Chapter 178 178
Damien POV
I roll my eyes at Lucas’s smug grin. It’s painfully obvious why he, Fabrice, and Maurice get along so well. I’m convinced the three of them have some unspoken agreement to wind me up at every opportunity.
My wolf, having thoroughly rubbed his scent over Aurélie’s, is riding high now possessive, protective, restless. It’s the most I can give him for the moment. He growls constantly, demanding I mark her, but he’ll have to wait. This isn’t just about Aurélie and me. It never was. It’s about the children. And Fabrice.
I’m still the outsider here. Florence is too. One wrong step and I know exactly what will happen walls will come up, doors will close, and Fabrice will pull rank. He might even reject Florence altogether.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love her. He does. But I think his love for Aurélie and the children the family they built together is stronger than even he wants to admit. Once he marks Florence, their bond should settle into place. My wolf believes the ceremony will fix everything, like a magical bandage slapped over old wounds.
I’m not that naïve.
Marking Florence will make her part of their family. He’ll move out. He’ll build a life with her. He might even have children with his mate. But Aurélie, Delphine, and Dominique are his foundation his reason for standing upright in the world. That won’t change.
Just as when I mark Aurélie, it won’t mean we become a family of four.
It means we become a family of six.
That’s the reality created by the mistake I made four years ago. And I owe him deeply for keeping her alive. For keeping her standing when I wasn’t there to do it myself.
Covered in mud, grass, and the lingering scent of animal blood, we gather our clothes and head upstairs. I don’t like the idea of Lucas seeing her naked not now, not after my wolf has made it very clear who she’s chosen.
If belongs to is even the right phrase.
Aurélie doesn’t belong to me. Not anymore. She’s more than capable of surviving without me. I know that.
But I can’t survive without her.
If I’m honest, I think I belong to her now.
If I can show her how good we could be together how solid, how real then she’ll choose me because she wants to. I prefer that to believing the Moon Goddess controls our fate.
Nudity isn’t taboo among shifters. Hell, she was completely naked last night during the rogue attack. But nudity takes on a different weight when it’s singular when one body is bare among clothed people.
Especially when that body is my mate’s.
I let her walk ahead of me up the stairs, watching carefully for any sign of hesitation. When we reach the landing, I release her hand only for her to take it again and pull me straight into her room.
She leads me to the ensuite, steps into the walk-in shower, and turns the water on.
“I really need to shower,” she says, “but I think your wolf might get annoyed if I wash his scent off. If you shower with me, it should keep him appeased.”
Bullshit.
I laugh quietly to myself.
“Sweetheart,” I say, stepping closer with a smirk, “if you want to shower with me, all you have to do is ask.”
She’s fierce as an alpha commanding, unshakable. But when it comes to us, she hesitates. Second-guesses. Maybe she’s afraid of rejection.
“I would never reject you, Aurélie,” I tell her firmly. “I hope you know that.”
I hold her gaze without blinking. There’s no lie in it. Not even a flicker.
Once I mark her, she’ll feel it. She’ll understand exactly what she means to me.
“Aurélie”
“Ssshh.”
Her fingertips press against my mouth, silencing me.
Steam fills the room as the hot water pours, wrapping around us in thick, humid warmth. Her chest rises and falls faster now, breath drawn deep with heat. Tiny beads of sweat form along her temple, and the urge to lick them away nearly drives me mad.
Her cheeks flush. Her lashes darken, thicken. Every part of her becomes more vivid, more tempting, until restraint is hanging by a thread.
She backs into the shower, eyes locked on mine, drawing me in after her. Hot water cascades over my skin, loosening muscles that have been clenched too long by stress, by want, by her.
For a fleeting second, I wonder if she’s truly a werewolf at all.
She feels more like a witch.
“You’re stepping into dangerous territory, sweetheart,” I murmur. “Don’t tease the big bad wolf.”
“Perhaps I’m not teasing,” she gasps.
I turn her swiftly, my tongue tracing the sensitive skin behind her ear before closing over her earlobe.
“Aurélie…” My voice breaks. “I wanted”
I wanted our next time to be slow. Intentional. To savour every breath, every touch.
But the thought of taking her here pressed against warm tiles, water sliding over us ignites something feral inside me.
And I’m not sure how much longer I can hold it back.