5163 Chapter 63


    Seraphina’s POV 1


    The words hit me like a physical blow, stealing the breath from my lungs. Adrian’s father. Damien had just imed to be Adrian’s father, with thatmanding alpha authority that brooked no argument.


    My hands trembled as I gripped the wooden spoon, the pasta sauce forgotten as I stared at Damien in shock. His silver-blue eyes met mine across the suddenly silent kitchen, and in them I saw absolute certainty, possessive determination, and something else-a


    challenge.


    Caleb’s face went pale, his eyes darting between Damien and me with growing understanding.


    “I…” The words stuck in my throat. How could I exin this?


    Adrian, bless his innocent heart, seemedpletely oblivious to the earth-shattering revtion that had just been dropped. He was still


    holding Damien’s hand, looking up at him with those bright eyes.


    “You’re my daddy?” Adrian asked with the kind of simple directness that only children possessed. There was no confusion in his voice, no


    doubt-just eptance and a kind of wondering joy.


    “This is…” Caleb’s voice was hoarse. He cleared his throat and tried again. “This is Adrian’s father?”


    Heat flooded my cheeks. There was no way to make this less awkward. “Caleb,” I said quietly, “this is Damien Nightshadow. He’s… he’s


    my…”


    The words caught in my throat again. What was Damien to me? My mate? My boss? All of the above?


    Damien rose to his full height, keeping one protective hand on Adrian’s shoulder. When he spoke, his voice carried that alpha authority


    that made my knees weak.


    “I’m Sera’s mate,” he said simply, and the possessive way he said it made my stomach flip.


    “I see,” Caleb said stiffly. His friendly demeanor hadpletely disappeared, reced by something cooler, more distant. “I wasn’t aware


    that Sera was in a rtionship.”


    “I actually wanted to tell you,” I said, relief flooding through me as I found the right words. “About Damien and me, I mean. But every time


    I tried to bring it up while I was here, something would interrupt us.”


    Caleb’s expression softened immediately, the hurt fading from his eyes as understanding took its ce. A gentle smile curved his lips as


    he nodded.


    “That sounds about right,” he said with a quiet chuckle.


    “We just found each other, Damien said smoothly, stepping closer to me. The heat of his body at my back was bothforting and overwhelming. “It’s been a… surprising discovery for both of us.”


    Damien’s hand settled on my shoulder, a warm, possessive weight that made A practically purr with satisfaction. “Sera has had to deal


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    63 Chapter 63


    with a lot recently,” he said, and there was warning in his voice. “Family issues. Dangerous situations. I’ve been helping her navigate


    them.”


    I could feel the alpha dominance radiating from Damien, could see how it made Caleb stiffen with instinctive submission. But to Caleb’s


    credit, he didn’t back down entirely.


    “Yes,” Caleb said carefully, “she mentioned some family trouble. I’m d she has… support.”


    The word ‘support’ came out like he was chewing ss.


    “Mommy,” Adrian piped up, apparently deciding the grown-ups were being boring, “can we eat now? I’m really hungry!”


    “Of course, sweetheart,” I said, my voice only slightly shaky. “Let me just finish the sauce.”


    I turned back to the stove, determined to focus on something-anything-other than the suffocating tension that had settled over my


    kitchen like a thick fog.


    Damien appeared at my left elbow, wordlessly taking over chopping vegetables. Caleb materialized at my right side, silently washing


    dishes with the kind of focused intensity usually reserved for defusing bombs.


    The silence was deafening.


    I stirred the pasta sauce with perhaps more vigor than strictly necessary, hyperaware of the tworge males nking me like awkwardly


    helpful bookends. Damien reached across me for the salt at the exact same moment Caleb moved to grab a dish towel. It would have


    beenical if it weren’t so painfully ufortable.


    “Salt, Damien said curtly.


    “Towel,” Caleb replied with equal brevity.


    Adrian, blissfully oblivious to the adult weirdness surrounding him. He zoomed between our legs, nearly tripping Damien, who steadied


    himself with a hand on my shoulder. Caleb stepped sideways to avoid the small missile that was my son, bumping into me in the process.


    “Sorry,” both men mumbled simultaneously, then red at each other for the synchronized apology.


    I gritted my teeth and continued stirring, while Adrianunched into what appeared to be an interpretive dance routine in the three-


    square-foot space between the refrigerator and the counter


    The pasta was starting to stick to the bottom of the pan. The sauce was bubbling ominously. Adrian had progressed to some sort of


    acrobatic routine that involved jumping from chair to chair while making sound effects that could probably be heard three apartments


    over.


    I was approximately thirty seconds away from throwing down my wooden spoon and shouting at all three of them to GET OUT when the blessed sound of a key turning in the lock echoed through the apartment.


    “Sera! I’m back! How did the trip to the mysterious northern territories go? Did you find what you were looking for, or-” Ophelia’s voice called out, and I swear I heard angels singing. 1


    Her words cut off abruptly as she appeared in the kitchen doorway and took in the scene: me standing at the stove, Adrian bouncing excitedly next to Damien, Caleb looking like he’d rather be anywhere else, and an atmosphere thick enough to cut with a knife.


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    63 Chapter 63


    But Ophelia, being Ophelia, didn’t miss a beat. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on Caleb withser-sharp focus, and a slow, appreciative


    smile spread across her face.


    “Well, well, well,” she said, her voice rich with amusement. “And who is this handsome new addition to our little gathering?”


    I groaned internally. Trust Ophelia to make an already awkward situation infinitely moreplicated.


    “Ophelia,” I said quickly, “this is Caleb Morrison. He gave me a ride back from the northern territories. Caleb, this is my best friend,


    Ophelia.”


    Caleb, looking grateful for a friendly face, stepped forward with a genuine smile.


    “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ophelia,” he said, offering his hand. “Sera has told me so much about you.”


    “Has she now?” Ophelia’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she shook his hand, holding on just a beat longer than strictly necessary. “And


    here I thought she was keeping all the good-looking men to herself.”


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