Claimed by My Bestie's Alpha Daddy novel Chapter 56

We slipped away from the bonfire, leaving the crackling flames and laughter behind. Richard’s hand brushed my back as he guided me to a quiet patch of grass. The stars overhead were cold and sharp, a thousand watchful eyes.

We sat close but not touching. He handed me a glass.

“To surviving,” he said, voice low and ragged.

My fingers trembled as I lifted mine.

“To winning. I’m proud of you, Richard. Even after everything, you did it.”

His eyes didn’t leave mine.

“I wouldn’t have without you. I was ready to give up. You kept them from abandoning me. You kept me together.

Even when I didn’t deserve it.”

We drank in silence, words sticking in our throats.

I could feel the heat of him beside me. My wolf strained to close the space. I forced her down.

When I finally stood, he rose too, close enough our shoulders brushed. We walked back to Richard’s room slowly, the grass damp under our shoes. When we got inside, we didn’t say goodnight, we just drifted through the quiet routines of getting ready for bed, brushing teeth in silence, tugging off jackets and boots, sharing the lamp by the side table. It felt comfortable, like we’d done it a thousand times before, because we had. And it felt less like reckless behavior and more like returning to normalcy.

The next morning, I was in the bathroom, shaking trying to clasp my necklace before the council meeting. Richard knocked once and came in without waiting.

“Let me.”

His voice was softer than I’d heard in days. I froze but let him. His fingers were warm against my neck, lingering too long. I shivered.

He pressed his palm against my shoulder. “You look like you’re going to war.”

I swallowed. “I am.”

He squeezed gently before stepping away. We walked to the event in tense silence. The corridors were packed with staff and allies.

A sudden surge split us apart. The staff weren’t just bustling, they were arguing loudly about security protocols and election results, creating a chaotic, shoving mass that felt dangerous. Someone pushed between us roughly, sending me stumbling. For a split second I couldn’t see him at all. My wolf snarled in panic and the air seemed too thin to breathe. Panic flooded me. I turned in circles, heart pounding. I saw him shoving people aside to get to me.When our eyes locked, I pushed forward, grabbing his arm.

He froze, then slowly covered my hand with his.

“You okay?” he said softly.

When the onlookers started to whisper, he let go, his face hardening into the Alpha King mask.

Paparazzi shots of Richard meeting Jenny and Elsa-his. ex mate, the woman he was bonded to before she broke the bond—in a botanical park.

Elsa laughing, hand on his arm.

Jenny smirking at the camera.

The headlines were brutal.

“Rekindling old alliances?”

“Alpha King’s old flame returned.”

“Bringing family back to politics.”

Staff left the prints on my desk, not even pretending they hadn’t seen them.

My heart cracked. I picked them up, fingers trembling. I stared so long the paper wrinkled in my sweaty hands. My stomach churned until I thought l’d throw up.