Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

134 Chapter 134

Damien’s POV 1

The traffic on Highway 101 moved like molasses, each red light stretching my patience thinner. My hands

gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles had gone white, and Alex was pacing restlessly beneath my

skin like a caged animal.

Something was wrong. | knew it in

my

bones.

I'd tried calling Sera six more times since leaving the office. Every call went straight to voicemail, her bright,

cheerful voice mockingwith its normalcy.

*”Hi, you've reached Sera. | can’t cto the phone right now...”

wk

The recording played in my head on repeat, each repetition making the knot in my stomach twist tighter.

My phone rang just as | was merging onto the exit for Adrian’s school. Unknown number.

“Nightshadow,” | barked into the speaker.

“Mr. Nightshadow? This is Adrian’s teacher.”

My heart slammed against my ribs. “Is Adrian okay?”

“Oh yes, he’s fine! He's sitting right here within the office. But...” She paused, and | could hear the

confusion in her voice. “We're a bit confused about pickup today.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it's nearly five o'clock, and Adrian is still waiting. When | asked him about it, he said his mommy told

him this morning that daddy would be picking him up today instead of her.”

The blood drained from my face. “She said what?”

“That you would be picking him up. But we don’t have any change notification from Mrs. Nightshadow, and

she’s never missed a pickup before without calling...”

| was already yanking the wheel toward the school, cutting across two lanes of traffic. Car horns blared

behind me.

11:23

1/4

“I'm two minutes away,” | said through gritted teeth. “Keep him there.”

“Of course. He's perfectly safe, Mr. Nightshadow.”

I ended the call and floored the accelerator.

Sera would never forget to pick up Adrian. Never. Which meant she’d planned this. Told Adrian I'd be coming

because she knew she wouldn't be there.

*Where the fuck is she?*

| screeched into the school parking lot and was out of the SUV before the engine finished cooling. The

teacher metat the front door, her matronly face creased with concern.

“Mr. Nightshadow, I'm so sorry for the confusion.”

“Where is he?”

“Right in here.”

She ledto the main office where Adrian sat in a chair that was too big for him, swinging his legs and

clutching his backpack. When he saw me, his face lit up with relief.

“Daddy!” He jumped down and ran into my arms. “I knew you’d come! Mama said

you would!”

| lifted him up, holding him tight against my chest while my mind raced. “When did Mama tell you that,

buddy?”

“This morning.” Adrian pulled back to look at me, his silver-blue eyes-so much like mine-filled with innocent

confusion. “She said you might be a little late but not to worry. But all the other kids got picked up and |

thought maybe you forgot about me.”

“I would never forget about you.” My voice cout rougher than | intended. “Never, Adrian. Do you

understand?”

He nodded solemnly. “Are we gonna go hnow? | wanna see Mama and Lily.”

“Yeah, buddy. Let's go home.”

| pulled into our driveway with enough force to spray gravel, Adrian yelping in surprise.

11:23

“Daddy, you're driving scary today.”

“Sorry, buddy.” | forced my voice to stay calm as | helped him out of the car. “I'm just eager to see Mama and

Lily.”

The house looked normal from the outside. Spristine landscaping, selegant stone facade, swarmth

radiating from the lit windows. Nothing to indicate that my world was about to collapse.

| opened the front door and immediately called out, “Sera? Baby, I'm home!”

Silence.

No response from upstairs. No sound of Lily crying or cooing. No familiar footsteps hurrying to greet us.

“Mama?” Adrian called out, dropping his backpack by the door. “We're home!”

Still nothing.

| called for the nanny, my voice echoing off the high ceilings.

She appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Her expression was pleasant but slightly

puzzled.

“Oh, Mr. Nightshadow! You're hearly today. And Adrian, sweetheart, how was school?”

“Where's Sera?” | asked, cutting through the pleasantries.

“She went out this afternoon,” She replied, tilting her head. “Around two o’clock, | think? She said she had

errands to run and might be gone most of the day.”

My stomach dropped into my boots. “Did she say where she was going?”

“No, I'm afraid not. She seemed in good spirits though. Spent the morning with Lily, very sweet with her. Fed

her, rocked her to sleep, even stayed in the nursery for quite a while after she went down.”

| was already moving toward the stairs, taking them two at a time. Adrian's footsteps pattered behind me.

Our bedroom looked normal. Sera’s vanity organized exactly how she liked it. No sign of struggle, no indication

of packing.

But something felt wrong. Empty.

11:23

314

The nursery was exactly as it should be. Soft afternoon light filtering through the gauze curtains, mobile turning

slowly above the crib, tiny baby sounds coming from the sleeping form under the pink blanket.

Lily was fine. Perfect, even. Sleeping peacefully on her back, her tiny fists curled beside her head, dark lashes

casting shadows on her chubby cheeks.

But there, tucked beside her in the crib where | couldn’t have missed it, was a folded piece of paper.

My blood turned to ice water.

With shaking hands, | reached down and picked up the note, recognizing Sera’s handwriting immediately. My

nwas written on the front in her careful script.

*Damien.*

The paper felt impossibly heavy in my hands.

My hands were shaking so badly | could barely hold the paper steady.

word

word

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mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

word

word

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