All Chapters of The Alphas Next Door: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

KAIAI’m exhausted.Okay, maybe not fall-on-the-floor-and-sob exhausted, but definitely who-knew-smiling-for-hours-could-make-your-face-hurt exhausted.First day of work? Check.Still employed? Check.Social battery? Deceased.I cross the road and drag myself to the apartment like a grown woman with bills to pay. Because I am. And I do. And damn, working is ghetto. And I'm saying this on my first day of work. Maybe I'm just lazy.By the time I reach my door, the sun's already doing that dramatic golden glow thing, like it’s proud of me or something. Good for you, Sun. Rub it in.I pull out my keys and unlock the door but of course, because my life’s a sitcom, it doesn’t budge.Right. The chair.I’d sneakily jammed it under the doorknob when I was leaving this morning like I was in a spy movie, all just to stop Hailey from opening the door to strangers. Or maybe nosy neighbors. Or the wind. I don’t know. I panicked, okay?So now, here I am, shoulder-deep in my own front door, trying to

KAIA“Mommy?” Hailey's soft voice drifts through the darkness, soft and sticky with sleep.“I’m here, baby,” I whisper.The mattress shifts as Hailey scoots closer, her little body stiff for a moment before she presses into me. “Bad dream?” she murmurs.I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and nod. “Yeah. Bad dream.”She doesn’t hesitate. Her hand comes up, fingers sliding gently over my hair in slow, steady strokes. The same way I’ve always soothed her when she wakes crying about the boogie under her bed.It almost breaks me. I feel the sting of tears and have to bite them back.Because I’m still wet.Because my clit is still throbbing like they’re still inside me.What the hell is wrong with my body?I thought I was demisexual. I thought I needed something deep, something real, emotional connection, before wanting anyone. Maybe I never understood myself at all.Hailey’s breathing evens out quickly as soon as I start rubbing her head as she rubs mine. She’s safe. Peaceful.

RONANThose fuckers.And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I hate patrol.It’s never just walking the borders. It’s cleaning up messes no one else isn't too good to touch. Corpses. Rabid strays. The smell of piss and fear that clings to your skin for hours after.It’s the part of being Alpha blood that isn’t about respect. It’s about being the wolf that steps into filth so the rest of the pack can pretend it doesn’t exist.I’d let these fuckers slip earlier—mistake number one.I could’ve left the run to the betas, but no. Claiming season starts in two weeks, and while alphas like me can still keep our heads and maintain our composure and not go feral. Yet. Low-ranked omegas are already losing it. Heat sickness eats their minds first. And because of that, the order from the Alpha was clear: severe cases that led to attacks on civilians don’t get a second chance. Better dead than rabid.But these three? They’re sly. They know how to mask the scent, how to circle back and disappear. I

KAIAThe first thing I notice when I wake isn’t the darkness. Hell. That's too farfetched.It’s the smell.Damp concrete, dust, and that faint tang of rust.I’d know it anywhere like it’s etched into my bones. After all, that's the same smell of Robert's basement and the orphanage’s basement. The place he used to lock me in whenever Bethany spun one of her sugar-coated lies and he needed somewhere to stash me until his temper cooled. The same place I was locked for days when the caretakers found out I got pregnant.Especially Robert.And just like that, I’m back there again.Cold floor biting into my skin. The sound of the door locking. His voice on the other side, sharp and certain that I was the problem, always trying to hurt Noah because he's male.My chest squeezes, and for a second, I almost forget to breathe.My eyes scan the darkness which to be honest, wasn't really that dark.This isn’t his house.It can’t be.I’m not there anymore. I’ll never be there again.It takes a seco

KAIAInstead of answering, Ronan tilts his head, studying me. I glare back, matching his intensity.Then, he sighs, averting his gaze, and asks, “Do you know why those wolves attacked you in broad daylight?”I blink, looking at him as if he's stupid. “And why the hell would I know that?”He just shakes his head and glances at Maddox, like he’s silently passing the “bad news delivery” baton.Maddox sighs, dragging a hand over his jaw. “Because claiming season is in two weeks.”I stare at him, my brain short-circuiting for a second. “This claiming season again?”Everyone just keep saying that like it’s common knowledge. I don’t even know what it means. Does it come with a parade? A bake sale? What?Like, whatttttttt??Maddox doesn’t answer right away, and I take that as a bad sign.He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Claiming season,” he says slowly, like I’m a kid about to learn Santa isn’t real, “is when every werewolf goes into heat. Mated and claimed wolves already