Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother (Seraphina and Damien) novel Chapter 256

Cobblestone 256 Sury

Damien and his pack are patrolling a quiet forest border, sensing an impending attack from their enemy, Voss. After several days of tension and skirmishes, their fears are confirmed when one of their young warriors, James, is caught in a hidden metal trap designed to maim. Damien and his team quickly respond, providing medical aid and ordering a thorough sweep of the area, uncovering multiple traps set in a strategic grid. The use of traps indicates that Voss has detailed knowledge of their patrol routes, suggesting a leak or superior reconnaissance on the enemy’s part.

Back at the base camp, Damien discusses the situation with Lucas, noting that the rogues are probing their defenses with hit-and-run tactics, keeping the pack stretched thin. Despite the danger, life continues around them, and Damien receives a message from Sera, his estranged wife, showing her concern for his safety. Their brief exchange reveals the lingering connection and worry between them, especially regarding their children, who miss him.

As night falls, Damien makes his rounds, checking on the warriors and preparing them mentally for the battle ahead. He offers encouragement to those who are scared, reminding them of what they are fighting for—their families, homes, and way of life. Though exhausted, Damien struggles to sleep, haunted by the looming threat. His restless night is interrupted when a perimeter guard rushes in with urgent news, signaling that a new problem has arisen just as the pack braces for the conflict to escalate.

256 Chapter 256

Damien’s POV

The forest was too quiet.

That’s the first thing I noticed as we moved through the trees. The kind of quiet that made your skin crawl. Like every animal with half a brain had already run.

Smart animals.

“Alpha.” Marcus appeared at my side. His voice low. “We’ve cleared about two miles. No sign of rogues yet.”

“Keep moving.” I scanned the treeline. “They’re out there. Watching. Waiting.”

Five days on this border. Five days of skirmishes and false alarms and waiting for Voss to make his real

move.

He was planning something. I could feel it. That pressure in the air before a storm breaks.

“Spread out,” I ordered. “Twenty–foot intervals. Eyes up. Watch for-”

21:36

1/12

The scream cut through the silence.

Sharp. Agonized. Unmistakably one of ours.

“Move!” I was already running.

Marcus and three others followed. We crashed through underbrush. Branches whipping past. The scent of blood hitting me before I saw anything.

Then I found him.

James. Twenty–two years old. Been with the pack less than a year. Lying on the ground. His leg caught in something metal. Jagged. Wrong.

A trap.

“Shit.” Marcus dropped beside him. “James, don’t move

“It hurts!” James was crying. His face white. Blood pooling beneath his leg. “Oh God, it hurts so bad-”

I knelt on his other side. Assessed the damage. The trap had clamped around his calf. Metal teeth buried deep. Bone probably broken. Tendons definitely severed.

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2/12

“Get the medical kit.” I kept my voice calm. Steady. Even though rage was burning through me. “Now.”

Someone ran. I heard footsteps crashing away.

“Am I going to lose my leg?” James grabbed my arm. His grip weak. Shaking. “Alpha, please—”

“You’re not losing anything.” I looked him in the eye. Made sure he believed me. “But this is going to hurt. Understand?”

He nodded. Barely.

The medical kit arrived. I pulled out morphine. Jabbed it into his thigh. Waited thirty seconds for it to start working.

“Marcus. Hold him down.”

Marcus moved to James’s shoulders. Pressed. Firm but gentle.

I examined the trap mechanism. Old. Rusted. Designed for bears probably. Whoever placed it here knew what they were doing.

Knew that wolves would be running through this area.

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Knew we’d be focused on the trees. On ambush from above. Not the ground.

Smart. Fucking smart.

“On three.” I gripped the release mechanism. “One-”

I released it on one. No point in dragging it out.

The jaws sprang open. James screamed anyway. His body arching. Marcus holding him down.

Blood gushed. I grabbed gauze. Pressed hard against the wound. Stemming the flow.

“Get him back to base camp.” I wrapped the leg tight. Quick. Efficient. “And sweep this entire area. Every inch. I want every trap found and disabled. Clear?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

They carried James away. His screams fading into the

distance.

I stood there. Blood on my hands. Rage building.

Voss. This had Voss written all over it.

Traps weren’t rogue tactics. They were coward tactics. Setting snares for people who couldn’t fight back.

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“Alpha.” One of the scouts approached. His face grim. “We found six more. In a grid pattern. Covering about

half a mile.”

“Disable all of them.” I wiped my hands on my pants. “And tell everyone to watch their step. Voss is playing games.”

“Sir.” The scout hesitated. “If he’s using traps… that means he knows our patrol routes. He knows where we’re searching.”

I’d already thought of that. Which meant we had a leak. Or Voss was better at reconnaissance than I’d given him credit for.

Either way, we had a problem.

The sweep took three hours.

Three hours of painstaking work. Checking every shadow. Every patch of disturbed earth. Every place a trap could hide.

We found fourteen total.

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Fourteen traps. Each one carefully placed. Each one

designed to maim. To slow us down. To make us afraid of our own territory.

By the time we finished, the sun was setting. Long shadows stretching through the trees. The

temperature dropping.

“Back to camp.” I ordered. “We regroup. Plan our next

move.”

The walk back was tense. Everyone watching the ground now. Jumpy. Paranoid.

Exactly what Voss wanted.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

I pulled it out. Battery at thirty percent. Service was shit out here but occasionally a message would push through.

Sera.

**Sera: Just let me know you’re alive.**

I stopped walking. Stared at those six words.

She was worried. About me. Even after everything.

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6/12

Even after the divorce papers and the separation and all the pain I’d caused.

She still cared enough to check if I was breathing.

My chest felt tight. Like someone was squeezing my heart.

“Alpha?” Marcus looked back. “You okay?”

“Fine.” I shoved the phone in my pocket. “Keep moving.”

Base camp was organized chaos.

Warriors coming and going. Medical tents treating injuries. Supply stations handing out food and ammunition. The constant hum of activity.

Lucas met me at the command tent. His face was drawn. Tired. We’d been running on three hours of sleep a night for days.

“James?” I asked.

“Stable. They’re evacuating him to the pack hospital. He’ll keep his leg but he’s done fighting for a while.”

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“Good.” I dropped into a chair. “What’s the status?”

Lucas pulled up a map. Red marks indicating rogue sightings. Blue marks showing our patrol routes.

“They’re probing our defenses.” He pointed to the eastern sector. “Small groups. Hit and run. Testing where we’re weak.”

“And?”

“We’re stretched thin.” His finger traced our lines. “Every time we reinforce one area, they hit another. It’s like they know exactly where we are.”

“They do know.” I explained about the traps. About the grid pattern. About how perfectly placed they’d been.

Silence fell. The only sound was the camp outside. Voices. Movement. Life continuing despite the danger.

“How are the kids?” Lucas asked suddenly.

I opened my eyes. “Fine. Sera’s with them.”

“She came back to the house?”

“Temporarily. Just to take care of them while I’m gone.”

“That’s good. Right?”

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Was it? I didn’t know anymore. Maybe she was just being a good mother. Maybe it meant nothing.

Or maybe…

I pulled out my phone. Looked at her message again.

**Sera: Just let me know you’re alive.**

My thumb hovered over the keyboard. What should I say? How much should I tell her?

The truth? That we’d almost lost a warrior today? That traps were scattered through our territory? That tomorrow might be the day everything went to hell?

No. She had enough to worry about. The kids. The pack. All the responsibilities I’d dumped on her by leaving.

She didn’t need my problems too.

**Me: I’m okay. Sorry for not checking in sooner. Border situation is complicated but we’re handling it. Kids doing alright?**