Chapter 64 64
Damien POV
He sent those flowers to piss me off.
The smug bastard knew exactly what he was doing. As if I wasn’t already in a foul mood from Delphine calling the beta Daddy every five damn minutes now I had to stomach a bouquet of roses on top of it.
And then there was Geneviève.
I caught her trying to crawl into my bed at dawn, all quiet and deliberate, like she belonged there. I kicked her out without hesitation. What the hell was that about? Were people deliberately testing my patience today?
The flowers were the final straw.
I stormed out of the kitchen, irritation boiling over, deciding I’d take it out on training. Lucas was off-site, which meant I could push harder than usual.
And why the hell was Élodie here?
I couldn’t refuse her entry she grew up in this pack, her family was here but shit, if timing wasn’t a cruel joke. Normally, her sharp tongue and ability to needle Geneviève secretly amused me.
Not today.
Even Florence had been acting strange.
And now, apparently, we had the Saint Wolf beta sniffing around too. What the hell was going on? My house didn’t even feel like mine anymore.
I took it out on my warriors.
The moment they lined up, I ripped my shirt off and challenged them outright daring them to take me down.
At one point, it was ten against one.
Didn’t matter.
I dropped every single one of them into the dirt, my wolf still restless, still unsatisfied.
Sexual frustration clawed at me, sharp and unrelenting and Aurélie’s scent wasn’t helping. Cherry blossom and sea salt lingered everywhere in the Alpha house, wrapping around me, crawling under my skin, putting thoughts in my head I didn’t want to examine.
“Go see the doctors,” I growled at a warrior whose arm I’d just broken.
“I’m fine, Alpha,” he insisted, trying to push back into the fight.
I wasn’t my father.
He would’ve broken the other arm just to make a point.
“Are you disobeying an order?” I released my aura.
My warriors were strong. Trained to resist commands, to push back against any Alpha foolish enough to underestimate them.
But my aura wasn’t just Alpha.
It was King.
His neck bowed instantly, submission snapping into place as he turned and headed for the medical centre, shoulders slumped, head lowered. They were the best because they demanded perfection from themselves even when it hurt.
I turned back to the rest of them, already preparing to start another group spar.
My wolf was still pacing, still hungry. I needed to burn this frustration out of my system.
“Don’t you want to know why I’m here?”
Élodie caught up to me in the courtyard as I left training. I was covered in sweat, mud, and blood, my muscles screaming for a long, hot shower.
“I’ve learned with you that it’s better not to ask,” I replied flatly.
Did I want to know?
No.
I kept walking.
She called my name anyway, sharp and commanding, expecting me to stop in my courtyard.
All I wanted was my shower.
“Damien!”
“What?” I growled, already irritated. Every time she showed up, I forgot just how annoying she could be.
“I had a phone call from a very upset Florence.”
That caught my attention.
“Oh?” I glanced at her. Florence had seemed fine. Well… until Aurélie and her entourage arrived. She had been off since then.
“Yes. It took a while to calm her down enough for her to even form a sentence.”
“She can leave if she wants,” I grunted. “I don’t have time for emotional females in my house.”
That had always been Geneviève’s advantage no emotions, no endless discussions about feelings.
“She’s found her mate.”
That stopped me cold.
“She has?” My gaze snapped back to Élodie, interest sparking despite myself.
“Yes and he’s here. In this pack.”
She practically vibrated with excitement.
It struck me then how long Florence had been here. Too long not to have found him sooner. She’d kept close to the Alpha house, probably too close. Assigned a pack house next to Denise, but always arriving early, leaving late. Especially lately.
“Élodie, I don’t have time for pack gossip,” I snapped, turning back toward my office.
Lucas still hadn’t checked in. That was starting to bother me.
“It’s Fabrice!” she whispered, hurrying after me.
I froze.
“What?”
“Her mate,” she clarified smugly. “It’s Fabrice.”
The confusion cleared all at once.
“Wait what?” I turned slowly. “Fabrice is her mate?”
My eyes widened despite myself.
“The one and only,” Élodie grinned, looking far too pleased. “Leaving Aurélie…”
She looked like a cat that had just gotten the cream.