Claimed by My Bestie's Alpha Daddy novel Chapter 51

Amelia POV

The morning was cold, wet, and silent. I sat at the old motel table, steam from the cracked coffee mug blurring my vision. Richard moved stiffly by the counter, pouring boiling water into the machine as if that mundane act could erase last night.

He didn’t look at me. I watched him avoid my eyes. Finally he cleared his throat.

“About last night… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it the way I did. And what I found? It dies with me. No one else will know. I promise.”

My fingers curled around the mug.

My voice cracked. “You promise?”

He met my gaze for the briefest second and nodded. I wanted to yell at him, to thank him, to crawl over the table and shake him. But I just lowered my head.

“Okay.”

We sat there a while. He poured another cup for himself and tried to act casual.

“Did you sleep?” he asked.

I snorted. “Barely. You?”He shook his head. “Nope.”

He rubbed a hand over his face and yawned. “We should eat something before Nathan gets here.”

He handed me a stale granola bar from his bag. I took it.

We sat chewing in silence. He tapped the table awkwardly.

“I hate this.” I looked at him.

“What?” He muttered,

“This…weird quiet. The fact that I don’t know how to talk to you anymore.”I bit my lip.

“Then try.” He met my eyes and swallowed hard, opening his mouth, then shutting it.

Finally he sighed. “Nathan’s going to kill us if we look like we’ve been fighting all night.”

Nathan eventually showed up in another SUV, shaking water from his coat and scowling at us. He didn’t bother asking questions. He just tossed Richard the spare keys.

“This one’s yours now. I’ll deal with getting the other vehicle towed and repaired. Try not to kill each other on the way south, huh?”

Richard muttered thanks while I stood awkwardly beside the open door, dripping and shivering. Nathan gave us both one last long look before heading back down the muddy track toward the stranded SUV, leaving us alone to finish the drive in strained silence.The ride south was miserable. Rain lashed the windows in thick, icy sheets. Richard drove in silence, his eyes locked on the flooded road. My fingers drummed on my knee.

I cleared my throat. “So what is this inspection? What am I supposed to be doing?”

His jaw ticked. “You’ll see when we get there.”

I let out a brittle laugh. “So you just wanted me along for company?”

He snapped. “I wanted you to see what we’re fighting for!”

The SUV fishtailed. He slammed the brakes, yanking us onto the muddy shoulder. “Out,” he said. Rain beat down

•on the roof. I gaped at him. “What?” He was already out the door. “OUT!”

I stumbled after him, mud squelching under my boots.

Water flattened my hair to my skull. He turned and faced me, rain sliding off his nose. “We’re sparring. Now.”

I barked a laugh. “You’re insane.”

He advanced. “You think this is a joke? You want them to take you seriously? Then fight me.”

My hands balled into fists. I swung at him. He caught my wrist easily. “Too slow.” I swung again, sloppy, rage boiling. He sidestepped. “Come on, Amelia. You’re smarter than this!”

“Shut up!” I lunged, slipping, crashing into him. We both went down in the mud, rolling. My knee dug into his ribs.

He twisted, pinning me. Our breath fogged the space between us.

Tears welled. She wiped them away angrily. “And I don’t even have a wolf. I’m nothing to them.”

I sat next to her, careful not to touch. “That’s bullshit.

You’re smarter than any of them. You’re braver than most.She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m always going to be the outsider. The orphan. The traitor’s kid. The wolfless girl they pity or hate, Nothing about me was ever mine.

Not even my own blood. I don’t even know what she did.

What I might be. I’m sick of not knowing who I am.”

felt my heart crack. I put my head in my hands. “I’m sorry.

For what I said. For what I did. For making you say that.”

We didn’t sleep. Every movement on the bed made us both go still. At one point my hand brushed her arm. She didn’t move. Neither did I. The storm outside raged on, but the silence between us was louder than any thunder.

I shifted on the narrow mattress, the storm beating on the walls.

I turned toward her in the dark. “Amelia…are you sure you don’t have a wolf?”

She went still. “What?”

I swallowed. “Because I’ve been feeling…something. When we’ve kissed. When I had you pinned in the mud today.

Something deep in you. Something that felt like it was trying to answer me.”

She was silent for a long moment.

Then, voice shaking, she whispered, “I’ve felt something too. When we’re too close. When I forget to hate you.

When I almost want to…” She trailed off.I reached for her hand. She let me take it. And even though we didn’t say anything else, I felt her fingers squeeze back.