Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

9 Chapter 9

Seraphina’s POV 1

After what felt like the longest afternoon of my professional life, | finally managed to complete all the

arrangements for tomorrow's dinner party at eight o'clock. My phone had been buzzing incessantly with calls

from Ophelia, each message more frantic than the last. She'd already picked up Adrian from school, and

according to her increasingly tic voicemails, my four-year-old son was practically bouncing off the walls

with excitement about his first day, demanding to know when his mommy would be coming home.

When | finally escaped the office building, | found Ophelia leaning against her car in the parking garage, arms

crossed and wearing the expression of someone who'd been plotting my lecture for the past hour. Adrian was

secured in his car seat in the back, his little face pressed against the window as he waved enthusiastically at me.

“Mommy!” he called out, his voice muffled by the glass but his excitement unmistakable.

My heart melted instantly, washing away the stress of the day like magic. | slipped into the passenger seat and

immediately twisted

around to face him.

“Hey, my little man! How was your first day at the big kid school?”

“It was AMAZING!” Adrian bounced in his seat as much as his safety harness would allow. “I made three new

friends, and the teacher said | was very smart, and we painted pictures of our families, and-"

“Whoa, slow down there, champ,” | laughed, reaching back to ruffle his dark curls. “We'll talk about everything

over dinner, okay? Right

now we need to get you ssupplies for tomorrow.”

Ophelia started the engine but kept glancing atin the rearview mirror with barely contained curiosity. “Sera,

you look like you've been through a war zone. What exactly happened on day one of your fancy new job?”

| let out a long, tic sigh. “Ophelia, | think I might need to dust off my resand start job hunting again.”

Her foot slammed on the brake so hard we all lurched forward. Adrian giggled at the sudden stop, but Ophelia

whipped around to stare

atwith genuine horror.

“Are you tellingyou got FIRED? On your FIRST DAY?” Her voice rose to a pitch that probably only dogs could

fully appreciate.

“Not fired exactly,” | said quickly, waving my hands to calm her down before she gave herself an aneurysm.

“More like... hated by my new

boss.”

As we drove toward the mall, | regaled them with the tale of my telephone encounters with the mysterious and

apparently psychotic Mr.

Nightshadow. By the tOphelia pulled into a parking space, she was laughing so hard she was crying, and

even Adrian was giggling

from the backseat despite not understanding half the story.

“Sera,” Ophelia gasped, wiping tears from her eyes, “you are absolutely incredible! Do you realize that most

people would have quit after

the first phone call? And you not only survived two conversations with an angry Alpha, but you actually argued

with him!”

| slumpedin my seat, feeling the full weight of my impending professional doom. “Yeah, well, tomorrow when he

seesface to face,

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9 Chapter 9

he’ll probably have security escortout of the building.”

Ophelia reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it firmly. “Hey, look at me. Even if that happens-which it

won’t-you know I've got your back, right? You and Adrian will never be without support. We're family.”

The warmth in her voice made my throat tight with emotion. After years of feeling completely alone in the world,

having someone who

cared this much still felt like a miracle.

“Con,” she said, unbuckling her seatbelt with renewed energy. “Let’s go buy this little genius sschool

supplies and maybe find you something that'll knock your boss’s socks off tomorrow.”

We spent the next hour wandering through the mall, checking items off Adrian's school supply list. We were

heading toward the toy store-Adrian’s reward for being such a good sport about shopping-when | stopped dead

in my tracks in front of an upscale boutique. There, displayed in the window like a piece of art, was the most

breathtaking dress I'd ever seen.

The emerald green fabric seemed to shimmer under the boutique’s carefully arranged lighting, the color so rich

and deep. The cut was elegant but not overly conservative-sophisticated enough for a corporate environment

but with enough style to make a statement. It was similar to the dress Ophelia had convincedto wear to that

fateful Lunar Assembly five years ago, but this one was clearly in a

different league entirely.

“Oh my,” | breathed, pressing my nose against the glass like a child staring at candy.

Ophelia followed my gaze and immediately grabbed my arm. “We're going in.”

“Are you insane?” | hissed, glancing at the price tag visible on a nearby garment and feeling my wallet cry out in

pain. “Ophelia, that dress

probably costs more than my rent!”

“Sera, listen to me.” She turned to face me, her expression suddenly serious. “You're not working at sdingy

little office anymore.

You're now the senior assistant to one of the most powerful Alphas in the werewolf world. Image matters in that

environment, whether

we like it or not.”

| started to protest, but she held up a hand to stop me.

“Besides,” she continued, a mischievous glint returning to her eyes, “when your terrifying boss sees you wearing

that dress, he’s going to

be so stunned he'll forget all about wanting to fire you. You'll knock him completely off balance.”

“Ophelia-"

“Also, you deserve something beautiful. When's the last tyou bought yourself anything that wasn’t

absolutely necessary for survival?”

| opened my mouth to answer and realized | couldn't remember. Between working multiple jobs, putting myself

through school, and

raising Adrian, there hadn’t been money or tfor anything that could be considered a luxury.

“If you don’t go in there and try on that dress right now,” Ophelia said with mock sternness, “I'm going to march

in there myself, buy it,

and then you'll have no choice but to wear it.”

“Ophelia, | can’t let you-"

“Try me.”

09

214

“Fine,” | sighed, “but I'm not promising to buy anything.”

The boutique’s interior was even more intimidating than the window display. Everything was cream and gold,

with soft lighting that made even the simplest garments look like they belonged in a museum. A sales associate

approached us immediately.

“Good afternoon, ladies. How may | assist you today?”

| pointed somewhat sheepishly toward the window display. “I was wondering if | could try on that green dress?”

Her face lit up with genuine enthusiasm. “Oh, excellent choice! That piece just arrived from Milan. Letgrab it

in your size-I'd

estimate you're a six?”

“She’s a perfect six,” Ophelia chimed in before | could respond.

Within minutes, | found myself in an opulent fitting room that was larger than my first apartment, staring at the

dress hanging on its padded hanger. The fabric felt like liquid silk under my fingers, and the weight of it

suggested quality that I'd never experienced before.

| slipped it on and immediately understood why it had cost so much. The dress didn’t just fit-it transformed me.

The emerald color made my skin glow and turned my eyes into brilliant jewels. The cut accentuated every curve

while somehow makinglook taller and

more confident. When | turned to face the mirror, | barely recognized myself.

“Sera!” Ophelia’s voice cfrom outside the fitting room, filled with barely contained impatience. “Get out

here before | break down

this door!”

| took a deep breath and stepped out of the fitting room. Ophelia’s hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide with

something that looked

almost like shock. The sales associate actually gasped audibly.

“Oh my goodness,” the woman breathed, circling aroundlike | was a sculpture she was examining. “I've been

in fashion retail for twenty years, and | have never seen a dress fit someone so perfectly. It's like it was designed

specifically for your body.”

| turned to look at myself in the three-way mirror and felt my breath catch. The woman looking back atbore

little resemblance to the exhausted single mother who'd been running on coffee and determination for the past

five years. This woman looked powerful,

confident, beautiful-like someone who belonged in boardrooms and corner offices.

“I have to have it,” | heard myself saying, surprising everyone including myself.