly.

“Baby,” he mumbled in a gravelly voice that made my stomach flutter You

“Yeah,” I whispered. “You?”

“Barely.” He opened his eyes, blinked a few times, then looked down a mem “Come here.”

29 that made

I turned to face him, and he brushed a few strands of my hair back with his finger. He studied me for second to expression softer than I’d ever seen it

“Okay, so… don’t laugh.” he said.

“That’s never a great start,” I said, smiling despite myself. “What

He let out a breath like he wasn’t sure how to say it. “Kieran’s being weird”

My eyebrows went up. “Weird how?”

“He woke me up earlier,” Ryder said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Not with words just.. feelings Very loud feelings.

I waited, and he finally met my eyes.

“He wants to be a dad.”

I blinked. “What?”

“He’s showing me all these images,” Ryder said quickly. “You me pups Tiny ones. With silver hair and got eyes. He’s basically yelling it at me.”

Heat exploded across my face. “Oh my god.”

“I know,” he groaned. “I’m not saying we have to-like, right now. He’s just excited. The bond did

of us. I feel different. Stronger. Like we’re synced”

I took a breath and sat up a little so I could look at him more clearly.

He stared at me. “The

“The onion,” I said, nodding seriously “It makes perfect sense, okay?”

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Chapte

youre romparing tur souls to an onion. I’m trying some fotog

“You should,” I said, poking his chest. “Imagine an onion Lagers. The one pare zostanak bol my car inside that are your emotions your/habits, your memories. The text layed as phage

absolute core-is your soul. That’s where the mark ried us together. Mark on the

the core.”

He watched me with this quiet, thoughtful look. “So even if fear re

me.”

“Exactly.” I said. “That part can’t break. No matter what.”

His hand slid behind my neck, his thumb brushing my mark. You really thought our thic

“I had to.” I whispered, my throat tightening. “After yesterday”

The air shifted. Ryder’s face softened, but the guilt in his eyes was instant.

“You left,” I said before I could stop myself. The words came out shaky. “You told me to get out. You tad me. You let them lock you away while you screamed and I-” My voice cracked. “I needed you had you

His expression broke. “Baby…”

“I know you were poisoned. I know you weren’t thinking straight,” I said, tears rising faster than I could slink “But it still hurt. I thought I lost you. I thought you’d never come back.”

Ryder sat up and pulled me into his arms immediately, holding me so tight it felt like he was trying to surit te from he memory itself. “Amelia, I’m so sorry,” he whispered into my hair. “I’m sorry for every word I said in that room [ myself. I wasn’t thinking. I just… I didn’t want to hurt you. And I thought pushing you away was the only cafe agrion”

“You hurt me anyway,” I said quietly, not accusing him-just telling the truth.

He nodded against me. “I know. And I hate myself for it. After Jasper stabbed me, it was like something mapped mad The poison hit Kieran harder than it hit me. One second he was right there, yelling and pissed off like normal. The was just… gone. I’ve never felt that kind of silence before. I didn’t know what to do with it.”

I pulled back to look at him. His eyes were full of pain he’d been holding in for too long

“I couldn’t hear him,” Ryder said. “Not one growl. Not one word. It was like losing half my mind. And when you knew I couldn’t control myself. I didn’t know what was me and what was poison. So I said whatever I thought would you away. I figured if you hated me enough, you’d leave, and you’d be safe.”\

My chest tightened. “I wasn’t going to leave you.”

f

He wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb, “And that’s why I don’t deserve you. But I’m going to fox thin aiready talked to Dr. Merrick. He wants me to see a wolf therapist. Someone who knows how to reconnect a broke

Relief washed through me. “Good That’s good. You shouldn’t deal with this alone.”

“I won’t,” he said. “Not anymore.”

We lay like that for a while, holding each other, until a soft knock came at the door. Dr. Merrick.

“Come in,” Ryder called.

Merrick stepped inside, his eyes going straight to Ryder’s mark, then to mine. “How are you feeling this morning, Alpha?”

50 am P

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Ryder said, but in a better medi

#

Merrick buffed a small laugh: “That’s an improvement.” He came dents. If greeted the big 5. checks If everything looks good. I can discharge you today”

My heart jumped. “Discharge?” I asked.

“From the medical wing” Merrick explained. “He’s still rechacally adused if the w

stable, he can go home.”

Ryder looked at me. “Home sounds good”

We spent the next couple hours doing tests. Merrick checked Kyder’s reflexes, his trengh bit rugma 1 ka blood so Merrick could use it in a final healing spell for the last bruises and cuts. By the rod, new c faded to faint shadows.

Merrick lowered his hands, satisfied. “You’re clear,” he said, “You both still need rest, and therapy when no physical reason to keep you here.”

“Thank you, doc,” Ryder said.

We signed the papers, packed the few things in the room, and left the medical wing together.

On the way out of the pack house, Lucas met us at the door.

“You look alive,” he said to Ryder. “That’s a good start.”

“Don’t get soft on me now,” Ryder said, but he squeezed Lucas’s shoulder.

Lucas grinned then turned to me. “We held it together while he was gone,” he said. “But I’m really glad you got burn back. Luna.”

“Me too,” I said honestly.

Home, as Ryder calls it, is the small villa a few kilometers away from the pack house, the place we use when we want privacy and a break from pack duties. When I was still healing, Ryder brought me there often to take the pressure off. Now it was me coming back with him.

We dropped our bags, and I sat on the couch. Ryder leaned against the kitchen counter, watching me.

“So,” he said. “What did I miss while I was busy being… you know, half-feral

“Everything,” I said. “But I handled it.”

“I know you did.” He smiled softly. “Which is why I want to do something with you. Something steady. Meditation Four times a week. No matter how busy we get.”

I nodded immediately. “Yeah. I want that.”

We pinky-swore on it.

A couple days later, I went to see Delilah. She hugged me the moment she opened her door.

“Ryder’s better,” I told her. “But he still feels…. disconnected.”

“Then let’s fix that,” she said. “Get him over here.”

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Chapic

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hat afternoon, the lure of us sat in a triangle on the floor. Delilah guided us through breathing and focusing on the hond. fete Ryder beside me, warm and steady. I felt the bond between us glowing strong. And then-something big moved in the dark edges of my mind.

Kieran.

Not close. Not clear. But there.

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