All Chapters of THE WOLF WITHIN:CLAIMED BY THE ALPHA: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

INGRIDAs I looked down at Lucian, his hair a wild mess between my thighs, I couldn’t believe what was happening. This is Lucian. The man I’ve argued with, fought with, claimed to hate every chance I got—and yet here I am, with his hands all over me, my body responding to him like it was made for this. For him.What the hell am I doing? I think to myself, but the thought doesn’t get to settle. It’s torn apart by a sudden, delicious wave of pleasure that rolls through me when his tongue finds just the right spot. My breath hitches, my body arches, and I forget why I ever told myself I hated him.It shouldn’t feel this good. It shouldn’t feel right. But gods, it does.My hands slide into his hair, tugging gently, then harder when he teases me just to the edge and pulls back again, leaving me panting and desperate.He looks up at me, lips slick and eyes dark with heat, and the smugness in his expression only makes things worse.“Still hate me?” he asks, voice husky, sinful.I want to sla

INGRIDThe moment I heard the click of the door locking, I tiptoed out of the shower and peeked through the gap. The bedroom was empty. Lucian had left.A strange, unexpected wave of disappointment washed over me.I wasn't sure what I expected from him—maybe a word, a glance, or a goodbye. Something. Anything would have been nice.Right on cue, Kira’s voice echoes in my head.“So…” she starts, smug and curious.I roll my eyes, ignoring her as I step back under the water, trying to rinse off every trace of what had just happened, but Lucian… Lucian clung to me.Not physically, but mentally and emotionally. His scent, his touch, his breath—all of it is seared into my skin.“Well, that was unexpected,” Kira comments in a low, teasing tone.I try to concentrate on the water trickling down my body, but instead my mind paints vivid memories of Lucian’s chiseled abs, the hard muscles on his back, his strong legs, and that perfect, sculpted ass.My lips parted unconsciously at the thought, an

INGRIDIt has been almost five hours since Lucian and Ezra left, and I can’t sit still.Every time I hear even the slightest noise at the compound gate, I rush to the window, only to be met with disappointment.There is no sign of them—just false hope, over and over again.I thought about talking to Aiden; we could go out and look for them, but he made things awkward between us.He’d come at me so hard about sleeping with Lucian, like I owed him an explanation, like I belonged to him.Another hour passes, and I start to feel this strange, twisting sensation in my gut. Anxiety, maybe.I can’t breathe, so I sit down on the cold floor, hoping it will stop the chaos in my head.Then I hear it—a commotion at the gate.I shoot up and rush to the window, holding my breath as someone staggers through the gates, covered in soot and clearly injured.My heart stops waiting for another figure to appear behind him, but no one comes in.I squint my eyes, trying to see through the haze, and that’s w

INGRIDTwo days have never felt longer in my life. Ezra finally woke up, but he’s still weak.His body is struggling to recover from the wolfsbane smoke and the burns that scorched his arm and shoulder.The pack nurse says he’s healing slower than usual, and though he’s trying to mask it, I can see the pain still lingers in his every breath.He needs more time to recover but Lucian might not have that luxury. He might even be dead for all we know.I’ve spent the last two days training harder than I ever have before, pushing myself past exhaustion, running drills with the pack warriors who volunteered, and poring over every map and scouting report I could find.I’ve studied every possible location where Silas could be hiding. Every abandoned fort, hidden dungeon, and even all the properties I know he owns. I’ve barely slept.Ezra could see how hard I was working on planning to get him back, and at one point, he asked why I was doing this even though I had mentioned I hated him several

INGRIDI didn’t sleep. Not even for a second.The entire night I tossed and turned, because I was too restless, too anxious, and too desperate to leave.I kept replaying all the possible routes and locations where Silas might be hiding Lucian, because every second we wasted out there, Lucian could be dying.By the time the sky began to turn from black to grey, I was already out of bed, dressed, and heading to the compound. Everyone is still asleep, not even the birds are awake yet.I make my way into the kitchen and grab whatever supplies we might need. Water, rations, and a few herbs for healing.I pack everything into a travel bag with shaking hands, forcing myself to stay focused. I sit on the bench near the entrance and begin tapping my foot impatiently, my thoughts already halfway into the forest.A few minutes later, I hear footsteps coming from the house.“Morning,” Ezra greets as he approaches and joins me on the bench. He’s limping, but he looks stronger than he was yesterday