Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

17 Chapter 17

Damien’s POV 1

The moment Valerie’s venomous words left her lips, I felt like my brain was being consumed by a toxic mixture of jealousy and rage. The scent of fear and tension radiating from my mate hit me like a physical blow, making Alex snarl with protective fury in my mind.

Valerie had always been a repulsive creature. Ever since her wedding to my half-brother Gabriel-a pathetic excuse for a wolf who was nothing more than my father’s bastard son-she’d pursued me relentlessly. Gabriel himself was utterly worthless, a man I barely acknowledged beyond providing him with enough money to stay out of my way and out of trouble.

But Valerie’s appearance today, first insulting my mate in my own office and now this public humiliation, ignited something murderous in my chest. Her words were like poison injected directly into my bloodstream. Sera-my mate-had been with that useless waste of

space Gabriel? The brilliant, beautiful child she’d spoken of with such fierce love… was he Gabriel’s?

I watched security drag Valerie away, her shrieks echoing through the restaurant like the cries of a banshee.

Standing there with every eye in the restaurant fixed on us, I stared into Sera’s face-those magnificent emerald eyes now blazing with hurt and fury-and waited for her to deny it. All she had to do was say no, and I would have believed her without question. I would have

torn Valerie apart for even suggesting such filth.

Instead, Sera’s face went through a series of expressions-shock, pain, and finally, a rage so pure it made my wolf whimper with regret.

When she turned her back on me and walked away with her head held high, every instinct I possessed screamed at me to follow her, to

beg her forgiveness.

“You’re an idiot,” Lucas said quietly, appearing at my shoulder as the crowd began to disperse with obvious disappointment at the end of

the show. “A complete and total idiot.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion,” I growled, my eyes still fixed on the spot where Sera had disappeared.

“Well, you’re getting it anyway.” Lucas’s voice carried the particular tone he used when he was about to deliver harsh truths I didn’t want

to hear. “That woman just organized a flawless dinner party in under twenty-four hours, handled your impossible demands without

breaking, stood up to your sister-in-law’s public humiliation with more grace than most alphas could manage, and you repaid her loyalty

by immediately believing the worst.”

Each word hit like a physical blow, and I knew he was right. The moment Valerie had started spewing her poison, I should have shut her

down completely. Instead, I’d let jealousy and possessiveness cloud my judgment.

The other dinner guests were beginning to disperse. I could already imagine how this story would spread through the werewolf social

networks.

“I need to go after her,” I said, finally breaking free of whatever paralysis had gripped me.

“About damn time,” Lucas muttered, but there was relief in his voice.

restaurant’s revolving doors into the cool night air, my eyes scanning the

faint but discernible-vanilla and jasmine tinged with the salt of tears and

114

I followed the trail on foot for several blocks, my wolf

my car, I was already pulling out

when I caught a glimpse of emerald fabric getting

see that it wasn’t a taxi. I gunned the engine, weaving through traffic with reckless abandon as I tried to keep the sedan in

through increasingly

his mental voice tight with panic. “Something’s wrong. Can’t you

a modest house on a quiet side street. Through my windshield,

a distance, I could see that Sera’s movements were sluggish, uncoordinated.

pull away from his grip, the motion was

had drugged my

intense that

demanding we shift and tear this pathetic excuse for a

man drag Sera up the front steps, watched her stumble and nearly fall, watched her mouth open in what

for help that was too

house, I was out of my car and shifting before my

and my human consciousness merged with Alex’s primal fury

single, burning purpose.

*Protect. Mate.*

than ten seconds, but it felt like

danger. Alex’s massive silver form hit the ground running, powerful legs eating up the distance between

great

a glimpse of movement-Sera slumped on

a surge of murderous

sound that carried every ounce of fury and territorial

paper. I hit it at full speed with my shoulder, and it exploded inward

and twisted metal. The frame cracked, the hinges tore free from the wall, and the entire door

room to crash into the

written across his face. Up close, I could see exactly

hair disheveled, her beautiful emerald eyes glazed with whatever drug

incapacitate her.

She was breathing. That was all that mattered in

stumbled backward, his hands raised in a gesture of surrender that would have been laughable

09.19

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silver coat rippling with muscle and my eyes burning with supernatural fire. My

designed for

if he could somehow disappear

swear I didn’t know!”

fluid grace, my expensive suit somehow