Filed to story: Claimed By My Fiance's Alpha Brother (Callie & Cameron) Book PDF Free
The next morning dawned crisp and clear, and as I prepared for work, I felt like I was suiting up for battle. The green dress fit even better than I remembered, and paired with the elegant heels and my hair in a sophisticated updo, I looked like someone who belonged in the executive suite of a major corporation.
When I stepped through the gleaming glass doors of Nightshadow Industries, the transformation was immediate and unmistakable. Conversations stuttered to a halt as heads turned in my direction, and I could practically feel the weight of dozens of eyes taking in every detail of my appearance.
The receptionist, usually so perfectly composed, fumbled with her phone as I walked past, her eyes following the sway of my hips in the fitted dress. I could feel some he-wolves mentally undressing me, their eyes tracking from my face down to my legs and back up again with an appreciation that bordered on predatory. The security guard at the front desk actually adjusted himself in his chair as I passed, and I heard someone whistle low under their breath from the elevator bank.
“Well, well,” muttered someone behind me -I think it was Marcus from legal -“looks like someone got herself a serious upgrade.”
My cheeks burned with a mixture of embarrassment and indignation.
Claire, bless her, was waiting by the elevator with the kind of knowing smile that suggested she’d witnessed my grand entrance and all its effects.
“Callie,” she said as I approached, her voice carrying just loud enough for nearby listeners to hear, “you look absolutely stunning. That dress is nothing short of perfection on you.”
“Thank you,” I managed, my voice slightly breathless from the gauntlet of attention I’d just run. “I just wanted to make a good impression.”
Claire’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she leaned closer. “Well, mission accomplished, dear. You’re going to knock our Alpha’s socks clean off -assuming he doesn’t have a heart attack first.”
The morning passed in a blur of productivity. After lunch, Claire gathered her files with an apologetic expression. “I’m afraid I need to handle some urgent pack business. You’ll be fine on your own for a while, won’t you? The Alpha could return at any moment, but you’re more than prepared.”
“Of course,” I assured her, though my stomach did a little flip at the reminder that I would soon be face-to-face with the man whose voice had haunted my dreams for the past two days. “I’ve got everything under control.”
No sooner had Claire’s heels clicked away down the marble corridor than I managed to knock over a perfectly organized stack of files with my elbow. Papers scattered everywhere, some sliding under my desk, others floating down behind it like oversized confetti.
“Perfect,” I muttered under my breath, staring at the disaster I’d created. “Just absolutely perfect.”
I had no choice but to go after them. The space between my desk and the wall was embarrassingly narrow -clearly designed by someone who never anticipated their employees would need to crawl around on the floor like lost puppies. I hiked up my dress slightly and got down on my hands and knees, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity as I stretched toward the scattered documents.
The position was mortifying. My dress, despite its elegant design, was not meant for this kind of physical maneuvering. As I reached for the files that had slid the furthest back, the fabric rode up my thighs, and I could feel the cool air of the air conditioning against skin that should definitely not have been exposed in a professional environment. The slit in the dress, which had looked so sophisticated in the boutique mirror, now gaped open to reveal far too much leg, and I was horrifyingly certain that if anyone walked in right now, they would get a clear view of my lace underwear.
“Come on, come on,” I whispered frantically, stretching until my fingertips just barely brushed the edge of the furthest folder. My position was becoming increasingly precarious -rear end in the air, dress hiked up to an inappropriate level, face red from both exertion and embarrassment.
Just as I finally managed to snag the last document, I heard it.
A soft cough -distinctly masculine, deliberately polite, but carrying an undercurrent of something that made every hair on my arms stand at attention.
I froze completely, my hand still gripping the recovered file, my entire body going rigid with horror. Of all the moments for someone to walk into this office, they had to choose the exact instant when I was sprawled on the floor in the most undignified position imaginable, with my dress rucked up and my dignity in tatters.
The silence that followed was deafening. I could hear my own heartbeat thundering in my ears, could feel heat flooding my cheeks in waves of mortification. I scrambled to my feet as quickly as possible, yanking my dress back down to a respectable length and spinning around to face my unexpected visitor, an apology already forming on my lips.
And then I saw him.
Every coherent thought in my head simply… stopped.
The man standing in the doorway wasn’t just handsome -he was magnificent in a way that seemed almost unfair to the rest of the male population. Easily six and a half feet tall, he dominated the space without even trying. His shoulders were broad enough to block out the light from the hallway, and even through his impeccably tailored navy suit, I could see the suggestion of powerful muscles and athletic grace.
His face was a study in masculine perfection -sharp cheekbones that could cut glass, a strong jaw that spoke of determination and power, and lips that were just full enough to be sensual without losing their masculine edge. His dark brown hair was styled with casual perfection.
