Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother - Chapter 137
137: Chapter 137 137: Chapter 137 Seraphina’s POV
I stared at Caleb’s message until my eyes burned.
*”Sera!
Long time no see, how are you lately?!”*
Those cheerful exclamation points made my chest ache.
The coffee shop around me suddenly felt too small, too loud.
The teenager across the room was still glued to her phone.
Everything was so normal, so ordinary.
My phone buzzed with another message from Caleb.
*”Hope you’re doing great!
Miss our old conversations.”*
Miss our old conversations.
Caleb lived at the border now.
Far from Damien and the pack and everything that reminded me of what I’d lost.
Maybe…
maybe I could go to him.
The thought hit me like a lightning bolt.
Caleb wouldn’t ask too many questions.
He’d never been the type to pry or judge.
If I said I needed help, he’d help.
That’s just who he was.
My hands shook as I typed a response.
*”Long time no see!
I’ve run into some trouble and was wondering if I could come see you?
Would that be okay?”*
I stared at the message for a full minute before hitting send.
What if he said no?
What if he was too busy?
What if seeing me would just bring back bad memories for him too?
My phone buzzed almost immediately.
*”Of course!
Always okay for you.
Are you alright?
Do you need me to come get you?”*
The immediate concern in his words made tears spring to my eyes.
When was the last time someone had offered to drop everything and come get me?
When was the last time someone had worried about me without expecting something in return?
*”I’m okay.
Just need somewhere to stay for a while.
I can get there myself.”*
*”Whatever you need, Sera.
You know where I am.
Same place as always.
Mom and Dad are going to lose their minds when they see you.”*
*”Thank you, Caleb.
Really.
I’ll be there as soon as I can.”*
*”Don’t thank me yet.
Fair warning – I’m still a terrible cook.”*
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
That was so like him.
Making jokes when he could probably tell something was seriously wrong.
I paid for my almost untouched coffee and left, heading for the bus station with my pathetic little bag.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
Each step took me further from my children.
Don’t think about them.
Don’t think about Adrian coming home from school or Lily waking up from her nap.
Don’t think about Damien finding that letter.
Just keep moving.
The next few hours were torture.
Bus after bus, each one older and more crowded than the last.
I sat in the back, staring out windows at landscapes that slowly became more familiar.
Rolling hills instead of city skylines.
Open fields instead of shopping centers.
It looked like freedom.
It felt like running away.
Every few minutes, my mind would drift back to home.
To Damien probably reading my letter right now.
To the look on his face when he realized I was really gone.
To Adrian asking where Mommy went.
I pressed my face against the window and tried not to cry.
Again.
By the time I reached the final stop, the sun was setting.
The “bus station” was basically just a bench and a rusty sign.
The kind of place where nothing ever happened and time moved slowly.
I called Caleb.
“Sera?” He picked up on the first ring.
“Where are you?”
“At what I think is supposed to be a bus station.
Though it’s really just a bench in the middle of nowhere.”
“I know the place.
Don’t move.
I’ll be right there.”
“Caleb, I-”
“Ten minutes.
Don’t go anywhere.”
He hung up before I could say anything else.
I sat on the bench and wrapped my arms around myself, watching the sky turn orange and pink above the empty fields.
Headlights appeared down the road, and an old pickup truck pulled up in front of me.
The engine made that deep rumbling sound that somehow felt like home.
The driver’s door opened, and Caleb stepped out.
He was still tall and broad and looked like he could handle anything life threw at him.
His blonde hair was lighter now.
His eyes were exactly as kind as they’d always been, but there were lines around them now.
Laugh lines, mostly.
He looked…
solid.
Real.
Like the kind of person who didn’t disappear when things got hard.
“Sera,” he said, and his voice was warm and relieved and everything I needed to hear.
I stood up on shaking legs.
“Hi.”
“God, look at you.” He crossed over to me in three long steps and pulled me into the kind of hug that lifted me completely off the ground.
For the first time in days, I felt safe.
His arms were strong and warm and he smelled like soap and sunshine and everything good about being young.
He grinned, and it was like watching the sun come out from behind clouds.
“Come on, let’s get you home.
Mom’s been cooking since I called, and Dad’s been wearing a hole in the floor from pacing.”
He grabbed my bag before I could protest and opened the truck door for me.
The interior was clean and comfortable, with a faded air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror.
“Sorry she’s not much to look at,” he said as we pulled away from the tiny depot.
“But she gets the job done.”
“She’s perfect.”