Claimed by the Enemy Alpha のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 61 - チャプター 70

Kaela didn’t sleep.Not because she wanted to be heroic about it—her body begged for rest, muscles throbbing from the day’s march—but every time her eyes slipped shut, the fire’s glow dimmed just enough for the dark to lean in.And in the dark… she could hear it.That sound from earlier—low, slow, deliberate. A breath so long it felt wrong. Not like lungs filling because they had to. Like it was done on purpose. For her.Lira was half-dozing near the fire, bow balanced in her lap, head tilting forward only to jerk back up. Her lips moved now and then—those old-words again—but she never said them loud enough for Kaela to catch.Ronan hadn’t sat down once. He was still a dark shape at the edge of camp, standing with his back to them, staring into the tree line like he could force the shadows to give up their secrets.The snow glowed faintly under the half-moon. It made the shapes between the drifts look like they were moving—just at the corner of her vision—never when she looked straigh

The White swallowed sound whole.Not like the forests Kaela knew, where the wind could scream through the branches or the snow could crunch underfoot loud enough to give you away for miles. Here, the silence was heavier. Thick. It clung to her ears until even her own breathing sounded like an intrusion.She hated this place.Not just for the cold — though the cold here wasn’t a thing that bit and then went away. It was a slow invasion, a thing that crept into her blood and made her wonder if her heart was still beating at the right speed. But worse than that was how the White erased the world. No color. No smell. No movement unless you made it yourself. The White didn’t just hide things. It made you question if they’d ever been real.A lone figure cut through that emptiness ahead of her — Ronan, a shadow against the pale world. His shoulders rolled with each step in that steady, predatory rhythm he had, even when they weren’t tracking prey. He didn’t look back. Didn’t need to. She kne

The White never really slept.It just shifted—breathing in long, cold exhales, rustling in places where there was no wind, creaking like the bones of something ancient.Kaela sat by the half-burned fire, chin tucked into her scarf, eyes locked on the tree line. Her wolf was restless. Her turn on watch. She should have been alone, but Ronan was out there too, pacing the shadows like a caged predator.“You can sit, you know,” she called out quietly.“I’m not tired.” His voice came from somewhere to her right—rougher, lower, like the night made it heavier.“You’re always not tired.”He didn’t answer, didn’t even pause. Just kept moving. His boots crunched over frostbitten ground, slow deliberate circles skirting the outer edge of the firelight. It was the kind of movement that made you feel watched even when you were the one watching.Kaela’s teeth caught on her lip. She told herself she was listening for threats, but her focus kept drifting to him instead—the way he moved with that cont

The White didn’t wait.It moved.By the time Kaela and Ronan reached the treeline, the air was already wrong. Heavy. Charged. Like thunder without clouds.Dax pointed ahead with a sharp jerk of his chin. “There.”Kaela followed his line of sight and froze.Two shapes.Not wolves. Not human.They stood too still, long-limbed shadows against the pale frost, eyes glinting faintly—not light, not reflection. Something else.Ronan shifted forward, shoulders rolling with a low growl that carried more warning than words.Kaela caught his arm. “Wait. Don’t charge blind.”His eyes cut to her hand on him, then back to the things ahead. “Then give me something better.”She forced her breath steady. “We split them. Keep them from mirroring each other.”Dax swore under his breath. “And if they’re faster than us?”“They are,” Ronan said flatly.Kaela’s wolf surged hot under her skin, aching for release, for teeth. “Then we be faster anyway.”The figures tilted their heads in unison, the exact same a

The night refused to settle.Even with the wards shimmering faintly at the edge of camp and patrols circling in steady rotations, Kaela’s skin prickled like the dark was alive. The fire had burned low, its glow more ember than flame, casting jagged shadows that crept and twisted with every shift of wind. Her wolf paced restlessly just under her skin, ears pricked, tail lashing, demanding movement.She should’ve forced herself to sleep. Should’ve let exhaustion drag her under like the others. But her body didn’t listen.And neither did Ronan’s.He stood where he always did—at the far edge of camp, spine straight, arms crossed, gaze locked on the tree line. The firelight touched him only in pieces: a harsh gleam in his hair, the edge of his jaw, the glint of his blade strapped to his side. He looked carved from night and steel, as if he didn’t belong to the world of warmth and fire at all.But Kaela couldn’t stop looking at him. Couldn’t stop being pulled toward him.Her feet moved befo