Claimed By My Cheating Fiancé's Brother, The Supreme Alpha

Vivian Carlisle POV:

I slowed my steps on the plush carpet of the Apex Star Hotel hallway and shoved a pinch of crushed moon-grass into my coat pocket, completely masking my faint scent. Every werewolf possessed a unique scent that served as our primary way of identifying one another before seeing each other, though high-grade herbs could temporarily throw a predator's sense of smell off.

At the end of the corridor, the heavy double doors to the presidential suite stood slightly ajar, leaking a cloying, sickly-sweet whiff of artificial rose perfume.

My stomach clenched into a cold knot, and I pushed the door open wider, slipping silently into the dim foyer.

Scattered across the marble floor lay my fiancé Declan Sterling's bespoke suit jacket, tangled with a familiar red lace bra, belonging to my bestfriend, Chloe Sullivan.

Harsh, ragged panting echoed from the master bedroom. I clenched my jaw until my teeth ached, then crept silently to the master bedroom door that was slightly ajar.

Peering through the wooden slats, I watched Declan pin Chloe against the velvet king-sized bed, his light brown eyes dilated with frantic lust. As the second son of the Sterling Pack's second branch, Declan was a secondary Alpha who had spent two years playing the devoted gentleman to win my hand, yet here he was rutting like a feral beast.

"When are you going to kick that useless Omega to the curb?" Chloe gasped, wrapping her arms around his sweating neck. "I'm sick of being your secret."

Declan let out a cold sneer, his fingers digging roughly into her hip. "Wait until the engagement party next month. Once I get my hands on the Carlisle family's ancient herbal manuscript, the Luna's Essence, I'll toss her straight into the lower district."

I dug my fingernails into the closet frame until warm blood beaded beneath my cuticles, while my other hand held my communicator steady to record every disgusting second in high definition.

Once the recording had saved, I slipped out of the suite like a ghost while they were still tangled in the sheets, pulling the heavy door shut behind me.

Freezing night wind slapped my burning cheeks as I walked two blocks down the boulevard and shoved open the heavy steel doors of The Abyss, the most exclusive Pack nightclub in the city.

Deafening heavy metal music and a suffocating wave of restless werewolf scent crashed over me. I marched straight to the obsidian bar and slapped a black credit card onto the counter.

"Give me your strongest wolf-bane vodka," I ordered the bartender.

A werewolf's rapid metabolism broke down ordinary alcohol in seconds, leaving it unable to affect us. Only spirits infused with toxic herbs could numb our nerves. I downed three glasses in a row, the liquid scorching my throat like molten lead as I tried to drown the icy humiliation churning in my gut.

Two burly Rogues, packless wanderers reeking of stale blood, prowled toward my stool. The high-grade masking herbs clinging to my coat confused their noses, so they backed off muttering curses.

Suddenly, a suffocatingly dense wave of winter cedar mixed with the metallic tang of cold blood swept across the bar, and the rowdy club fell silent.

Blinking through a drunken haze, I turned my head and met a pair of razor-sharp, deep amber eyes that looked ready to strip my soul bare.

The man towered over the crowd with broad, powerful shoulders, wearing gold-rimmed glasses over his aristocratic nose. The open collar of his tailored black shirt revealed the jagged edge of an old claw scar across his chest.

He strode right up to my stool and looked down at me, radiating a crushing Alpha's Command that made the bones in my knees turn to water. In werewolf society, genetic rank was absolute from birth, and an Alpha's innate Command could force any lower-ranking wolf to their knees.

Numb from the herb-laced vodka, I raised a trembling finger, poked his rock-hard pectoral muscle, and let out a bitter laugh.

"What are you staring at?" I slurred. "Are you here to trick me out of my family's herbal manuscript too?"

His eyes darkened into a lethal abyss, and his large hand shot out to clamp around my wrist with enough force to crack bone.

"Do you have any idea who you're provoking?" His voice was a low, gravelly rumble that vibrated against my ribs.

Instead of shrinking back, I rode the reckless surge of alcohol, leaned into his chest, and stood on my tiptoes to press my vodka-soaked lips against his cold mouth.

