Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

39 Chapter 39

39 Chapter 39

Valerie’s POV 1

The taste of blood still lingered in my mouth as I stumbled up the front steps of our shabby apartment complex, my designer dress torn and stained with dirt and my own blood. Every step sent fresh waves of pain shooting through my ribs where that freak Seraphina had

thrown me into the trophy case like I was nothing more than a ragdoll.

My hands shook as I fumbled with my keys, the metal slipping between my fingers that were slick with blood from the glass cuts. The hallway light flickered overhead, casting sickly yellow shadows that made everything look even more pathetic than usual.

“Fucking bitch,” I muttered under my breath, finally managing to unlock the door. “Fucking psycho omega freak.”

But the moment I stepped inside, I knew something was wrong. The apartment was trashed-not just Gabriel’s usual slovenly mess, but actually destroyed. Couch cushions were slashed open, stuffing scattered across the floor like snow. Our cheap particleboard

entertainment center had been kicked in, the television screen spider-webbed with cracks.

“What the hell-”

“Valerie!” My mother’s voice cracked like a whip from the kitchen doorway. Elizabeth emerged from the shadows, and for the first time in my life, she looked genuinely terrified. Her perfect blonde hair was disheveled, mascara streaked down her cheeks in dark rivulets, and

her hands were shaking as she clutched a dish towel like a lifeline.

“Mother?” I stared at the destruction around us, my brain struggling to process what I was seeing. “What happened here? Where’s-”

“Look at your face!” Elizabeth shrieked suddenly, her eyes focusing on the bloody scratches that decorated my cheek like war paint. “My

God, what did that little bitch do to you?”

I rushed to the bathroom mirror, and what I saw there made my blood turn to ice. Four parallel gashes ran from my temple to my jaw,

deep enough to scar, deep enough to ruin the perfect face I’d spent years perfecting. Blood had dried in ugly brown streaks, and I could

see that some of the cuts were still oozing.

“That psychotic whore!” I screamed, spinning around to face my mother. “Look what she did to me! LOOK AT MY FACE!”

“Harold came here. With friends. Big friends. They were not happy about your little failure.”

The bottom dropped out of my stomach. “Harold was here?”

“He wanted his money back,” Elizabeth said bitterly, gesturing at the destruction around us. “Fifty thousand dollars for a wife, he said.

Since you couldn’t deliver the merchandise, he felt entitled to compensation.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him the truth-that you’re a worthless disappointment who can’t even handle one pathetic omega!” Elizabeth’s voice rose to a shrick that made the broken windows rattle. “He took everything he could carry. Your father’s golf clubs, my jewelry, even the good china we got for our wedding” 1

“Where’s Dad?” I asked, though I already dreaded the answer.

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39 Chapter 39

hardness returned. “The stress triggered another episode. They don’t know if

through

should have brought me to my knees with grief and guilt. Instead, all I felt was a cold

chest

the medical bills now?”

her voice hollow. “The insurance barely covers

hospital if

I saw something in her eyes that I’d never seen before-desperation so

Not the fantasy bullshit you’ve been feeding me

“That necklace you’re

it cost?”

delicate gold chain at my throat,

expensive thing I owned.

“Mother, no. This is-”

“How much, Valerie?”

I admitted reluctantly. “But Gabriel saved for months to buy it for

“Special? Your father is dying, we’re about to lose everything, and

fucking necklace being special?”

not just the necklace!” I exploded, my carefully controlled facade finally cracking

my bracelet? And my

rolling off her like sour sweat. “He’s a loser, Valerie! A

can’t even get his own brother to acknowledge

least he chose me!” I screamed back, tears streaming down my cheeks and stinging in the open

a ring on my finger! Which is more than I

it coming. Elizabeth’s palm connected with my injured cheek with enough

cuts split open

little bitch, Elizabeth hissed, her voice dropping to something cold and dangerous. “I sacrificed everything for you. I scrimp and save so you could have nice clothes and a good education. And this is how you repay me? By clinging to cheap

father dies?”

split lip. “You want to know what I really think? I think Dad is better off dying than living with a greedy bitch like you for another

ready for it. I caught Elizabeth’s wrist and twisted, using every ounce of

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39 Chapter 39

and slam her

EVER hit me again!” I snarled in her ear. “I sure as hell

free from my grip and spinning to face me. Her hair was disheveled, her makeup smeared, and there was actual fear in her eyes for the first

blood from my mouth. “But at least I’m not stupid enough to throw good money after bad.

medical bills is going to change

finally, her voice shaking

with as much dignity as she could muster and headed for the door. The door slammed

to

from my face one more time and headed for the

open the bedroom door

bed, completely naked except for a pair

balanced on his soft stomach, the screen displaying some hardcore pornography that made my stomach turn. His right

of his self-gratification filled the small