Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

26 Chapter 26

Seraphina’s POV 1

The next morning, I arrived at Nightshadow Industries with dark circles under my eyes and a heavy heart that felt like it had been carved out of lead. I’d spent the entire night staring at my bedroom ceiling, replaying every moment from the lobby encounter, every word Anna

had spoken, every second of Damien’s devastating silence.

As I settled into my desk, I could hear Anna’s shrill laughter echoing from the break room, already holding court with whoever was

unfortunate enough to be within earshot.

“Oh, it’s such a romantic story!” her voice carried across the marble floors like fingernails on a chalkboard. “Five years we’ve been apart,

but true love always finds a way, doesn’t it?”

I forced myself to focus on my computer screen, pulling up Damien’s schedule for the day and trying to ignore the way my

tightened every time I heard Anna’s voice. Professional composure, I reminded myself. That was all I had left.

chest

At exactly nine o’clock, Anna sauntered over to my desk wearing a blood-red dress that was so tight it looked like it had been painted on. Her platinum blonde hair was styled in perfect waves, and her makeup was applied with the precision of someone preparing for a photo

shoot rather than a day at the office.

“Good morning, bestie!” she chirped, plopping herself onto the corner of my desk with enough force to scatter my carefully organized

paperwork. “Isn’t this just like old times? Working together again!”

I gathered the scattered papers with steady hands, not trusting myself to look directly at her. “Good morning, Anna. If you don’t mind, I

have quite a bit of work to catch up on.”

“Oh, work!” Anna waved her hand dismissively, her perfectly manicured nails catching the morning light. “Don’t worry about that silly little stuff. I’ll handle all the important tasks. You just focus on… I don’t know, filing or something. The boring omega work.”

Before I could respond, the elevator chimed, and Damien stepped onto the floor. He looked devastatingly handsome in his charcoal gray suit, his dark hair perfectly styled and his blue eyes scanning the office with that familiar intensity. When his gaze landed on me,

something flickered across his expressio.

Anna immediately sprang into action, practically launching herself from my desk to intercept him before he could reach his office.

“Damien, darling!” she cooed, pressing herself against his side with the subtlety of a freight train. “I was just organizing our work division with Sera. I thought I could handle all your personal scheduling and important meetings, while she takes care of the more… basic

administrative tasks.”

I watched Damien’s jaw tighten almost imperceptibly. “Miss Blackwood, I believe Claire explained the office hierarchy yesterday.

my senior assistant. She

wavered, but I caught the flash of irritation in her eyes.

you might

relationships in my office,” Damien cut her off, his voice carrying that particular edge that made smart

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back. “There is work, and

that declaration, he strode into his office and

mask slipped for just a moment, revealing something ugly and calculating beneath the surface. But the moment passed

back to me with false brightness, “I suppose we’ll just have to work extra hard to

professional efficiency-answering phones with crisp politeness, organizing files with impressive speed, even bringing him coffee with the kind of deferential respect that would have impressed

moment his door closed, however, Anna transformed into something

desk.

important work to handle

protest, she leaned closer, her voice dropping to a

for greatness, and

you fall

for every task Anna didn’t want to handle herself. She’d managed to

her personal coffee runs, all while maintaining

within sight.

the last of Anna’s neglected reports when Damien’s phone rang with the sharp, urgent tone reserved for

emergencies.

concern. “How bad? … When did this start? …

hour.”

began gathering files from his desk, his movements

crisis that required an Alpha’s immediate

reaching for my phone to call the corporate jet pilot when Anna shouldered past me,

this,” she announced, grabbing the phone from my hand.

been managing his travel for weeks. I know his

interrupted with a smug smile. “Trust me, darling, I

As your future Luna, I should be involved in

wind. “This is a territorial

make the windows

her perfect mask slipping to reveal

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files and strode

the elevator doors closed behind him, Anna’s entire demeanor shifted. The sweet, simpering mask fell away

made my

could react, Anna’s hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of

Her perfectly manicured nails bit into my skin as

you pathetic little omega,” she hissed, her voice dripping with the same venom I remembered from