Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

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57 Chapter 57

57 Chapter 57

Damien’s POV 1

The sound of my phone buzzing on the nightstand jolted me awake at exactly 5:47 AM. For a heart-stopping moment, panic flooded my system as I reached for it, expecting some emergency from the northern territories where Sera was conducting her heritage search.

Instead, I found a text from Ophelia.

*Emergency at the hospital. My mom had a stroke. Can you handle Adrian today? I’m so sorry – I know this is last minute but I can’t

reach anyone else and I have to get to Portland immediately.*

I scrubbed my hands over my face, trying to shake off the lingering drowsiness. Of course I could handle Adrian for a day. How hard

could it be?

*Of course. Take care of your mom. Adrian will be fine.*

Her response came immediately: *Thank you SO much. I’ll leave the spare key under the flower pot by the door. He knows the routine.*

Twenty minutes later, I stood outside Sera’s modest apartment building, still slightly disoriented by the early hour and the suburban

quiet. The key was exactly where she’d said it would be, hidden beneath a ceramic pot containing.

I let myself in as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake Adrian before necessary.

“Mr. Damien?” A small voice drifted from the direction of bedroom. “Is that you?”

“Yeah, buddy, it’s me, I called softly, following the sound of his voice down a short hallway. “Aunt Ophelia had to go help her mom, so I’m

going to hang out with you today.”

Adrian’s bedroom door was cracked open. He was sitting up in bed, his dark curls sticking up at impossible angles and his blue eyes still

heavy with sleep. He wore Spider-Man pajamas that were slightly too big for his small frame, the sleeves covering his hands completely.

“Is her mom going to be okay?”

“I think so,” I said honestly, settling on the edge of his bed carefully. The mattress dipped under my weight, and he scooted closer

he was doing it. “But Aunt Ophelia wants to be there with her, just like how your

if you

solemnly, apparently satisfied with this explanation. “Are we going

usually have?” I asked, genuinely

we have breakfast. Aunt Ophelia makes really good pancakes, but she says they’re not as

maybe watch cartoons if

his nightstand and realized we had exactly forty-seven minutes to accomplish all

get him to

10-35

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57 Chapter 57

confidence than I felt. “But we need to get moving if

time.”

of instant energy that only children seemed capable of summoning. “I can help! I’m

at stirring.”

box of pancake mix and a note

continuously as we worked through the pancake process. He told me about his friend at

reading to him about dragons who

disastrous results. “Mommy says that’s how you get really

scraping pancake fragments off the pan with growing

so wrong so quickly?

for the spatula with the fearless confidence of someone

for the bubbles on top,

handle properly, he demonstrated the proper pancake-flipping technique. The pancake landed perfectly in the pan, golden brown and

you learn to do that?”

he said proudly. “She says everyone should know

edible pancakes, which Adrian declared “almost as

ones.” Victory, apparently, came in small and sticky

with the controlled chaos of dozens of small children arriving for their day. I watched other parents navigating the drop-off routine with practiced ease, and tried to project the same casual

out of my

walked him to his classroom, his small hand warm

you want,” I said, surprised by how much I hoped his answer would

picture I’m going to draw of you today. I’m going to make

give you superhero muscles.”

a wonderful day, sweetie,” I said, crouching down to Adrian’s level.

hug that was