Chapter 156 156
Aurélie POV
“I could transfer him to the Bloodnight trackers…”
The suggestion catches me off guard.
“They’re close?” I ask sharply.
“Oh yes. They haven’t stopped tracking me. They’re still active.”
Damn it, Damien. I told him I had this under control.
“No,” I cut in immediately. “Bring him back here. Blindfold him. I’ll prepare a house arrest.”
My voice hardens. “Hurry, Theo. Émilie is in pain.”
It’s been several hours since I made that call. I hadn’t asked Theo where he was only how long it would take. I already knew the answer in my bones.
In the meantime, I stayed close to Émilie while Fabrice kept her under observation. He managed to stop the bleeding, thank the Goddess, and the ultrasound showed the baby was still fine… for now. But the relief was short-lived. Émilie had fractured her pelvis. She lay resting now, fragile and pale, and the injury would complicate the delivery. Strict bed rest would be unavoidable until the baby was fully developed.
Roland looked like a ghost of himself ashen, hollow-eyed, crushed beneath a weight of guilt no one could lift from him. No words I offered reached him. Nothing I did helped.
Strangely, the only person who managed to soothe him was Delphine.
When I brought him home, it was as though she sensed the tragedy before a word was spoken. She simply opened her arms and held him on the sofa while they watched a film together the same way he had held her when Dominique went missing.
Dominique, meanwhile, sat nearby, staring at the two of them with a sharp, unhappy glint in his eyes. I couldn’t tell whether it was jealousy at Delphine monopolising Roland, or his instinctive protectiveness flaring as her brother.
Florence took my place beside Émilie so I could prepare for our unwanted guest and keep a careful watch on Roland. I assigned one of our spare houses and ordered my warriors to install hidden microphones and cameras throughout the building.
The thought of spying on someone left a bitter taste in my mouth. Perhaps Damien was rubbing off on me. Still, I needed answers. Nothing would happen in that house without me seeing it or hearing it.
Alpha Maurice was already reinforcing the boundaries with both his men and mine, ensuring every inch of the perimeter was sealed tight. He offered to wait at the pack gates for Theo’s arrival before returning with them. I had told him exactly who the rogue was and exactly what crimes he had committed.
That was when I felt it.
The unmistakable prickle of a trespasser.
We’d dealt with rogues near our borders before even on our land so I knew the sensation would settle after a few hours. Still, it coiled uncomfortably in my chest.
When the cars finally pulled into the courtyard, I ordered the children to remain inside the house. Under no circumstances were they to come outside.
He was blindfolded, but it didn’t matter. He could feel me. A rogue standing face to face with an alliance alpha.
His knees betrayed him. I watched them tremble, struggling to stay upright beneath the weight of my aura.
“Go to her, Theo. Leave him with me,” I commanded through the mind-link. He needed to be with his mate now.
“Alpha Aurélie Roux,” the rogue said smoothly, “an honour to be in your presence again.”
Does he truly think I’ve forgotten what happened the last time he stood here?
A growl tore from my chest, low and dangerous. My wolf clawed violently at the surface, demanding release. Demanding blood.
A firm hand landed on my shoulder Maurice’s. Grounding. Silent. He didn’t let the rogue hear the chaos tearing through me.
“A lesser alpha would’ve decapitated you already,” Maurice thundered. “You cross her, you answer to me.”
The rogue fell silent.
“You are under house arrest,” I said coldly, stepping forward. “You will be watched twenty-four hours a day. My men are under strict orders to attack and kill instantly should you step out of line. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Alpha,” he whispered. “I understand.”
I moved closer. Too close.
His scent flooded my senses sour, rotten, invasive. It burned the back of my throat.
“Won’t you tell me your name?” I asked softly. I wanted to know the name of the man who had brought terror to my pack all those years ago.
“And if you won’t,” I leaned in, my voice dropping to a lethal whisper, “I have ways of making you.”
This was the man who carried out the orders to slaughter my parents. My people.
He’d spent too long under the command of a head warrior. His wolf faltered now, crumbling beneath my dominance while mine surged, feral and unrelenting.
“I can’t,” he choked, trembling violently. “She’ll kill me.”
“Better me than her,” I replied coolly. “I have a feeling she’d take her time.”
I straightened. “Take him away.”
My men seized him and dragged him toward the assigned house as my growl echoed through the courtyard low, furious, and full of promise.