Filed to story: Claimed By My Fiance's Alpha Brother (Callie & Cameron) Book PDF Free
I watched him walk to the doorway, admiring the way his broad shoulders filled the frame and the confident grace of his movements. Just before he disappeared into the hallway, he turned back with that devastating smile.
“Sweet dreams, emerald eyes.”
He left me alone with my racing heart and the lingering scent of sandalwood, my body humming with awareness and my mind spinning with the implications of everything that had just been revealed.
From the living room, I could hear Cameron’s deep voice mixing with Adrian’s higher, more animated tones. I must have dozed off listening to their voices, because the next thing I knew, the apartment had gone quiet except for the soft sound of someone moving carefully through the rooms. A gentle knock on my bedroom door made me open my eyes.
“Come in,” I called softly.
Adrian padded into the room and climbed up onto my bed without ceremony, settling himself between Cameron and me with the unconscious confidence of a child claiming his territory. “I had a bad dream about the scary forest.”
“It’s okay, baby,” I murmured, wrapping my arms around his small, warm body and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “You’re safe now. The forest can’t hurt you here.”
“Mr. Cameron saved me,” Adrian announced, with undisguised hero worship. “He’s really strong and really brave, just like a daddy should be.”
My breath caught in my throat. “Adrian,” I started gently, “sweetheart, you can’t just -“
“Can he be my daddy?” Adrian interrupted, his voice bright with hope and innocence that made my heart clench painfully. “Please? I promise I’ll be really good.”
Valerie’s POV
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 Callie 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 Marco’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 shriek 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.”
“Where’s Dad?” I asked, though I already dreaded the answer.
“Hospital.” Elizabeth’s face crumpled briefly before the hardness returned. “The stress triggered another episode. They don’t know if he’ll make it through the night.”
The news should have devastated me, should have brought me to my knees with grief and guilt. Instead, all I felt was a cold calculation spreading through my chest like ice water.
“How much do we owe for the medical bills now?” I asked quietly.
“Sixty-seven thousand and climbing,” Elizabeth said, her voice hollow. “The insurance barely covers anything, and they’re threatening to transfer him to the county hospital if we can’t make a payment by Monday.”
She turned to face me fully, and I saw something in her eyes that I’d never seen before -desperation so pure it was almost frightening.
“We need money, Valerie. Real money. Not the fantasy bullshit you’ve been feeding me about marrying into the Nightshadow family.” Her gaze moved to my ears, my wrists, my neck. “That necklace you’re wearing -the one Marco gave you for our anniversary. How much did it cost?”
My hand flew instinctively to the delicate gold chain at my throat, the one with the small diamond pendant that was probably the most expensive thing I owned.
“Mother, no. This is -“
“How much, Valerie?”
“Three thousand,” I admitted reluctantly. “But Marco saved for months to buy it for me. It’s special.”
Elizabeth’s laugh was like breaking glass. “Special? Your father is dying, we’re about to lose everything, and you’re worried about a fucking necklace being special?”
“It’s not just the necklace!” I exploded, my carefully controlled facade finally cracking completely. “You want me to sell my earrings too, don’t you? And my bracelet? And my rings? Everything Marco has given me!”
“Marco?” Elizabeth spat, moving closer until I could smell the desperation rolling off her like sour sweat. “He’s a loser, Valerie! A pathetic failure who can’t even get his own brother to acknowledge his existence!”
“At least he chose me!” I screamed back, tears streaming down my cheeks and stinging in the open scratches. “At least someone wanted me enough to put a ring on my finger! Which is more than I can say for you and your perfect marriage!”
The slap came so fast I didn’t see it coming. Elizabeth’s palm connected with my injured cheek with enough force to make me see stars, and I felt one of the deeper cuts split open again, sending fresh blood trickling down my jaw.
“You selfish 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 jewelry while your father dies?”
“Everything you’ve done FOR yourself!” I screamed, blood flying from my 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 day!”
