Chapter 306 306
Aurélie POV
Élodie has been talking at me for the better part of half an hour now. I nod, smile, murmur where appropriate but my very pregnant eyes refuse to stay focused on her face.
The food table keeps calling to me.
So much food.
So many desserts.
I haven’t had much of an appetite lately there’s simply no room left inside me but I’m fairly certain I could still make space for something sweet. Or several things sweet. If nothing else, I can at least try.
I excuse myself and weave through the crowd toward the table, grabbing a plate and stacking it high without shame. The baby shower is beautiful blue and white balloons everywhere, feather-filled boxes scattered around the marquee, all proudly announcing what we’d confirmed at our last scan.
A boy.
We’d planned to wait before finding out, but life had other ideas. I never imagined I’d be pregnant again, and I hadn’t kept most of the baby clothes from last time. So I’d had to start over. This time, I wanted to be ready fully prepared to enjoy those first precious weeks of bonding as a family, without scrambling or regret.
Once my plate is threatening to topple with desserts, I head toward the small bar to order a drink.
That’s when I see him.
Maurice stands there, leaning against the counter, staring into nothing like he’s lost inside his own thoughts.
“Maurice?” I step closer, saying his name softly.
He blinks, pulled back into the moment, and turns to me with a smile that looks practiced one that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. And that alone tells me something is wrong. Maurice has always been joyful, always warm, always shining.
“Aurélie,” he says. “You look radiant.”
I snort. “I’m very pregnant, Maurice. Radiant feels generous. But I’ll take it thank you.” I kiss his cheek, teasing. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” he replies quickly. “Busy with pack matters… setting up some new ventures…” His voice trails off, the words losing conviction as they leave his mouth.
He’s saying them.
But he doesn’t believe them.
And suddenly, guilt settles heavy in my chest. I should have checked on him more.
“You forget,” I say quietly, “that I lived apart from my mate too. A mate I actually rejected.” My throat tightens. “I’m so sorry, Maurice. I’ve been a terrible friend.”
It hadn’t truly occurred to me until now what he might be carrying alone. I had rejected Damien once, yet I’d still felt my wolf calling for him, aching, longing.
“You’ve been pregnant,” Maurice counters gently, “and building a new house…”
“That’s not an excuse,” I interrupt. “I just assumed”
“Assumed what?”
“I don’t know.” My voice drops. “How do you move on when half your soul is hiding?”
I know the answer even as I say it.
Most werewolves never truly move on. A mate bond is nearly impossible to silence rejected or not. Even Damien had struggled more than he ever admitted. His relationship with Geneviève had never been the same after me.
He’d believed I was dead… and still, something inside him had known our story wasn’t finished.
Some things simply refuse to be undone.
Some paths are written long before we ever walk them.
“Time is a powerful healer, Aurélie,” Maurice says after a moment. “Whatever the Moon Goddess has planned for me I trust it will be worth the journey.”
This time, his smile reaches his eyes. That bright, effortless smile of his finally breaks through.
He really is a good man. I can only hope the Moon Goddess
“Ouch.”
The sharp pain cuts through my thoughts without warning.
“Are you all right?” Maurice asks, instantly alarmed.
“Aurél—” Damien’s voice appears just as fast, his presence sudden as he comes up on my other side.
Maurice’s hands land instinctively on my firm, rounded belly.
“It’s okay,” I manage quickly. “The baby just moved”
Another powerful movement interrupts me, a sharp kick pressing into my ribs hard enough to steal my breath and churn my stomach with nausea.
Maurice had touched me out of pure concern, forgetting just for a moment that touching another male’s pregnant mate was forbidden in our world.
And Damien was already on edge.
His hormones were surging, instincts razor-sharp as his body prepared to defend me and our pup. I was at my most vulnerable, and every part of him knew it.
A loud gasp tears from my chest.
Something gushes beneath me.
I look down and my breath leaves me entirely.
Maurice’s tanned suede loafers are soaked.
My waters have broken.