Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

49 Chapter 49

49 Chapter 49

Damien’s POV 1

The words hung in the air between us like a confession that had been locked away for decades. Sera’s emerald

eyes widened with shock

and something deeper.

“Your parents too?” she whispered, her free hand reaching up to touch my face with exquisite tenderness.

“Damien, I'm so sorry.”

| leaned into her touch, allowing myself this moment of vulnerability that I'd never shared with another soul. Not

even Lucas knew the

full truth of what had happened that night.

“I was eighteen,” | began, my voice rougher than intended as memories I'd buried deep began clawing their way

to the surface. “Old

enough to think | understood pack politics.”

Sera shifted carefully in the medical bed, making room forto sit beside her. The mattress dipped under my

weight as | settled against

the headboard, grateful for the solid warmth of her presence as | prepared to excavate wounds I'd spent years

learning to ignore.

“My parents had what everyone called a perfect marriage,” | continued, staring at the sterile white wall across

from us rather than

meeting her eyes. “Beautiful, powerful, completely devoted to each other and to our pack’s prosperity.”

The irony of those words tasted bitter now, colored by everything I'd learned in the bloody aftermath.

“What happened?” Sera asked gently, her hand never leaving my face.

“My father had an affair with his assistant,” | said, the words feeling like broken glass in my throat even after all

these years. “A woman

named Patricia-Gabriel’s mother. It started when | was thirteen, though I didn’t learn about it until much later.”

Sera’s fingers tightened against my cheek, offering silent support as | continued.

“When my mother found out, she was devastated. The divorce proceedings were... brutal. My father wanted to

keepas the future Alpha heir, while my mother wantedto cwith her to her family’s territory.” |

closed my eyes, remembering the custody battles that had torn our pack apart. “I was angry at both of them,

furious that they were destroying everything I'd believed about family and

loyalty and love.”

“You were just a child,” Sera said softly. “It wasn’t your fault.” 1

“Wasn't it?” | opened my eyes to meet her gaze, seeing my own pain reflected in those emerald depths.

“Because the day they died, | was supposed to be at home. My mother was coming for one of her scheduled

visits-the court had given her every other weekend and Wednesday evenings. But | was angry at her for the

divorce, angry at my father for the affair, angry at the whole fucking situation.”

My voice grew harsher as the memories becclearer, more vivid. “Instead of going hafter school, | went

to a friend's house. | stayed for dinner, then convinced them to letspend the night. | was being petulant,

trying to punish both my parents by making my

mother’s visit meaningless.”

Sera’s hand moved to cover mine, squeezing tightly as she sensed where this story was leading,

“When | chthe next morning, | found them.” The words cout flat, emotionless, because that was

the only way | could say

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49 Chapter 49

them without completely falling apart. “Both of them, in my father’s study. My mother had been... she'd been

torn apart. My father was

slumped over his desk, his throat ripped open.”

“Oh God,” Sera breathed, tears beginning to spill down her checks.

“The house had been ransacked, but in a calculated way. Specific files were missing from my father’s safe,

certain documents that

contained sensitive pack information.”

| stood abruptly, needing to move as the restless energy of old rage began building in my chest. “Gabriel's

mother had vanished completely. No trace of her anywhere, like she'd never existed. The timing was too

convenient to be coincidence.”

“You think she orchestrated it?”

“I think someone did.” | turned back to face Sera, seeing understanding dawn in her eyes. “Someone who knew

my father’s security

protocols, who could get close enough to disable the safeguards, who had access to pack secrets that could be

sold to our enemies.”

“And Gabriel?”

My jaw clenched as | thought about my worthless half-brother. “Gabriel was twelve years old when it happened.

Too young to be directly

involved, but...” | shrugged, feeling the familiar weight of suspicion I'd carried for years. “I've never been able to

trust him completely. His

mother’s blood runs in his veins.” 1

The silence that followed was heavy with shared grief and understanding. Two orphaned wolves, both carrying

the weight of unsolved

murders and unanswered questions.

“So you've been ruling the pack since then?” Sera asked quietly.

“Yes, I've been carrying the responsibility since my parents died.” | managed a bitter smile. “Claire stepped in to

help-she’d been my

mother’s closest friend and advisor. Without her guidance, | probably would have destroyed everything my

family had built.”

Sera was quiet for a long moment, processing everything I'd revealed. Then she took a deep breath, her

expression growing determined.

“Darien,” she said, her voice stronger than it had been since she'd awakened. “The Moon Goddess told me

something else. About seeking

justice for the past, about healing more than just wounds. What if... what if our parents’ deaths are connected?”

The possibility had occurred to me, of course. Two pack massacres, both involving betrayal from within, both

targeting Alpha families

with specific bloodlines. But I'd buried the suspicion along with everything else that hurt too much to examine.

“It's possible,” | admitted reluctantly. “But Sera, investigating something like that would be dangerous. We'd be

stirring up old enemies,

people with everything to lose if the truth cout.”

“Then we do it carefully,” she said, her emerald eyes blazing with a determination I'd never seen before. “We

find out what really happened to both our families. We get justice for the people we lost.”

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