The instant our lips met, a violent jolt of electricity exploded across my lips, sending my heart hammering against my ribs while my blood boiled like lava. A sudden, terrifying sense of completeness flooded the hollow ache in my chest, as if a missing piece of my soul had violently locked into place.

The tall man froze, and a guttural, feral roar tore from deep within his throat.

"She's mine!"

Before I could gasp, he swept an arm under my knees, lifted me against his chest in front of the terrified, bowing patrons, and strode toward the private VIP elevator.

The moment the steel doors slid shut, he slammed me against the cold metal wall, his mouth crashing down on mine in a punishing, ravenous kiss.

My fingers weakly clutched his broad shoulders as his pure, overwhelming Lycan scent triggered The Heat inside my veins, setting my skin on fire with an agonizing, primal ache that drowned out all human reason.

When the elevator reached the penthouse floor, he kicked the suite door open, tossed me onto the massive dark bed, and came down over me like a mountain.

"You started this fire, little thing," he growled against my throat as he tore the silk of my dress away.

All through the dark hours, searing pain and blinding pleasure twisted together while he murmured a hoarse, indistinct pet name against my ear that I was too dazed to catch.

The next day, blinding sunlight flooded the floor-to-ceiling windows, and I sat up in the tangled sheets clutching my throbbing head.

I turned my stiff neck and froze as my gaze landed on the sleeping man beside me, taking in the brutal claw scar on his chest and his sharp jawline.

My breath caught, and I slammed both hands over my mouth to choke back a scream. That face was plastered across the front page of every Pack financial journal in the country.

He was Axel Sterling, the ruthless billionaire CEO of Apex Essence, the Supreme Alpha of the Sterling Pack, and Declan's older half-brother!

Panic-stricken, I scrambled off the mattress, threw on my torn dress without buttoning the back, snatched my handbag, and bolted for the exit.

Just as my icy fingers wrapped around the brass doorknob, a cold, lazy voice carrying absolute authority cut through the room from behind me.

"Did I give you permission to leave?"

Vivian Carlisle POV:

My hand froze on the brass doorknob, and my spine stiffened as I slowly turned to face the bed.

Axel sat up with predatory grace, the morning light glinting off the hard, corded muscles of his chest and shoulders.

He casually pulled on a black silk bathrobe, slid on his gold-rimmed glasses, and walked barefoot across the floor toward me, his heavy cedar scent pressing against my chest until every breath felt like inhaling wet sand.

I gripped the leather strap of my handbag until my knuckles turned white, forcing my voice to stay steady. "Last night was just a drunken accident. We are both adults, so let's pretend it never happened."

Axel let out a low, mocking laugh and stepped closer, his towering frame casting a dark shadow that swallowed me whole.

"An accident?" he drawled, his amber eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "When you kissed me at the bar, it didn't feel like an accident."

I sucked in a shaky breath and tried to twist the knob behind my back. "I need to go home. I have a shift at the lab."

His arm shot out like a striking viper, and he planted his palm against the door panel beside my ear, trapping me between his chest and the exit.

"Do you really think you can sleep with me and walk away whenever you please?" His hot breath brushed against my temple.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I glared up at him. "I am engaged to Declan! If anyone finds out about this, it will trigger a massive scandal across the entire Pack!"

At the mention of Declan's name, a flash of pure murderous disgust flickered across Axel's amber irises.

"That worthless cur doesn't deserve to touch the hem of your coat," Axel spat coldly.

He raised his other hand, twirled a lock of my blonde hair around one long finger, then lifted it to his nose and inhaled deeply. "And don't pretend you feel nothing. My scent is all over your skin right now."

A violent shiver tore down my spine at his invasive gesture, and I slapped his hand away. "Have some respect!"

Axel's expression hardened, and he unleashed the full weight of his Command, sucking every ounce of oxygen out of the penthouse suite. As a rare Lycan-an apex immortal bloodline standing above even royal Alphas-his genetic pressure was an unbearable physical force.

My knees buckled under the crushing weight, and I sagged backward until my shoulder blades struck the cold door.

He stalked forward and pressed his rough thumb pad against the tiny red mole at the corner of my eye, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "From this moment on, you belong to me."

