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

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

through the

my knees with grief and guilt. Instead, all I

chest like ice

for the medical bills now?”

climbing,” Elizabeth said, her voice hollow. “The insurance barely covers anything,

hospital if we

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

need money, Valerie. Real money. Not the fantasy bullshit you’ve

moved to my ears, my wrists, my neck. “That necklace you’re wearing-the

it cost?”

throat, the one with the small diamond pendant that was

expensive thing I owned.

“Mother, no. This is-”

“How much, Valerie?”

I admitted reluctantly. “But Gabriel saved for

“Special? Your father is dying, we’re about

fucking necklace being special?”

not just the necklace!” I exploded, my carefully controlled facade finally cracking completely. “You want me to sell

my rings? Everything Gabriel has given

I could smell the desperation rolling off her like sour sweat.

his

my cheeks and stinging in the open scratches. “At least

to put a ring on my finger! Which is more than I can say for

palm connected with my injured cheek with enough force to make me see

deeper cuts split open again, sending fresh

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

father dies?”

really think? I think Dad is better off dying than living with

came harder this time, but I was ready for it. I caught Elizabeth’s wrist

10.30

31A

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39 Chapter 39

and slam her against the

her ear. “I sure as

and spinning to face me. Her hair was disheveled, her makeup

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

medical bills is going to change

Elizabeth said finally, her voice shaking with fury.

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

to rattle the

more time and headed for the bedroom. I had

the bedroom

on our unmade bed, completely naked except for a

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

sounds of his self-gratification filled the small room like