Claimed by My Bestie's Alpha Daddy novel Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Amelia

I woke up disoriented. For a split second, I thought I was back in my dorm bed, the way I used to feel after a late night study session-heavy, groggy, limbs tangled in too many layers. But then I blinked, and it all came rushing back. Richard.

The bed wasn’t mine, the room wasn’t mine, and the pillow under my cheek still smelled like him.

Heat surged to my face before I’d even fully sat up. I shoved the blanket back and slipped quietly out of the room, trying not to wake him-though something told me he was already awake. My heart thudded as I crossed

into the lounge, moving fast toward the workspace. I needed to be useful, invisible, out of his space.

By the time the sun was fully up, I’d buried myself in emails and updates. Speaker profiles, credential

confirmations, schedule adjustments-mundane, repetitive, exactly what I needed.

Emma appeared around mid-morning, clipboard in hand, her energy a sharp contrast to my sleep-deprived

haze.

“VIP security needs support on the schedule rework,” she said. “You’ve got the clearest head out of the group,

and we need someone who doesn’t scare easily.”

I didn’t argue. I followed her down two levels to the logistics center, where we began dissecting the tangled

mess of the new wing’s access codes. It was a disaster-overlapping permissions, unclear sign-ins, staff

bottlenecks. I volunteered to create a map for guests and took a walk down to the loading docks to get clarity

from the teams on the ground.

By the time I returned, Emma had set up a temporary workstation in the logistics center. She waved me over.

“The guest check-in software’s glitching again. Come help me beat it into submission.”

We sat shoulder to shoulder for hours, combing through lines of code and login protocols. My back ached and

my eyes stung, but it was easier to focus on broken code than broken boundaries.

Emma elbowed me gently. “So, what’s the story with you and Mr. Cold and Brooding? You keep disappearing into that wing.”

I didn’t look at her. “There’s nothing to tell.”

She snorted. “That’s not a denial. That’s a press release.’

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་་་་་་་་ ས་

I smothered a smile behind the rim of my coffee cup, then sighed. “Okay, fine. It’s… more than complicated.”

Emma perked up instantly, eyes gleaming. “I knew it. Spill.”

I stared at the monitor for a second, debating. But it had been building up inside me, and if I didn’t tell someone

soon, I might actually explode.

“He and Jason got into a fight,” I said finally. “Like, a real one. Not verbal. Fists. Claws. The whole thing. It was over me. Jason was pushing, and Richard-he lost control. Not in a scary way. In a protective way.”

Emma blinked. “Shit. Okay. That’s… a lot.”

“And then Richard got injured,” I continued, my voice quieter. “But he started stabilizing faster once I was staying near him. The healer said he shouldn’t be too far from me. Like proximity literally helps him heal.”

She stared at me, one eyebrow slowly arching. “So… are you telling me you two have some kind of-?”

“No,” I said quickly. “No. Absolutely not. That’s ridiculous. I’m not-there’s no mate bond or whatever. That’s

not what this is.”

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