Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

17 Chapter 17

Damien’s POV 1

The moment Valerie's venomous words left her lips, | felt like my brain was being consumed by a toxic mixture of

jealousy and rage. The scent of fear and tension radiating from my mate hitlike a physical blow, making Alex

snarl with protective fury in my mind.

Valerie had always been a repulsive creature. Ever since her wedding to my half-brother Gabriel-a pathetic

excuse for a wolf who was nothing more than my father’s bastard son-she’d pursuedrelentlessly. Gabriel

himself was utterly worthless, a man | barely acknowledged beyond providing him with enough money to stay

out of my way and out of trouble.

But Valerie's appearance today, first insulting my mate in my own office and now this public humiliation, ignited

something murderous in my chest. Her words were like poison injected directly into my bloodstream. Sera-my

mate-had been with that useless waste of

space Gabriel? The brilliant, beautiful child she'd spoken of with such fierce love... was he Gabriel's?

| watched security drag Valerie away, her shrieks echoing through the restaurant like the cries of a banshee.

Standing there with every eye in the restaurant fixed on us, | stared into Sera’s face-those magnificent emerald

eyes now blazing with hurt and fury-and waited for her to deny it. All she had to do was say no, and | would have

believed her without question. | would have

torn Valerie apart for even suggesting such filth.

Instead, Sera’s face went through a series of expressions-shock, pain, and finally, a rage so pure it made my wolf

whimper with regret.

When she turned her back onand walked away with her head held high, every instinct | possessed screamed

atto follow her, to

beg her forgiveness.

“You're an idiot,” Lucas said quietly, appearing at my shoulder as the crowd began to disperse with obvious

disappointment at the end of

the show. “A complete and total idiot.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion,” | growled, my eyes still fixed on the spot where Sera had disappeared.

“Well, you're getting it anyway.” Lucas’s voice carried the particular tone he used when he was about to deliver

harsh truths | didn’t want

to hear. “That woman just organized a flawless dinner party in under twenty-four hours, handled your impossible

demands without

breaking, stood up to your sister-in-law’s public humiliation with more grace than most alphas could manage,

and you repaid her loyalty

by immediately believing the worst.”

Each word hit like a physical blow, and | knew he was right. The moment Valerie had started spewing her poison,

I should have shut her

down completely. Instead, I'd let jealousy and possessiveness cloud my judgment.

The other dinner guests were beginning to disperse. | could already imagine how this story would spread through

the werewolf social

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networks.

“I need to go after her,” | said, finally breaking free of whatever paralysis had gripped me.

“About damn time,” Lucas muttered, but there was relief in his voice.

| pushed through the restaurant’s revolving doors into the cool night air, my eyes scanning the street for any

sign of that emerald dress.

The scent trail was faint but discernible-vanilla and jasmine tinged with the salt of tears and the sharp bite of

adrenaline.

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She'd gone left, toward the business district. | followed the trail on foot for several blocks, my wolf growing

increasingly agitated as the

scent began to fade. When | reached my car, | was already pulling out my phone to call every contact I had.

That's when | caught a glimpse of emerald fabric getting into a silver sedan six blocks ahead.

My blood turned to ice. Even from this distance, | could see that it wasn’t a taxi. | gunned the engine, weaving

through traffic with reckless abandon as | tried to keep the sedan in sight. My wolf was going completely feral,

pacing and snarling and demanding blood as

we followed the car through increasingly deserted residential streets.

“Faster,” Alex urged, his mental voice tight with panic. “Something's wrong. Can't you smell it?”

The sedan pulled into the driveway of a modest house on a quiet side street. Through my windshield, | watched

the driver get out and

move around to the passenger side. Even from a distance, | could see that Sera’s movements were sluggish,

uncoordinated. When she

tried to pull away from his grip, the motion was weak and ineffective.

Drugged. The bastard had drugged my mate.

White-hot rage exploded through my system, so pure and intense that my vision actually tinted red around the

edges. Alex was howling

for blood, demanding we shift and tear this pathetic excuse for a wolf into pieces small enough to feed to ravens.

| watched the man drag Sera up the front steps, watched her stumble and nearly fall, watched her mouth open

in what had to be a

scream for help that was too weak to carry.

The moment he got her inside the house, | was out of my car and shifting before my feet hit the pavement.

Bones lengthened and

reformed, muscles expanded, and my human consciousness merged with Alex's primal fury until we were one

creature driven by a

single, burning purpose.

