Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

32 Chapter 32

32 Chapter 32

Damien’s POV 1

The border situation was spiraling out of control. Patrol reports were stacked on the hood of my jeep like poker cards after a bad hand, each one detailing another rogue attack, another probe at our defenses. Three days of this shit, and my patience was wearing thinner

than paper.

“How bad?” I asked Marcus as he trudged toward me, blood trickling from a fresh cut on his cheek.

“Could be worse.” He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, leaving a red smear across his knuckles. “Three guys got banged up

pretty good, but nothing that won’t heal. Problem is, the bastards are getting cockier.”

I grabbed the map, stabbing red pins into each attack location with more force than necessary. The pattern that emerged made my jaw

clench. These weren’t desperate rogues looking for easy prey-this was organized. Calculated.

“They’re testing us,” I muttered, connecting the dots with my finger. “Hit and run, hit and run. Never staying long enough for a real fight.”

Marcus nodded grimly. “Every damn time, it’s the same thing. They come in hard, make noise, then vanish the second we show real

teeth. Like they’re learning something.”

“Learning what?”

“How fast we respond. How many wolves we send. Which routes we take.” Marcus’s expression darkened. “Alpha, somebody’s mapping

our defenses. This isn’t random violence-it’s reconnaissance.”

hit me like ice water. Organized rogue activity meant someone with

how to

was about to order additional patrols when a sound drifted through the trees that made every hair on my arms

A child’s crying, high and desperate and absolutely

hear that?” I asked Marcus, my

now, more distinct. “That’s…

taken a hostage? Was this some

child lost in the wilderness, helpless and alone in one of the most dangerous areas of

but

I want to be prepared.

the dense forest with the silent precision of seasoned hunters, following the sound of sobbing that seemed to echo from deeper in the trees. The scent trails here were confusing-multiple wolves had passed through recently, their fear and aggression

the source of the crying, another scent reached me through the chaos of rogue markers and

360

<

32 Chapter 32

Familiar. Impossibly familiar.

and jasmine. Sweet and pure and absolutely out of place in

Sera’s scent.

and

any trace of

the others to lower their

is, it’s not an

of pine trees and emerged into a small clearing where fallen

the mossy ground with his back

made my heart

Adrian.

the tree trunk, his little arms wrapped around his

and twigs caught in the tangles, and his clothes-a bright

muddy from wandering through the