Chapter 204 204
Maurice’s POV
“Damien, you can’t do that. It’s not Darkvale or Bloodnight territory. You can’t just storm in”
What had I walked into?
Lucas’s call had been brief and maddeningly vague only that I needed to get to the Bloodnight pack immediately. No explanation. No context. For a fleeting moment, I’d even wondered if it was some elaborate surprise, given the secrecy surrounding my arrival.
The illusion shattered the second I stepped foot inside the pack.
There was no celebration. No warmth. Only tension thick enough to choke on.
I had never seen Damien like this. He looked hollowed out untouched food sitting nearby, dark circles carved deep beneath his eyes. He hadn’t slept. He hadn’t eaten. And yet, he hadn’t stopped moving.
By the time I arrived, both alliances were already on alert, mobilized against a threat I never imagined could reach this magnitude.
When I entered Damien’s office, the weight of it hit me all at once. He was slumped forward, elbows on the desk, head buried in his hands. Maps and photographs were spread everywhere, layered and overlapping as he dissected them relentlessly.
It didn’t fully register until I noticed the photographs pinned to the walls.
The Roux family.
That was when understanding settled heavily in my chest.
“I don’t fucking care,” Damien growled, lifting his head just enough for me to see the fire burning in his eyes. “If there’s even a chance they’re on that land”
“Let me speak to the Alpha,” I cut in firmly. “He’s a contact. Let me get his approval. You don’t want to ignite another conflict when you’re already preparing for war.”
“We don’t have time”
“I’ll be quick,” I promised.
I stepped out of his office, Lucas following closely behind and steering me toward the kitchen so I could make the call.
“Lucas,” I demanded once we were alone, “what the actual fuck happened?”
I had a rough picture by now but I needed the full truth.
“Alpha Gaston returned while Damien was at the Saint Wolf pack,” Lucas explained. “Aurélie followed him back, but Damien sent her away. Gaston then laid claim to the pack again said their union violates his authority as head of the Bloodnight alliance.”
“But they were already married,” I said sharply.
“That was Aurélie’s argument,” Lucas replied grimly. “But you know Gaston.”
I exhaled slowly. “Alright. Fill me in on the rest. Quickly.”
We were drowning in unknowns especially the identity of the unseen player pulling strings behind Gaston.
“Alpha?”
Every head turned as Roland Théo’s son stepped forward hesitantly.
Damien was in no mood for interruptions.
“Can I hold Bunny, please?” Roland asked softly. “I promise I’ll take good care of him.”
His gaze was fixed on the battered teddy bear the one whose owner was missing.
I saw Théo move instinctively toward his son, concern etched across his face. Damien followed Roland’s line of sight to the teddy still clutched in his hand the same one he’d been holding since I arrived. Likely since the moment he’d recovered it.
The toy was worn and dirty, clearly in desperate need of a wash but nothing love couldn’t mend.
Damien took a steadying breath and knelt, handing the teddy to Roland. He ruffled the boy’s dark hair gently.
“She’ll be glad you’re looking after him,” he said, managing a sad smile. The kind only a broken man could give.
“Alpha,” one of his IT specialists announced as he entered the same man I was fairly certain had hacked my security systems at least once before.
“We’ve got a lead.”
Damien straightened instantly. “Where?”
“Not far from the crash site. A video doorbell picked up the suspected vehicles.”
I had watched the footage myself the ambush, the warrior escort vehicle exploding, Aurélie’s car being rammed off the road. When the screen showed the vehicle flipping again and again before finally coming to rest, the collective gasp in the room tore at me.
Denise broke down instantly. Élodie guided her out, her sobs echoing through the hallway long after they disappeared.
When the bodies were pulled from the wreckage, Damien’s wolf surged violently. The footage wouldn’t zoom in enough but we could all see the blood. Aurélie had taken the brunt of the impact.
The power radiating off Damien was suffocating. His wolf was barely restrained an aura I had never experienced before.
A true king wolf.
When Lucas paused the video and revealed that Dominique was conscious, it reignited our resolve. They were alive. That was enough.
“Maurice,” Damien said sharply, already shifting into command mode. “I’m taking the first vehicle. Can you coordinate with Simon and the others to hold back half a mile as backup?”
Even now amid chaos and grief he delegated with precision.
He trusted me.
“Of course,” I replied without hesitation.
“I’m coming too,” Roland declared suddenly, bold as brass.
“Absolutely not”
“Dad, I’ve been helping this whole time,” Roland protested. “You can’t expect me to stay behind now.”
Damien cut them both off swiftly.