Claimed By The Alpha's Enemy

Chapter 5

Sally's POV

"Why me?" I asked as the car pulled onto the main road. "Out of everyone, why do you actually want me as your fake girlfriend?"

"I already told you." Bryan kept his eyes on the road. "No one touches what's mine."

I paused for a moment. I looked straight into Bryan’s eyes for a few seconds. He didn’t blink, he maintained a plain expression.

"That's not an answer. That's a threat wrapped in a sentence."

His lips twitched, almost a smile, though it disappeared just as fast. "Fine. If people believe you're mine, no alpha, no pack member, no one from any of the twenty-four territories will risk laying a hand on you. My name protects you better than any bodyguard could."

"Convenient for you too, though," I studied his profile. "You get a shield against whatever rumors people spread about you, and I get protection. Feels less like a favor and more like a business deal."

"Everything's a business deal," Bryan said quietly. "You'll learn that soon enough."

I looked out the window for a moment before turning back to him. "Yesterday you said you'd help me take down Jeremy and Tasha. Why? He's your cousin."

Bryan's jaw tightened. He didn't answer right away, and I almost thought he wouldn't at all.

"Family doesn't always mean loyalty," he finally said.

"That's vague, even for you,” I replied, my brow furrowing slightly.

He exhaled, gripping the wheel a little tighter. "There's something happening in my pack. Something serious."

I sat up straighter. "What kind of something?"

He cleared his throat, hesitated for a while, before he spoke again.

"My father is on the verge of losing his position as alpha."

The words hung there in the car. I blinked, stunned. "Your father? The most powerful alpha in the territory? Is that even possible?"

"Power doesn't last forever," Bryan said. "There's a challenge being built against him. Quietly. Carefully. And Jeremy's father is involved."

My mouth fell open slightly. "Jeremy's father is trying to take your father's position?"

I could not believe the whole thing. It sounded so unreal, yet Jeremy didn’t look like he was joking.

"Not directly. He's smarter than that. He's building alliances behind the scenes, turning smaller packs against us, feeding lies to the council. If it works, my father loses everything. The alpha title, the pack, all of it."

"And if he loses..."

"Then I lose it too," Bryan said. "Everything I'm supposed to inherit next month disappears."

I sat quietly, absorbing the weight of what he'd just told me. "Why are you telling me this? You said yesterday you couldn't."

Bryan glanced at me briefly before returning his eyes to the road. "Because you asked why Jeremy matters. This is why. Bringing him down isn't just about revenge for you. It's about protecting my family."

"Who else knows about this?"

"My parents. Me. That's it." His voice dropped lower. "Even the high cabinet only knows my father is under pressure, and how close he actually is to losing everything. None of them know yet who is behind it all.”

I felt something shift in my chest, something like sympathy I hadn't expected to feel for him. "That's a heavy secret to carry alone."

"I've carried heavier."

"Still," I hesitated. "I'm sorry, Bryan. That sounds terrifying."

He didn't respond, but something in his shoulders loosened slightly, like my words had landed somewhere he didn't expect.

"Now you understand," he said after a moment. "This isn't a game to me."

"I understand," I said quietly. "But that still doesn't explain why you chose me specifically to help you get back at them."

"You hate them as much as I need someone to hate them," Bryan said simply. "That's enough."

By the time we reached school, my mind was still spinning from everything Bryan had told me. I barely noticed the stares as we walked through the front gates together, Bryan's hand hovering protectively near my back.

At lunch, Bryan surprised me by pulling me toward the small stage usually reserved for morning announcements. Before I could ask what he was doing, he grabbed the microphone from a stunned student council member and tapped it twice.

The cafeteria fell silent.

"I have an announcement," Bryan said, his voice carrying easily across the room. Every head turned toward the stage.

My stomach dropped. "Bryan, what are you doing—"

"Sally is my woman," Bryan said, cutting me off. His eyes swept the room, cold and unwavering. "Whoever threatens her, touches her, or disrespects her again will answer to me personally. That includes you, Tasha."

Gasps rippled through the cafeteria. Tasha's face went pale, then furious, but she said nothing.

My cheeks burned under the weight of hundreds of eyes. I wanted to disappear, to melt onto the floor, but Bryan's hand found mine, steady and unshaking, keeping me grounded.

Footsteps echoed suddenly, deliberate and unhurried. Jeremy walked toward the stage, a smirk playing on his lips like this was all a joke to him.

"Your woman?" Jeremy laughed, climbing the steps without invitation. "Bryan, come on. Sally's my toy. I already used her once. You really want my leftovers?"

The room went dead silent.

My face flushed with humiliation, shame crawling up my spine. I felt Bryan's grip on my hand tighten.

"Say that again," Bryan said, voice dangerously low.

"You heard me." Jeremy stepped closer, reaching out and grabbing my wrist, yanking me toward the edge of the stage. "Come on, Sally. Let's remind everyone whose bed you were really in last week."

"Let go of me," I snapped, trying to pull free, panic rising in my chest.

Jeremy's grip only tightened, pulling me forward.

Bryan moved fast.

His hand shot out and locked around Jeremy's wrist, stopping him cold. The temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly. Students who had been recording on their phones lowered them slowly, sensing something dangerous unfolding in front of them.

I could hear my heart pounding so fast, I thought I would collapse. I never thought things would get this worse. I had never heard my heart beat so fast the way it was beating right now.

"Let go of her," Bryan said, each word slow and deliberate, "or I will break your hand in front of the whole school."