His eyes were the most extraordinary shade of blue I’d ever seen -so deep they were almost navy. When he moved his head slightly, they actually appeared to shimmer with an otherworldly radiance, as if lit from within by some supernatural fire.
When he spoke, his voice was exactly what I should have expected and yet somehow still managed to surprise me -deep, rich, cultured, with an undercurrent of barely controlled intensity that made my wolf whimper involuntarily.
“Miss Knight, I presume?”
I opened my mouth to respond and found I had no voice at all. My throat had gone completely dry, and my brain seemed to have short-circuited entirely.
“MATE!” Ayla’s voice exploded in my mind like a thunderclap, so sudden and powerful that I actually staggered backward a step. “MATE! MINE!”
Cameron’s POV
The private jet touched down at Silver Moon Harbor International two hours ahead of schedule, but I’d been restless for the entire flight, unable to focus on any of the documents spread across my mahogany desk. Something about tomorrow’s dinner arrangements -and more specifically, the woman who’d managed them -had occupied far too much of my mental bandwidth over the past twenty-four hours.
It was ridiculous. I was a powerful Alpha who commanded respect from wolves across three territories, yet here I was, completely distracted by a voice I’d heard exactly twice over the phone.
I couldn’t stop thinking about those two conversations. The way her voice had trembled with barely controlled fury when she’d called my request unreasonable. Most assistants either cowered in terror or quit via email after their first encounter with my temper. But Callie Knight had done neither. She’d pushed back, challenged me.
“You’re thinking about her again,” Alex observed with what sounded suspiciously like amusement.
I ignored him, but my wolf wasn’t wrong. I was thinking about her. Far more than was appropriate for an employer contemplating an employee he’d never even met.
“Maybe she’s already gone,” I found myself thinking as the car pulled up to Nightshadow Industries, and the possibility sent an unexpected spike of panic through my chest. “Maybe the reality of working for me finally sank in and she decided to cut her losses.”
What the hell was wrong with me? I was practically eager to meet a woman whose only qualification so far was that she hadn’t run away screaming.
As I strode through the marble lobby, employees immediately straightened to attention, offering respectful nods and murmured greetings. But as I approached the executive floor, something unexpected caught my attention.
The door to my outer office was slightly ajar, and through the gap, I could see a figure bent over what appeared to be scattered papers on the floor. The woman was on her hands and knees, reaching under a desk, and the position offered a spectacular view of long, shapely legs encased in silk stockings, a perfect curve of hip and thigh, and the tantalizing glimpse of delicate lace underwear beneath a hiked-up emerald dress.
My steps slowed involuntarily. The woman’s movements were graceful despite her awkward position, and something about the elegant line of her back, the way her dark hair had come slightly loose from its updo, sent an unexpected jolt of attraction straight through me.
I cleared my throat softly, not wanting to startle her but unable to ignore the professional impropriety of the situation -or the way my body was reacting to the enticing view. Heat pooled low in my belly, and I had to adjust my stance slightly as my pants grew uncomfortably tight.
She froze completely, her entire body going rigid, and I could practically feel her mortification radiating through the air like waves of heat.
She scrambled to her feet with impressive speed. The movement was fluid and graceful despite her obvious panic, and I caught a flash of long, silk-clad legs before she yanked her dress back into place and spun to face me. The sight of her flushed face, those wide, apologetic eyes, and the way her chest rose and fell with quick, shallow breaths did absolutely nothing to ease the tightness in my pants.
The woman standing before me wasn’t just beautiful -she was breathtaking in a way that hit me like a physical blow. Her face was a perfect oval framed by waves of dark hair, her skin luminous and smooth as cream. But it was her eyes that nearly brought me to my knees.
Brilliant emerald green, framed by thick lashes, they sparkled with intelligence and spirit even as they widened with what appeared to be shock. Those eyes… there was something familiar about them, something that made my wolf pace restlessly in my mind.
“MATE!” Alex’s voice exploded in my consciousness with such force that I actually took an involuntary step forward. “MATE!”
The scent hit me then -vanilla and jasmine with an underlying sweetness that was uniquely hers. It wrapped around me like silk ribbons, making my head spin and my wolf howl with recognition and desperate need.
“Miss Knight, I presume?” I managed to say, though my voice came out rougher than intended.
She opened her mouth but no sound emerged. Her green eyes were wide with what looked like panic, and I could see her pulse fluttering rapidly at the base of her throat. The air between us crackled with electricity, thick with an attraction so intense it was almost suffocating.
