All Chapters of The Alphas Next Door: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

KAIAI nod. “I mean… yes?” I say, unsure why it comes out like a question.He hums, leaning back.“Can you tell me about your parents.”My stomach drops but I've already gotten used to the feeling of disappointment that gnaws at my insides anytime I'm asked that question. It is the same old hollow ache that opens up whenever someone looks at me with that particular kind of curiosity, the kind that expects a neat family story and instead gets a blank page. I have learned to answer before the silence stretches too long, before pity has a chance to settle in the room like dust.“I have none. I grew up in an orphanage.” I say with a dry chuckle. Talk about laughing at your own misery so it won't hurt when others laugh at it. The sound comes out thinner than I intend, brittle around the edges, and I immediately regret it. Humor has always been my cheapest armor, the one I reach for when the truth feels too sharp to hold bare-handed. I keep my eyes on the polished surface of his desk inste

KAIA “Wait, what the actual hell?!” “Lower your voice, queen,” Maddox groans, dragging a hand over his face like I just offended his eardrums. “No, because I think you people are not hearing yourselves.” I point between the three of them. “You mean to tell me that I, a perfectly normal, human lady, am supposed to go into Luna training with a bunch of full-blooded werewolf women who can probably smell my fear, my breakfast, and my period from three miles away?” Caius tilts his head lazily, eyes on his phone, fingers tapping against the screen. “Exactly.” “Oh, okay,” I snap. “Cool, just checking. For a second there I thought I was the insane one.” See, when their father said I'll have to subject myself to his Luna's test and meet her standards, I'm expecting everything but not this. Because, to me, this is a shortcut to a quick

KAIA“A good Luna must be able to protect her pack even in the absence of her alpha. That's why marital training is needed. You'll be paired…”That's when I stopped listening.Because no amount of royal pep talk can make me pretend that “martial training” isn’t just fancy code for “let’s beat Kaia up for fun.”I mean, come on. Protect the pack? In the absence of the alpha?If the alpha or alphas are absent, that’s my cue to hide the pack, not punch people in the face.Also, what are the beta and gamma and the populace for? What's their usefulness when what they need is a ‘human’ Luna defending them?I glance sideways where Ashby walks beside me, quiet but way too calm for someone who just got sentenced to military boot camp.And I continue to rant. Because, she always listens anyway. And I need to let off this annoyance and frustration before reaching our location. 

ASHBY•Continuation of what happened in the past•We walk together the rest of the way, her chatter filling the quiet spaces I can’t bring myself to. The scent of flowers grows stronger as we near the gazebo, the kind that usually calms me. But now it just smells like something trying too hard to hide the rot beneath.As soon as we step over the threshold, Maddox looks up from where he’s sitting. Ronan and Caius glance too, but Maddox is the one who speaks, brows furrowed in concern.“So,” he drawls carefully, eyes flicking from my face to my neck and back. “How was your meeting with him?”I freeze.Kaia squeezes my arm softly, but I still can’t find the words.So I just breathe out and mutter, “I don't want to talk about that.”The quiet that follows is thick enough to choke on.Kaia sighs, expression softening. Then she steps forward and wraps me in a hug.

KAIAI stop short, my breath catching as my file slips halfway out of my grip.“Oh, sorry, I—”The apology dies on my tongue the moment I see who I almost ran into.Katherina.“I'd prefer you watch where you're going.” She says, tone sharp.I blink once, twice, forcing a polite smile. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking.” My voice is calm, even though my pulse isn’t. Guess I should’ve been watching my step instead of daydreaming about fresh air.She doesn’t reply, just gives me that up-and-down look that makes me feel like she’s mentally tallying all the reasons she dislikes me without ever saying them out loud.I tuck the file tighter under my arm and sidestep her, ready to make my escape before this turns into something else entirely. Caius is waiting in the car, and if he senses I’ve been delayed this long, he’ll probably storm the gates under the guise of checking o