Chapter 121 121
Damien POV
I knew, just like with her mother, I had a hell of a lot of groundwork to make up for. There was no denying the road ahead of me was long and uneven but I was willing to walk it. To try. To be better. Any father would be better than mine ever was, surely.
“Sounds great,” I said lightly, “but I was actually going to see if your mum wanted to dance…”
“With you?”
He wrinkled his nose instantly, as though the very idea offended him. Most men had to go through the father, not the son but then again, the father was dead. Courtesy of my deranged ex.
Yeah. Don’t fucking mention that tonight, Damien. That would be a first-class ticket to obliterating every brownie point you’ve earned so far.
Aurélie glanced toward the dance floor. Fabrice and Florence were still swaying together, completely lost in each other, while Maurice shamelessly flirted with a handful of lunas much to the visible irritation of their alpha mates. Clémence, meanwhile, was arguing with Lucas, clearly trying to wriggle out of something. Her gaze flickered to me, sharp and calculating.
“Yes,” Aurélie rasped, the word catching in her throat before she cleared it.
“Yes… that would be nice.”
She smiled gently at me, then shot the children a look that brooked no argument.
“But Mummy” Delphine began to protest.
“One dance,” Aurélie soothed immediately, brushing her daughter’s hair back, “and then bedtime.”
I offered my arm and escorted her to the dance floor, her hand resting against me. I made a deliberate point of shielding her from the venomous glare Clémence was directing at us. Clearly, she didn’t enjoy being turned down for a dance.
Well. Tough shit.
I slid one hand to Aurélie’s lower back and took her other hand in mine as she stepped closer. The gasp that escaped her was involuntary just as the move was when I tugged her firmly against me. The space between us had been unbearable. My wolf and I needed her closer. As close as physically possible.
A slow, romantic song filled the room as we began to move together, bodies aligning effortlessly. The lights only magnified her beauty, her frame fitting against mine like it was always meant to be there. I didn’t need to look around to know the attention had shifted. Every eye in the room was on us now.
“Who was the text from?” I murmured against her ear, my lips brushing her earlobe in an attempt to calm the rising urge to drag her out of this place and spend the night alone with her.
She didn’t answer.
I met her eyes, and that told me everything.
So. Theo.
“I have pack business too,” she said coolly. “I wouldn’t presume to know what you get up to.”
Her gaze darkened to a deep forest green as it landed on Clémence who was now being escorted out by Lucas and her father.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” I murmured, tightening my hold just enough to be unmistakable. “My eyes are only for you.”
She needed to know that. To feel it. She was the only woman I wanted.
“So… boils, huh?” she teased, a soft chuckle escaping her as the tension between us eased.
“And just so you know the penis rumour didn’t come from us. I swear.”
Lucas and I had been responsible for more than a few rumours over the years, but that one? That was new.
We were still laughing when Dominique and Delphine came barreling toward us on the dance floor.
“Delphine’s tired,” Dominique announced with a sulk, “but I’m not ready to go to bed.”
“I can keep him company, if you like,” I offered easily. “I did promise him a kick-about.”
I meant it. The party would lose its shine the second Aurélie left she was the centre of it all but I genuinely enjoyed spending time with Dominique one-on-one.
I watched Aurélie’s eyes glaze slightly as she slipped into a brief mind-link, then snapped back, nodding once.
“One more hour,” she said firmly, “while I put Delphine to bed. But when Damien says it’s time”
“I know, Mum,” Dominique cut in eagerly. “I’ll listen to Damien.”
The excitement lighting his face hit me straight in the chest.
Aurélie said her goodnights to Alpha Quentin, Simon, and Élodie before heading off with Delphine. As they disappeared from the room, I turned toward Fabrice.
“I saw that,” I growled playfully fully aware of his mind-linking to ensure we were being watched.
“Come on, Damien!”
My arm was promptly seized by a four-year-old boy who, without me even realising it, was rapidly becoming my entire world.