All Chapters of The Alphas Next Door: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Two days to claiming season•KAIAI rap my knuckles against the door. “Caius?”Silence.I knock again and this time, a muffled grumble filters through the wood.I lean in, pressing my ear against the wood. “You in there?”“Leave.” His voice is rough and clipped like he hasn’t spoken since last night. “You’re being a nuisance.”My brows shoot up and I lean back. “Woww. Good morning to you too, your majesty.”“Kaia.” His tone sharpens, warning and exhausted all at once. “Go away.”I knock again, deliberately louder, the kind of knock designed to annoy. “Sorry, I don’t speak Broody McGrumperson. Did you say come in?”No reply.I knock again, both fist banging against his door. “Caius. Open up.”Nothing.I huff and cross my arms, glaring at the wood like it personally offended me. “You can’t just mope in there forever, you know. It’s morning. People eat food in the morning. They interact. They don’t brood in caves.”Still nothing.“Gods, you’re impossible.” I press my ear to the door agai

MADDOXYou know what I hate most?Plastic girls.Fake smiles, fake laughs, fake hair, fake nails. Everything clinking and clicking like Barbie dolls with batteries shoved up their asses.So imagine my joy when the front door opens and who do I see? The twin demons themselves— Lillian and Louise.Villainous twins. And when I say villainous, I mean it. Don’t ask me why. That story’s for another day. Just know that if the moon goddess ever cursed this world with chaos, it probably started with these two in matching dresses.And of course, standing between them like a shiny trophy? Morgan. Caius’s sidepiece. Ex-sidepiece. Whatever the hell he calls her these days.“Hi, Maddox,” Morgan says with that sugary smile that makes me want to gag. “Long time no see.”I force a grin, leaning on the doorframe like I’ve got all the time in the world. “Oh, look. The circus is in town.”Lillian scoffs, flipping her hair like she’s auditioning for a shampoo commercial. Louise mirrors her, because God fo

KAIANo hell.I shut my eyes tight and pull my hand away from his. I cage his neck with my hands and pull him down before claiming his lips.Maddox groans low like I’ve just granted him oxygen after drowning. His lips claim mine back with brutal hunger, his tongue sliding against mine before I can even breathe. It’s wild and messy like fire and gasoline colliding.His hands are everywhere— one gripping my waist so tight I swear he could bruise me through my shirt, the other sliding up my spine, anchoring me to him like he’ll never let go.The cold sink at my back vanishes beneath the heat of him pressing forward, caging me completely. My chest pounds against his, every nerve alive, screaming at me that this is wrong and yet right in a way everything else has ever been in this house.“Maddox—” My voice cracks against his mouth, but it only makes him kiss me harder and deeper, until I’m dizzy from the taste of him.“God, Kaia,” he growls, breaking away just long enough to nip at my bott

ASHBYThis is the third time I’ve tried to run.And this is the third time I’ve managed to get this far.The first two times, Jude dragged me back before I even made it past the gates. He smiled while doing it like it was all some twisted game and I was just his favorite toy. I swore I wouldn’t try again while he tortured me through the bond. I swore I’d learned my lesson.But here I am. Running. Again.Only this time feels different. My legs ache, my lungs burn but I still wait by the silver car like in the text — Level 2 exit, blue pillar, plate ends in 7K. My eyes are on the road above and below. To my scared nerves, every shadow is Jude, every engine makes my stomach drop.And I just know. If he catches me again, there won’t be a fourth attempt. The bond will eat me alive.I stay low, pressed to the hood, breath held tight as I murmur the little invisibility spell under my breath, fingers working the braid of my hair because the motion steadies me. When a small red car flashes by

KAIAI grip the blanket and my phone tighter as I descend the stairs, humming some tune I probably stole from a Tik. Tok video three years ago. Don’t ask me the lyrics— I barely remember the sound. Still, it keeps my feet moving, and honestly? I’m hyped. Tonight is sleepover night.Ashby already moved into my old apartment across the street, and Hailey, who absolutely refused to leave her side after Maddox brought her back, is camped out with her. So of course I’m going too.Pillow? Check. Blanket? Double check. A bigger bottle of Fanta mixed with liqour— Caius insisted on not taking alcohol so I outsmarted him huhuhu— hidden under the blanket? Triple check.I hit the last step and bam, there they are. Maddox and Ronan. Like the universe placed them exactly where I don’t need them. Both leaning at the foot of the stairs like they’ve been waiting for me to trip into their arms or something.“You too?” they echo at the same time, eyebrows doing that suspicious twin-arch thing.I grin a