Married To My Husband’s Brother (The Alpha King)

Barren

Ariella

“How long have you been f*****g my wife, Ryker?”

My brain froze and for a second, I didn't know if it was from the mortification slipping through Leroy’s features or the electricity sizzling through every inch of my skin as Ryker wrapped those hands around my waist, my breath catching in my throat.

My mind was still reeling from the fact that I’d just kissed my brother-in-law. He shouldn't be holding me this way. I shouldn't be reacting and enjoying his touch like this.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, Ryker’s light green eyes glowed with mischief as a slow smirk slid onto his face. “Two years? Three? Or did it start right after you two got married?”

Leroy’s sharp gasp echoed down the hallways as he stumbled back, clutching his chest like he was about to have a heart attack.

Dramatic much.

My cheeks heated up from all the wrong things Ryker just said, c**t aching from the effect of his words. Before Ryker could smell the pheromones leaking out of me, I pushed him away, grabbed the coat tossed to the chair, and hurried past Leroy quickly.

“Come with me,”

The last thing I wanted was for Grandma Susan to wake up from her nap, walk in on us, and decipher that I had plans of leaving Leroy.

As I led Leroy into the courtyard, his eyes burned holes into my back. He was seething with rage. It wasn’t until I slipped into the coat that the rich scent of oud and leather enveloped me — and I realized I was wearing Ryker’s.

My stomach churned, Leroy eying me like he couldn't wait to rip the coat off of me.

Leroy struck his palm against the other, slowly—dramatically—as a muscle in his jaw ticked. “Wow, Ariella. So much for creating a scene only for you to turn out worse than I am. f*****g my brother!”

“Start explaining, Ariella. I need to know how long this has been going on?”

A silent scoff escaped me as I ripped my hands through my hair. “Explain what?” I gave him a blank stare, the memory of him on his knees and all the s**t he put me through before dawn was still fresh in my head.

Leroy let out a huff, his frame tall and imposing. “The position that I caught you in. The fact that you’ve been cheating on me since moon goddess knows when!” he shouted, his voice slicing through the turmoil brewing around us.

I stared at the face of the man that I once loved, the face I loved waking up to, and felt nothing but resentment building inside of me.

I slowly drew in a breath, crossing my hands over my chest. “Before I start, why not talk about the position I found you in last night?”

The color drained from his face, eyes softening around the edges and while his pupils dilated, my eyes fluttered to the figure in the indoor balcony, who blended into the shadows.

He stepped out, and my heart stuttered. Leaning over the railing, he placed a cigar between his lips and watched me with dark, deliberate interest. My spine stiffened under the weight of his gaze, the way his eyes held mine making it impossible to breathe.

Ryker wasn't the type of man that I should be involved with. With that predatory smile on his face, he looked like a beautiful disguised warning.

The moment I stepped out of this house, this chapter would end. I would never have to see Leroy or Ryker again. My priority would be my child.

I watched Ryker leave before darting my eyes back to Leroy. “Still haven't found your words yet?”

Annoyance flared alive behind those irises. “Is that the reason you came here? To paint me bad before my grandma? Did you tell her? Tell Ryker? I swear on my f*****g life that if you—”

I cut in, giving him a blank stare. “—if I tell anyone. You would kill me, right? I don't care what you do with your life anymore, Leroy. I want a divorce,”

He froze, fear flashing through his eyes as he reached for my hand. “No baby. No we can still talk this out,”

I yanked my hands free. “I want a divorce,”

If he’d told me from the start that it would be a lavender marriage, I surely wouldn't mind. But he betrayed me, toyed with my feelings, wasn't remorseful, called me derogatory names, and even threatened to kill me, and still expected that I would stay?

In what world does that even work?

The ‘Mr Nice’ mask on his face fell as he took a step back, something dark crawling through those eyes as he barked out a laugh that sent chills deep into my bones. “I think I have showered you with so much love that you've forgotten who you are. You’re nothing but an Omega, with a dormant wolf at that!”

Leroy gripped my jaw, his eyes piercing deep into mine as my heart picked up its beat. “I was the one who defined your worth, gave you a status, and accepted you when I was given the pack’s trash for a bride. You don't get to leave on your own terms,”

“I am the one who decides when it’s time to dump you!”

Tears burned the back of my eyes, stomach churning as my knees almost buckled beneath me. But, I couldn't show any weakness now to protect myself and to protect my child.

Because any man who could send a voice note calmly detailing the grotesque ways he would mutilate my body if I exposed his secret affair with Zaden was not making empty threats. He meant every word. And I did not doubt that, given the chance, he would kill us both one day.

How did I never see him for who he truly was?

So, I fought back the tears and mustered the courage inside of me and fired back at him. “If you refuse to let me go, I will walk straight into the Alpha Council. I will petition the Alpha King himself and expose your relationship with the Lycan King. You knew it was forbidden for a Lycan and a werewolf to mate. And yet you did it. Worse, you did it while holding a position as powerful as yours.”

His grip around my chin faltered as he took a step back.

Alpha King, ruler of all the packs in the Mountalian region and most importantly Alpha of the biggest and feared pack in the territory—the dark moon pack. Mysterious, cruel, and intimidating. Only the elders of the Alpha’s council knew who he was.

Members of the pack were hard to scope out because they were known for concealing their scent, blending into other packs to find secrets, mapping weaknesses, and learning their strengths.

No one knew how many dark moon wolves walked around them and no one dared speak badly about the pack and their king because of how deadly they were.

And if there’s one thing I knew, I knew how terrified Leroy was of him. Ready to please him. Always paid his dues because he wanted to look good in the eye of the man he had never met and might probably never meet.

I knew the last thing he wanted was for a case to be written against him in the Alpha’s council.

His reputation before the Alpha King was important and he would give his life to keep it.

Leroy’s eyes darkened, fingers curling into bloodied fists. “You b***h—” he breathed hard, chest rising and falling as he looked at me like he wanted to snap me in half.

“Fine!” He blurted.

“You want a divorce, you'll get one. But no alimony. You came into my pack with nothing and will be leaving with none,”

“And, I promise that I will find your replacement soon. Someone who will give me the heir your barren ass failed to give me for six years.”