Chapter 187 187
Aurélie POV
I watch Damien leave and I’m not the only one. Many of the guests do the same, their gazes lingering, assessing. Most of them know exactly who I am now. The Luna of the Bloodnight pack. Any anonymity I once had is gone.
The Darkvale Alpha.
The ex-wife of the Bloodnight Alpha.
Except… we aren’t exes anymore. Not really. And that truth hadn’t been confirmed until just now until Damien claimed my lips in front of everyone, unmistakably, undeniably.
Something feels wrong.
I can’t quite name it, but the unease coils tight in my chest. Damien left in a rush, and for once, he didn’t argue with me about taking his warriors. That alone tells me everything. Whatever is happening back at the pack is serious enough that he felt the need to surround himself with his ultimate protectors.
Which only deepens my fear that he’s walking straight into danger.
A new sensation blooms through the pack bond warm, steady, unfamiliar. Florence. Her presence settles into my soul like it has always belonged there, her pull resting comfortably in my chest, waiting to be acknowledged… to be cherished.
I mind-link her the moment the bond fully clicks into place, letting her feel my promise that I will support her and Fabrice in every way I can as my beta pair.
Fabrice’s happiness radiates outward, impossible to miss. It’s almost blinding, a light so bright it feels like the Moon Goddess herself could spot it from the night sky. He’s already introducing Florence to his fellow betas, strengthening connections. Betas network just as fiercely as Alphas and Lunas, quietly reinforcing the web that keeps packs strong.
Nearby, Simon and Élodie converse with them already acting as Alpha and Luna of Saint Wolf, even if their official ceremony is still to come. Élodie’s black dress clings gently to her growing bump, a secret I don’t believe has left their pack yet. Perhaps they’re waiting until their ceremony. Just in case.
One thing is certain I’ll repay Élodie for the lavish sweet tables at these events when her little one is old enough to indulge in sugar too. That’s exactly where my children are right now, hovering at the sweets table, stuffing their goodie bags for the journey home tomorrow.
Maurice has been conspicuously absent for most of the night. After charming a second helping of dessert from one of the waitresses, I suspect he’s slipped away with her entirely.
Alphas.
If a few little Maurices are running around in nine months’ time, he’ll have no one to blame but himself.
After being asked to dance by more single Alphas and Betas than I care to count, I decide it’s time to call it a night with Dominique and Delphine. Normally, I wouldn’t have minded dancing but after that photograph, I refuse to take the risk. Even knowing it was fake, someone could easily capture an image and twist it into something ugly.
And no matter how hard I try, I can’t shake the image of Damien leaving.
“Everything okay?” Fabrice’s hand rests on my shoulder, stopping me mid-step. I glance up, only then realizing I’d been pacing near the sweets table.
“What’s wrong?” He reads me too easily. But this is his night his ceremony. I won’t tarnish it.
“Nothing.” I blink, holding my breath, forcing the truth to stay buried deep in my stomach.
“Aurélie?” He arches an eyebrow, unconvinced.
It’s Florence who strides over, her expression firm, determined.
“We’re family now, aren’t we?” she says, throwing my own words back at me. “You need to tell us so we can help you and the children.”
She’s already stepping fully into her role as female beta, wearing it with fierce conviction.
“Damien left with the warriors,” I admit quietly. “He didn’t say much, but”
“But?” Fabrice presses.
“I don’t know… something feels off. I’m worried he might be in danger.”
“You want to go to the Bloodnight pack?” Fabrice asks, groaning softly as he removes his glasses and rubs his eyes. “Now?”
“We’ll all go,” Florence offers immediately.
“No,” I cut in. “That’s not necessary.”
“Aurélie,” Fabrice says gently but firmly, “you have reason to be concerned. The last few weeks alone prove you’re not imagining things. We’ll go together. If nothing’s wrong, then all we’ve wasted is petrol.”
Damien POV
As I drive through the pack gates, my unease spikes instantly.
They’re open.
Unmanned.
I lower the window, and an eerie silence crashes over me like a physical force. No patrols. No movement. No sound.
What the hell happened?
I don’t sense any pack deaths, so it hasn’t been a rogue slaughter not yet. Unless they’re waiting. Unless they’ve chosen to ambush us all together… starting with my return.