NovelEnglish28 Chapter 28
Valerie's POV 1
| honestly never thought I'd see that bitch Seraphina again. After she slunk away from hfive years ago with
her tail between her legs,
| assumed she’d crawled into scorner somewhere with her little bastard and disappeared forever. The last
thing | expected was to
find her working right beside the most powerful Alpha in the territory, looking like she actually belonged there.
The memory of being thrown out of that restaurant still burned in my chest like acid. The way Damien had
looked at me-with such cold
disgust-when he’d ordered security to remove me. The way he'd automatically moved to protect Seraphina, like
she was something
precious instead of the worthless omega reject she’d always been.
It madewant to scream.
Sitting in the passenger seat of Gabriel's beat-up Honda, | stared out at the shabby neighborhood we now called
hand felt my rage
building with each passing second. This wasn’t how my life was supposed to turn out. When I'd married Gabriel
five years ago,
he'd
promisedeverything-wealth, status, a position in the Nightshadow family that would make everyone who'd
ever looked down on me
pay.
What a fucking joke.
Gabriel had spun elaborate tales about his importance in the pack, about his close relationship with his powerful
Alpha brother, about
the inheritance that was supposedly coming his way. All lies.
The truth was that Damien barely acknowledged Gabriel's existence. Gabriel was nothing more than their
father’s bastard son-a
mistake that the family tolerated but never embraced. No money, no power, no influence. Just a disappointment
who spent his days
playing video games and eating junk food while | worked myself to the bone trying to maintain ssemblance
of the lifestyle |
deserved.
“Valerie, baby, con,” Gabriel whined from the driver's seat, his hand creeping across the center console to
rest on my thigh. “Don’t
be like this. You know | hate it when you're mad.”
| slapped his hand away with enough force to make him yelp. “Don’t touch me,” | snarled, my voice dripping with
disgust. “And don’t call
Gabriel's face crumpled like a kicked puppy’s. “But | missed you while you were at that fancy dinner. | was
hoping we could... you know...”
He waggled his eyebrows in what he probably thought was a seductive manner.
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The thought of letting this useless waste of space put his hands onmade my stomach turn. When had | ever
found him attractive? He
was just a burden draggingdown.
“The only thing you're going to do when we get home,” | said through gritted teeth, “is clean up that pigsty of an
apartment. I'm hiring a
cleaning service, and | don’t want them to think we're complete animals.”
Gabriel's face fell. “A cleaning service? Val, we can’t afford-"
“I don’t care what we can afford!” | exploded, my voice echoing in the cramped car. “I'm not living in squalor
anymore! My parents are
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already demanding money for Dad’s medical bills, and I look like a failure every t| show my face in public.
The least you can do is make sure our hdoesn’t smell like rotting garbage!”
The apartment we returned to was exactly as disgusting as I'd expected. Pizza boxes stacked on every surface,
empty beer bottles creating obstacle courses across the floor. | kicked an empty takeout container out of my way
and immediately pulled out my phone to call the first cleaning service | could find.
“Martinez Cleaning Services,” a cheerful voice answered. “How can we help you today?”
“I need someone here immediately,” | said, not bothering with pleasantries. “My apartment is... challenging. I'll
pay double your usual rate
if you can send someone within the hour.”
“Of course, ma'am. I'll have someone there as soon as possible.*
Gabriel collapsed onto our stained couch with a grunt, already reaching for his gaming controller. “You know, Val,
if you'd just relax a
little bit, maybe-"
“Maybe what?” | whirled around to face him, my hands clenched into fists. “Maybe I'd be happy living like this?”
He opened his mouth to respond, but the sharp knock on our front door cut him off. | smoothed down my dress
and went to answer it,
expecting to see sstranger with a bucket of cleaning supplies.
Instead, | found myself staring into a face | hadn't seen since high school.
“Anna?”
Anna Blackwood stood in our doorway wearing a Martinez Cleaning Services polo shirt and carrying a caddy full
of cleaning supplies.
Her blonde hair was pulled back in a practical ponytail.
“Well, well,” Anna said, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Valerie Knight. Or should | say Valerie
Nightshadow now? Fancy meeting
you like this.”
“Oh my God, Anna!” | threw my arms around her, genuinely excited for the first tin weeks. “I can’t believe
it’s you!”
She looked around our disaster of a living room with professional assessment. “Jesus, Val. What happened to
you? | thought marrying
into the Nightshadow family would set you up for life.”
Gabriel chose that moment to look up from his game, his eyes widening as he took in Anna’s appearance.
