Chapter 171 171
Aurélie’s POV
My eyelids grow heavy, my wolf settling contentedly with how close I am to Damien. Sleep begins to pull me under when a faint tingling spreads along my arm where his fingers trail followed by warmth, then wetness. I register the soft drag of his tongue, the careful press as he offers his alpha saliva to my wound, intent on helping it heal.
“How long has she been asleep?”
The sound of his voice barely reaches me, my body flinching at a distant, unidentifiable pain.
“An hour…”
I recognize Fabrice’s frustrated tone through the fog in my mind. I try to surface, to wake properly, but my body refuses every muscle still burning, still demanding more rest.
“She should have come to the hospital, damn it!”
I’m drifting again when I feel my arm being tugged.
“I’ll need to staple this. It won’t heal without it.”
My body is too weak to register the pain. It passes beneath my awareness, unnoticed. I hear the sharp, metallic clicks of the staples being set, followed by the soft rustle of fabric as my arm is carefully wrapped.
“She didn’t want to burden you,” Damien says quietly. “Not tonight. She would’ve come later. She’s only just returned.”
“She could’ve gotten an infection,” Fabrice snaps, then exhales heavily. “Tell her to wake me when she does. I need sleep before delivering a newborn one of the warriors’ mates pushed herself so hard her waters broke.”
A pause.
“Do you want me to call my midwife?” Damien offers. She’s elderly, but her hands are steady and skilled valuable in moments like this.
“I’ll be fine after some sleep…” Fabrice’s voice fades as he starts to leave. “…but thank you.”
The words carry more weight than they seem. Coming from Fabrice, they always do.
Pain in my arm finally breaks through, sharp enough to drag me awake in a sheen of sweat. The television is still on some mid-morning program droning softly in the background. Mid-morning?
How long had I been out?
As my senses fully return, I realize I’m still sprawled across Damien’s lap, his hand resting protectively on my stomach, his head tipped forward in sleep.
Something soft brushes my cheek.
Delphine climbs onto the sofa, bunny tucked firmly under her arm. She scoops up the remote and gently shifts Damien’s free arm aside to make space for herself. Then, in that small corner of the sofa, she curls in, looping his arm back around her before settling her head against his chest.
“Can I watch a princess film, Mummy?” she asks, eyes never leaving the remote in her hands.
“Yes, darling. Of course you can. Are you hungry?”
“I can wait. No one else is up.”
“I can make you something”
“That’s okay, Mummy. You rest. I can wait.”
I push myself upright despite my body’s protest, wincing as pain flares. Delphine is never this patient.
“Are you okay?” I ask gently.
“I was really scared, Mummy,” she admits softly. “But Roland looked after me.”
“Is that so?” I can’t help the small smirk when her cheeks turn pink.
“Is Dominique okay?”
“He’s still asleep. Why?” I hadn’t sensed anyone else awake.
She hesitates. “You know when you tell your warriors to do something… and you give off that feeling?”
The question catches me off guard but I understand what she means. The alpha aura. A command.
“Yes,” I say carefully. “Why?”
“Well oh, this is new.” She presses play on the remote, starting a newly released movie.
“Delphine,” I gently remind her, nudging her back to the conversation.
“Well… Dominique did that. To Miss Lambert.” She says it casually, as if it’s nothing, her attention already drifting back to the screen while she remains tucked safely against Damien’s side.
Sleep is impossible now.
Cold settles deep in my chest as I stand and move toward the kitchen, deciding to put together something between breakfast and lunch. No one would’ve eaten properly after last night, and everyone would’ve burned through more energy than they realized.
I need to do something. Anything.
The unease inside me sharpens, the nagging feeling I’ve carried about Dominique growing heavier now that I know he can project and hold a command can unleash an aura.
Damien had been right.
Deep down, I think he already knows.
And maybe… maybe it’s time.
Time to tell them the truth about their father.