Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother - Chapter 180

Chapter 180: Chapter 180
Damien’s POV

Panic.

Pure, undiluted panic flooded every cell in my body.

“LILY!” My voice tore through the bakery. “LILY!”

The cupcake box hit the floor. Frosting exploded across the tiles in a purple and pink mess. I didn’t care.

“Where is she?” I grabbed Betty’s shoulders. Too hard. My claws were extending. “WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?”

“I—I don’t know!” Betty’s eyes went wide with fear. “She was just here! Right behind you!”

I released her and spun toward the door. My wolf was surging beneath my skin, threatening to break free right here in this human bakery.

*Find her. Find our pup. NOW.*

Alex’s voice in my head was feral. Desperate. Every protective instinct screaming.

I burst through the door onto the sidewalk. The street was busy. Too many people. Too many scents mixing together.

But there—beneath the exhaust and perfume and a thousand other smells—I caught it.

Lily’s scent. That unique combination of baby shampoo and the lavender soap and something purely her.

I followed it like a bloodhound. Down the sidewalk. Around the corner. My heart hammering so hard I thought my ribs might crack.

*Please. Please let her be okay. Please let her be safe.*

Then I saw her.

Running toward me on those mismatched shoes. Pigtails bouncing. Face streaked with tears but lit up with something that looked like pure joy.

“DADDY!”

Relief crashed through me so violently my knees almost buckled. I dropped to the ground just in time to catch her as she threw herself into my arms.

“Lily.” I crushed her against my chest. “Oh my God, Lily.”

“Hi, Daddy!” She pulled back, her small hands cupping my face. “I found her! I found Mama!”

The words hit me like a physical blow.

Everything inside me went completely still.

“What?” My voice came out strangled. “What did you say?”

“I found Mama!” She bounced in my arms with excitement. “She was right there! Just standing on the street! And I knew it was her because she looks exactly like you said!”

My heart started pounding for an entirely different reason. “Lily… baby… you couldn’t have found Mama.”

“But I did!” Her face was so earnest. So certain. “I was looking at the cupcakes in the window next door, and then I saw her and I just knew!”

“Sweetheart.” I tried to keep my voice calm. Gentle. “You’ve never met Mama. You don’t know what she looks like.”

“Yes I do!” She insisted. “You tell me all the time! Black hair and green eyes and the most beautiful smile in the whole world!”

Fuck.

I’d been telling her those things. For three years, I’d been keeping Sera alive in bedtime stories and whispered memories. Making sure Lily knew her mother even though they’d never truly met.

“Lots of women have black hair and green eyes,” I said carefully. “You probably just saw someone who looked similar—”

“No!” Lily’s voice got louder. More insistent. “It was her! I know it was!”

“Baby, listen to me.” I set her down gently, kneeling so we were eye level. “Mama isn’t here. She’s far away. You just saw someone who reminded you of her.”

“But she looked exactly right!” Lily’s bottom lip started to tremble. “And she smelled pretty! Like flowers and something else! Something that made me feel safe!”

My chest tightened painfully. “What did she smell like?”

“Like… like jasmine!” Lily’s face scrunched up with concentration. “That’s what Mrs. Betty has in her garden! And rain! She smelled like jasmine and rain!”

Oh God.

Sera’s scent. But she already lost that, how could Lily…?

My hands started shaking. “Lily. Look at me. Look at Daddy.”

She met my eyes, her own filling with tears.

“Where did you see this woman?” I asked. “Where exactly?”

“Around the corner!” She pointed back the way she’d come. “By the street with all the trees!”

Maple Street. Two blocks away.

“And she talked to you?” My voice was getting rougher. Harder to control.

Lily nodded. “She was really nice! Her voice was all soft and pretty. And she knelt down to talk to me like you do. And her eyes—Daddy, her eyes were so pretty! Deeper than mine. Like green glass! Like the forest!”

“What was she wearing?” I stood up, already scanning the street. “Do you remember?”

“Um…” Lily bit her lip, thinking hard. “Jeans! Dark blue jeans. And a white shirt with buttons. And a jacket! A brown jacket!”

“Was she alone?”

“No! There was a man with her! He looked worried when I ran away.”

Something ugly twisted in my chest. Jealousy. Rage. Possessiveness.

“Show me,” I said, taking Lily’s hand. “Show me exactly where you saw her.”

We moved fast. My wolf was clawing at my insides, desperate to find our mate.

*Three years. Three fucking years of searching and she’s here. Right here.*

“There!” Lily pointed to a spot near the corner. “Right there! That’s where I found her!”

I lifted my face, breathing deep. Searching for any trace of her scent.

But nothing. I can’t smell her scent anymore.

“She was real,” Lily tugged on my hand. “She was really here.”

I knelt down, pressing my palm against the sidewalk. My chest felt like it was being crushed.

“Daddy?” Lily’s small voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. “Why did she say she wasn’t my mama? I told her she was, but she said she wasn’t. She said she had her own children. Far away.”

I pulled Lily close, letting her cry into my shoulder while my mind raced.

“Maybe it’s just a sweet mistake, babe.”

I stood up, lifting Lily with me. My eyes scanned every face on the street. Every woman with dark hair. Every potential glimpse of the person I’d been searching for.

But no one was her.