“Who's this?” he asked, his
voice taking on the tone he used when he thought he was being charming.
“This is Anna,” | said quickly, shooting Gabriel a warning look. “An old friend from high school. Anna, this is my
husband Gabriel.”
Anna's eyes swept over Gabriel with obvious disdain, taking in his rumpled clothes, his soft physique, and the
general air of uselessness
that surrounded him like a cloud.
“Charming,” she said dryly, “I can see why you snagged this one.”
Gabriel completely missed the sarcasm, puffing up with pride. “Yeah, Valerie knows quality when she sees it.”
Anna caught my eye and raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow.
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“Gabriel,” | said sweetly, “why don’t you go get us scoffee? Anna and | have scatching up to do”
The moment Gabriel shuffled out of the room, Anna dropped onto our couch with a sigh. “Okay, spill. What the
hell happened? You
married the Alpha’s brother, for crying out loud. You should be living in a mansion, not this... whatever this is
| settled beside her, grateful to finally have someone who understood my frustration. “It's complicated. Gabriel
isn’t exactly the golden
child of the family. More like the family disappointment that everyone tries to ignore.”
“Including his Alpha brother?”
“Especially his Alpha brother.” | couldn't keep the bitterness out of my voice.
Anna was quiet for a moment, her sharp mind clearly working through the implications. “So you're broke.”
“Worse than broke. My parents are demanding money for Dad’s medical bills, and I've maxed out every credit
card trying to maintain
appearances.” | buried my face in my hands. “God, Anna, | don’t know what I'm going to do. | had a plan, you
know? | was going to make
Damien notice me, make him fall for me. But then that bitch Seraphina showed up and ruined everything.”
“Seraphina?” Anna's voice sharpened with interest. “Seraphina Knight? Our favorite little omega punching bag?”
“The sone.” | looked up, seeing the familiar gleam in Anna's eyes that had always preceded our most
creative torments. “She’s working as Damien’s senior assistant now. Can you believe it? That pathetic little
omega reject, sitting right outside the Alpha’s office like
she belongs there”
“How... interesting.” Anna’s smile was slow and predatory. “You know, Val, | think the universe might have just
handed us exactly what we
need.”
“What do you mean?”
Anna reached into her cleaning caddy and pulled out something that made my heart stop. A golden pendant,
obviously expensive, with
intricate engravings that caught the afternoon light streaming through our dirty windows.
“I found this five years ago,” Anna said, holding the pendant up so | could see it clearly. “I was working a
cleaning job at the Moonlight
Hotel during the Lunar Assembly weekend. Srich asshole had left it in one of the suites, and housekeeping
was just going to turn it
into lost and found.”
She paused, her smile widening. “But | figured, what they don’t know won't hurt them. So | kept it.”
“It’s beautiful,” | said, though | wasn’t sure why she was showing it to me. “But Anna, what does this have to do
with—"
“Everything” she interrupted, her eyes blazing with excitement. “Valerie, do you have any idea what this
pendant represents? Do you
know why I'm about to becthe luckiest woman in Silver Moon Harbor?”
| shook my head, confused.
“Your brother-in-law, the mighty Alpha Damien Nightshadow, has been searching for this pendant’s owner for
five years. He's put out
notices through every pawn shop, jewelry store, and antique dealer in three territories. He's offering a position at
his company, a
significant financial reward, and...” Anna’s voice dropped to a whisper, “the chance to be by his side.”
The pieces clicked into place so suddenly | actually gasped. “You're going to pretend to be the woman he’s
looking for.”
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“I'm not going to pretend anything” Anna said with mock innocence. “I am the woman with his pendant. That
makesexactly who he’s
been searching for.”
My mind was racing now, seeing possibilities that | hadn't imagined just minutes before, “But what about
Seraphina?”
“What about her?” Anna’s smile turned vicious. “That little omega bitch thinks she can waltz into our territory
and steal what rightfully
belongs to us? | don’t think so.”
She leaned closer, her voice taking on the conspiratorial tone | remembered so well from our school days.
“Here’s what's going to
happen. I'm going to present myself to your brother-in-law as his long-lost love. I'm going to take the position
he’s offering, work right
alongside little Sera, and make her life absolutely miserable until she quits.”
“And then?”
“And then, once I'm established as the Alpha’s mate and future Luna, I'm going to use his resources to make
sure you get everything you
deserve. Money for your parents’ medical bills, a proper home, the respect that’s been denied to you.” Anna’s
eyes glittered with
ambition. “We're going to be queens, Val. Both of us.”
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