Mated to My Fiancé's Alpha King Brother Chapter 9

Seraphina’s POV

After what felt like the longest afternoon of my professional life, I finally managed to complete all the arrangents for tomorrow’s dinner party at eight o’clock. My phone had been buzzing incessantly with calls from Ophelia, each ssage more frantic than the last. She’d already picked up Adrian from school, and according to her increasingly dramatic voicemails, my four-year-old son was practically bouncing off the walls with excitent about his first day, demanding to know when his mommy would be coming ho.

When I finally escaped the office building, I found Ophelia leaning against her car in the parking garage, arms crossed and wearing the expression of soone who’d been plotting my lecture for the past hour. Adrian was secured in his car seat in the back, his little face pressed against the window as he waved enthusiastically at .

"Mommy!" he called out, his voice muffled by the glass but his excitent unmistakable.

My heart lted instantly, washing away the stress of the day like magic. I slipped into the passenger seat and imdiately twisted around to face him.

"Hey, my little man! How was your first day at the big kid school?"

"It was AMAZING!" Adrian bounced in his seat as much as his safety harness would allow. "I made three new friends, and the teacher said I was very smart, and we painted pictures of our families, and—"

"Whoa, slow down there, champ," I laughed, reaching back to ruffle his dark curls. "We’ll talk about everything over dinner, okay? Right now we need to get you so supplies for tomorrow."

Ophelia started the engine but kept glancing at in the rearview mirror with barely contained curiosity. "Sera, you look like you’ve been through a war zone. What exactly happened on day one of your fancy new job?"

I let out a long, dramatic sigh. "Ophelia, I think I might need to dust off my resu and start job hunting again."

Her foot slamd on the brake so hard we all lurched forward. Adrian giggled at the sudden stop, but Ophelia whipped around to stare at with genuine horror.

"Are you telling you got FIRED? On your FIRST DAY?" Her voice rose to a pitch that probably only dogs could fully appreciate.

"Not fired exactly," I said quickly, waving my hands to calm her down before she gave herself an aneurysm. "More like... hated by my new boss."

As we drove toward the mall, I regaled them with the tale of my telephone encounters with the mysterious and apparently psychotic Mr. Nightshadow. By the ti Ophelia pulled into a parking space, she was laughing so hard she was crying, and even Adrian was giggling from the backseat despite not understanding half the story.

"Sera," Ophelia gasped, wiping tears from her eyes, "you are absolutely incredible! Do you realize that most people would have quit after the first phone call? And you not only survived two conversations with an angry Alpha, but you actually argued with him!"

I slumped in my seat, feeling the full weight of my impending professional doom. "Yeah, well, tomorrow when he sees face to face, he’ll probably have security escort out of the building."

Ophelia reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it firmly. "Hey, look at . Even if that happens—which it won’t—you know I’ve got your back, right? You and Adrian will never be without support. We’re family."

The warmth in her voice made my throat tight with emotion. After years of feeling completely alone in the world, having soone who cared this much still felt like a miracle.

"Co on," she said, unbuckling her seatbelt with renewed energy. "Let’s go buy this little genius so school supplies and maybe find you sothing that’ll knock your boss’s socks off tomorrow."

We spent the next hour wandering through the mall, checking items off Adrian’s school supply list. We were heading toward the toy store—Adrian’s reward for being such a good sport about shopping—when I stopped dead in my tracks in front of an upscale boutique. There, displayed in the window like a piece of art, was the most breathtaking dress I’d ever seen.

The erald green fabric seed to shimr under the boutique’s carefully arranged lighting, the color so rich and deep. The cut was elegant but not overly conservative—sophisticated enough for a corporate environnt but with enough style to make a statent. It was similar to the dress Ophelia had convinced to wear to that fateful Lunar Assembly five years ago, but this one was clearly in a different league entirely.

"Oh my," I breathed, pressing my nose against the glass like a child staring at candy.

Ophelia followed my gaze and imdiately grabbed my arm. "We’re going in."

"Are you insane?" I hissed, glancing at the price tag visible on a nearby garnt and feeling my wallet cry out in pain. "Ophelia, that dress probably costs more than my rent!"

"Sera, listen to ." She turned to face , her expression suddenly serious. "You’re not working at so dingy little office anymore. You’re now the senior assistant to one of the most powerful Alphas in the werewolf world. Image matters in that environnt, whether we like it or not."

I started to protest, but she held up a hand to stop .

"Besides," she continued, a mischievous glint returning to her eyes, "when your terrifying boss sees you wearing that dress, he’s going to be so stunned he’ll forget all about wanting to fire you. You’ll knock him completely off balance."

"Ophelia—"

"Also, you deserve sothing beautiful. When’s the last ti you bought yourself anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary for survival?"

I opened my mouth to answer and realized I couldn’t rember. Between working multiple jobs, putting myself through school, and raising Adrian, there hadn’t been money or ti for anything that could be considered a luxury.

"If you don’t go in there and try on that dress right now," Ophelia said with mock sternness, "I’m going to march in there myself, buy it, and then you’ll have no choice but to wear it."

"Ophelia, I can’t let you—"

"Try ."

"Fine," I sighed, "but I’m not promising to buy anything."

The boutique’s interior was even more intimidating than the window display. Everything was cream and gold, with soft lighting that made even the simplest garnts look like they belonged in a museum. A sales associate approached us imdiately.

"Good afternoon, ladies. How may I assist you today?"

I pointed sowhat sheepishly toward the window display. "I was wondering if I could try on that green dress?"

Her face lit up with genuine enthusiasm. "Oh, excellent choice! That piece just arrived from Milan. Let grab it in your size—I’d estimate you’re a six?"

"She’s a perfect six," Ophelia chid in before I could respond.

Within minutes, I found myself in an opulent fitting room that was larger than my first apartnt, staring at the dress hanging on its padded hanger. The fabric felt like liquid silk under my fingers, and the weight of it suggested quality that I’d never experienced before.

I slipped it on and imdiately understood why it had cost so much. The dress didn’t just fit—it transford . The erald color made my skin glow and turned my eyes into brilliant jewels. The cut accentuated every curve while sohow making look taller and more confident. When I turned to face the mirror, I barely recognized myself.

"Sera!" Ophelia’s voice ca from outside the fitting room, filled with barely contained impatience. "Get out here before I break down this door!"

I took a deep breath and stepped out of the fitting room. Ophelia’s hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide with sothing that looked almost like shock. The sales associate actually gasped audibly.

"Oh my goodness," the woman breathed, circling around like I was a sculpture she was examining. "I’ve been in fashion retail for twenty years, and I have never seen a dress fit soone so perfectly. It’s like it was designed specifically for your body."

I turned to look at myself in the three-way mirror and felt my breath catch. The woman looking back at bore little resemblance to the exhausted single mother who’d been running on coffee and determination for the past five years. This woman looked powerful, confident, beautiful—like soone who belonged in boardrooms and corner offices.

"I have to have it," I heard myself saying, surprising everyone including myself.