Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

27 Chapter 27

Seraphina’s POV 1

For five years, my adoptive parents had vanished from my life completely-no calls, no letters. It was as if I'd

never existed in their world,

which was exactly what they'd wanted when they threwout.

The phone kept ringing. | let it go to voicemail, but immediately another call cin from a different number.

Then another. My phone

buzzed with a text message, then another, the notifications piling up faster than I could dismiss them. 1

*Answer the phone, you little bitch.*

*| know where you work.*

*Nightshadow Industries. Don’t makecthere.*

My blood turned to ice. She was using different phones, probably borrowed from neighbors or friends, making

sure | couldn't just block

her number. And now she was threatening to show up at my workplace. | couldn't let Elizabeth Knight storm into

Nightshadow

Industries and cause a scene.

The phone rang again. This time, | answered.

“Hello, Elizabeth.”

“Don’t you ‘hello Elizabeth’ me, you ungrateful little bitch!” Her voice exploded through the speaker with such

venom that I had to hold

the phone away from my ear. “Where the hell have you been for five years? Do you have any idea what you put

us through? Disappearing

like scommon criminal, embarrassing our family name!”

The familiar torrent of abuse washed overlike acid rain. SElizabeth, svicious tongue, same

complete inability to take

responsibility for her own cruelty.

“I've been building a life for myself and my son,” | said quietly, proud of how steady my voice sounded despite

the way my hands were

trembling. “What do you want, Elizabeth? We haven't spoken in five years. | assumed that meant you were done

pretending to care about

my existence.”

But a harsh laugh that sounded like breaking glass. “Trust me, if | had a choice, | wouldn't be calling you at all.

But you need to come

home. This weekend. There are... arrangements to be made.”

“Arrangements?” | repeated, my voice rising slightly. “Elizabeth, I'm not coming back to Whispering Valley. Ever. |

have a life here, a job,

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

responsibilities-"

“You have responsibilities to this family!” she shrieked, her voice reaching that familiar pitch that had preceded

so many of

my childhood

punishments. “After everything we did for you, after taking in an unwanted omega orphan and raising you like

our own daughter, you

Owe us!”

“I don’t owe you anything,” | said firmly, surprising myself with the steel in my voice. “You made it very clear five

years ago that | wasn’t

your daughter and never had been. You chose Valerie. You got exactly what you wantedgone, out of your life

forever. So whatever

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this is about, find someone else to help you.”

| was about to hang up when Elizabeth's voice changed, dropping to something low and dangerous that made

my wolf pace uneasily.

“I know about your job at Nightshadow Industries, Elizabeth continued, her tone taking on a calculated quality

that made my skin crawl. “I know about your little apartment in the Riverside district. Most importantly, | know

about your son.”

My breath caught in my throat. “What did you just say?”

“Adrian Knight. Four years old. Attends Silver Moon Harbor Elementary. Such a sweet little boy, from what | hear.

It would be such a

shif something were to happen to him.”

The phone slipped from my suddenly nerveless fingers, clattering onto my desk with a sound that seemed to

echo through the empty

office. For a moment, | couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't do anything except stare at the device as

Elizabeth's voice continued to

pour out threats in that scalm, conversational tone.

| grabbed the phone back up, my hands shaking so badly I could barely keep hold of it.

“If you go anywhere near my son-" | started, but Elizabeth cutoff with a laugh that chilledto the bone.

“You'll what? Oh, darling, | think you're forgetting exactly who you're dealing with here.” Her voice was soft now,

almost gentle, which

somehow made it ten times more terrifying. “I'm the respected wife of a pack elder. You're an unwed omega

mother with a bastard child.

Who do you think they'll believe if something unfortunate were to happen?”

My chest felt like it was being crushed in a vise, making it difficult to draw breath.

