Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

156 Chapter 156

Seraphina’s POV 1

My heart hammered against my ribs as the footsteps behind me quickened. The sound echoed off the narrow buildings lining the street,

creating an eerie chorus that made my skin crawl.

*Move. Just keep moving.*

I clutched my grocery bag tighter, the plastic handles cutting into my palm. The bread was getting squished, but I didn’t care. All I cared

about was getting home. Getting somewhere safe. Getting away from whoever was following me.

The streetlights cast long shadows between the buildings, creating perfect hiding spots for anyone who wanted to stay unseen. But I

could still hear him back there. Still feel his presence like a weight pressing against my spine.

I turned right at the next corner, hoping to circle back toward the main street where there would be more people. More witnesses. More

safety.

But the footsteps turned too.

*Shit.*

My hands were shaking now, making it hard to keep hold of the grocery bag. The peanut butter jar rattled against the loaf of bread with

each step. Such normal, everyday sounds. Nothing like the terror pounding through my veins.

The footsteps sped up.

*Run.*

The thought hit me like lightning. I dropped all pretense of casual walking and broke into a sprint, my sneakers slapping against the wet

pavement. Behind me, I heard a grunt of surprise, then the sound of heavier footsteps giving chase.

*He’s following. He’s actually following me.*

I turned left into what I thought was another street, only to realize too late that it was an alley. A dead-end alley with brick walls on

nowhere to go but back

Where he was waiting.

grocery bag falling to the ground with a wet

of the alley, silhouetted

than I’d thought. Broader. The kind of size that

called out, his voice slurred and

hit me then-alcohol and something else. Something sour and unwashed that

was just heading home,” I managed, my voice coming out

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could see his face in the dim

his tone that suggested the opposite. “Just thought

each other.”

pressed harder against the wall,

to get home,” I said, trying to keep my voice

lie came automatically, desperately. But the man just

He looked around the

Ayla, I couldn’t rely on supernatural strength or speed. But

“I understand you’ve been drinking. Maybe you’re just looking for someone to talk to. But I’m not the right person. There are bars a few blocks over. Lots of people who’d be

head, studying me like I was a particularly interesting

said.

you, but I really do

I could see the broken blood vessels in his eyes. “Night’s still

got time.”

trying to put some distance between us without making it obvious. “My husband gets worried when I’m

he repeated, and there was something mocking in his voice now. “Where’s

wear it when I go out

girl.” His smile got wider. “Very

the wind. “What do you say we go somewhere more comfortable?” the

too-friendly tone that sent ice through my veins. “I know

sharper than I intended. “No, I can’t.

his

voice losing some of its false friendliness. “Don’t be like that. I’m

wall behind me, feeling for any crack or gap that might give me leverage. Anything I could

stone and the growing certainty that this was about to