Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

12 Chapter 12

Seraphina’s POV 1

The moment | heard that sickeningly sweet voice calling out “Brother!” my blood turned to ice in my veins. Even

before she rounded the corner, | knew exactly who it was. That voice had haunted my nightmares for five years-

the voice that had laughed as my world crumbled, that had mocked my pain with casual cruelty.

Valerie.

My hands instinctively clenched into fists at my sides as she swept into the office like she owned the place, her

bleached blonde hair bouncing with each calculated step. | quickly turned my back to her, praying desperately

that she wouldn't recognize me. Five years had changed me-l was no longer the broken, naive omega who'd fled

Whispering Valley in shame. But sthings about a person never changed, and | couldn't risk her seeing my

face.

“Brother! | heard from my husband Gabriel that you're hosting sfancy dinner party tonight, and you didn’t

even think to invite us?” *Gabriel.* The nhitlike a physical blow, confirming what I'd already suspected

but desperately hoped wasn’t true. So Gabriel hadn't been lying after all—he really was part of the Nightshadow

family. Which meant Damien... my mate... was Gabriel's brother.

Both.

The cosmic joke of it all madewant to laugh hysterically. Or scream. Or both.

“How could you possibly-" Valerie's voice cut off abruptly, and | could feel her predatory gaze focusing onlike

a laser. “Oh, well well. What do we have here?”

Every muscle in my body tensed as she began circlinglike a shark scenting blood in the water. | kept my face

turned away, my heart hammering so hard | was sure everyone in the room could hear it.

“Letguess,” she continued in that smocking tone | remembered so well, deliberately bumping her

shoulder into mine as she passed. “Another desperate little assistant trying to claw her way up the corporate

ladder by batting her eyelashes at the big bad Alpha? How long do you think this one will last before she runs

away crying? A week? Two days?”

The familiar cruelty in her voice made my wolf snarl with rage in my mind. Ayla was practically clawing at my

consciousness, demanding | turn around and show this bitch exactly what five years of independence had taught

me. But | forced myself to remain still, to keep breathing, to not give her the satisfaction of a reaction.

*ust like before, * | thought bitterly. *Still the sentitled princess who thinks she can destroy people for

sport.*

“You know, Gabriel has been telling you for months that I'd make a perfect assistant,” Valerie continued, her

voice dripping with false sweetness as she tried to cozy up to Damien. “I'm family, after all, and | certainly

wouldn't spend my first day crawling around on the floor in inappropriate dresses, flashing my underwear at

anyone who walks by.”

That did it. My hands clenched so tightly my nails bit into my palms, and | could feel heat rising in my cheeks-not

from embarrassment this time, but from pure, unadulterated fury. How dare she? How dare she waltz in here and

try to humiliatethe sway she had five

years ago?

| was just gathering the courage to turn around and face her-consequences be damned-when Damien's voice

exploded through the

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office like thunder.

“GET OUT!” The words carried such raw Alpha power that | actually staggered, my wolf immediately submitting

to the overwhelming.

authority in his tone. “GET OUT OF MY OFFICE NOW, VALERIE!”

The force of his command was so intense that Lucas visibly flinched, and | could hear other employees in the

hallway scrambling to get

out of range. Even Valerie, for all her entitled arrogance, went pale under her carefully applied makeup.

“But Damien-" she started to protest, her voice suddenly much smaller.

“NOW!” His roar made the windows rattle, and the sheer fury radiating from him was so palpable | could

practically taste it in the air.

Valerie's face cycled through shock, indignation, and finally wounded pride before she gathered what remained

of her dignity. “Fine,” she

sniffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder in a gesture | remembered all too well. “But don’t ccrying to me

when this little omega

proves to be just as useless as all the others.”

She sashayed toward the door, making sure to swing her hips tically, and threw Damien one last sultry

look over her shoulder

before finally disappearing down the hallway. The silence that followed her departure was deafening.

Lucas cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well, that was... intense. | should probably go check on the territorial

agreements we discussed

earlier.” He shotan apologetic look. “Rain check on that dinner, Seraphina?”

| barely managed a nod, still too shaken to form coherent words. After Lucas left, closing the door behind him

with unusual gentleness, |

finally found myself alone with Damien.

He moved to his desk with predatory grace, settling into his leather chair and studyingwith those

devastating blue eyes. There was

something different in his expression now-a knowing intensity that made my skin prickle with awareness.

“Mate, huh?” His voice was casual, almost conversational, but there was an undercurrent of something

dangerous beneath the surface.

“Interesting. From what | understand, you're an omega.”

The casual way he mentioned my omega status made Ayla practically spit fire in my mind. Here | was, thinking

he might actually be

different after defendingfrom Valerie, only to have him drop that familiar alpha superiority right back into his

tone. That subtle little inflection that said *omega* like it was something quaint and amusing.

| crossed my arms and tilted my head, giving him my sweetest smile. “Yes, absolutely fascinating. Though | have

to say, I'm still weighing my options on whether to accept you. Callpicky, but | have standards.”

The look of pure shock that crossed his face was absolutely delicious. Clearly, Mr. High-and-Mighty Alpha wasn’t

used to being treated

like he was the one who needed to prove himself worthy.

Before he could recover enough to respond, | swept over to his desk with my most professional demeanor and

began laying out

documents like | was dealing cards. “Your dinner arrangements,” | announced cheerfully, placing the guest list

down with a satisfying

snap. “Complete with dietary restrictions, seating charts, and wine pairings that won't poison anyone or start

any pack wars.”

| added the quarterly reports with a flourish. “Pack assessments, territorial dispute documentation, and that

lovely little crisis brewing

on the northern border that apparently couldn't wait until Monday.” Each file landed on his desk with increasing

emphasis.

He leaned forward, studying each document with growing interest, and | caught something that looked

suspiciously like impressed

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approval flickering in those devastating blue eyes.

“Impressive work,” he admitted, though he looked almost annoyed to be saying it. “Still, an omega refusing an

alpha? That's a new one,

even for me. You might want to rethink that.” His mouth actually fell open slightly, and | had to bite my lip to

keep from grinning at his

expression.

“Well then,” | continued with exaggerated politeness, gathering my own files and heading back toward my desk,

“if there's nothing else

requiring my *omega* attention, | should probably get back to work.”

I'd barely taken two steps when his hand shot out and wrapped around my wrist, his fingers warm and strong

against my skin. The

contact sent electricity shooting up my arm, and | had to bite back a gasp at the intensity of the sensation.

“Tonight's dinner,” he said, his voice dropping to that low, commanding tone that made my knees weak. “You'll

attend as my date.”