My Useless Mute Beta Wife Is A Big Shot!

He raises an open hand toward me, offering it with the exaggerated courtesy of a gentleman.

"I’m your husband’s older brother."

He lets the silence linger just long enough for the words to settle.

Then his smile deepens.

"Soren Stoneheart."

I stare at him, my vision swimming—blurring at the edges, then sharpening, then blurring again. The name echoes through my skull, tangled with fragments of memory I can barely hold onto.

Soren Stoneheart.

Silas mentioned him once. A passing reference, quiet and careful, slipped into conversation like a confession buried too deep to uncover. Different mothers. No bond. No warmth between them. That’s why he wasn’t at our wedding.

And now he’s here. Not as an absent brother. Not as a distant figure from a fractured family tree.

But as my captor.

As the man who orchestrated all of this.

Why?

My head spins. The room tilts. My fists press into the cold concrete, knuckles whitening, every muscle straining against the invisible weight crushing down on my limbs. I try to anchor myself, to cling to something solid—but everything feels unsteady, like standing on a shore while the tide steals the sand from beneath my feet.

Soren’s voice is low—honey dripping over poison, warm and inviting on the surface, corrosive underneath. He reaches out slowly, almost tenderly, brushing the damp, blood-matted strands of hair from my temple. His touch is light. Deliberate. Too gentle for a man who dragged me here. His fingers linger where the skin is split, where dried blood has begun to flake.

"Sister-in-law, I apologize for not making it to your wedding." His tone is almost sincere—the kind of sincerity that mocks itself.

"But look..." His gaze sweeps lazily around the room, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth. "What a wonderful meeting I’ve arranged for you. A little intimate, perhaps. A little unconventional."

He chuckles softly.

"When you see my little brother, do tell him how much you appreciated the surprise I prepared for you."

He lets the words linger, savoring them. Then he sighs dramatically, as though only just realizing something.

"Oh..." His smile widens. "I almost forgot."

His voice softens with mock regret. "How could you tell him... when you’re never going to see him again?"

His fingers trace the line of my jaw—slow, deliberate—dragging across my skin as though memorizing the shape of my face. His thumb brushes the corner of my mouth.

"I’ll admit one thing, though." His thumb stills at the corner of my lips. "Despite being an Alpha, you have a strikingly beautiful face."

I slap his hand away—harder this time. The crack of skin against skin echoes through the garage, sharp and final.

But the motion sends a shockwave through my body. A searing burn erupts at the base of my skull, racing down my spine like liquid fire. My breath catches. My vision flickers.

Soren rubs his hand, unbothered, almost amused, the ghost of a smile still haunting his lips.

"Don’t worry," he says, his voice light, almost playful. "I have no interest in Alphas. Unlike that bastard brother of mine, who seems obsessed with you. I suppose we all have our weaknesses."

The burn deepens. I can feel it crawling through my veins, slow and patient, like something alive. My vision darkens at the edges. I clench my jaw, forcing myself to stay present. To stay aware.

My hand flies to the back of my neck, fingers pressing against the spot where the needle pierced my skin—tender, swollen, pulsing with a heat that has nothing to do with fever. My nails dig into the flesh, desperately trying to tear out whatever is spreading through me, consuming everything it touches.

My voice comes out rough, scraping against the walls of my throat.

"What the hell did you inject me with?"

Soren’s face lights up with theatrical delight, as if I’ve just asked him to describe his favorite thing.

"Oh, that?" He waves a hand dismissively. "A special poison. Quite expensive, actually. I bought it specifically for you." His smile widens. "Consider it a wedding gift of sorts."

He tilts his head, studying me.

"Do you want to know what makes it special?"

The amusement drains from his face, leaving only something cold and merciless.

"It kills you slowly. Not all at once." His voice is calm, almost conversational. "Death is easy. I paid for something far more interesting."

He leans closer, his voice dropping to almost a whisper.

"It’ll make you suffer first. Your body will fail you piece by piece until even breathing becomes a struggle. And you’ll feel every second of it."

He laughs—a sound that scrapes through the silence, sharp and hollow.

"I wonder what expression my little brother will wear when he finds your body." He tilts his head, savoring the thought. "The fear. The grief. The devastation..."

He lets out a slow, satisfied sigh, as though the image alone is enough to please him.

"It’s going to be a beautiful sight."

The poison spreads through my veins, burning from the inside out, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction of seeing me break. My jaw locks. My fists clench against the concrete. My breathing is shallow, but steady.

Soren catches my chin between his fingers, lifting my face with the effortless authority of a man who’s never been denied anything.

"But because you’re an SS-Class Alpha, you’ll last a little longer than an ordinary person." He blinks, feigning innocence. "Luckily, that gives us time to talk."

I slap his hand away again—weaker this time, the movement slower, less certain.

He clicks his tongue and shakes his head.

"Oh, sister-in-law. Such fire." His voice is almost fond. "And here I am, trying so hard to be polite."

"Why are you doing this?"

Something shifts in his expression. The playful mask slips, revealing something colder beneath.

"So you want to talk about this?" He nods once. "Fine." He leans back, studying me with cold, calculating eyes. "Your husband owes me something. And I’m taking it back."

His voice hardens.

"He destroyed my life. He stole everything from me. My birthright. My status. My future."

He gestures lazily around the room, then toward me.

"So now I’ll take you from him... and make him feel exactly what I felt."

"You’re insane." My voice is weak, but steady. "Silas wouldn’t hurt anyone."

"Sister-in-law..." He shakes his head slowly, almost pitying. "It seems you don’t know your husband as well as you think."

I stare at him, confusion and dread twisting in my chest like barbed wire.

He leans in, close enough for his breath to brush against my ear.

"Let me tell you a little secret..."

His expression settles into something dark and deliberate, as though he’s been waiting far too long for this moment.

"The mute Beta you married..."

A pause. A breath. A blade slipping between my ribs.

"...is nothing more than a cover."