I bit down on my lower lip until I tasted blood, fighting the primal urge in my bones to bow my head in submission. "In your dreams! I will never be your secret mistress!"

Axel chuckled darkly, sliding his icy fingertips down the side of my neck until they rested directly over the pounding pulse of my throat.

"If you refuse, I will open the Pack Mind-Link right now and broadcast to Declan just how loudly his fiancée screamed beneath me last night," he threatened smoothly.

Cold sweat beaded on my forehead, and I dug my nails into my palms. My trap for the engagement party was weeks away, and I couldn't let my revenge unravel before it even began.

I squeezed my eyes shut, swallowing the bitter bile rising in my throat. "Fine. I agree to your terms. But you stay out of my private affairs."

Axel withdrew his suffocating aura at once and reached out to straighten my crooked collar. "Good girl. Now go wash up, and I'll take you to work."

I bolted into the marble bathroom and turned the shower to freezing cold, scrubbing my skin until it turned raw, yet the sharp scent of winter cedar refused to fade.

Half an hour later, dressed in a crisp, newly delivered business suit, I followed him in stony silence down to the private underground garage.

He pulled open the heavy rear door of a limited-edition armored Maybach himself, his polite posture masking an iron command that allowed no refusal.

Inside the car, he sat beside me, his muscular thigh pressing against my knee and radiating scorching heat through the thin fabric of my slacks.

I shrank back against the tinted window and stared out at the city streets blurring past, trying and failing to ignore his heavy gaze on my profile.

As the Maybach glided toward the towering glass facade of Apex Essence headquarters, I reached for the handle. "Let me out at the corner."

Axel caught my wrist in an iron grip and yanked me back against the leather seat, his amber eyes locking onto mine. "I am coming to your apartment tonight."

My breath caught in panic. "No! Declan could drop by at any time!"

A cruel smirk spread across his face. "Even better. Let him see who your real master is."

The second his fingers loosened, I shoved the door open, jumped out onto the pavement in my heels, and hurried through the revolving glass doors without looking back.

Once I reached my cubicle in the Research and Development department, I dropped into my chair and pulled up the preliminary synthesis data for Luna's Essence with shaking hands.

Suddenly, my communicator lit up on the desk with a text message from Chloe.

"Sweetie, your engagement party is next month! Come try on dresses with me at the Silver Moon Couture this afternoon, okay?"

As I stared at the fake endearment on the screen, the nauseating image of her naked body tangled with Declan's flashed through my mind.

My lips curled into a cold sneer as I tapped a single word onto the screen. "Sure."

Since she loved playing the loyal best friend so much, I would hand-deliver a massive gift to her before the engagement party even arrived.

I pulled open my bottom drawer, took out a military-grade micro data drive, and copied last night's hotel video onto it under heavy encryption, my fingertips icy with murderous resolve.

Vivian Carlisle POV:

I closed my fist around the cold metal casing of the data drive and took a slow breath, just about to slip it into my handbag when the red warning light above the lab doors began to flash.

My supervisor hurried down the aisle with a pale face, his voice trembling as he whispered a warning to our row, "Everyone stand at your stations immediately! Supreme Alpha Axel Sterling is inspecting the R&D department in person!"

The bustling lab fell silent as heavy, rhythmic footsteps approached down the corridor, and Axel strode through the glass double doors flanked by a dozen high-ranking Pack executives.

Dressed in an immaculate charcoal suit, he surveyed the room through his gold-rimmed glasses, his cold amber eyes eventually settling on me.

While my coworkers bowed their heads in instinctive genetic submission, Axel walked straight down the center aisle and came to a halt right in front of my desk.

Cyril Wheeler, the Sterling Pack's Beta and Chief Operating Officer, stood beside him. He controlled the empire's intelligence network and commercial operations. Expressionlessly, he set a high-tier herbal development contract on my keyboard.

Axel tapped his long, pale knuckles against my desk blotter, releasing a concentrated thread of cedar scent that only I could sense. "Miss Carlisle, you will submit your progress on the herbal extraction directly to me tonight."

Around us, the other lab technicians exchanged looks of sheer awe and envy, completely oblivious to the suffocating personal claim hidden beneath Axel's words.

