All Chapters of The Lost Alphas Daughter: Chapter 231 - Chapter 240

The crash comes again—louder this time. Metal against stone, sharp and jarring. Braden releases me completely, his eyes narrowing as he strides to the window. I clutch the folds of my black dress, my heart pounding against my ribs like a frantic drumbeat.“What the hell…” Braden mutters, pulling back the curtain just enough to peer through.I seize the moment, edging away from the table, my bare feet whisper-quiet on the cold hardwood floor. The air hums with unease. Then I hear it too—the scuffle of boots on gravel, hushed voices outside, tense and clipped. Not just a random noise. Someone is definitely out there.“Stay here,” Braden orders, voice low and edged with steel.“Is it rogues?” I ask, weaving fear into my tone like thread through fabric. The distraction, whatever it is, feels like a gift.He nods sharply. “Maybe. Either way, I’ll handle it.”As he strides toward the door, rolling up his sleeves, I catch the shift in him—his wolf pressing closer to the surface. The air seem

I pull back just enough to meet Braden's gaze, my breath catching in my throat as molten, predatory heat burns in his eyes. It’s a power play, and we both know it. My skin prickles beneath the oppressive weight of his dominance, the air between us thick, heavy, like it’s been electrified by the raw, feral energy of the Lycan blood coursing through him—the blood of my mate. A slow, sharp-toothed smirk spreads across his face, dark with promise, and I realize I’m teetering on a razor’s edge. Yield now, or he will take what he wants—mind, body, and soul.But I can't let him steal my mind, can't let him twist it until I’m nothing more than his puppet. I’d rather play this game and hold on to myself. I silently pray Leo will understand. I’m about to break my promise to him. The thought hurts.I force a sultry lilt into my voice, every word dripping with false sweetness. “What does my baby want?” I coo, batting my lashes like some simpering doll, even as my heart slams wildly against my rib

I blink in disbelief. Was that really a no? I strain to listen, but all I hear is a garbled sound, the words smudged by the heavy silence. “Gaia?” I whisper, stunned. I must be losing it—there’s no way this is her. The place looks like a forgotten crypt, the attic thick with dust and draped in webs like decaying lace. Not to mention the sea of distorted mannaquins. The narrow beam from the torch cuts through the gloom, stirring spirals of dust that dance like ghosts.The garbled noise comes again, sharper now. My heart lurches as I rush forward, feet crunching over debris and brittle wood. I drop to my knees beside her, helping her sit up. Up close, I finally make out her golden hair—tangled and matted, dulled beneath layers of dirt. Her arms tremble beneath a thin sheen of grime, goosebumps riddling her skin like a rash. Her clothes hang in tatters, stained with God-knows-what. But what steals my breath is the metal mask bolted to her face.She's caged like an animal left for dead and

The familiar whistle slices through the silence as I stir awake. My eyes itch, crusted shut, and I blink rapidly, trying to clear them. The metal mask scrapes against my skin, rough and unrelenting, making my face itch with a maddening persistence. I hate this. I hate feeling trapped. Claustrophobic.The whistle grows louder. Sharper. And beneath it, there’s something else—a presence. A pressure in the air, like eyes boring into me. This is how I know what woke me in the first place from my brief moments of sleep. Could it be? Has Claudia returned already? The thought is too good, too dangerous to believe.Floorboards creak under steady footsteps. I strain to see through the narrow metal slits in the mask, heart thudding against my ribcage like a drum of warning. I stay silent. I won’t give him the satisfaction of hearing me make a sound.Shadows twist across the floor until they gather around a figure. Then, I see them—those cold, dark blue eyes that have haunted me. My pulse spikes.

The car jolts violently over every pothole, sending dust and debris spiraling into the air behind us. Exhaust fumes choke the interior, clinging to the upholstery and my lungs. Braden’s grip on the steering wheel is iron-tight, his jaw clenched in a mask of focused rage as he weaves through traffic like a man possessed. Trees blur past in smeared shades of green and brown, blending with the chaos in my head.The past few hours are a blur, and one question keeps looping in my mind—where is Claudia? I haven’t seen daylight since the battle. And now, suddenly, he’s parading me through the house, dressing me in her clothes like a doll he can manipulate.It’s hard to swallow the dread crawling through my gut as we put more and more distance between ourselves and the New Moon Pack.Sunlight catches on the iron shackle around my wrist—a deceptively delicate bangle, but we both know the truth. It’s a chain. A tether. A dampener for my magic. Braden clasped it on me before we left, and now it