Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

145 Chapter 145

Seraphina’s POV 1

The late afternoon sun streamed through the kitchen windows as | peeled potatoes at the sink. Margaret

hummed softly beside me, seasoning the pot roast that had been cooking all day, filling the house with the most

incredible smells.

“Passthat rosemary, would you, honey?” Margaret asked, gesturing toward the herb garden on the

windowsill.

I handed her the small ceramic pot, watching as she pinched off fresh leaves with practiced ease. Everything she

did looked so natural,

so effortless. Like she'd been born knowing how to make a house into a home.

“You're getting good at this,” she said, glancing at my pile of perfectly peeled potatoes.

The back door opened with a soft creak, and Caleb appeared, followed by his father. Both men looked pleasantly

tired from their day in

the garage, grease stains on their clothes and satisfied expressions on their faces.

“Perfect timing,” Margaret called out. “Dinner’s almost ready. Go wash up, both of you.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Robert said with an exaggerated salute that made his wife roll her eyes.

“And change those shirts!” Margaret added as they headed toward the stairs. “We're eating off the good china

tonight.”

| looked at her in surprise. “The good china? What's the occasion?”

Margaret shrugged, but there was something pleased and almost shy in her expression. “Do | need an occasion

to use my nice things for

my family?”

Twenty minutes later, we were all seated around the dining room table, which Margaret had set with her

grandmother’s china and cloth

napkins that matched the curtains. Candles flickered between serving dishes loaded with more food than four

people could possibly eat.

“This is too much,” | protested, but | was smiling as | said it.

“Nonsense,” Margaret waved off my concern. “It’s not every day we have our Sarah hfor dinner.”

Sarah. The nthey'd givento protect my identity. The story was simple-Caleb’s distant cousin from the

city, down on her luck,

staying with them while she got back on her feet. A few people in town had asked casual questions, but no one

seemed suspicious.

The Morrisons had been so careful. When we went into town for supplies, Margaret did most of the talking. | kept

my head down,

avoided unnecessary conversations with strangers, and let them handle any curious neighbors.

The conversation flowed easily, filled with local gossip and gentle humor. They includedin every story, every

joke, makingfeel like I'd always been part of their little circle. By the twe were finishing dessert-

Margaret's famous apple pie-I felt more content

than | had in months.

“I'll help with the dishes,” | offered as we started clearing the table.

“Absolutely not,” Margaret said firmly. “You worked all day. Robert and | will handle cleanup.”

“But”

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145 Chapter 145

“No buts.” She shooedtoward the living room. “Go relax with Caleb. You've earned it.”

So | found myself curled up on the couch next to Caleb, sold western playing on the television screen,

feeling more at peace than I'd thought possible just a few weeks ago.

| was still wrestling with the comfort when the sound of knocking echoed from the front door.

“I'll get it,” | said automatically, starting to rise from the couch.

Caleb’s hand shot out, wrapping around my wrist with surprising strength. The touch sent an unexpected jolt

through me, but it was his

expression that made my blood run cold.

His head was tilted slightly, nostrils flaring, and his entire body had gone rigid with tension.

“What is it?” | whispered, though | was already afraid | knew.

“I smell Alpha,” he said quietly, his voice tight with barely controlled alarm. “Strong Alpha. And it’s getting

closer.”

My heart stopped. Then started beating so hard | thought it might burst from my chest.

*No. Oh God, no. They found me.*

Every emotion I'd been trying to suppress for three weeks crashed overat once. Terror, longing, guilt, panic-

they all twisted

together in my stomach until | thought | might be sick.

“Sarah?” Margaret's voice cfrom the kitchen doorway, sharp with concern. She must have sensed the

sudden tension in the room.

“What's wrong?”

But before anyone could answer, the knocking cagain. Harder this time. More insistent.

And then | heard it. The voice that haunted my dreams.

“Sera! | know you're in there!”

My vision went white around the edges. The room tilted sideways.

*Damien *

“Oh, honey: Margaret was besidein an instant, her arms wrapping around my shoulders as my knees

buckled. “Robert! Robert, get

over here!”

But | could barely hear her over the sound of my own pulse hammering in my ears. Damien was here. Somehow,

impossibly, he'd found

me.

“Con,” Margaret whispered urgently, pullingto my feet. “Cwith me, sweetheart. Right now.”

She half-carriedacross the living room, through a doorway I'd never noticed before, into a small space that

felt like a closet but was clearly meant for hiding. A panic room, maybe, or just a clever architectural feature that

provided concealment.

The space was small but not cramped, with a tiny window that faced away from the front of the house and a

chair that suggested this hiding spot had been used before.

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145 Chapter 145

“Margaret, |—"

“Shh.” She stroked my hair with gentle, motherly hands. “You're safe, baby. No one can find you here. We'll

handle this.”

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