Chapter 145 145
Aurélie POV
I can feel my wolf surging forward, her need to shift burning hot beneath my skin. My arms tingle violently as fur begins to push through, my bones stretching, my teeth lengthening into sharp canines.
“…the daughter of the Alpha and Luna you murdered in cold blood.”
The words leave me as my grip finally gives out. My phone slips from my fingers and hits the ground, forgotten. My wolf drags the shift out deliberately what normally takes less than a second becomes slow and theatrical. She wants him to see. To feel fear. To understand exactly what he’s facing.
With a final, thunderous growl, she takes over completely arching her back as she finishes the shift, muscles coiling, ready to tear his head from his shoulders.
Damien POV
I watch in awe as Aurélie’s wolf controls the shift with such precision. That kind of restraint speaks of immense strength.
The rogue squirms where he stands, panic setting in as he prepares to run but Théo slams a firm hand onto his shoulder, locking him in place.
As much as every instinct in me wants to let her have this let her wolf taste the revenge she so desperately deserves he has to stay alive. If we want any chance of bringing Geneviève down, he needs to confess this to the pack elders and my council.
Aurélie’s light-brown wolf steals my breath as she shakes out her fur, standing tall over the discarded yoga pants and vest at her feet. There’s something breathtaking about her feminine and lethal, power radiating from every line of her body.
Her dark green eyes lock onto the man as she arches her back, poised to kill.
She lunges.
I shift mid-air, colliding with her and knocking her off course. Fuck I wish I had a mind-link to her right now, so I could tell her to stop. To think beyond this moment. To remember the end goal. Killing him now would leave too many questions unanswered.
Back on all fours, she circles my wolf, teeth bared, searching for an opening. I won’t give her one.
Aurélie, he has to live.
He’ll talk. This is the breakthrough we needed.
She launches again, but I stay between her and the rogue. We crash together, the force of it sending her rolling through the barn wall. Wood explodes outward, splintering violently.
A sharp whimper cuts through the air.
My heart stutters.
“Aurélie!” Théo shouts, taking a step toward the wreckage.
I shift back into human form instantly, blocking him.
“Théo, we need him alive if we’re going to bring Geneviève to justice,” I say sharply. “Take him to a secure hideout until I contact you again.”
It’s an order but one he doesn’t technically have to follow. Relief floods me when he nods without hesitation.
“Don’t you dare double-cross me,” I roar at the rogue before shifting back into my wolf.
She’s not far. I can still catch her scent, sharp and familiar, leading away from the barn. I follow it across the farmland and into a small wooded area.
Her wolf is struggling, trying to yank a large shard of wood from her shoulder, unable to reach it with her teeth. She growls at me a clear warning. She didn’t appreciate what I did.
I know. I’m sorry, sweetheart.
The scent of her blood twists something deep inside my chest. Unable to stand seeing her in pain, I shift back into human form.
I approach slowly, arms out in a clear show that I’m here to help.
She watches me closely but allows me near. I grip the jagged piece of wood and pull it free in one clean motion, tossing it aside. The wound is already beginning to knit itself back together.
I bury my hands and my face into her beautiful fur, grounding both of us.
“Shift, Aurélie,” I command gently but firmly.
Her wolf obeys, shifting back and leaving her naked, trembling, and breathtaking in my arms.