Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

30 Chapter 30

Seraphina’s POV 1

The words hung in the air like a toxic cloud, poisoning every breath | tried to take. “Are you completely insane?” |

breathed, my

barely above a whisper as the full horror of what Elizabeth was suggesting crashed overlike a tidal wave.

voice

Harold's oily smile widened, revealing those unnaturally white teeth. “Now, now, there's no need for tics,”

he said, his voice

carrying the patronizing tone of someone who was used to getting exactly what he wanted. “I understand this

might cas a surprise,

but | assure you, | can provide very well for you and your... child.”

The way he said ‘child’ made my skin crawl. “This is not happening,” | said, taking a step backward toward the

door. “I don’t know what

kind of sick arrangement you two have cooked up, but I'm leaving. Right now.”

Elizabeth moved to block my path with surprising speed, her perfectly manicured hand shooting out to wrap

around my wrist like a steel

trap. “Sit down, Seraphina,” she commanded. “We're not finished talking”

“Yes, we are,” | snapped, trying to wrench my arm free from her grip. “I wouldn't marry that man if he was the

last person on earth. Find

someone else for your disgusting little scheme.”

Harold chuckled, a sound like oil bubbling in a hot pan. “Oh, my dear, | think you misunderstand your position

here. This isn't really a

request.”

Elizabeth's grip tightened on my wrist, her fingernails digging into my skin hard enough to leave marks. “You're

going to marry Harold,

and you're going to be grateful for the opportunity,” she said, her voice taking on that sweet.

“Let go of me,” | said, my voice growing stronger despite the fear clawing at my chest. “I'm an adult, Elizabeth.

You can’t forceto do

anything.”

“Can’t I?” Her smile was like a razor blade wrapped in silk. “Tell me, darling, how is little Adrian enjoying his new

school? Silver Moon

Harbor Elementary, isn’t it? Such a lovely place. So many children playing outside every day at recess.”

The blood in my veins turned to ice water. “What did you just say?”

Elizabeth continued conversationally, as if she were discussing the weather instead of threatening my child.

“Usually that friend of yours

-Ophelia, is it?-picks him up. But accidents happen, don’t they?”

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

edges. Ayla snarled in my

mind, her mental voice sharp with protective fury that matched my own.

“If you go anywhere near my son,” | said, my voice dropping to a whisper that carried more menace than any

scream, “I will kill you. I will

tear your throat out with my bare hands and dance on your corpse.”

Harold laughed, actually laughed, as if my desperate threat was the most amusing thing he'd heard all day.

“Such spirit! I do love a

woman with fire. Don’t worry, my dear-once we're married, I'll teach you all sorts of ways to channel that

passion.

The implications in his voice made bile rise in my throat. | lunged toward the door, but Elizabeth’s grip on my

wrist was like iron, and

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30 Chapter 30

But | was ready for her. As she reached for me, | caught her wrist and twisted, using her own momentum to spin

her around. Then | sank my teeth into the soft flesh of her forearm, biting down with all the fury of years of

suppressed rage.

Elizabeth's scream was like breaking glass as my teeth found bone. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth,

but I held on, grinding my jaw until | felt something give way beneath my teeth.

“You little animal!” she gasped, trying to shakeoff. “You savage little-"

| released her arm and shoved her away fromwith enough force to send her stumbling into the wall. Harold

was groaning on the

floor, a trickle of blood running down his forehead from where the bottle had connected, but he was still

breathing.

| didn’t wait to see if either of them would recover enough to stop me.

I ran.

Out of the bedroom, down the hallway, through the living room where my childhood nightmares still lingered like

smoke. | burst through

the front door and into the cool evening air, my heart hammering against my ribs as adrenaline flooded my

system.

My hands were shaking so badly | could barely get my keys into the car's ignition. Behind me, | could hear

Elizabeth's voice rising to a

hysterical shriek as she called for help, probably for Harold rather than for me.

I gunned the engine and tore out of the driveway, gravel spraying behind my tires as | put as much distance as

possible between myself and that house of horrors. In my rearview mirror, | could see Elizabeth standing on the

front porch, clutching her bleeding arm and

screaming something | couldn't make out over the roar of my engine.

| drove without really seeing the road, my hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles had gone

white. My whole body was

shaking with the aftermath of violence and terror, and | could still taste Elizabeth's blood in my mouth.

| was halfway back to Silver Moon Harbor when my phone rang.

The sound cut through my panicked thoughts like a knife, and | fumbled for the device with trembling fingers.

Ophelia’s nflashed on

the screen, and relief flooded through me. She would have picked up Adrian from school by now. Everything

would be fine.

“Ophelia?” | answered, barely keeping my voice steady.

“Sera!” Her voice exploded through the speaker, sharp with panic and terror. “Where are you? Please tellyou

picked up Adrian early

today!”

My blood turned to ice in my veins. “What? No, I... Why? What’s wrong?”

Ophelia’s voice was rising to a frantic pitch. “The school said Adrian was picked up by someone!”