Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

26 Chapter 26

Seraphina’s POV 1

The next morning, | arrived at Nightshadow Industries with dark circles under my eyes and a heavy heart that

felt like it had been carved out of lead. I'd spent the entire night staring at my bedroom ceiling, replaying every

moment from the lobby encounter, every word Anna

had spoken, every second of Damien’s devastating silence.

As | settled into my desk, | could hear Anna's shrill laughter echoing from the break room, already holding court

with whoever was

unfortunate enough to be within earshot.

“Oh, it’s such a romantic story!” her voice carried across the marble floors like fingernails on a chalkboard. “Five

years we've been apart,

but true love always finds a way, doesn’t it?”

| forced myself to focus on my computer screen, pulling up Damien’s schedule for the day and trying to ignore

the way my

tightened every t| heard Anna’s voice. Professional composure, | reminded myself. That was all | had left.

chest

At exactly nine o'clock, Anna sauntered over to my desk wearing a blood-red dress that was so tight it looked like

it had been painted on. Her platinum blonde hair was styled in perfect waves, and her makeup was applied with

the precision of someone preparing for a photo

shoot rather than a day at the office.

“Good morning, bestie!” she chirped, plopping herself onto the corner of my desk with enough force to scatter

my carefully organized

paperwork. “Isn't this just like old times? Working together again!”

| gathered the scattered papers with steady hands, not trusting myself to look directly at her. “Good morning,

Anna. If you don’t mind, |

have quite a bit of work to catch up on.”

“Oh, work!” Anna waved her hand dismissively, her perfectly manicured nails catching the morning light. “Don’t

worry about that silly little stuff. I'll handle all the important tasks. You just focus on... | don’t know, filing or

something. The boring omega work.”

Before | could respond, the elevator chimed, and Damien stepped onto the floor. He looked devastatingly

handsin his charcoal gray suit, his dark hair perfectly styled and his blue eyes scanning the office with that

familiar intensity. When his gaze landed on me,

something flickered across his expressio.

Anna immediately sprang into action, practically launching herself from my desk to intercept him before he could

reach his office.

“Damien, darling!” she cooed, pressing herself against his side with the subtlety of a freight train. “I was just

organizing our work division with Sera. | thought I could handle all your personal scheduling and important

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

meetings, while she takes care of the more... basic

administrative tasks.”

| watched Damien's jaw tighten almost imperceptibly. “Miss Blackwood, | believe Claire explained the office

hierarchy yesterday.

Seraphina is my senior assistant. She handles my scheduling.”

Anna's smile never wavered, but | caught the flash of irritation in her eyes. “Of course, of course! | just thought,

given our special

relationship, that you might prefer-"

“There are no special relationships in my office,” Damien cut her off, his voice carrying that particular edge that

made smart employees

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step back. “There is work, and there is competence. Nothing else matters.”

With that declaration, he strode into his office and closed the door with a decisive click.

Anna's perfect mask slipped for just a moment, revealing something ugly and calculating beneath the surface.

But the moment passed quickly, replaced by that ssaccharine smile.

“Well,” she said, turning back towith false brightness, “I suppose we'll just have to work extra hard to prove

our value, won't we?”

The morning progressed with Anna performing what could only be described as an elaborate theater production.

Whenever Damien’s door was open, she becthe picture of professional efficiency-answering phones with

crisp politeness, organizing files with impressive speed, even bringing him coffee with the kind of deferential

respect that would have impressed Claire herself.

The moment his door closed, however, Anna transformed into something entirely different.

“Sera, darling,” she purred, sliding a stack of her own filing onto my desk. “Would you mind taking care of these

for me? I'm far too busy

with the important work to handle such menial tasks.”

When | opened my mouth to protest, she leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper that carried just enough

venom to make my skin

crawl. “Remember your place, omega. Sof us are destined for greatness, and sof us are destined to

serve. | think we both know

which category you fall into.”

By lunch, my desk had beca dumping ground for every task Anna didn’t want to handle herself. She'd

managed to saddlewith

her correspondence, her filing, even her personal coffee runs, all while maintaining that sinnocent smile

whenever Damien was

within sight.

| was just finishing the last of Anna’s neglected reports when Damien’s phone rang with the sharp, urgent tone

reserved for pack

emergencies.

“What?” His voice carried through the soundproof office, sharp with concern. “How bad? ... When did this start?

... I'll be there within the

hour.”

He hung up and immediately began gathering files from his desk, his movements efficient and focused. This was

pack business—the kind

of territorial crisis that required an Alpha’s immediate personal attention.

| was already reaching for my phone to call the corporate jet pilot when Anna shouldered past me, nearly

knockingoff my chair.

“Ill handle this,” she announced, grabbing the phone from my hand. “Travel arrangements are definitely senior

assistant work.”

“Anna, I've been managing his travel for weeks. | know his preferences-" 1

She interrupted with a smug smile. “Trust me, darling, | can handle anything my man needs.”

“Actually,” Anna said brightly, “I should probably cwith you! As your future Luna, | should be involved in

pack business.”

Damien's expression went cold as arctic wind. “This is a territorial dispute involving potential violence and

bloodshed,” he said, his voice

carrying enough Alpha authority to make the windows rattle. “You will remain here. Both of you.”

Anna's face fell, her perfect mask slipping to reveal something petulant and ugly. “But Damien—"

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“The decision is final.” He gathered his files and strode past both of us without another word.

The moment the elevator doors closed behind him, Anna’s entire demeanor shifted. The sweet, simpering mask

fell away completely,

replaced by something that made my wolf whimper in my mind.

Before | could react, Anna’s hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of my hair, jerking my head back with enough

force to make my scalp

burn. Her perfectly manicured nails bit into my skin as she leaned close, her breath hot against my car.

“Listen carefully, you pathetic little omega,” she hissed, her voice dripping with the svenom | remembered

from our school days. “I

know exactly what you're trying to do here. You think you can waltz in and steal what's mine? You think batting

your eyelashes and

playing the innocent victim will make him forget about his true mate?”

She yanked harder, making tears spring to my eyes. “I am Damien's first love. | am the mother of his future

children. I am going to be the

Luna of this pack, and you... you're nothing but a temporary inconvenience.

*Fight back!* Ayla snarled in my mind, her mental voice sharp with protective fury. *Don’t let her do this to us

again'*

But the years of conditioning, the ingrained omega responses to aggression, keptfrozen in place. Anna

seemed to sense my internal

struggle and smiled with cruel satisfaction.

“That's better. Now, while Damien is away handling real pack business, you're going to remember your place.”

She released my hair with a

sharp shove that nearly senttumbling off my chair. “Coffee. Black, two sugars. And | want it in the good

china, not that cheap stuff

they serve the regular employees.”

She sauntered away, her hips swaying with exaggerated confidence, before turning back with an afterthought.

“Oh, and Sera? Consider this practice for when I'm Luna. You'll need to get very comfortable with serving your

betters.”

| sat there for several minutes after she disappeared into the break room, my hands shaking with suppressed

rage and my scalp still

burning from her grip. The familiar taste of humiliation filled my mouth, transportingback to those horrible

years when Anna and

Valerie had made my life a living hell. 1

*She can’t keep doing this to us,* Ayla whispered, her mental voice thick with pain. *We're not that helpless girl

anymore. We're stronger

now.*

| was just beginning to believe that maybe Ayla was right, maybe | should march into that break room and give

Anna a piece of my mind,

when my phone rang.

The display showed a number | hadn't seen in over five years, but | recognized it immediately. My hands went

cold as | stared at the

screen, my heart hammering against my ribs.

Elizabeth Knight. My adoptive mother.

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