All Chapters of Claimed by My Alpha's Ruthless Twin Brother : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

36 Chapters

Kade Comes

Dawn broke red over Dark Ridge. Kael and I stood on the ledge, watching the valley below. Smoke rose from the east. The scout we let go had done his job. “They’re coming,” Kael said, voice low. I nodded, gripping my knife until my knuckles hurt. “How many?” “At least twenty,” he said. “Maybe more. Kade doesn’t take chances when it comes to humiliation.” I swallowed hard. “Is he with them?” Kael’s jaw tightened. “Yes.” Of course he was. Kade didn’t send people to clean up his mess. He came to make sure I knew who owned me. Fear tried to claw its way up my throat. Old fear. The kind that made me small, quiet, obedient. I crushed it down. “Good,” I said. Kael glanced at me. “Good?” “If he wants me, he’ll have to come through you,” I said. “And through me.” Kael smiled, slow and dangerous. “That’s my girl.” We didn’t have long to wait. They moved through the valley like a blade—fast, silent, organized. Redwood colors. Redwood wolves.

Aftermath

The ridge was quiet now. Too quiet. Like the world was holding its breath after the storm. Bodies lay scattered across the rocks—Redwood scouts, betas, rogues. Blood stained the stone dark, mixing with dirt and rain from the night before. The smell of iron and smoke clung to the air. I should have felt sick. I should have felt guilty. But all I felt was… empty. Not the hollow, broken empty I’d lived with for 18 years. This was different. This was the empty that came after you finally let go of something heavy. Kael knelt beside me, checking my arm where the blade had cut deep. “Does it hurt?” he asked. “Only when I breathe,” I muttered. He snorted, wrapping the wound with a strip of clean cloth. “Good. Means you’re alive.” I looked up at him. His face was streaked with blood and dirt, but his eyes were clear. Proud. “Why did you stop me?” he asked quietly. “With Kade.” I thought about it. About the knife in my hand. About the way his thr

New Beginning

A week passed without blood. No scouts. No Redwood colors. No boots in the dirt. Just wind, rain, and the sound of Kael’s hammer hitting wood. We built. Every day we woke before dawn and worked until our hands bled and our backs ached. A wall became a fence. A fence became a gate. The gate became the start of something real. A home. Not a cabin. Not a hideout. A home. I woke up on the tenth day to sunlight streaming through the open doorway. No walls closing in. No shadows hiding monsters. Just open air and the smell of pine smoke. Kael was already outside, chopping wood shirtless like he forgot it was freezing. I grabbed a blanket and joined him, sitting on the chopping block with a cup of tea. “Morning,” he said, swinging the axe down with a clean _thunk_. “Morning,” I said. “You sleep okay?” I nodded. “Yeah. No dreams.” That was new. No Kade. No blood. No packhouse. Just darkness, and rest, and waking up without my chest caving in.

The Letter

Peace doesn’t last long when you’re a Redwood. It’s been two weeks since the ridge battle. Two weeks of no scouts, no threats, no blood on the rocks. Just us, the half-built wall, and the garden Kael insisted on planting even though it was late in the season. I was happy. For the first time, I was happy and it didn’t feel wrong. Then the rider came. I saw him from the ridge first—black horse, Redwood colors, moving fast up the valley trail. My body went cold before my brain even caught up. Kael saw it too. He was at my side in two seconds, hand on his knife. “Stay behind me,” he said. “Not this time,” I said. The rider stopped at the gate. Young beta. Maybe 20. I didn’t recognize him. He looked tired, sweating, but his eyes were sharp when they landed on me. “Aria of Redwood?” he called. I stepped forward. “There’s no Aria of Redwood anymore.” He swallowed hard, dismounted, and pulled something from his coat. “A message from Alpha Kade.” Kael tens

Return to Redwood

The road to Redwood felt longer than it was. Two days of walking through snow-dusted trails, every step pulling me closer to the place that broke me. Kael walked beside me the whole time, silent, hand never far from his knife. He didn’t ask if I was sure. He didn’t need to. I was sure. Terrified, but sure. “Talk to me,” Kael said on the morning of the third day. We were stopping for water at a frozen stream. “About what?” “About what you’re planning to do when we get there,” he said. I stared at the water, watching my reflection ripple. “I’m going to walk into the packhouse,” I said. “And then?” “And then I’m going to tell Kade that if he wants me as Beta, he’s going to treat me like one.” Kael frowned. “And if he doesn’t?” “Then I walk out,” I said. “And burn it down on the way out,” I added quietly. Kael almost smiled. “Good. Keep that fire.” We reached the Redwood borders by noon. The scent hit me first—pine, smoke,

