Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

40 Chapter 40

40 Chapter 40

Seraphina’s POV 1

The morning sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Nightshadow Industries, casting everything in

a golden glow that should have felt hopeful. Instead, as | settled into my desk chair, | found myself bracing for

whatever fresh hell Anna Blackwood had

planned for today.

| didn’t have to wait long.

“Good morning, bestie!” Anna's sickeningly sweet voice cut through the peaceful morning atmosphere like nails

on a chalkboard. She

sauntered over to my desk in a tight red dress that looked more appropriate for a nightclub than a corporate

office, her platinum blonde

hair bouncing with each calculated step.

“Sleep well?” she asked, though her tone suggested she didn’t particularly care about my answer. “You look a

little tired. Rough night?”

“Actually,” | said, looking up from my computer screen with a smile that was all teeth and no warmth, “I had a

wonderful evening. Very...

therapeutic.”

Anna's perfectly plucked eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Therapeutic?”

“Oh yes,” | continued cheerfully, turning my full attention to her now. “Sometimes a girl just needs to work out

her frustrations, you

know? Get rid of stoxic influences in her life.”

Something flickered across Anna's face-uncertainty, maybe even a hint of fear-but she quickly masked it with her

usual superior smirk.

“I have no idea what you're babbling about, Sera. Maybe you should focus on your work instead of whatever

fantasy life you're living in

your head.”

“Fantasy?” | laughed, the sound sharp enough to make her take a small step backward. “That's interesting. Tell

me, Anna, have you talked

to your dear friend Valerie lately?”

The change in Anna's expression was instantaneous and delicious. Her fake smile faltered, replaced by

something much more genuine.

“What's that supposed to mean?” she asked, though her voice had lost its earlier confidence.

“Nothing at all,” | said innocently, returning my attention to my computer screen. “I just thought you might have

heard from her. You two

are such good friends, after all. I'm sure she tells you everything”

| could feel Anna's eyes boring into me, could practically hear the gears turning in her head as she tried to figure

out what g| was playing. After a long moment, she spun on her designer heels and stalked away, pulling out

her phone as she disappeared into the break

room.

From my desk, | could hear the muffled sound of her voice rising in pitch as she apparently tried calling Valerie.

Once, twice, three times. Each attempt seemed to increase her frustration.

When she finally emerged from the break room twenty minutes later, her perfect makeup couldn't hide the pale

undertone of her skin. Our eyes met across the office space, and for the first tsince I'd known her, Anna

Blackwood looked genuinely shaken.

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40 Chapter 40

She didn’t cnear my desk for the rest of the morning.

The peace was both welcand slightly unnerving. For years, Anna had made my life miserable with casual

cruelty and calculated humiliation. To have her suddenly keeping her distance felt almost anticlimactic.

“Ayla,” | said quietly to my wolf as | organized Damien's afternoon schedule, “what exactly happened tothe

other night?”

My wolf stirred in my mind, her presence more solid and aware than it had ever been before. *I’'m not entirely

sure, she admitted, her mental voice thoughtful. *But something changed when that bitch threatened our pup.

Something... awakened.*

“Awakened?”

*The strength, the claws, the rage-none of that was normal omega behavior. Hell, it wasn’t normal behavior for

most wolves, period.* Ayla paused, and | could feel her confusion mixing with my own. *It felt like... like some

part of us that had been sleeping suddenly woke up.*

| touched my fingertips absently, remembering how my nails had lengthened into deadly claws, how I'd lifted

Valerie off the ground with supernatural ease. The memory should have terrified me. Instead, it filledwith a

strange sense of rightness.

“Do you think it’s connected to my bloodline?” | asked. “To whoever my real parents were?”

*Maybe.* Ayla’s mental voice grew quieter. *Your adoptive parents never told you anything about where you

cfrom, did they?*

“Nothing,” | confirmed bitterly. “Elizabeth always said | was just sorphan they'd taken in out of the goodness

of their hearts. But

now...”

Now | wasn't so sure. The Knights had takenin when | was eight years old, old enough to remember

fragments of my life before. But those memories were hazy, dreamlike, as if someone had deliberately tried to

makeforget.

“Seraphina?”

| looked up to find Claire standing beside my desk, her elegant face creased with concern. “Are you alright, dear?

You looked like you were a million miles away.”

Before | could respond, the elevator chimed and Damien stepped onto the floor. Even after everything we'd

shared, everything that had been revealed between us, the sight of him still made my breath catch in my throat.

His eyes found mine immediately, and the intensity of his gaze made my pulse quicken. There was something

different about the way he looked atnow-something warmer, more possessive, Like | was something precious

he’d finally claimed.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” he said, his voice carrying that familiar note of authority that made lesser wolves

automatically step back. But when his gaze shifted to me, his tone softened almost imperceptibly. “Seraphina,

could | speak with you for a moment?”

| followed him into his office, hyperaware of the curious glances from other employees. The moment the door

closed behind us, atmosphere shifted, becoming charged with the selectricity that had crackled between us

in my bedroom.

the

“How are you feeling?” Damien asked, moving around his desk but not sitting down. Instead, he leaned against

the edge, his penetrating blue eyes studying my face with careful attention.

“Better,” | said honestly. “The bruises are fading, and | slept well last night | paused, remembering the peaceful

security of having him in

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40 Chapter 40

my apartment, the way Adrian had claimed him like he belonged there. “Thank you again. For everything”

“You don’t need to thank me,” Damien said, his voice rough with an emotion I couldn't quite identify. “Taking

care of you and Adrian-it's

not a favor, Seraphina. It's what | want to do.”

The words sent warmth spiraling through my chest, but before | could respond, he continued.

“Actually, that’s what | wanted to talk to you about. | made a promise to someone very important, and | need to

keep it.”

“A promise?”

Damien’s lips curved into a smile that transformed his entire face, making him look younger and almost boyish

despite his commanding

presence. “I promised a certain four-year-old that | would spend twith him today. But | think his mother

should cas well.”

“I'll wait for you after work. Wear something comfortable.”

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