Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother - Chapter 143

Chapter 143: Chapter 143
Damien’s POV

Three weeks.

Three fucking weeks since Sera walked out of our lives, and I was no closer to finding her than the day she left.

I sat behind my desk, staring at Marcus’s latest report without really seeing the words. Another dead end. Another day of hope crushed into dust.

*”No trace of her at any of the bus terminals in a 200-mile radius. Checked every hotel, motel, and boarding house we could find. It’s like she just vanished into thin air.”*

I crumpled the paper and threw it across the room, where it joined a growing pile of similar reports. Useless. All of it.

“Alpha?” Marcus stood in my doorway, his expression carefully neutral. Behind him, Tyler and Jake waited with that same look of professional sympathy that made me want to put my fist through something.

“Tell me you have good news,” I said, though my voice sounded dead even to my own ears.

“We expanded the search to include smaller towns, off-the-grid places where someone might go to disappear,” Marcus said. “Found a few possibilities, but…”

“But?”

“Without more specific information about where she might go, we’re basically searching blind. She could be anywhere by now.”

*Anywhere.* The word echoed in my empty chest like a death knell.

“Keep looking,” I ordered.

“Alpha—”

“I said keep looking.” My voice dropped to that deadly whisper that made grown wolves back down. “Did I stutter?”

“No, Alpha. We’ll keep looking.”

They filed out, leaving me alone with my rage and desperation. I picked up Sera’s letter from my desk, the paper soft from handling, the ink smudged from my tears.

“I’ll find you if I have to tear apart every town between here and the Pacific Ocean.”

A knock on the door interrupted my spiral. “Come in.”

Lucas entered with his usual easy smile, carrying two cups of coffee. “Thought you might need this. You look like hell.”

“Thanks for the pep talk.” I accepted the coffee gratefully. At least Lucas still treated me like a normal person instead of a grief-stricken madman.

“So,” he said, settling into the chair across from my desk. “How are Sera and the kids? Feels like I haven’t seen her in forever. So has Riley.”

The question hit me like a physical blow. I managed to keep my expression neutral, but barely.

“She’s been busy with Lily,” I lied smoothly. “You know how it is with a newborn. She’s exhausted most of the time.”

“Right, of course.” Lucas’s face lit up with understanding. “New mom life is rough. Riley keeps talking about babies, and honestly, the idea of no sleep for months terrifies me.”

“She’ll adjust,” I said carefully. “Sera’s stronger than she looks.”

“She’s amazing,” Lucas agreed. “The way she handles everything—work, Adrian, now Lily. I don’t know how she does it.”

“Yeah,” I managed. “Amazing.”

Lucas studied my face with those perceptive eyes. “You okay, man? You seem… I don’t know. Off.”

“Just tired. Long hours at the office.”

“Maybe you should take some time off. Spend it at home with your family. I’m sure Sera would appreciate the help.”

“Maybe,” I lied.

Lucas grinned and leaned back in his chair. “God, listen to me giving relationship advice. Six months ago, I couldn’t even tell Riley how I felt about her, and now I’m acting like some kind of expert.”

“How are the wedding plans coming along?” I asked, desperate to change the subject.

“Slow. Riley wants something simple, but her mom has… opinions.” He laughed. “I just show up where they tell me to and try not to screw anything up.”

“Smart strategy.”

“All the good things do.” Lucas stood up, checking his watch. “I should get going. Riley’s meeting me for lunch, and you know how she gets when I’m late.”

“Give her my best.”

“Will do. And tell Sera I said hi. Maybe you guys can come to dinner soon? It’s been too long since we all hung out together.”

“I’ll ask her,” I lied again.

After Lucas left, I slumped forward in my chair, my head in my hands. The weight of the lies was crushing. Every casual question about Sera, every assumption that we were still a happy family, felt like someone driving a stake through my heart.

My phone buzzed. Text from Ophelia.

*”Any news?”*

*”Nothing. Dead end after dead end.”*

Her response came immediately. *”We need to talk. Can you meet me after work?”*

I stared at the message. Ophelia had been helping with the search from the beginning, using her own contacts and connections to try to find any trace of Sera. She was as desperate as I was, maybe more so. She’d lost her best friend.

*”Where?”*

*”The park by Adrian’s school. 6 PM.”*

*”I’ll be there.”*

The afternoon crawled by at a snail’s pace. Every minute felt like an hour, every hour like a lifetime. I tried to focus on work, but the quarterly reports and contract negotiations felt meaningless.

By six o’clock, I was pacing like a caged animal in the parking lot of Riverside Park. Ophelia’s car pulled up five minutes later, and she got out looking as tired and frustrated as I felt.

“Any word from Marcus today?” she asked without preamble.

“Nothing. Same as yesterday and the day before.” I kicked a stone viciously across the asphalt. “It’s like she just evaporated.”

“She didn’t evaporate, Damien. She’s somewhere. We just need to think differently about where she might go.”

I looked at her sharply. “What do you mean?”

Ophelia said, her voice gaining strength. “Think about it, Damien. If you were going to disappear, where would you go? You’d go somewhere safe. Somewhere with people you trust.”

“But Sera doesn’t have—” I stopped mid-sentence as her meaning hit me.

“She doesn’t have a lot of close friends,” Ophelia continued. “Most of her relationships were here, with the pack. But there is someone…”

“Who?” I breathed.

“Caleb Morrison!” Ophelia’s eyes were bright with possibility. “That’s the only person I can remember.”

My mind raced. Caleb. I can still remember him, too.

“Do you think she would go to him?”

“If she was desperate? If she felt like she had nowhere else to turn?” Ophelia’s voice was gentle but certain. “Yeah. I think she might.”

For the first time in three weeks, something that felt like hope flickered in my chest. It was small, fragile, but it was there.

“Then we need to find him,” I said.