Chapter 125 125
Aurélie POV
“Aurélie where is Théo?”
The shift in Fabrice’s tone is immediate. The lightness vanishes, replaced by something sharp and serious.
“Why?” I frown, unease prickling beneath my skin.
“I think if we knew where Théo was,” he says carefully, “Damien might feel less inclined to stay. He knows you’re up to something. And so do I.”
Less inclined to stay.
The words hit harder than they should. Does that mean if Théo wasn’t running some secret errand for me, Damien wouldn’t want to return? That the kiss last night wasn’t the mate bond awakening but manipulation?
No. Damien wasn’t like that.
He always said things outright.
Didn’t he?
I don’t answer immediately. My back stiffens, the sting settling deep.
“He’s safe,” I finally say. “And he’s in regular contact with me now.”
“Regular?” Fabrice presses. “How regular?”
“He’s in a shipping town up north. He discovered that Geneviève had connections there before she joined her mate’s pack.”
“Geneviève?” He exhales sharply. “You sent him after Geneviève?”
“Of course I did!” I snap. “I’m not waiting around for her to strike again, Fabrice. I refuse to let us be sitting ducks.”
Fabrice POV
Is that truly what she believes that we’re helpless? That Geneviève would simply waltz back into our lives and attack us again?
I won’t pretend the threat doesn’t exist. I know it does. But with Damien fully aware of what Geneviève did to Aurélie and the fact she shot him she has no leverage left.
And return for what?
She is no longer Luna. No longer influential within the Bloodnight pack or any alliance. If anything, with Aurélie and Damien forming a fragile truce, Geneviève has nothing. No power. No protection.
Exile would be the best outcome for her assuming she hasn’t already fled the country.
There are few places she could hide. Even fewer packs that would shelter her, let alone allow her any influence. Most packs fall under either the Bloodnight or Darkvale alliances, and once informed of her treachery, any of them would assist in capturing her.
“What’s really going on?” I step closer, taking Aurélie’s hand in mine.
We’re still speaking through the mind-link, but I can feel the alpha house beginning to stir awake.
“I need to protec”
“No,” I interrupt gently. “This is something else. Your emotions are everywhere.”
My hand rises instinctively to her cheek and I don’t miss it. The unmistakable, potent scent of Damien clinging to her.
“Did something happen between you and Damien?”
“No… I mean, yes,” she admits. “He stayed in my room. But nothing like that. We just slept on the balcony…”
Her cheeks flame crimson.
“On the balcony?”
“He kissed me,” she confesses, burying her face in her hands.
“Really?”
“I think… I think we’re mates.”
“You think?” I murmur. “Judging by how possessive he was of you last night, that only confirms what I suspected.”
I’d thought it for some time. Last night only sealed it. Only a mate especially of an alpha female would display that level of possessiveness so openly, in front of so many.
“I don’t know what to do,” she whispers.
And what am I supposed to say?
I’ve always been fiercely protective of Aurélie and the children. They are mine just as much as they are his.
Do I remind her of the devastation he left behind?
Of the day he chose Geneviève over her?
Of how he accused her of adultery, rejected his own child, believed the baby was mine only to later think the child had died when Geneviève shoved her down the stairs?
Instead, I pull her into my arms.
“If he wants to return to the pack,” I say quietly, “we can make it work.”
She barely has time to respond before her bedroom door opens.
Damien stands there, his gaze immediately locking onto our closeness. Jealousy flashes through his stormy blue eyes but it fades quickly as Dominique and Delphine slip past him, bounding down the stairs.
“Daddy!” Delphine wraps her arms around my legs.
Guilt curls in my chest. She calls me Daddy not him.
I look up, meeting Damien’s stare. It’s heavy. Loaded.
Perhaps it’s time we finally had the conversation we’d started four years ago only this time, his deranged ex wouldn’t be there to poison everything.
“I’m starving,” Dominique announces as he descends more slowly, stopping beside Aurélie. His eyes flick back to Damien, catching the tension between us.
“Élodie is making pancakes,” Aurélie says brightly.
Just then, the door behind me opens.
Florence steps out freshly showered, fully dressed, her expression calm and composed, as though nothing had happened between us the night before. Any trace of my scent would’ve been washed away.
“Morning,” she says awkwardly to Aurélie before heading down the stairs with Delphine.
You need to follow her, Aurélie urges through the mind-link.
I do as she asks, leaving her alone with Damien and Dominique.
“Mum,” Dominique suddenly blurts, his voice echoing down the stairwell, “why do you smell like Alpha Damien?”
Perfect timing.
Absolutely perfect.