Chapter 38 38
Aurélie POV
“Our borders are secure, Alpha. This must have been a fluke or they waited until the car reached the main road, far enough beyond our pack lands to avoid detection,” Théo says, his tone steady, confident. His security detail was second to none.
He was right. They must have waited. Patient. Calculating. Watching for the moment Dominique was far enough away that our defenses couldn’t sense them.
“I want this ransom note sent for investigation immediately,” I order. “You contact me the moment you have results.”
With Fabrice absent from the meeting, Théo had stepped seamlessly into the role of Beta.
“I will, Alpha. I’ll have it sent straight away.”
Oh, Dominique… stay strong for mummy, my love. I’m coming for you. I will get you out of there. I will keep you safe.
Moon Goddess, please watch over my boy. Protect him. Keep him unharmed. I would do anything to have him back. Anything.
Name the price.
If it is my life in exchange for his, I would give it without hesitation. A mother’s love is the most powerful force in existence. Let him feel it. Let him know I am coming. That I will never leave him.
The emergency meeting ends, but my need to see Delphine is overwhelming. Even with nothing separating us but a brick wall the kitchen just beyond the garden she feels impossibly far away.
I sit on the wooden bench outside, watching her play with the pack cats that always seem to drift into our home. They take turns curling into her lap, purring contentedly beneath her small hands.
My thoughts are chaotic, my heartbeat violently fast. Sitting still feels impossible. Every muscle in my body twitches, begging me to move, to do something. My mind fights viciously to keep images of Dominique in pain from taking hold.
This is my hell.
I am useless.
All I can do is wait, wait for Fabrice to return, then build a plan from whatever information he brings back.
I whisper prayers to the Moon Goddess again, hoping she can hear me. But the sun still burns high in the summer sky, and I fear she listens best at night. I will pray again when darkness falls, when the moon has the power to answer me.
“Mummy… where’s Dominique?”
Delphine’s soft voice jolts me. She continues stroking the cats calmly, completely unaware of how fragile my composure is.
“Dominique…” I have to clear my throat. My voice comes out rough, thick with emotions I’m barely holding together.
“Dominique’s car was in an incident,” I say carefully, “and we think some people may have taken him in.”
“Why?” She scrunches up her nose in confusion.
“I don’t know, baby. They want something from me.” I force the next words past the fear strangling me. “But it’s okay. He’s fine.”
I have to believe that. Without it, there would be no point in breathing.
“He’s fine,” Delphine says with startling certainty. “He’s a little scared, but he’s being very brave for you.”
The confidence in her voice eases the crushing weight in my chest, if only slightly.
“He is?” I whisper.
“Yes. I can feel him. He’ll be okay, mummy.” She smiles up at me as I wipe away the silent tears spilling from my eyes.
This again.
They’ve always had some sort of link something unexplainable but undeniable. It made their games of hide and seek comically short. Dominique would be hiding, ready to jump out at me or Fabrice, only for Delphine to walk straight to him without fail.
Every time I asked about it, they would shrug, unable to explain it themselves.
Eventually, I stopped asking. I never wanted them to believe their gift was strange or wrong.
I open my mouth to respond when the screech of tyres tearing across gravel pierces the air outside. A car brakes hard in front of the Alpha house.
Seconds later, Fabrice bursts inside.
“Aurélie?” he calls.
I scoop Delphine up into my arms and run straight toward him.