Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

Seraphina’s POV 1

“I'm in,” | said again, because once wasn’t enough. Because | needed to hear myself say it twice to believe | was

actually doing this insane

thing. “I'll do it.”

Rico’s smile stretched wide across his face. Satisfied. Victorious. Like he'd known all along I'd break.

“I knew it,” he said, clapping his hands together once. “I knew you'd say yes. The moment | saw you in that

alley, taking down that drunk

bastard, | knew you had it in you.”

My stomach twisted. “Had what in you?”

“The hunger.” His eyes glittered in the harsh warehouse lights. “The desperation. The willingness to do whatever

it takes to survive.”

God, he madesound like skind of animal. Maybe | was.

“Look, Sera.” He stepped closer, his voice dropping to something almost gentle. “I’ve been doing this for fifteen

years. | can spot talent,

sure. But more than that, | can spot fighters. The ones who don’t quit when it hurts.”

“I don’t know if that’s me,” | admitted quietly.

“Trust me. By the tI’m done training you, by the tyou step into that ring for real, you're going to be the

best goddamn female

fighter this circuit has ever seen.”

The words should have madefeel better. Should have givenconfidence or hope or something positive.

Instead, they madewant to throw up.

What the hell was | doing? Twenty-four hours ago, | was scanning groceries and pretending my life was under

control. Now | was

agreeing to get punched in the face for money.

“Hey.” Rico's voice cut through my spiral. “You still with me?”

“Yeah.” | forced myself to focus. “Yeah, I'm here.”

“Good. Because we've got a lot of work to do. Training starts tomorrow. Six AM sharp.”

Six AM. Of course.

“There's just one thing,” | said before | could lose my nerve.

Rico raised an eyebrow. “What's that?”

My hands were shaking again. | shoved them in my pockets so he wouldn't see. “I need to ask you for a favor. A

really big favor.”

“I'm listening.”

The words stuck in my throat. Pride and desperation wrestling for control of my tongue. Desperation won.

18.30

167 Chapter 167

“I need money,” | said, the words coming out in a rush. “Not the fight money. | mean, | need that too, but | need

money now. Today.

Before tomorrow morning.”

Rico’s expression didn’t change. “How much?”

“Four hundred and fifty dollars.” My voice cracked. “For rent. My landlord is evictingif | don’t pay by noon

tomorrow.”

Silence.

God, this was humiliating. Here | was, begging a stranger for money like skind of-

“Why are you short?” Rico asked.

The question caughtoff guard. “What?”

“Why don’t you have rent money? You work at that grocery store. | saw the uniform when we first met.”

Heat flooded my cheeks. “I got... scammed. By a coworker. She borrowed money fromfor a bus ticket home,

said she'd payback

by Friday. She never did. And then my boss docked my pay for damages | didn’t cause, and-"

“And now you're broke,” Rico finished for me.

“Yes.” The word tasted like failure. “I have forty-seven dollars in my bank account and a landlord who's going to

throw all my stuff on the

street in less than twelve hours.”

More silence. Rico studiedwith those sharp, calculating eyes. Probably doing the math on whether | was

worth the investment.

“I'll pay you back,” | said desperately. “I swear. Once | start fighting, once | win smoney, I'll pay you back

every cent. And if the

fighting doesn’t work out, I'll find other work. I'll do whatever it takes. Just please-"

“Stop.”

| shut my mouth so fast my teeth clicked together.

Rico reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone. “How much did you say you needed?”

“Four-fifty for rent. But honestly, | could use a little more. For food and-"

“Let’s make it an even two thousand.” ”

I stared at him. “What?”

“Two thousand dollars.” He was already pulling up his banking app. “Should cover your rent, get you some

groceries, maybe buy some

proper training gear.”

My brain short-circuited. “I can’t take two thousand dollars from you. That's too much!”

“I'm offering two thousand.” He looked up from his phone, his expression serious. “Sera, if you're going to do

this-then you need to be

able to focus. You can’t focus if you're worried about where you're sleeping or what you're eating.”

“But I'll owe you-"

167 Chapter 167

“You'll owea fighter who shows up on tand giveseverything she’s got in training” He went back to

his phone, typing

something. “Consider it an investment.”

An investment. In me. In my ability to get beaten up for entertainment.

“I don’t know what to say,” | whispered.

“Say you'll quit that grocery store job and focus on training full-time.”

| blinked. “What?”

“The grocery store.” Rico looked up again. “You need to quit. Today. Tonight. As soon as possible.”

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Chapter 1654

Debra suddenly hacked hard, spitting blood.

Erica and Randy lit up. Jordan heaved a sigh of relief as she opened her eyes.

"Medical kit!" Marion snapped out of it first.

William hustled over, gaping at the scene.

"Debra, hang in there," Erica babbled, rattled.

"She can't talk yet," William said, rushing to stop her bleeding.

Blood poured from her chest, soaking her.

"You're safe now," Marion soothed her.

"I'm okay," she rasped.

The pendant given by Kale had caught the bullet and saved her life.

Tears slid down her face. She'd sworn her friends wouldn't get hurt, but Kale was gone.

"Don't just stand there. Helpout," William urged. "She has got an hour at most if you don't move."

The pendant had dulled the shot, but it was just a stone. Her chest still took a hit even though the wound wasn't

deep.

Erica snapped back, and Jordan signaled for a stretcher.

"I've got her," Marion said, lifting her onto it.

The group watched with heavy hearts.

As she was carried off, Marion's gaze turned ice-cold.

Erica eyed him, worried that he would do anything reckless.

"This isn't the right time," Randy advised him.

With the few of them, they couldn't fight the Illuminati. A rash move would cost them big.

"Wait here," Marion said.

Erica froze. "You're going after them alone? No way. | won't let you."

"We don't know how many they've got. You rush in and..." Randy echoed.

"They hurt her and will pay for it," Marion insisted.

"I'm going with you," Jordan said, stepping up.

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