Chapter 186 186
Damien POV
“I don’t know… she seems perfectly content twirling herself into dizziness.”
“Trust me,” Maurice replies smoothly, “that little angel wants a daddy–daughter dance. Are you going to oblige her, or should I see if Fabrice is free?”
Twat.
I want to wipe that smug grin off his face as he shovels another spoonful of cherry trifle into his mouth. I want to shove that spoon somewhere the sun has never shone.
My gaze drifts back to Delphine just as she spins again too fast this time her legs wobbling when she stops so abruptly she nearly topples. What wouldn’t I do for this perfect little girl?
Surely a dance is harmless. Surely it’s something I can give her.
I step onto the dance floor, the only adult there for now, and bow low before her.
“May I have this dance, my lady?”
I exaggerate the politeness, extending my hand for her to take. Her large green eyes lift to mine, and then she does the most heart-achingly adorable thing.
She’s too small. Even with me bending, there’s still a gap between us. Carefully so carefully she steps onto my feet, slow and tentative, as if she’s afraid she might hurt me.
It doesn’t help much with the height difference, but it hits me square in the chest. She wraps her arms around my thighs, gripping tight, worried she might fall. I begin to move, lifting my feet in a gentle rhythm.
It becomes a slow dance. She relaxes almost instantly, as though she’s done this many times before. I, on the other hand, feel like I might shatter.
Dancing with my daughter is something I never imagined the Moon Goddess would plan for me.
Aurélie is avoiding me. I’ve danced with one female in my lifenow I’ve danced with the other.
Watching Aurélie from a distance, I thank the Moon Goddess and curse her in the same breath. I need to be able to mind-link with her. The way some of these males’ eyes linger on her is igniting a possessiveness in both my wolf and my skin, and I’m struggling to resist the pull.
A cigarette helps ground me.
I step outside, smoking, keeping a clear line of sight through the windows to where the children are inside. Maurice is out here too, along with a few of my men.
Damn it Élodie insisted phones be switched off, and it’s only when I spot a guest sneaking a glance at theirs that I remember my own.
I pull it from my pocket and switch it on, taking a drag as notification after notification vibrates violently in my hand.
What the hell?
Missed calls from Lucas.
A sharp, suffocating panic lodges in the back of my throat. I can’t swallow it down. He never leaves voicemails he knows better, in case my phone is ever compromised but the text that lights up my screen makes me growl outright.
He’s broken protocol sending this.
I don’t know why you aren’t answering your phone, but you need to come straight back to the pack. It’s URGENT!!!
I drop the cigarette, grinding it out beneath my boot as that panic mutates into something far more unfamiliar.
Fear.
I don’t remember feeling fear not like this. Not before Aurélie came back into my life. Now I feel it daily, constantly threaded through my thoughts, especially after that fucking warehouse incident on Maurice’s territory.
“There you are.” Aurélie’s face brightens when she sees me approaching, though my steps feel heavy, each one echoing through the dance floor even over the pounding music.
“What’s wrong?” Her expression shifts instantly, concern sharpening her features.
I want to tell her everything. That something is wrong. That something has happened. But I can’t risk her insisting on coming with me.
“I need to head back to the pack,” I say carefully. “I’ll leave some of my men”
“No. Take them.” Her brows knit together as she reaches up, her hand cupping my face. The touch shatters the icy façade I’ve wrapped around myself, exposing the truth beneath it.
Fear.
She’s right. They’re well guarded here.
“I can come”
“No. Stay here.”
I’m aware of every set of eyes on us as I pull her close and kiss her deep, possessive, claiming those soft, lush lips as mine. Gasps ripple through the room.
“Damien,” she growls softly against my mouth.
“Stay here,” I command, letting the Alpha edge slip through.
Then I turn on my heel, signaling for my men to follow, and leave before she can argue.