Before either of us could recover from the moment, familiar footsteps echoed down the hallway, followed by Lucas’s cheerful voice.
“Cameron! I saw your car pull up -you’re back early!” He rounded the corner at his usual energetic pace, then stopped short when he spotted the woman standing frozen by my desk. “Well, hello there.”
Lucas’s eyes immediately began traveling appreciatively over Callie’s form, taking in the way the emerald dress hugged every curve, the flush on her cheeks, the elegant line of her neck. I could practically see his interest spike, and my wolf snarled in fury.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Lucas continued, moving forward with his most charming smile. “I’m Lucas, Beta of this pack and Cameron’s right-hand man.” He extended his hand toward her. “And you must be the mysterious new assistant I’ve been hearing so much about.”
The sight of him reaching for her hand sent a bolt of pure rage through my system. My vision actually tinted red around the edges, and I had to clench my fists to keep from physically pulling him away from her.
“I… yes, I’m Callie Knight,” she managed to stammer, her voice barely above a whisper as she reluctantly placed her hand in his.
“Callie,” Lucas repeated, and the way he said her name -like he was tasting something delicious -made me want to rip his throat out. “Beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Tell me, are you free for dinner tonight? I know this amazing little place downtown -“
“Lucas.” My voice cut through his flirtation like a blade, sharp enough to make both of them jump. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
He turned to look at me with raised eyebrows, clearly picking up on the dangerous undercurrent in my tone. “Actually, I was hoping to discuss the Pack alliance with you, but I suppose that can wait.” His smile widened as he turned back to Callie, completely ignoring my obvious displeasure. “So what do you say? Dinner?”
I watched Callie’s face cycle through confusion, embarrassment, and something that looked almost like fear. She glanced between Lucas and me, clearly at a complete loss for words.
That’s when I stepped forward, close enough that my presence would be unmistakably territorial. “I believe Miss Knight has more important things to worry about than your social calendar, Lucas. Like explaining why she’s apparently been reorganizing my filing system on the floor.”
Callie’s eyes widened at my tone, and I saw her shoulders square defensively. “I’m sorry, Mr. Nightshadow. I accidentally knocked over some files and was just -“
Before she could finish her explanation, a sickeningly familiar voice rang out from the hallway.
“Brother! I heard from my husband Marco that you’re hosting some fancy dinner party tonight, and you didn’t even think to invite us?”
Valerie burst through the office doorway like a pink tornado, her bleached blonde hair bouncing as she practically skipped toward us. “How could you possibly -” She stopped short when she noticed the back of Callie, her artificially enhanced lips curving into a cruel smile. “Oh, well well. What do we have here?”
I watched Callie’s entire body go rigid at the mention of Marco’s name, her face draining of color so quickly I was genuinely concerned she might faint.
“Let me guess,” Valerie continued, circling around Callie like a predator sizing up prey. “Another desperate little assistant trying to claw her way up the corporate ladder by batting her eyelashes at the big bad Alpha?” She deliberately bumped into Callie’s shoulder as she passed. “How long do you think this one will last before she runs away crying? A week? Two days?”
“Valerie.” My voice carried enough menace to make several nearby employees visible through the doorway take strategic steps backward.
But she was far from finished. “You know, Marco has been telling you for months that I’d make a perfect assistant. I’m family, after all, and I certainly wouldn’t spend my first day crawling around on the floor in inappropriate dresses, flashing my underwear at anyone who walks by.”
“GET OUT!” I roared, my Alpha authority flooding the room with such force that every wolf present. “GET OUT OF MY OFFICE NOW, VALERIE!”
Callie’s POV
The moment I heard that sickeningly sweet voice calling out “Brother!” my blood turned to ice in my veins. Even before she rounded the corner, I knew exactly who it was. That voice had haunted my nightmares for five years -the voice that had laughed as my world crumbled, that had mocked my pain with casual cruelty.
Valerie.
My hands instinctively clenched into fists at my sides as she swept into the office like she owned the place, her bleached blonde hair bouncing with each calculated step. I quickly turned my back to her, praying desperately that she wouldn’t recognize me. Five years had changed me -I was no longer the broken, naive omega who’d fled Whispering Valley in shame. But some things about a person never changed, and I couldn’t risk her seeing my face.
“Brother! I heard from my husband Marco that you’re hosting some fancy dinner party tonight, and you didn’t even think to invite us?”
*Marco.* The name hit me like a physical blow, confirming what I’d already suspected but desperately hoped wasn’t true. So Marco hadn’t been lying after all -he really was part of the Nightshadow family. Which meant Cameron… my mate… was Marco’s brother.
The cosmic joke of it all made me want to laugh hysterically. Or scream. Or both.
