Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 462

Aurora’s P.O.V

I sat there quietly, listening to the others bicker about colleges, majors, and the future like it was the most pressing thing in the world, when all I could think about was how warm Caleb’s hand felt under the table. I slid my fingers into his without saying a word, just squeezing his hand softly, almost afraid that if I let go, the fragile sense of normalcy we had finally found would vanish again. He glanced at me once, the corner of his mouth twitching like he wanted to smile but was too busy trying to look serious in front of everyone else.

I held onto him tighter anyway, letting my thumb brush over the back of his hand, grounding myself in him. It felt good, it felt safe, it felt like maybe things had finally settled… at least until the sound of the door creaking open made the whole room fall into silence.

Damien walked in like he owned the place, not even sparing a glance at anyone as he casually leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, eyes scanning the room with that irritating calmness of his.

“Why are you here again?” Caleb asked, his voice low but heavy, like he was already tired of dealing with him. “I thought I made it clear the last time, this isn’t your place to be wandering in and out of as you please.”

Damien didn’t answer right away. He just smirked, tilting his head slightly as if Caleb’s frustration amused him more than anything else. “Relax, Alpha,” he finally said, his tone mocking, lazy, almost like a challenge hidden beneath the calmness. “I didn’t come here for you anyway.”

“Of course!” Caleb echoed with a sharp laugh, though it lacked any humor. “But if this continues, Damien, I swear, I’ll just appoint you as my Gamma. Since you’re always here anyway, might as well give you something useful to do.”

That made most of us roll our eyes. Here we go again.

Damien chuckled softly, shaking his head. “Appoint me your Gamma?” he repeated, his gaze locking back on Caleb, sharp and unyielding now. “I’m an Alpha, in case the wraiths fried your dumb brain. I’ll never work under you, Caleb. Not now, not ever. But I am here for a reason.”

Caleb folded his arms tightly across his chest, tilted his head slightly, his brows furrowing as he asked, “And what reason would that be, Damien? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you just came here to stir trouble.”

Damien didn’t answer right away. Instead, he reached into his jacket pocket slowly, deliberately, like he wanted every single pair of eyes in the room to follow his hand. When he finally pulled out the envelope and held it up, his smirk widened, and that was when I heard Caroline gasp so loudly it made my chest tighten.

Every single head in the room turned to her, mine included, and she looked like she had just seen something she never expected to see. I took a step toward her, confused and worried at the same time, and asked softly, “Caroline… What is it? Are you okay?”

Her eyes never left the envelope in Damien’s hand. She shook her head quickly, then whispered with her voice breaking, “Is that… is that the what I think it is?” She didn’t look at me, didn’t look at Caleb, her whole world in that moment was narrowed down to Damien and whatever he was holding.

Damien’s expression softened just for a second, but then he gave her a slow nod, his voice calm, almost gentle when he said. “Yes, Caroline. It’s the one. You got accepted… UC Berkeley.”

The words hit like thunder, bouncing off the walls of the room, and I swear I felt the air shift. Caroline’s hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief, and she stumbled back a little as if her legs weren’t strong enough to hold her up. “Oh my god…are you serious? Don’t play games with me, Damien. Please, don’t,” she stammered, her voice trembling between hope and fear.

“I’m not playing,” Damien replied firmly, stepping forward and extending the envelope toward her. “You earned this. Everything you worked for, Caroline… it paid off. You’re in.”

Caleb blinked, glancing between the two of them, then let out a disbelieving laugh. “Wait, wait, hold on. UC Berkeley? You mean you’re heading to another state for college?” He sounded half annoyed, half relieved, but I noticed he didn’t look away from Caroline, who was already shaking as tears slipped down her cheeks.

Caroline reached out with trembling fingers, barely daring to touch the envelope Damien was holding, and whispered, “I…I thought I wasn’t good enough. I thought my scores, my essays, all of it wasn’t enough. Damien, how…how did you even get this?”

Damien chuckled lightly, though his eyes were warm. “You think I wouldn’t keep tabs? You think I wouldn’t make sure the moment this arrived, it got to you? You worked too hard for this. You deserve to know.”