Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 338

Caleb’s P.O.V

I knocked on the door softly, almost hesitant, like I was intruding on a moment too tender to break. The wooden surface felt cold beneath my knuckles, and for a brief second, I wondered if she had already fallen asleep. It was late—the kind of quiet that only creeps in when the world decides to hush itself. My heart thudded in my chest, unsure why I felt so anxious over something as simple as a door and a girl. But she wasn’t just any girl. She was Aurora. My mate, the love of my life.

Just as I was about to turn away, the door creaked open.

And there she was.

Still awake.

Still here.

Bathed in the golden hue of her bedside lamp, Aurora stood with one hand resting lightly on the doorframe. My breath caught in my throat. She was wearing one of my shirts—oversized, soft, and utterly drowning her delicate frame. The sleeves fell past her hands, and the hem nearly covered the short shorts she wore underneath. My scent clung to her like a second skin, and that simple fact made something primal inside me settle. She looked small, comfortable…mine.

“I thought you might’ve dozed off,” I murmured, grinning as I held out the small bouquet I’d been hiding behind my back.

Lotuses.

I’d picked them from the pond beside the gazebo, our favorite spot. The moonlight had made the water shimmer like glass, and the flowers were in full bloom, delicate petals unfurling like secrets waiting to be told. I’d thought of her instantly. The way her smile could make silence hum. The way she always smelled like spring and serenity.

Her eyes lit up the moment she saw them. “Caleb…” she whispered, as if the act of receiving them was something too sacred for sound. She took them with a kind of reverence that made my chest ache, bringing them close to her face and breathing in their fragrance. “They’re beautiful.”

“Not as much as you,” I said quietly, stepping inside as she turned, heading straight for the counter to find a vase. I closed the door behind me, the soft click sealing us in a world that belonged only to us.

She stood on her tiptoes, reaching for the top shelf, fumbling a bit before finally pulling out a glass vase. I watched her in silence for a second, the way the shirt shifted on her as she moved. I couldn’t help the smile tugging at my lips.

“You look good in my shirt,” I said, and she paused, glancing over her shoulder with a soft blush creeping across her cheeks.

“It’s swallowing me whole,” she said with a half-laugh, placing the flowers delicately into the vase and adjusting them just right.

“Exactly,” I replied, walking over to her, my voice low. “That’s the point.”

She tilted her head, eyes playful now. “Oh? And what point would that be?”

I leaned against the edge of the counter, close enough to catch the faintest whiff of her shampoo—something floral and sweet, a perfect match to the flowers she now admired. “That you’re mine,” I said. “And I want you wrapped in everything that reminds you of me.”

She didn’t say anything at first, just looked at me with those eyes that always made me feel like she saw straight into every part of me, even the ones I tried to keep hidden. Then, gently, she reached out and touched the edge of the shirt near my collarbone, her fingers grazing my skin.

“I didn’t want to sleep,” she said softly. “Not until I saw you.”

My throat tightened at her words, at how easily she could undo me with a single sentence. I swallowed, resting my hand over hers.

“Good,” I whispered. “Because I don’t think I could’ve slept either… knowing you were here and I hadn’t seen your face.”

We stood there in that quiet, fragrant air filled with blooming lotuses and unspoken emotions, the silence saying more than any words could. And I knew—right then, right there—that this wasn’t just a night visit. This was the beginning of something permanent. Something real.

“You have something comfy for me to wear?” I asked, breaking the moment when I realized that I was still wearing the shirt I had on the whole day. “I forgot to change before I came.”

I watched her with a soft smile playing on my lips, my arms resting loosely at my sides as she stepped aside and opened my drawer and rummaged through it like she owned the place. Aurora had this way of moving — effortlessly graceful, like she belonged in every room she stepped into. She held up one of my old shirts, the faded navy one with the tiny hole near the hem, and glanced at me with a spark of mischief in her eyes.

“These are ridiculously comfy,” she said, tossing the shirt over her shoulder, already knowing I’d catch it. “I might just end up stealing your entire drawer.”

I let out a laugh, a full, chest-shaking one, because only she could say something like that and make it sound like a perfectly reasonable plan. “You’re more than welcome to,” I told her, walking closer and leaning against the edge of the dresser. “Hell, I’d even help you pick which ones to steal. You want the comfiest one? I’ve got a black hoodie in my room that basically feels like being wrapped in a cloud.”

She grinned at me, her eyes twinkling as she turned to face me fully. “Dangerous offer,” she said, tilting her head. “You might end up with an empty drawer and me living in your clothes for the rest of my life.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” I murmured, the words slipping out before I could second-guess them. And I meant it. God, I meant it.