Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

22 Chapter 22

Damien’s POV 1

The past few days had been absolute torture. Every morning, I'd called Lucas before my coffee had finished

brewing. Every lunch break,

I'd summoned him to my office with increasingly desperate demands for updates. Every evening, I'd texted him

the squestion: *Any

news?*

The answer was always the sinfuriating response: *Still searching. These things take time.*

Meanwhile, Sera worked at her desk just outside my office, completely oblivious to the storm raging inside me.

She'd settled into her

role with impressive efficiency, anticipating my needs before | voiced them, managing my impossible schedule

with grace that would

have impressed even Claire. But every tshe leaned over to place documents on my desk, every ther

vanilla and jasmine scent

wafted toward me, Alex would snarl with barely contained hunger.

*Claim her,* my wolf demanded for the hundredth tthat day. *She’s ours. Stop this foolish waiting.*

But | couldn't. Not until | knew for certain. Not until | had proof that she was the woman who'd haunted my

dreams for five years.

Today had been particularly brutal. Sera had worn a fitted black dress that hugged every curve, and when she'd

bent to retrieve a

dropped file, the sight of her perfect ass had nearly madelose all control. I'd spent the afternoon with my

hands clenched into fists,

fighting the urge to pull her into my office and finish what we should do.

By five o'clock, | was wound tighter than a spring ready to snap.

“Alpha,” Lucas’s voice crackled through the intefor what had to be the tenth tthat day.

“Tellyou have something,” | growled, not looking up from the quarterly reports I'd been staring at without

actually reading for the

past hour.

“I have twenty-three pawn shops still to check, forty-seven jewelry stores, and a list of online auction sites that

would make your head

spin.” His voice carried the particular tone of someone whose patience was wearing thin. “For the love of the

Moon Goddess, Damien, I'll

call you the moment | find anything. Askingevery hour isn’t going to make it happen faster.”

| hung up without responding and slammed my palm against the desk hard enough to make my coffee cup jump.

The sharp sound

echoed through my office, and | saw Sera’s head turn toward my door through the glass partition. Her emerald

eyes met mine for a brief

moment, concern flickering across her features, before she quickly looked away.

This was insane. | was behaving like a love-struck teenager instead of a powerful Alpha who commanded respect

from wolves across my

territories. But the uncertainty was eatingalive. Every night, | lay awake imagining what it would mean if

Sera truly was my mystery

woman. Every morning, | convinced myself | was chasing shadows.

*You're driving yourself crazy,* Alex observed with uncharacteristic gentleness. *And you're making everyone

around you miserable in the process.*

He wasn’t wrong. I'd snapped at three department heads this morning, reduced my secretary to near tears over

a minor scheduling conflict, and growled at the building's security guard for having the audacity to greetwith

his usual cheerful “Good morning, Alpha.”

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| stood abruptly, grabbing my suit jacket from the back of my chair. “I'm going out, | announced to the empty

office, not caring that Sera

couldn't actually hearthrough the soundproof glass.

| strode past her desk without making eye contact, afraid that if | looked into those emerald eyes for more than a

second, I'd do

something spectacularly unprofessional. Like pin her against the wall.

“Good night, Mr. Nightshadow,” she called softly as | passed, her voice carrying that particular note of concern

that made my chest

tighten.

| paused at the elevator, my finger hovering over the call button, every instinct screaming atto turn around

and go back to her.

Instead, | stepped into the elevator and let the doors close between us.

Twenty minutes later, | was seated at the bar of *Moonlight & Shadows*, the upscale establishment where Silver

Moon Harbor’s

supernatural elite went to drink expensive whiskey and pretend their lives weren't infinitely more complicated

than their human

counterparts. The bar was dimly lit, all mahogany and brass fixtures, with enough ambient noise to drown out

the restless pacing of my

thoughts.

“The usual, Alpha?” The bartender had been working here for years. He knew better than to make small talk

when | was in this particular

mood.

“Make it a double,” | said, loosening my tie and trying to force my shoulders to relax.

The whiskey burned pleasantly down my throat, but it did nothing to ease the tension coiled in my chest. | was

contemplating ordering a

third drink when a commotion near the bar’s entrance caught my attention.

“Sir, I'm sorry, but you can’t just demand to see someone without an appointment,” the hostess was saying, her

voice strained with the

particular politeness of service workers dealing with difficult customers.

“You don’t understand!” The voice was female, shrill with desperation and just loud enough to carry over the

ambient conversation. “I

need to speak with Alpha Nightshadow! | have something that belongs to him!”

Every muscle in my body went rigid. | turned slowly on my barstool, following the sound of the voice to its

source.

Standing near the entrance was a woman. Her blonde hair was brassy and over-processed. She wore a tight red

dress that had probably

been expensive once but now looked cheap under the bar's harsh lighting.

But it was what she was holding that made my blood turn to ice.

Clutched in her perfectly manicured fingers was a golden wolf pendant, catching the light as she waved it

frantically at the hostess.

“I'm his lover!” she was saying, her voice rising to a pitch that made several nearby patrons turn to stare. “This

is his pendant! He gave it

tofive years ago! | have proof of our relationship!”

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