Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

Damien’s POV

The quarterly reports blurred together on my computer screen. Numbers that should have meant something,

Profit margins. Projected

growth. Territory expansion.

None of it fucking mattered.

I rubbed my eyes, the ache behind them pulsing in twith my heartbeat. Three months. Three months since

Sera had walked out that

door, and I still couldn’t concentrate for more than five minutes without my mind drifting to her.

*Where is she? Is she safe? Is she eating enough?*

| slammed the laptop shut harder than necessary. The sound echoed through my empty office like a gunshot.

“Alpha?”

| looked up to find Lucas standing in my doorway, concern etched across his face. When had he knocked? How

long had he been

standing there?

“What?” The word cout sharper than | intended.

“Board meeting in ten minutes.” Lucas stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “You forgot, didn’t you?”

Had 1? | glanced at my calendar. Tuesday, 2 PM. Quarterly review with the pack’s business council.

“I didn’t forget,” | lied.

Lucas’s expression said he knew better, but he was kind enough not to callon it. Instead, he settled into the

chair across from my

desk with that easy confidence that used to irritate me. Now it was just... familiar. Comforting, even.

“You look like shit,” he said bluntly.

“Thanks for the pep talk.”

“I'm serious, man.” He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “When's the last tyou slept?”

My jaw clenched. “I'm okay.”

“Adrian told Riley you always scream when you sleep.” Lucas’s voice was gentle now.

The words hitlike a physical blow. My son. My five-year-old son was listening to his father break down in the

middle of the night.

“I'm handling it,” | said, but even I didn’t believe that anymore.

“Are you?” Lucas stood up, moving to the window that overlooked the city. “Because from where I'm standing,

you're barely functioning. You're running the pack on autopilot. You forget meetings. You snap at everyone.”

Silence stretched between us like a chasm.

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172 Chapter 172

“I'm not falling apart,” | said finally.

“Then what do you call this?” Lucas gestured at me, at my office, at everything, “You cin before dawn. You

leave after midnight. You barely eat. You don’t shift anymore. When's the last tyou let Alex out for a run?”

| couldn’t remember. Weeks? Maybe longer?

“The pack needsfocused,” | said.

“The pack needs their Alpha to not work himself to death!” Lucas’s voice cracked.

“I'm doing my best,” | whispered.

Lucas held my gaze for a long moment. Then he shook his head slowly, disappointment radiating from every line

of his body.

“You know where to findwhen you're ready to stop being an asshole,” he said, and walked out.

The door closed with a soft click that felt louder than any

slam.

| sat there in the silence, staring at the closed door, feeling something crack deeper inside my chest.

The board meeting was a blur of voices and presentations | didn’t care about. | nodded at the right times. Made

appropriate comments.

Approved budgets and rejected proposals.

All while feeling like | was drowning.

By six PM, | couldn't take it anymore. | left early, ignoring Emma’s surprised expression as | walked past her desk

without explanation.

The drive hfelt eternal. Every red light another moment to think about Sera. Every familiar landmark

another reminder that she

should be here, beside me, complaining about traffic or tellingabout her day.

But she wasn’t. She'd left. The unfairness of it made my chest burn with rage and helplessness in equal

measure.

Hlooked the sas always. Grand. Beautiful. Empty.

After dinner-reheated pasta that Adrian picked at and Lily smeared across her high chair-I put both kids to bed.

Stories for Adrian. A bottle for Lily. The usual routine that felt anything but usual without Sera. 1

Alone in our bedroom, | stood by the window, staring out at the moon rising over the trees. Full and bright and

mocking.

| pressed my palm against the glass, closing my eyes. Somewhere out there, she was living her life without us.

Probably convinced she'd

made the right choice. Probably sleeping better than | had in months.

Except...

My chest tightened suddenly. Sharp. Unexpected.

Pain lanced throughlike someone had driven a knife between my ribs. Not physical pain. Something else.

Something deeper.

*What the hell?*

16 34

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172 Chapter 172

| stumbled backward from the window, my hand flying to my chest. The bond mark on my wrist burned hot,

pulsing with a urgency!

hadn't felt since-

Since never. We'd never completed the mate bond. I'd never marked her. So why did it feel like my soul was

being ripped in half? It feels

like my mate is being hurt right now.

Another wave of pain crashed through me. Worse this time. My knees buckled, and | grabbed the edge of the

bed to keep from falling.

RSEraty

Her ntore from my lips unbidden. The connection between us-that fragile, incomplete thing-was screaming

at me. Warning me.

Something was wrong.

Something was very, very wrong.

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