Claimed by My Bestie's Alpha Daddy novel Chapter 42

The summit ends in controlled chaos. Shuttles idle outside, escort drones buzzing. Alphas trade forced pleasantries and stiff smiles that don’t reach their eyes.

Cameras flash. I keep my head down, badge visible. Every time I hear a shutter click, my shoulders tense. I feel their eyes, their whispers. I’m aware of every step Richard takes. behind me. The way his voice hardens when he gives orders. The way he avoids looking at me.

Nothing had blown up. Not loudly. But people knew I had gone into his room, and the team had decided not to make a statement. Not add any fuel to the rumors.

Nathan hovers nearby, arms crossed, watching me like he’s assessing a patient about to break

“You got the last report?” he asks, voice too level..

I shove it at him. “All there.”

He flips it open, eyes scanning quickly.

Simon approaches. “You know they’re talking.”

I scowl. “They’ve been talking for weeks.”

His mouth tightens. “They’re going to talk more now.

Especially about… this.”

I cross my arms. “It’s not your business.”His voice goes cold. “It is when it affects Richard’s health.

When it affects you.”

I look away. “I’m not having sex with him.”

But god, I wish I was.

Simon’s eyes sharpen. You think I don’t see what it’s doing to you? You think you’re subtle?”

I bite the inside of my cheek. “I’m handling it.”

He snorts. “Bullshit.”

My voice cracks. “You all put me in that room. Don’t act like this wasn’t your plan.”

He flinches, jaw clenching. “I greenlit it because he was losing it. Because he needed you to heal. I thought letting you stay would help him sleep, keep him stable. It was my call as his healer, it’s my job to keep him functional. I didn’t realize it would hurt you more than it helped him.

That’s not overstepping-that’s me failing you both.”

I swallow. “I didn’t ask for this.”

He shakes his head. “No one did.”

Silence falls between us. My fingers tremble on the folder.

I hate the pity in his eyes. He lowers the file slowly. “Just… don’t make it worse. For either of you.”

I don’t answer. My nails dig half-moons into my palm. I watch shuttles peel away outside the compound. A drone hovers, lights blinking like an accusation. Simon shifts beside me, like he wants to say more. He doesn’t.

The ride back to the city is stifling. Pine forests blur to gray roads and crowded skyline. Simon and I sit side by side but feel miles apart. He doesn’t look at me. I don’t want to look at him. I watch the trees disappear behind us.

My chest feels too tight.

Our apartments are too close. Being neighbors feels too intimate now. Too loud. He waits by his door. “Don’t give them more to work with, Amelia.”

I don’t look at him. “Goodnight, Simon.”

My phone buzzes. I flinch. It’s nothing. I want it to be her so badly it hurts worse than the ache between my legs. I let out a sound halfway between a groan and a snarl.

Storm paces. Growling. Snapping. “She’s ours.”

I slam both hands into the counter. “Shut up.” My voice cracks. I press my forehead to the cold surface, panting. I am going to break if this doesn’t stop.

Storm howls in my chest. “You want her as much as I do,” he snarls. “Admit it.”

I grit my teeth. “Shut up.”

He snaps back, voice in my head like claws. “She wants us.

She chose us.”I shake. “It’s not that simple.”

Storm growls. “You’re lying. You’re weak. You want to taste her, mark her, own her.”

let out a broken laugh. “Yeah? And ruin her? Make her pay for wanting me?”

He snarls back.

“She wants it. She wants you. Don’t fight me. Don’t fight her.”

I collapse against the counter, panting, his voice in my skull. “I hate you,” I whisper.

Storm’s laugh is cruel. “You love her.” I squeeze my eyes shut and fight him. Fight myself. Fight the memory of her grinding on my thigh, moaning my name like a prayer.