“Chthis weekend. Friday evening.” Elizabeth's voice was brisk now, businesslike, as if we were

discussing dinner plans rather

than threats against my child. “And Seraphina? If you even think about running, if you consider taking that little

bastard and

disappearing... well, let's just say | have friends in many places. There's nowhere you could hide that | wouldn't

find you.”

The line went dead, leavingstaring at my phone in complete silence. The office aroundfelt surreal, like |

was looking at

everything through thick glass. The familiar sounds of the building-air conditioning, distant conversations, the

hum of electronics-all

seemed muffled and far away.

| knew Elizabeth Knight better than that. She'd raised me, after all, taughtexactly how far she was willing to

go to get what she

wanted. The woman who'd been capable of throwing out a pregnant eighteen-year-old with nothing but the

clothes on her back was

definitely capable of far worse things. 1

I'd spent the entire week in a state of barely controlled anxiety, jumping every tmy phone rang, checking on

Adrian obsessively,

barely sleeping.

The drive to Whispering Valley felt both endless and far too short. Every mile that passed on the familiar country

roads brought back memories I'd spent five years trying to forget.

By the t| pulled into the gravel driveway of the Knight house, my hands were shaking and my wolf was

pacing frantically in my mind.

The house looked exactly the same-small, neat, perfectly maintained on the outside while hiding rot within its

walls.

But something was different. Instead of the cold reception I'd expected, Elizabeth was waiting on the front porch,

her arms open in what appeared to be a welcoming gesture. She was dressed in her Sunday best-a pale blue

dress that brought out her eyes, her hair perfectly

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styled, her makeup applied with careful precision.

“Seraphina!” she called out, her voice warm and bright. “Oh, darling, look at you! You look wonderful!”

She swept down the porch steps and pulledinto what felt like a genuine hug, her arms wrapping around me

with surprising strength.

“Cin, cin!” she said, looping her arm through mine and guidingup the porch steps. “I've missed

you so much, sweetheart.

We have so much to catch up on!”

The inside of the house was exactly as | remembered. But sitting in Victor's old recliner was a man I'd never seen

before, and the sight of

him made my skin crawl immediately.

He was probably in his fifties, with thinning gray hair slicked back with too much pomade and a soft, doughy

body that spoke of a

lifetof excess. His pale blue eyes moved overwith an assessment that felt physical, taking in every curve

and line of my body with

the kind of hungry evaluation that made my wolf bare her teeth in

my mind.

“Seraphina,” Elizabeth said, her voice taking on that bright, hostess-like quality she used when she was

performing for an audience, “I'd

like you to meet Harold. Harold, this is my daughter Seraphina.”

Harold heaved himself out of the chair with obvious effort, his eyes never leaving my face as he extended a

pudgy hand that looked like it

hadn't seen honest work in decades.

“So this is the famous Seraphina,” he said, his voice oily and warm in a way that made my flesh crawl. “Elizabeth

has toldso much

about you. What a lovely young woman you've grown into.”

| didn’t take his offered hand, stepping back instinctively as every alarm bell in my head started ringing at

maximum volume.

“I'm sorry,” | said, looking between Harold and Elizabeth with growing confusion and dread. “I don’t understand.

Who is this man,

why am | here?”

and

Elizabeth's smile never wavered, but something cold and calculating flickered in her eyes. “Sit down, darling. We

have wonderful news to

share with you.”

When | remained standing, Harold's smile widened, showing teeth that were too white and too perfect to be

natural.

“Your mother and | have been discussing your... situation,” he said, settling back into the chair with a grunt. “A

young woman in your

position-unmarried, with a child-well, it can’t be easy. But I'm a generous man, and | don’t mind taking on

another man’s

responsibilities.”

The bottom dropped out of my stomach as understanding crashed overlike a tidal wave.

“Harold has very kindly offered to marry you,” Elizabeth said, clapping her hands together as if she'd just

announced the most wonderful

news in the world. “Isn’t that marvelous? Despite your... past mistakes, despite having that little bastard, he's

willing to give you

respectability and a proper home.”

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