Claimed by My Bully Alpha (by Anna Kendra) novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Caleb’s P.O.V

“You really do know me the best, she admitted, her voice quieter now, more thoughtful. Which is exactly why I need to tell you that I’m not your mate.

For a moment, I could only stare at her, the weight of her words settling heavily in my chest. I shook my head, a small, disbelieving laugh escaping me. “How can you be so sure?” I asked, my voice steadier than I expected it to be. “I’m not even eighteen yet, Caroline. And you I gestured toward her. You’re two months younger than me. There’s no way for either of us to know for sure.”

Caroline sighed, and it was at that moment I realized she had thought about this a lot longer than I had. She wasn’t just saying this on a whim. This was something she had been sitting with, something she had come to terms with before I even had the chance to consider it. And that made it worse.

“If we were mates, Caleb,” she said gently, ‘we would’ve known already. We would feel it. And I think-” She paused, her fingers fidgeting slightly at the hem of her sleeve. “I think maybe you already know that, too.”

Her words settled over me like a slow, creeping weight, pressing down on the part of me that had held onto the hope that she would be mine–that fate would choose her the way I already had. But the way she looked at me now, not with love but with something close to pity, made it impossible to argue. I hated that she might be right. I hated that she probably was.

“Caleb.” She didn’t meet my eyes, but her voice was firm when she spoke. “You know just as well as me that if we truly were mates, we would have been able to tell already. Like you said before, we’ve been together all our lives, and it would usually seem like a valid choice that I would end up being your mate, but

we both know that’s not true.”

“You don’t really believe that,” I said, trying not to let it show that I felt like shit on the inside.

“I do, Caleb.” She smiled sadly. “If it were true, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

I swallowed, my jaw tightening. “And what if you’re wrong?”

She smiled, but it was the kind of smile that didn’t reach her eyes. The kind of smile that said she wished I was right, but she knew better. “Then I guess we’ll find out soon enough,” she murmured. “But I don’t think I am, Caleb. And I think, deep down, neither do you.”

I wanted to fight her on it. I wanted to tell her she was wrong, that she didn’t know everything, that fate didn’t work on a timeline we could predict. But the words wouldn’t come, and all I could do was stand there, watching as the girl I had spent my whole life thinking I would end up with ‘slowly but surely pulled away from me.

I exhaled slowly, steadying my nerves as I turned to face her. The glow from the streetlamp outside flickered, casting a warm hue over her features.

‘I swallowed hard and forced a chuckle, though it came out shakier than I intended. “I know this might not be true,” I started, my voice quieter than usual, more uncertain. “But… I need to ask you something…to do something that might…tell us if we were really…

She turned to me then, her brows knitting together slightly. “What is it?”

I hesitated, my fingers tightening around the edge of the table. “Can I kiss you?”

For a second, she didn’t react. She just stared at me, like she was waiting for the punchline to a joke. But when she realized I wasn’t laughing, her lips parted slightly, and a sharp breath escaped her.

‘Caleb… Her voice was barely above a whisper, and I could already hear the rejection forming. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

I nodded, like I understood. Maybe I did. But I wasn’t ready to back down just yet. ‘I get that,” I said, my voice steady despite the way my heart pounded. “And I promise, this isn’t about changing anything between us. I just… I need to check something. Just once. If we don’t click, I’ll never bring it up again. This night–this conversation–will be forgotten. swear.”

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