Chapter 351 351
Sabine POV
My eyes drift open slowly and the moment they do, I regret it.
A dull, all-consuming ache rolls through my body, an unwelcome reminder of yesterday’s training with Damien. Every muscle protests as I sit up, my hand coming to my temples, fingers pressing in an attempt to ease the tension headache that’s settled there like a vice.
She’s getting stronger.
Inch by inch, she’s been working her way through the psychological barrier I’ve built to contain her. She forced her way through during training her strength shocking even Damien.
That can’t happen again.
I reach beneath the bed and pull out my backpack, fishing out my phone and switching it on. As I wait for a notification, my jaw tightens when nothing appears.
Still nothing from Father.
He’s starting to really piss me off. The man could hold a grudge there’s no denying that.
I open a new message and type Clémence’s number from memory. I know it by heart.
It’s Sab. I need more.
I send it, knowing full well that once I do, she’ll insist on meeting for a drop-off.
Already? Her reply comes quicker than expected even for her.
I’ve lost my last batch. How long before you can get them for me?
As soon as you want. Where are you?
Shit.
I knew she’d ask that straight away. I never let her know where I was normally I’d walk miles before meeting her near the farm.
I can’t exactly walk five miles off-site here without someone noticing.
I’ll let you know when I’m next free to meet, but please get some ready…
I send the message, then power my phone off and tuck it back into my backpack, sliding it under the bed like a secret I’m not proud of.
Once dressed, I head downstairs to look for Maurice. He never came back up to check on me unless he did and I slept straight through it. Judging by the light streaming through the windows, it’s already early afternoon.
I must have slept through lunch.
I find Aurélie and the two betas in the sitting room, their quiet conversation dying the instant I step inside.
“Have you seen Maurice?” I ask, keenly aware that I’ve interrupted something. They make no effort to hide it.
“Sab,” Aurélie says gently, “you slept through lunch. You must have needed it. Come I made you a sandwich.”
She takes my hand and leads me into the kitchen before I can argue.
“That’s great, thank you,” I reply, my stomach growling loudly at the thought of food. I missed both breakfast and lunch. I always eat after training.
Except this morning.
I barely have time to sit before Delphine and Dominique barrel in, dumping their entire play-putty box across the table, surrounding my plate with a rainbow of chaos.
“Can you play with us, Auntie Sab?” Delphine asks, fixing me with those impossibly sweet eyes.
She knows I can’t say no.
“What are we playing?”
“I want to make mermaids,” she says, already gathering the blue and green putty, “but Dominique wants dinosaurs.”
“Then what should I make…” I pretend to think. “I know how about a lagoon for the mermaids and a zoo for the dinosaurs?”
“Dinosaurs don’t live in zoos, Auntie Sab,” Dominique corrects me with a dramatic sigh, reminding me exactly who’s in charge.
“Alright,” I laugh. “How about a big volcano instead?”
His eyes widen instantly. “With lava?”
“Dripping lava,” he adds reverently.
Sounds messy.
“If you want.”
I’m pretty proud of my lagoon-and-volcano masterpiece especially considering I manage it one-handed, the other arm wrapped around Frédéric, who clearly wants another cuddle.
I’m chatting with Aurélie, Lucas, and Fabrice when the back door opens.
Both alphas walk in.
Caked in dried mud.
And blood.
Every conversation dies instantly. All eyes track them as they move deeper into the kitchen.
What the hell happened?
I don’t expect Damien to approach me and I don’t want him to. He smells awful, blood and earth clinging to him.
But he does.
“I’m sorry, Sab,” he says quietly, bending to press a gentle kiss to my forehead before brushing a hand over Frédéric’s head.
The softness of his tone throws me until I remember just how furious I was this morning.
“It’s fine, Damien,” I say evenly. “I know you mean well. But I’m not weak. When I say enough, I mean enough.”
I hold his gaze, setting the boundary clearly.
“I won’t do it again,” he replies. “Next time”
“There won’t be a next time.”
Maurice’s voice cuts through the room as he pours himself a glass of water at the sink.
“Oh?” I turn toward him.
“I’m taking over your training from now on,” he declares, his mood dark and thunderous.
His eyes meet Damien’s. Damien simply nods accepting it without argument before sitting down with the children, asking them about the putty scene like nothing happened.
He reaches for Frédéric, lifting him gently from my arms
and the baby immediately protests, crying loudly at the disruption.
It isn’t Damien who calms him.
It’s Dominique.
A small hand placed carefully on Frédéric’s chest, a soft, instinctive touch that soothes him back into sleep.