*Protect. Mate. *

The shift from human to wolf form took less than ten seconds, but it felt like an eternity when every instinct was

screaming that Sera

was in mortal danger. Alex’s massive silver form hit the ground running, powerful legs eating up the distance

between the street and the

house in great bounding leaps.

Through the front window, | caught a glimpse of movement-Sera slumped on a couch, the bastard’s hands on her

dress, camera

equipment set up in the corner. The sight sent such a surge of murderous rage throughthat | actually saw

stars.

| threw back my head and howled—a sound that carried every ounce of fury and territorial claim | possessed.

The front door was solid wood, but it might as well have been paper. | hit it at full speed with my shoulder, and it

exploded inward in a

shower of splinters and twisted metal. The frcracked, the hinges tore free from the wall, and the entire door

went flying across the

living room to crash into the far wall.

The pathetic excuse for a wolf-Michael, spun around with terror written across his face. Up close, | could see

exactly what he'd been

doing. Sera’s dress had been partially torn, her hair disheveled, her beautiful emerald eyes glazed with whatever

drug he’d used to

incapacitate her.

She was alive. She was breathing. That was all that mattered in that moment.

Michael stumbled backward, his hands raised in a gesture of surrender that would have been laughable if I'd

been capable of humor.

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nearly four feet at the shoulder, my silver coat rippling with muscle and my eyes burning with supernatural fire.

My lips pulled back to

reveal fangs designed for tearing flesh from bone.

“Please,” he whimpered, pressing himself against the wall as if he could somehow disappear into it. “I didn't

know she was your mate! |

swear | didn’t know!”

| shifted back to human form with fluid grace, my expensive suit somehow remaining intact despite the violent

transformation. The

change leftstanding naked from the waist up, my chest heaving with barely controlled rage, my hands

already curling into fists.

“You didn’t know?” My voice cout as barely more than a growl, each word dripping with the promise of

violence. “So you make a

habit of drugging and assaulting women, do you?”

“No! No, I...” Michael was babbling now, terror making his words cout in a rush. “It was just... she was so

beautiful, and after what

happened at the restaurant... | thought maybe she needed scomfort...”

He didn’t get to finish the sentence. My fist connected with his jaw with enough force to lift him off his feet and

send him crashing into a

bookshelf. Books rained down around him as he slumped to the floor, blood streaming from his nose and mouth.

“Comfort?” | asked conversationally, flexing my knuckles as | advanced on his prone form. “Is that what you call

drugging someone and

setting up camera equipment?”

His eyes went wide as he realized I'd noticed the recording setup. “I... that’s not... | wasn’t going to...”

| grabbed him by the front of his shirt and hauled him to his feet, slamming him against the wall hard enough to

crack the plaster.

“You're fired,” | said simply, my voice carrying enough alpha authority to make him flinch. “Clear out your desk

by Monday, assuming you

can still walk by then.”

| drew back my fist again, fully intending to break his nose this time, when a soft sound from the couch made me

freeze.

“Help me...” Sera’s voice was barely above a whisper, thick with the effects of whatever drug he'd given her.

“Please...”

In an instant, every ounce of my attention shifted from the worthless piece of garbage in my hands to my mate. |

released Michael,

letting him slump to the floor gasping and forgotten, and crossed to the couch in three quick strides.

Sera was conscious but clearly struggling against the effects of the drug. Her beautiful emerald dress was torn,

her hair had cloose

from its elegant updo, and her eyes were glazed but aware. When she sawapproaching, she tried to sit up,

her movements unsteady

and weak.

“It's alright,” | said softly, my voice automatically gentling as | knelt beside the couch. “You're safe now. I've got

you.”

Without another word, | slipped my arms beneath her and lifted her against my chest, cradling her like

something infinitely precious.

“Hospital,” | said, already calculating the fastest route to Silver Moon Harbor General. “We need to get you

checked out.”

| carried her out to my car, settling her gently in the backseat and buckling the seatbelt around her with careful

hands. As | slid behind the wheel, | caught her reflection in the rearview mirror-eyes still slightly unfocused but

fixed onwith an intensity that made my

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chest tight.

I'd barely put the car in drive when her hand shot out and grabbed my tie, her fingers tangling in the expensive

silk with desperate

strength. The gesture pulledhalf over the center console, bringing my face close to hers. 2

“Help me,” she whispered, her breath warm against my skin. “Please...”