Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother (Seraphina and Damien) novel Chapter 225

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Damien’s POVO

Light stabbed through my eyelids.

Too bright. Too harsh.

I groaned and tried to roll over. My body protested. Everything ached like I’d been hit by a truck.

Where the hell was I?

I forced my eyes open. Squinted against the morning sun filtering through… curtains I didn’t recognize.

This wasn’t my bedroom.

The walls were the wrong color. Pale blue instead of the warm gray Sera had chosen. The furniture was different. Modern. Expensive. Unfamiliar.

My heart started racing.

I sat up fast. Too fast. The room spun violently.

And that’s when I realized I was naked.

Completely naked.

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Under sheets that weren’t mine. In a bed I’d never

seen before.

*What the fuck?*

I looked around frantically. Trying to piece together… anything. Where I was. How I got here. What

happened.

The last thing I remembered was…

Gabriel. The conference room. Something about Valerie wanting to talk.

Then nothing. Complete blank.

I threw off the covers and stood up. My legs wobbled. My head pounded like someone was taking a sledgehammer to my skull.

I needed clothes. Needed to figure out where the hell I

was.

My pants were on the floor. Crumpled. Like they’d been thrown there.

I grabbed them. Started pulling them on with shaking hands.

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*Think. What happened? Where are you?*

The room looked like a hotel. High–end. The kind with room service and overpriced minibars.

But I couldn’t remember coming here. Couldn’t remember checking in. Couldn’t remember anything after sitting down in that conference room.

Movement behind me made me freeze.

A small sound. Like someone shifting under covers.

My entire body went rigid.

I wasn’t alone.

I turned slowly. So slowly. Dread pooling in my

stomach like ice water.

The lump under the blankets moved again. A hand emerged. Then an arm. Then…

“Damien?”

That voice.

No.

*No no no.*

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Emma sat up slowly. The sheet fell away from her

shoulders.

She was naked.

Covered in marks. Bite marks. Bruises. All over her

neck and shoulders and chest.

My marks.

“What-” The word stuck in my throat. “What the fuck is going on?”

Emma’s eyes were red. Swollen. Like she’d been crying. Her hair was a mess. Her makeup smeared.

“You don’t remember?” Her voice came out small.

Broken.

“Remember what?” I took a step back. Hit the wall. “Emma, what the hell happened?”

“Last night.” Tears filled her eyes. “After Gabriel told you about Valerie. You just… you lost it.”

“Lost it how?”

“You got angry. So angry.” Her hands clutched the sheet tighter. “Started saying things about Sera. About

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how she left you. How she didn’t want you. How everything was falling apart.”

I shook my head. “No. That doesn’t sound like-”

“Then you grabbed me.” Her voice cracked. “You said you needed to forget. That you couldn’t stand it anymore. That you needed…”

She couldn’t finish. Just dissolved into sobs.

My stomach turned to lead.

“You brought me here.” Emma gestured around the room. “To this hotel. And you… we…”

“No.” The word came out harsh. Final. “That’s not

possible.”

“Damien, please—”

“I would never!” My voice rose. “I would never do that! I don’t remember any of this!”

“I know.” Fresh tears streamed down her face. “I know

you don’t. That’s what makes it so awful. You were like… like a different person. Not yourself at all.”

She reached out. Her hand trembling.

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I jerked away. “Don’t touch me.”

“Damien-”

“How did we get here?” My mind was racing. Trying to make sense of impossible pieces. “I don’t remember driving. Don’t remember checking in. Don’t remember anything!”

“You were… you were very determined.” Emma’s voice was barely a whisper. “Once you decided, nothing could stop you.”

I looked at her. Really looked at her.

Those marks on her neck. Fresh. Dark purple. Exactly where someone would bite during-

*Stop. Don’t think it. Don’t finish that thought.*

“This isn’t real.” I grabbed my shirt from the floor. Started putting it on with shaking hands. “This can’t be real.”

“I’m sorry.” Emma was still crying. “I’m so sorry. I should have stopped you. Should have called someone. But you were so… and I thought maybe if I just…”

“Get dressed.” The words came out cold. “Now.”

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“Damien-”

“I said get dressed!” I couldn’t look at her. Couldn’t stand to see those marks. That evidence of something I couldn’t remember doing.

She scrambled out of bed. Wrapped the sheet around herself. Started gathering her clothes.

I turned away. Faced the window. Stared at nothing.

*This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening.*

But the evidence was there. The hotel room. Her

nakedness. Those marks. My complete lack of

memory.

Something had happened. Something terrible.

“I’m ready.” Emma’s voice came from behind me.

I didn’t turn around. “Leave.”

“What?”

“Go home. Right now. Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t tell anyone about this.”

“But-”

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“Just go, Emma.” My voice was dead. Flat. “Please.”

Silence. Then footsteps. The door opening. Closing.

She was gone.

I stood there for a long time. Staring at my reflection in the window. This stranger looking back at me.

What had I done?

I didn’t go to the office.

Couldn’t face anyone. Couldn’t pretend everything was normal when nothing was normal.

I drove home in a daze. The city passing by in a blur. Traffic lights. Pedestrians. Normal people living

normal lives.

While mine was falling apart.

I tried calling Sera. Her phone went straight to voicemail.

Tried texting. No response.

*She knows. She has to know. That’s why she’s not

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answering.*

But how could she know? Unless Emma had already…

No. Emma wouldn’t. She was terrified. Crying. She’d seemed just as confused as I was.

But then what? What the hell had happened?

Gabriel’s face flashed through my mind. That smirk.

That casual mention of Valerie.

Had he done something? Drugged me? Set this up

somehow?

But why? What would he gain from-

My phone rang. Lucas.

I almost didn’t answer. But my hand moved automatically.

“Yeah.”

“Where are you?” Lucas’s voice was tight. Worried.

“You missed the morning meeting. Claire’s been trying to reach you.”

“I’m… something came up.”

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“What kind of something?”

I couldn’t tell him. Couldn’t say it out loud because saying it would make it real.

“Just… personal stuff. I’ll be in later.”

“Damien, what’s going on? You sound-”

I hung up.

Kept driving.

The house appeared through the trees. Home. Where Sera and the kids should be.

Where I had to face whatever came next.

I pulled into the driveway. Killed the engine. Sat there

for a moment.

*Just go in. Deal with it. Figure this out.*

The front door was unlocked. I stepped inside.

Darkness.

All the curtains were drawn. No lights on. The house felt empty. Dead.

“Sera?” My voice echoed through the silent rooms.

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No answer.

I checked the kitchen. Empty. The living room. Empty.

*Maybe she took the kids somewhere. Maybe they’re at school and she’s-*

Then I saw her.

Sitting on the couch in the darkness. Completely still.

Like a statue.

“Sera.” Relief flooded through me. “Thank God. I tried calling but you didn’t-”

She turned her head slowly. Looked at me.

And I stopped breathing.

Her eyes were empty. Completely empty. Like someone had reached inside and scooped out everything that made her Sera.

She just stared at me. Through me. Like I was already a ghost.

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