Beta Trials

Beta trials weren’t supposed to be fair. They were supposed to break you. Test if you’d bend, bleed, or break before the pack. If you survived, you were worthy. If you didn’t, the pack was better off without you. I knew that going in. What I didn’t expect was Kade watching me like I was already dead. “Rules are simple,” Elder Holt said, standing in the center of the training yard. Snow had fallen overnight, covering the ground in white. It wouldn’t stay clean for long. “Three trials. Combat, strategy, and leadership. Pass two out of three, you’re Beta. Fail two, you’re out.” He looked at me like I was already out. “Begin.” *Trial 1: Combat* First opponent: Darek. Scar Eye. The beta who tried to drag me back two weeks ago. He stepped into the ring with a grin, rolling his shoulders. “You think one lucky hit makes you a warrior, mutt?” I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. The bell rang. Darek came fast, overconfident. He thought I’d flinch.

First Day on the Job

Waking up as Beta felt like waking up with a rock in my shoe. Annoying. Heavy. And impossible to ignore. The sun wasn’t even up yet when a knock hit my door. “Beta Aria,” a voice called. “Elder Holt requests your presence in the war room. Now.” Right. “Now” meant 4:47 AM. I groaned, threw on my boots, and tied my hair up with one hand. Kael was already outside my door, leaning against the wall like he’d slept there. “You look like hell,” he said. “Thanks. You look like you slept in a ditch.” “Accurate,” he said, grinning. We walked to the war room together. Kade was already there, sleeves rolled up, maps spread out. He looked tired too. Alpha life wasn’t any easier than Beta life, apparently. Elder Holt and Elder Mara stood on the other side of the table, arms crossed. They didn’t look happy to see me. Good. I wasn’t here to make friends. “Sit,” Kade said. I sat. Kael stood behind me. Holt tapped the map. “Rogue sightings up 30% this month. Bo

The Alliance

Silverclaw Pack didn’t send messengers often. When they did, people listened. Alpha Corin was known for two things: winning wars and never making empty threats. So when his letter landed on Kade’s desk with an alliance request and my name in it, the whole packhouse went quiet. “Why me?” I asked, staring at the paper like it might bite. Kade shrugged, but I could see the tension in his jaw. “Because you made waves, Aria. Word travels fast when a rejected omega becomes Beta.” Kael leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “Translation: they heard you’re dangerous and want to see it for themselves.” “Charming,” I muttered. The meeting was set for three days from now at the border stones. Neutral ground. If it went bad, we’d be dead before we got back to Redwood. “Do we trust them?” I asked Kade. “Not yet,” he said. “But if Silverclaw allies with us, the council can’t touch you anymore.” “And if they’re not serious?” “Then we walk away,” he said. “A

The Eastern Skirmish

Fifty rogues wasn’t an army. But it was enough to burn a border village if we were late. I ran ahead of the pack, knife in hand, snow kicking up under my boots. Kael was on my left, Lina on my right, twenty wolves behind us moving fast and quiet. The rest were holding the walls with Kade. “Flank left,” I said without breaking stride. Kael nodded and peeled off with five wolves. “Lina, hold the center until I give the signal.” “Got it, Beta.” The eastern border was a mess of broken trees and frozen mud. Tracks everywhere. Rogue scent thick in the air. They weren’t hiding. They wanted us to find them. Stupid. Arrogant. I found them in a clearing half a mile from the wall. Fifty wolves, scarred, starving, and pissed off. Their leader stood at the front, a massive black wolf with a scar across his muzzle. He grinned when he saw me. “Redwood’s mutt,” he said. “Come to die first?” I didn’t answer. I raised my hand. Lina and the center force mo

Vex's War

Elder Vex was supposed to be dead. Exiled five years ago for trying to kill Kade’s father and take the Alpha seat. The council called it treason. Kade called it unfinished business. Now he was back. With 120 rogues. And a grudge. “North pass,” Selene said, pointing at the map. “He’s massing there. Waiting.” Kade’s face was stone. “Why wait?” “Because he wants us to come to him,” I said. Kael frowned. “Trap.” “Obviously,” I said. “But if we don’t go, he’ll hit the villages.” The war room was silent. Thirty wolves, all looking at me. Beta. This was my call. “We hit him first,” I said. “Hit him fast, hit him hard, before he can split his forces.” Kade nodded. “Kael takes the flank. Lina holds the center. I lead the charge.” Selene raised an eyebrow. “You’re going yourself?” “I’m Beta,” I said. “If I send others to die and stay behind, what does that make me?” Kade’s mouth twitched. “Stubborn.”

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