Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother - Chapter 181

Chapter 181: Chapter 181
Damien’s POV

The drive home was silent except for Lily’s soft sniffling in the backseat.

I gripped the steering wheel tight enough to make my knuckles ache. My jaw was clenched so hard I thought my teeth might crack.

*She was here.*

Maybe.

Probably not.

And if she was—if Sera was really here, in this city, close enough for Lily to see her—then what?

What did that mean?

That she’d been here all along? That she’d watched us from a distance but never bothered to make contact? That she’d moved on with her life while we fell apart without her?

The anger hit me like a freight train. Hot and ugly and completely unwelcome.

Three years.

Three fucking years of searching. Of lying awake wondering if she was safe. Of telling my children bedtime stories about their mother so they wouldn’t forget her face.

And she’d just… what? Been living her life somewhere? Happy? Content?

While I raised our children alone?

“Daddy?” Lily’s small voice cut through my thoughts. “Are you mad at me?”

The question was like ice water down my spine.

I pulled into our driveway and killed the engine, turning to look at her in the backseat. Her face was streaked with tears. Her pigtails were a disaster. Those mismatched shoes broke my heart.

“No, baby.” I forced my voice to gentle. “I’m not mad at you. Not even a little bit.”

“But you look scary.” Her bottom lip trembled. “Like you want to hit something.”

She wasn’t wrong. I did want to hit something. Preferably whatever circumstances had kept Sera away for three years.

“I’m just tired,” I lied. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.”

—

The house was chaos within minutes.

“Adrian!” I called up the stairs. “Come help me with dinner!”

“Five more minutes!” His voice drifted down from his room. “I’m at a really good part!”

“Now, please.”

Grumbling. Footsteps. Then my eight-year-old appeared at the top of the stairs, his dark hair sticking up in three different directions, his glasses sliding down his nose.

“What are we having?” he asked.

“Whatever I can throw together in twenty minutes.” I headed toward the kitchen. “You’re on salad duty.”

Adrian followed, dragging his feet. “Why can’t we just order pizza?”

“Because we had pizza yesterday.”

“Pizza is nutritious!”

“Pizza is not a food group.”

Lily appeared in the kitchen doorway, still wearing those mismatched shoes. “Can I help?”

“You can set the table,” I told her. “Plates, forks, and napkins.”

She nodded seriously and ran off to grab the dishes. I heard a crash. Something breaking.

Deep breath.

“I’m okay!” Lily’s voice rang out. “It was just a cup! A small cup!”

Adrian snorted with laughter. “She’s a disaster.”

“Be nice to your sister.”

“I am being nice. If I wasn’t being nice, I’d tell her she’s been crying about that fake mom lady all day.”

My hand froze on the refrigerator handle. “What?”

“The lady at the bakery.” Adrian pulled vegetables from the crisper drawer. “Lily won’t shut up about her. She keeps saying she found our mom, but that’s obviously impossible because Mom left three years ago and isn’t coming back.”

“Adrian—”

“It’s fine, Dad.” He started washing lettuce with mechanical efficiency. “I’m over it. Mom made her choice. We’re better off without her anyway.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?” He looked up at me, and the anger in his eyes was devastating. “She didn’t even say goodbye. Just wrote a stupid letter and disappeared. If she actually cared about us, she would’ve stayed.”

I opened my mouth. Closed it. What was I supposed to say to that?

But maybe Adrian was right.

Maybe she’d made her choice. And that choice was to leave us behind.

“Set the table,” I said finally. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Adrian grabbed the salad bowl and walked out.

I stood there in the kitchen, surrounded by half-prepared food, and let myself feel it.

The anger.

Three years ago, I would have defended Sera to anyone. Would have torn apart anyone who dared suggest she didn’t love us.

But now?

Now I’d cleared out most of the rogue territories. Made our pack safe. Built a stable home for our children.

And she still hadn’t come back. Hadn’t even tried to make contact.

Maybe she really didn’t care anymore.

The thought made something dark and bitter twist in my chest.

—

Dinner was tense.

Lily pushed food around her plate, occasionally sniffling. Adrian ate in aggressive silence. I pretended everything was normal.

“How was school today?” I asked.

Adrian shrugged. “Fine.”

“Learn anything interesting?”

“Not really.”

“I saw Mama today!” Lily announced suddenly. “She was really pretty!”

Adrian rolled his eyes. “You saw some random lady who looked vaguely like the pictures Dad has shown us.”

“She wasn’t random!” Lily’s voice got high-pitched. Defensive. “She had forest eyes and night hair and she smelled like flowers!”

“So do about a million other women in this city.”

“But she was special! I could feel it!” Lily turned to me, her eyes pleading. “Tell him, Daddy! Tell him I really found her!”

I set down my fork carefully. “Lily, sweetheart. I know you believe you saw Mama. But Adrian’s right. Sometimes people look similar—”

“NO!” She slammed her tiny fist on the table. Her plate jumped. “Why doesn’t anyone believe me?”

“Because you’re making it up,” Adrian said flatly.

“I’m not!”

“Yes you are! Mom’s gone! She left us! She doesn’t want us anymore!”

“ADRIAN!” My voice came out louder than I intended.

Silence crashed over the table.

Lily was crying now. Full-on sobbing. Adrian looked away, his jaw tight.

I rubbed my face with both hands. “Everyone finish eating. Please.”

“I’m not hungry,” Adrian mumbled.

“Me neither,” Lily whispered.

“Then go to your rooms. Both of you.”

They fled like the house was on fire.

I sat there alone at the dinner table, surrounded by uneaten food, and let the anger wash over me in waves.

This was Sera’s fault.

She’d left. She’d abandoned us. And now our children were falling apart because they didn’t understand why their mother didn’t love them enough to stay.

Hell, I didn’t understand either.

My phone buzzed.

I pulled it out, expecting another work email or pack business.

Instead, it was a text from Lucas.

*Hey man! Riley and I are throwing a party for Grace’s third birthday this Saturday. Nothing fancy, just family and close friends. Would love if you and the kids could come.*

I stared at the message for a long moment.

A normal party. Normal friends. Normal life things.

Part of me wanted to say no. To stay home and wallow in this anger and hurt.

But another part—the part that was trying desperately to be a good father—knew the kids needed this. Needed to be around other children. Needed to do normal things and have normal fun.

I typed back: *We’ll be there. What time?*

*2 PM! See you then!*

*Count us in,* I texted back.