All Chapters of Escaping the Alpha, Claimed in the End: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Amelia’s POVFor the next few days, Ryder kept waking before dawn. Every morning at five, I heard him slip out of bed, pull on his training clothes, and leave for the field without saying a word. I pretended to be asleep each time. It was easier than trying to figure out which version of him I’d get that morning.But every night before he left, I felt him pull me close. His arm would slide around my waist like he couldn’t help it, his breath warm against my ear. He whispered small things he didn’t dare say when I was awake—soft apologies, quiet thoughts, little pieces of honesty. When he finally slipped out of the room, his scent always stayed behind: smoke, coffee, and dark chocolate. Comforting. Painful. Confusing.I knew why he was like this. His jealousy wasn’t explosive—it was silent and sharp. He avoided my eyes, stiffened whenever I walked near him, treated me like I was glass he didn’t know how to hold. My past with Dane hung between us like a shadow, even though it was a mist

Amelia's POVRyder's expression had gone granite-hard, his jaw working like he was physically restraining himself from breaking something."We can't just confront her," he said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "If she realizes we're onto her, she'll either run or call in whoever she's working with. We need to trap her—draw out her partner so we can deal with them both at once."I nodded, twisting my hands together. "What if I invite her out? Pretend I'm falling apart over us. She already thinks I'm barely holding it together after that video."Something softened in his eyes for just a second. "That could work. You tell her you're done with me, that you want to leave the pack. If she's really here to hurt you, she'll see an opening. She might try to drug you again or worse."My stomach turned over, but I pushed the nausea down. "And you'll be nearby? With backup ready to move when her partner shows?""Exactly." Ryder reached across and squeezed my hand. "But the second an

Amelia’s POVI regained my consciousness in fragments. First, the scent of antiseptic hit me. Then, the feel of cool linen against my skin. When I looked around, I realized that this was the infirmary. I recalled I was in the training field searching for Ryder among the sweating warriors. Then a wave of dizziness hit me so strongly that I felt the gravity getting ten times stronger. Like my head was getting heavier. I blinked, my eyelids heavy. When I looked around the infirmary, I saw him.Ryder sat in a chair pulled impossibly close to my cot, his large frame making it look smaller. He wasn't sleeping. His elbows were on his knees, his head bowed, his hands clasped so tightly his knuckles were turning white. He was staring at the floor as if the answers to every question were there.“Ryder?” My voice was raspy, barely audible.His head snapped up. The look in his eyes was a storm of emotions, so intense it seemed unlike him. Gradually, his face was filled with relief as he regar

Amelia’s POVDuring the first month, we kept everything a secret. A hidden world that existed solely between me, Ryder. After the initial storm of fear and that phantom shadow at the window, a fragile peace had settled. Ryder’s protectiveness became the anchor of my days. He was so gentle, his hands, so capable of violence, learned new languages.He would regularly steady the small of my back, sometimes spread his fingers over my still-flat stomach. Each morning, he would tuck blankets around me as I dozed. His anxiety was cradled by a joy so profound it felt new. My body was already showing instances of fatigue, but I learned to swim in it, to let it carry me to necessary rest. The nausea came in waves, coupled with dizzying sensitivity to smells. Every odd craving for tart berries in the dead of night, was a secret reminder of a pup I held. A confirmation that this was real.Dasha, within me, was mostly content. Her usual fierce energy had banked to a low, protective ember. S

BETA MILO's POV"That child she's carrying is dangerous!" One of the elders spat bitterly as he paced the room, "Why hasn't she gotten rid of it yet?"Other elders present murmured, low, poisonous whispers curling through the chamber, and the Elder Thomas raised his hand to speak."Perhaps she doesn't fully understand the danger that having that child puts us in.""'Doesn't fully understand it,' my arse. The Alpha told her, the healer told her as well. But she's chosen to keep the child regardless. She's been reckless, and wants to endanger the lot of us.""She's sentimental. " Elder Miriam said softly, her voice was the only one not laced with venom. And Thomas just gave her the stink eye. "Her sentiments are going to get both her and her child killed." He got up and began to pace as well, "And we most definitely cannot let that happen."There was a note of finality in his tone that bothered even me. I watched as Elder Thomas turned to face the group, and in his eyes I could see th