The slap came harder this time, but I was ready for it. I caught Elizabeth’s wrist and twisted, using every ounce of strength I had to spin her around and slam her against the wall.
“Don’t you EVER hit me again!” I snarled in her ear. “I sure as hell am not selling my jewelry to pay for some dying old bastard!”
“You’re insane!” Elizabeth gasped, finally breaking 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 time I could remember.
“Maybe I am,” I said, wiping more blood from my mouth. “But at least I’m not stupid enough to throw good money after bad. Dad is dying, Mother. DYING. And no amount of medical bills is going to change that.”
“Fine,” Elizabeth said finally, her voice shaking with fury. “Keep your precious jewelry.”
Elizabeth straightened her torn blouse with as much dignity as she could muster and headed for the door. The door slammed behind her with enough force to rattle the broken windows.
I wiped the blood from my face one more time and headed for the bedroom. I had packing to do.
I pushed open the bedroom door and immediately gagged.
Marco was sprawled on our unmade bed, completely naked except for a pair of stained boxers bunched around his ankles. His laptop was balanced on his soft stomach, the screen displaying some hardcore pornography that made my stomach turn. His right hand was moving rhythmically, and the disgusting sounds of his self-gratification filled the small room like obscene music.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I exploded, my voice cutting through his concentration like a knife.
Marco jumped, his laptop nearly sliding off the bed as he scrambled to cover himself. “Val! Jesus, you scared the shit out of me! I didn’t hear you come in!”
“Of course you didn’t,” I said, my voice dripping with disgust as I surveyed the pathetic scene before me.
“Baby, I can explain -” Marco started, but I held up a hand to stop him.
“Don’t.” I moved to the closet and pulled out my largest suitcase, throwing it onto the bed beside him. “Just don’t. I’m done.”
Marco finally seemed to notice my injuries, his eyes widening as he took in the scratches on my face and the torn dress. “Holy shit, Val, what happened to you? Are you okay?”
“No, Marco, I’m not okay,” I said, yanking clothes from the closet and throwing them into the suitcase. “Our apartment got trashed by loan sharks, my father is dying in the hospital, my mother just disowned me.”
I continued packing, throwing in my jewelry box, my expensive perfumes, anything that could be converted to cash when I needed it. Marco watched from the bed, still half-naked and confused.
“Where are you going?”
“Away,” I said simply. “Far away from this shitshow.”
“Wait!” Marco scrambled off the bed, his boxers still around his ankles. “You can’t just leave me here! What am I supposed to tell people? What am I supposed to tell Cameron?”
“Up to you.” I opened the front door, letting in the cool night air that felt like freedom against my bloodied face.
An hour later, I was driving Marco’s beat-up Honda through the empty streets of Silver Moon Harbor, my suitcase in the backseat and everything I owned in the world reduced to whatever I could carry.
But as I drove, something else occupied my thoughts. Something that should have terrified me but instead filled me with a strange curiosity.
Callie Knight was not what she appeared to be.
I’d grown up around wolves my entire life, had seen alphas and betas and omegas in every possible situation. I’d never -never -seen an omega display the kind of supernatural strength and primal fury that Callie had shown tonight.
Omegas were weak. Omegas were submissive. They weren’t supposed to be able to lift full-grown women off the ground with one hand. They weren’t supposed to have reflexes faster than most alphas.
“What are you really, Callie Knight?” I murmured to my reflection in the rearview mirror.
Callie’s POV
The morning sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Nightshadow Industries, casting everything in a golden glow that should have felt hopeful. Instead, as I settled into my desk chair, I found myself bracing for whatever fresh hell Anna Blackwood had planned for today.
I didn’t have to wait long.
“Good morning, bestie!” Anna’s sickeningly sweet voice cut through the peaceful morning atmosphere like nails on a chalkboard. She sauntered over to my desk in a tight red dress that looked more appropriate for a nightclub than a corporate office, her platinum blonde hair bouncing with each calculated step.
“Sleep well?” she asked, though her tone suggested she didn’t particularly care about my answer. “You look a little tired. Rough night?”
