Chapter 43

The summit ends in controlled chaos. Shuttles idle outside, escort drones buzzing. Alphas trade forced pleasantries and stiff smiles that don’t reach their eyes.

Cameras flash. I keep my head down, badge visible. Every time I hear a shutter click, my shoulders tense. I feel their eyes, their whispers. I’m aware of every step Richard takes behind me. The way his voice hardens when he gives orders. The way he avoids looking at me.

Nothing had blown up. Not loudly. But people knew I had gone into his room, and the team had decided not to make a statement. Not add any fuel to the rumors.

Nathan hovers nearby, arms crossed, watching me like he's assessing a patient about to break.

“You got the last report?” he asks, voice too level.

I shove it at him. “All there.”

He flips it open, eyes scanning quickly.

Simon approaches. “You know they're talking.”

I scowl. “They've been talking for weeks.”

His mouth tightens. “They're going to talk more now. Especially about...this.”

I cross my arms. “It's not your business.”

His voice goes cold. “It is when it affects Richard’s health. When it affects you.”

I look away. “I’m not having sex with him.”

But god, I wish I was.

Simon’s eyes sharpen. “You think I don’t see what it’s doing to you? You think you’re subtle?”

I bite the inside of my cheek. “I’m handling it.”

He snorts. “Bullshit.”

My voice cracks. “You all put me in that room. Don’t act like this wasn’t your plan.”

He flinches, jaw clenching. “I greenlit it because he was losing it. Because he needed you to heal. I thought letting you stay would help him sleep, keep him stable. It was my call as his healer, it’s my job to keep him functional. I didn’t realize it would hurt you more than it helped him. That's not overstepping—that's me failing you both.”

I swallow. “I didn’t ask for this.”

He shakes his head. “No one did.”

Silence falls between us. My fingers tremble on the folder. I hate the pity in his eyes. He lowers the file slowly. "Just...don't make it worse. For either of you."

I don’t answer. My nails dig half-moons into my palm. I watch shuttles peel away outside the compound. A drone hovers, lights blinking like an accusation. Simon shifts beside me, like he wants to say more. He doesn’t.

The ride back to the city is stifling. Pine forests blur to gray roads and crowded skyline. Simon and I sit side by side but feel miles apart. He doesn’t look at me. I don’t want to look at him. I watch the trees disappear behind us. My chest feels too tight.

Our apartments are too close. Being neighbors feels too intimate now. Too loud. He waits by his door. “Don’t give them more to work with, Amelia.”

I don’t look at him. “Goodnight, Simon.”

He sighs. “Be careful.”

My door slams behind me. The sound echoes in the small space. My bag drops to the floor, thudding against the table. The air smells stale. Like no one lives here. Like I don’t belong. I stand in the dark too long. My fingers curl tight. I’m shaking. I kick the bag and curse when it hits the wall.

I unpack like I'm on autopilot. One shirt at a time. Folded. Placed. Mechanical. My hands tremble when I find the last file. I trace the edge until it threatens to cut. I want to scream. I want to throw it. Instead I set it down carefully and press both palms to my eyes. Breathe. Just breathe.

I sink to the floor, knees to my chest. My heartbeat won’t slow. I see Richard everywhere. The line of his jaw in the lamplight. The way his voice dropped when it was just us. The heat in his eyes. The way he held me like it hurt him not to. My thighs clench involuntarily. I hate it, I want it, I hate wanting it.

That night I lie in bed, sheets too cold. One hand pressed to my stomach, remembering the weight of his arm around me. My body remembers too well. Heat pools low. My other hand clenches the sheets until my knuckles ache. I bite back a sound. I want him, I hate him, I want him anyway. Sleep refuses to come.

Richard POV

I slump into my chair, staring at the empty walls. The summit feels like a blur. Staged smiles, careful lies, my wolf snarling the entire time. I couldn't even look at her too long. If I did, they'd all see it. See what she does to me. The scent of her burned into my brain. Her voice. The way she looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered. The way she felt against me. Grinding, needy, desperate.

I'm throbbing so hard it hurts. I let out a harsh breath, trying to will it away. Storm snarls inside me. My wolf clawing at my insides. He wants her. He wants to claim her, bite her, mark her so no one can doubt who she belongs to.

“Shut up,” I growl at him. He snarls back, challenging me, snapping at the walls I’ve tried to build.

I push away from the table so hard the chair scrapes. I pace the kitchen, fists clenched. My breathing is ragged, my teeth grind. My phone glows on the counter. Her name on the screen. Waiting. My thumb hovers over it, my chest heaves. I want to hear her voice. I want to tell her to come over. Tell her to finish what we started. Beg her to say she wants it too. I want to throw her against the wall and hear her say my name. Storm roars at me. He wants to hear her beg. Wants to hear her whine while I take her apart.

My hand shakes. My thumb hovers. I squeeze my eyes shut. "Fuck." I slam the phone down so hard the screen flickers. I rub my face with both hands.

Storm won't stop. He's howling. I'm aching with every heartbeat. I slam a fist into the counter. Pain shoots up my arm. I Let it hurt, I'll take anything but this. Anything but wanting her, needing her.

My phone buzzes. I flinch. It's nothing. I want it to be her so badly it hurts worse than the ache between my legs. I let out a sound halfway between a groan and a snarl.

Storm paces. Growling. Snapping. "She's ours."

I slam both hands into the counter. "Shut up." My voice cracks. I press my forehead to the cold surface, panting. I am going to break if this doesn't stop.

Storm howls in my chest. "You want her as much as I do," he snarls. "Admit it."

I grit my teeth. "Shut up."

He snaps back, voice in my head like claws. "She wants us. She chose us."

I shake. "It's not that simple."

Storm growls. "You're lying. You're weak. You want to taste her, mark her, own her."

I let out a broken laugh. "Yeah? And ruin her? Make her pay for wanting me?"

He snarls back.

"She wants it. She wants you. Don't fight me. Don't fight her."

I collapse against the counter, panting, his voice in my skull. "I hate you," I whisper.

Storm's laugh is cruel. "You love her." I squeeze my eyes shut and fight him. Fight myself. Fight the memory of her grinding on my thigh, moaning my name like a prayer.