Mated to My Fiancé's Alpha King Brother Chapter 31

Valerie’s POV

The drive toward the territorial borders felt endless, made worse by the constant chatter coming from the back seat. Adrian had been asking questions nonstop for the past hour, his little voice bright with excitent and hope that made my teeth clench with irritation.

"Are we almost there? When will I see my daddy? What does he look like? Does he know about ?"

Each innocent question was like fingernails on a chalkboard. I glanced in the rearview mirror at the child strapped into Gabriel’s old car seat—a pathetic piece of safety equipnt that had seen better days, much like everything else in my miserable life. Adrian’s dark curls were ssed from leaning against the window.

"Soon," I said tersely, not bothering to hide my annoyance anymore. "We’ll be there soon, and then you can ask him all the questions you want."

Adrian bounced excitedly in his seat, pressing his small hands against the window as we passed increasingly sparse neighborhoods. "Will he like ? Mommy says I’m a good boy. I can tie my shoes now, and I know all my letters!"

"I’m sure he’ll be... thrilled," I muttered, pressing harder on the accelerator. The sooner I finished this unpleasant task.

The residential areas gradually gave way to industrial zones, then to empty lots and finally to the wild forestland that marked the outer boundaries of our territory. This was as far as I could go without crossing into rogue territory—dangerous, lawless land where pack protection didn’t extend and anything could happen to an unwary traveler.

Perfect for my purposes.

I’d heard the reports over the past few months about increased rogue activity in this area. Lone wolves and outcasts who’d been banished from their packs, desperate and dangerous, with nothing left to lose. They wouldn’t hesitate to attack anything they perceived as weak or vulnerable.

Like a four-year-old child who hadn’t even had his first shift yet.

"Aunt Valerie?" Adrian’s voice had grown smaller as he noticed the changing landscape outside his window. "This doesn’t look like where people live. Where are we going?"

"We’re almost there," I said, pulling off the main road onto a dirt track that led deeper into the forest. The car bounced and jolted over the uneven ground, and I could hear Adrian’s confused whimpering from the back seat as branches scraped against the windows.

"I don’t like this place," he said, his voice trembling with the first hints of fear. "It’s scary. Can we go back to Mommy now?"

"Not yet," I said, my voice sharp enough to make him flinch. "We have sothing important to do first."

The dirt track ended in a small clearing surrounded by thick forest on all sides. Perfect. Remote enough that no one would find him quickly, but not so deep that I’d get lost trying to find my way back out. I put the car in park and turned to face the child who was looking at with growing uncertainty.

"Alright," I said briskly, unbuckling my seatbelt. "Out you get."

"But where’s my daddy?" Adrian asked, his eyes darting around the empty clearing. "You said he was here."

"He’s waiting for you in the forest," I lied smoothly, getting out of the car and opening his door. "Co on. He’s been waiting a very long ti to et you."

Adrian hesitated, his small hands gripping the edge of his car seat. "I don’t see anyone. And Mommy said I should never go into the forest alone."

"You won’t be alone," I said, my patience finally reaching its breaking point. "Your daddy will be there. Don’t you want to et him?"

The child’s desperate desire to find his father won out over his caution. He unbuckled himself and climbed out of the car, his small hand reaching automatically for mine.

I led him to the edge of the forest, where the trees grew thick enough to block out most of the late afternoon sunlight. The air was cooler here, carrying the earthy scent of decomposing leaves and sothing else—sothing wild and predatory that made my wolf pace uneasily in my mind.

"He’s in there?" Adrian asked, staring into the shadowy depths between the trees. "It looks really dark."

"Don’t worry," I said, crouching down to his level and speaking in the sa sweet tone I’d used at the school. "Your daddy loves playing hide and seek. He’s waiting for you to find him."

I guided him several steps into the forest, far enough that he wouldn’t be visible from the clearing but not so far that I’d have trouble finding my way back. When we reached a small cluster of fallen logs, I stopped.

"There," I said, pointing deeper into the forest where the shadows grew thickest. "I think I see him! Do you see that movent between those trees?"

Adrian squinted into the darkness, hope and fear warring on his small face. "I... I don’t see anything."

"Look harder," I insisted, already backing away from him. "He’s there, waiting for you. Go find him!"

"Wait!" Adrian turned toward , panic flickering in those distinctive blue eyes. "Don’t leave ! I want to go with you!"

But I was already moving, my high heels clicking against the forest floor as I hurried back toward the clearing. Behind , I could hear Adrian calling out—first to , then to his imaginary father, his voice growing smaller and more frightened with each passing second.

"Aunt Valerie! Co back! I can’t find him! AUNT VALERIE!"

By the ti I reached my car, Adrian’s voice had faded to a distant cry echoing through the trees. I slamd the door and started the engine, the sound drowning out whatever final pleas he might have been making.

The phone rang just as I reached the main road, Elizabeth’s na flashing on the display. I answered imdiately, eager for good news.

"Please tell you have her locked up sowhere," I said without preamble. "Because I just finished handling my end of the bargain, and I want my money."

"We have a problem," Elizabeth’s voice ca through the speaker, tight with rage and sothing that sounded like pain. "That little bitch attacked us! She hit Harold with a wine bottle and bit —ACTUALLY BIT —and then she ran off!"

I nearly swerved off the road in shock. "What do you an she ran off? How could you let one oga overpower both of you?"

"She fought like a rabid animal!" Elizabeth shrieked. "Harold’s unconscious, bleeding all over my carpet, and my arm looks like it was mauled by a wolf! We had to call an ambulance!"

"That’s my money bleeding all over your carpet!" I shouted back, my voice rising to match hers. "Do you have any idea what I just sacrificed to make this work? What I had to do?"

"I don’t care what you had to do! Harold might not even want her anymore after this! He’s talking about pressing charges, about how dangerous she is—"

"Then MAKE him want her!" I interrupted, rage making my voice crack. "Tie her up, drug her, I don’t care what you have to do! But I am not walking away from this empty-handed!"