Under his unwavering stare, I bit the inside of my cheek to suppress the tremor in my knees. "Yes, Mr. Sterling. I will file the report according to company protocol."

Axel leaned down slightly as if checking my monitor, his voice dropping to a murmur that only I could hear. "Remember our morning agreement, and don't test my patience, little mate."

His cool fingertips brushed deliberately across the back of my hand, leaving a scorching jolt of static before he straightened up and led his entourage out of the hall.

As the heavy doors swung shut,I sank back into my office chair, my palms slick with cold sweat. Getting involved with a tyrant like Axel was like playing with fire, which meant I had to take down Declan and Chloe quickly.

Right then, the communicator on my desk rang loudly with an incoming call from Chloe.

I slipped on my earpiece, then tapped to answer. Chloe's syrupy, grating voice greeted me at once. "Vivian, I'm reminding you again. Two o'clock sharp at Silver Moon Couture downtown. Don't be late!"

Staring out the window at the gray steel skyscrapers, I forced my voice into its usual meek, soft tone. "Chloe, I'm still on rotation in the R&D lab. Asking for leave this afternoon might get me in trouble..."

Chloe scoffed dismissively on the other end of the line. "Oh, please! You're Declan's fiancé. Who in that building would dare stop you? Don't tell me you're too stingy to accompany your maid of honor to pick out a dress?"

Hearing her call me 'Declan's fiancée' made my stomach churn as the memory of her moaning beneath him in the Apex Star Hotel flashed through my mind.

Not only had she stolen my fiancé behind my back, but she was also eager to exploit my submissive nature and treat me like her personal walking ATM this afternoon.

My chest tightened with a cold, steady rage. If the greedy bitch was practically begging to walk into my trap, I would gladly oblige.

I hesitated for two seconds before letting out a soft, yielding sigh. "All right. Since it's for the party dresses, I'll be there on time."

"Now that's more like it!" Chloe giggled smugly. "Remember to bring your unlimited Pack commercial alliance card! See you soon!"

The moment the call disconnected, I slammed my communicator face-down onto the desk, my lips curling into a sharp, frigid smile.

She truly believed she could trample my dignity and spend my money like she had for the past two years, having no clue that Silver Moon Couture would become the site of her public humiliation.

I quickly woke my encrypted terminal and embedded the high-definition video of Declan and Chloe's affair ,inside a stealth trojan program, then saved it back onto the drive.

Sliding the micro data drive into the anti-scan hidden lining of my handbag, I mentally reviewed the steps. All I needed was ten seconds alone with Chloe's phone to plant the program that would put the video in her cloud storage.

That video would be my nuclear strike at the engagement party. This afternoon, I would collect the first payment on my revenge.

I stood up, walked into the staff locker room, peeled off my white lab coat, and changed into a simple beige trench coat.

In the washroom mirror, my face looked pale and subdued, save for the tiny crimson mole at the outer corner of my eye that gleamed like a drop of fresh blood under the fluorescent lights.

People in this Pack mocked me as a weak Omega with no inner wolf, never suspecting that I had memorized the ancient remedies of Luna's Essence in childhood or that a dormant bloodline lay hidden in my veins.

Walking out of the locker room, I handed my field-work slip to the front desk clerk and took the elevator down to the main lobby.

Just as I pushed through the revolving glass doors and stepped onto the front steps of Apex Essence, a sleek black Panamera glided silently to the curb.

The tinted passenger window rolled halfway down, and Cyril leaned across the console to hold out a sealed black lacquered box.

"Miss Carlisle, the Alpha instructed me to give you this," Cyril said smoothly. "The couture district is crowded with sharp noses. Use this to cover his scent."

I took the box and lifted the lid to find a jar of top-grade scent-blocking balm, specially formulated to mask the dominant cedar scent clinging to my neck.

Axel clearly had eyes on my every move, letting me walk out of the building only because he knew the exact length of my leash.

I scooped a dab of the icy ointment onto my fingers and rubbed it over the sensitive gland at the base of my neck. Then I tossed the empty box back through the open window and walked briskly into the afternoon crowd toward the gleaming gold sign of Silver Moon Couture.