Chapter 157 157
Damien POV
I only allowed my warriors to accompany me on the return from the Darkvale pack because I knew Maurice and the Ash Valley warriors would be arriving shortly after our departure. I didn’t like owing Maurice anything we had history but I also knew he wouldn’t refuse if Aurélie was involved.
And truthfully, he seemed far too eager to entangle himself in our lives.
Leaving her went against every instinct I possessed. It felt unnatural, wrong like tearing something vital out of my chest and walking away from it. I missed her, and the twins, more than I had ever imagined possible. My wolf certainly hadn’t forgiven me. He raged constantly, furious that I had left without them. Nights were the worst. By dawn, the pressure inside me became unbearable, forcing me to shift early just to quiet him. The moonlight helped its glow eased the sharp edge of his anxiety, soothed the ache of being separated from his mate and pups.
The moment we returned, Lucas wasted no time. Training resumed the very next day. He pushed the warriors hard, testing their limits, preparing for the inevitable. Geneviève was not the sort to walk away quietly she never had been. And yet, she had to know that if I ever laid eyes on her again, I would kill her without hesitation. Returning would be the same as signing her own death certificate.
On my orders, my trackers continued following Théo’s trail. They caught up with him on the same day we confronted him in the barn. They asked whether they should intercept. For now, I told them no just observe. Keep their distance. But they were to be ready to move the instant the rogue attempted to overpower Théo.
He was holding back. I could feel it.
I didn’t believe for a second that he had suddenly grown a conscience, no matter how convincingly he claimed to want a fresh start. He was trained—trained well enough to take down both an Alpha and a Luna on pack territory. His close-combat skills far exceeded what he was showing. That alone told me everything I needed to know.
I had sent him the money, exactly as promised. Enough to disappear. Enough to start again safely. So why was he still with Théo? Why hadn’t he overpowered him and vanished? The opportunity was right there.
Something didn’t add up and I didn’t trust him.
What was clear, however, was how much lighter the pack felt without Geneviève acting as Luna. The change was unmistakable. I hadn’t noticed it before too consumed by my own misery, my own failures to see how unhappy they had been.
Even Denise finished her work earlier now. There was simply less for her to do. She seemed calmer. Happier. Less strained.
It only reinforced what I already knew: Geneviève had been a burden on this pack, and I had failed them by allowing it to continue.
I hadn’t called or messaged Aurélie. I wanted to give her space to let the dust settle. When I left, I had been intense. I didn’t regret my confession, but I had seen it in her eyes, in the tension of her body. She hadn’t known what to do with the truth I laid bare before her.
If I heard her voice, my wolf would snap. He would take control and run straight through the night to her pack without hesitation.
This morning, I joined training myself. I needed to see for my own eyes whether the warriors had kept up their discipline while both Lucas and I had been away. By the end, my muscles screamed, still burning from sparring with three men at once.
I welcomed the pain.
It helped bleed off the excess energy my wolf had been carrying for days. He had one objective. One singular focus.
Mark. Mate.
In his mind, it was painfully simple. What could possibly be taking me so long?
Between training sessions, I spent the last few days researching financial firms connected to northern shipping ports. The fake photograph sent to Aurélie wasn’t random. Someone had gone out of their way to plant doubt in her mind doubt about us.
Lucas contacted the Black Mist pack to speak with Alpha Jérôme and Clémence directly. Both denied any involvement. They claimed no knowledge of the photograph and no access to Aurélie’s private email.
Nothing about it sat right.
My thoughts circled back to him. But why now? Why interfere at this point? Why involve Clémence at all and why target Aurélie so deliberately? Because that’s exactly what it did. It pushed her away from me just long enough for her to act recklessly, to rush headfirst into danger.
I understood that she was an Alpha in her own right but why couldn’t she act like one when it mattered most? Then again, she wasn’t just an Alpha.
She was my mate.
And my mate needed to be protected.
She wouldn’t like what came next. I knew that. It would cause friction possibly for a long time but she would have to accept my warriors remaining close. Watching. Guarding.
At least until I could put a more permanent solution in place.