All Chapters of The Alpha’s Claim: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The house felt wrong.Too loud and too quiet at the same time.Ellie slipped inside while the celebration still echoed outside—music drifting through open windows, laughter carrying across the grounds like nothing had fractured at all. Like the world hadn’t split cleanly in two at her feet.She moved through the hallway without looking at anyone, nodding automatically when someone said her name, murmuring thanks when congratulations followed her like a shadow. Each word felt like a weight, pressing down on her chest, suffocating.All she wanted was her room.The door clicked shut behind her, and only then did she let herself breathe.It came out shaky.Her wolf paced immediately, unsettled and sharp, pressing against her ribs as if she were too small to hold everything inside her. Ellie leaned back against the door, eyes closed, willing the sensation to stop.It didn’t.Roman was in the house.She could feel him.Not like a sound or a scent—more like pressure. Like gravity pulling fro

Ellie was halfway asleep when her phone buzzed. She almost ignored it. After everything—the ceremony, the bond snapping into place, the running, the lake—silence felt like the only thing holding her together. The house was finally quiet, the lights low, the world reduced to the slow tick of the clock on her nightstand. But her chest still felt too tight for rest. The bond hummed low beneath her skin—not screaming anymore, just there. A constant awareness. Something wounded but awake. A thin wire pulled taut between her heart and his, pulsing softly with every beat. She rolled onto her side and glanced at the screen. Roman. Her stomach twisted into a cold, hard knot. She didn’t open it right away. She stared at his name until the screen dimmed, then finally tapped the message, the light stinging her tired eyes. Ellie, I know I don’t deserve a response. I just need you to know I’m sorry. For all of it. For the waiting. For the silence. For hurting you. I never meant to

Morning slipped in quietly, like it knew better than to announce itself.Ellie checked the clock on the nightstand—8:07 a.m.—then looked back at Roman. He was still asleep, one arm stretched across the pillow where she’d been not long ago. His breathing was slow and even, the kind that came from deep, dreamless sleep. She stood there longer than she meant to, watching him, trying to memorize the way his face looked in the early light.She told herself she would remember this exactly.She knew she wouldn’t.This would be the last morning like this for a while.The thought hit hard and fast, and she turned away before it could take root.She packed quietly. A shirt folded, then another. Jeans pressed flat, socks shoved in without much care. Every item felt heavier than it should have, like she was packing pieces of herself instead of clothes. The room smelled like him—soap, warmth, something familiar that had no name. It clung to the sheets, the air, her skin. Leaving felt wrong in a wa

EllieMora’s house felt like a pause the moment Ellie stepped inside.Aaron followed her in with her bags, setting them down carefully by the wall like he was afraid even that small sound might break something. The house smelled like lavender and clean linen, familiar in a way that made Ellie’s chest tighten. Safe. Too safe for how fragile she felt.“Well,” her dad said softly, rubbing the back of his neck, “this is you.”Ellie nodded, not trusting herself to speak yet.He pulled her into a hug, strong and steady, the way he always had when she was younger. “You don’t have to have all the answers right now,” he said quietly into her hair. “Just… take care of yourself, okay?”“I will,” she whispered.He pulled back, giving her a small smile. “I’ll check in tomorrow. And if you need me sooner, you call. No matter what time it is.”“I know.”Aaron squeezed her shoulder once more, then picked up the last bag and handed it to Mora, thanking her before heading back toward the door. Ellie wa

Ellie woke up knowing something was wrong.Not panic—panic was sharp, loud. This was quieter. A dull pressure behind her eyes. A slow, unsettled roll in her stomach. When she tried to stretch, the ache in her chest answered immediately, low and insistent, like something tugging at her from the inside. She groaned softly and rolled onto her side, pressing her forehead into the pillow. Roman. The thought surfaced before she could stop it. Her phone sat on the nightstand. She didn’t want to look at it. She already knew what she’d find. Eventually, she did anyway. Messages. All from the middle of the night. U awake? Are you okay? I can’t explain it, but something feels off. It feels like you’re hurting. Ellie closed her eyes. Her fingers hovered over the screen. I’m fine, she almost typed. She deleted it. Instead, she wrote:I’m awake now.I’m okay. She stared at the words, then sent them before she could overthink. The response came quickly. I didn’t sleep. Her throat t