All Chapters of Claimed by two Alphas: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

~SCARLETT~ From the inside of the car, the café looked harmless. Warm lights. Soft laughter. A place where people went to forget the weight of the world for a little while. I had built an entire pack like this, places designed to feel safe while power pulsed invisibly beneath the surface. I knew illusion when I saw it. And yet, when Scarlett stepped outside with that ridiculous oversized bag slung over her shoulder, blinking into the afternoon sun like the world was still new to her, something inside my chest cracked open anyway. She looked… lighter. That terrified me for some reason. “Is this going to be our new routine from now on? Watching her?” Chase asked from the passenger seat, arms folded as he watched her walk down the sidewalk. I didn’t reply so he sighed. “Still think this is a good idea?” “No,” I replied calmly. “But it’s the right one.” Chase snorted. “If it was the right one, we won’t be spending our afternoons watching her like she can disappear at

~SCARLETT ~By the third day, I understood something important.People don’t need proof to decide who you are.They just need a story they like better than the truth.I’m restocking pastries when Maya’s voice drifts over from the other end of the counter, deliberately loud.“Must be nice,” she says. “Some of us actually had to work to get hired.”I pretend not to hear her. My fingers tremble slightly as I arrange the trays, but I keep my head down.I worked for this.I showed up early. I stayed late. I learned fast. I didn’t ask for help. I didn’t mention names. I didn’t even want anyone knowing I was connected to Dimitri or Alexander.And yet, here I am.The girl with connections.The girl who didn’t earn it.The girl people whisper about when they think she can’t hear.Louis catches my eye from near the register. His expression is tight, apologetic. “Ignore her” He mouthed.I nod.Ignoring things has become a skill I didn’t ask to develop.By the time my break comes, my chest feels

~SCARLETT~ If anyone had asked me what I expected coffee with Alexander to feel like, I would have said awkward. Or tense. Or unbearable.I wouldn’t have said quietly normal.That realization unsettled me more than I wanted to admit.We sat across from each other in a small café tucked between a bookstore and a florist, the kind of place people go when they want to be left alone with their thoughts. The windows are fogged slightly from the warmth inside, and soft music hums in the background, something instrumental and unobtrusive.Alexander chose the place, but he waited for me to approve it before we came in. He even asked where I wanted to sit, like proximity was something I should get to decide.That alone tells me he’s trying.He doesn’t reach for my hand. Doesn’t crowd the table. Doesn’t stare like he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he blinks. Instead, he wraps his fingers around his mug and looks down at it for a long moment, like he’s grounding himself.I watch him over the rim o

~ALEXANDER~ I’ve learned that love doesn’t always look like urgency.Sometimes, it looks like waiting without complaint.That’s what I remind myself as I stand outside Scarlett’s building, hands tucked into the pockets of my coat, the night air sharp against my skin. I don’t look up at her window. I don’t want to know if she’s watching.I didn’t come to see her.Not really.I came to remind myself that she exists outside my memory.Alive. Breathing. Choosing.And that choice may never be me.Brian’s voice still rings in my ears from earlier that day.You’re losing control of the pack.He hadn’t shouted. Brian never does. Disappointment carries more weight than anger when it comes from your beta.I’d looked at him then and said, “I’m not losing control. I’m prioritizing.”He’d stared at me like I’d lost my mind.Maybe I have.The boardroom was full this morning. Advisors.Lawyers. People who speak in numbers and market shares like lives don’t exist beneath them. They talked about expa

~SCARLETT~ I notice it on a Tuesday.Not because anything dramatic happens but because something doesn’t.For the first time in days, I didn’t feel watched from a distance.I felt… accompanied.It started small.When I step out of my apartment building that morning, the street is already busy. Cars pass, people rush by, the city hums like it always does. I adjust my bag on my shoulder and head toward the café, mind already bracing for another long shift.That’s when I see him.Dimitri stands across the street, phone pressed to his ear, posture relaxed but alert. He isn’t hiding. He isn’t pretending not to see me.And when his gaze lifts and meets mine…He doesn’t look away.My breath catches.Not because of surprise but Because of relief.He nods once. Not an invitation. Not a demand. Just acknowledgment.I’m here.Something warm spreads through my chest before I can stop it.I don’t cross the street. He doesn’t either.But the space between us feels different now.Alive.At work, t