Chapter 21 21
Aurélie POV
Later that evening, after we had devoured our takeaway pizza and bathed the children, the house finally settled into the kind of silence that only came once they were asleep. Their soft breathing echoed faintly from down the hallway, and for a moment I allowed the quiet to steady me.
I sat at my office desk, fingers resting on the edge of my phone, preparing myself for the call I had been dreading since dinner. The call that had been needling at the back of my mind, refusing to let me relax.
“Do you want me to call him?” Fabrice asked from across the desk. He’d been sitting there for several minutes, watching me with the same patient stillness he used whenever he knew I was mentally wrestling something heavy.
I exhaled and shook my head. “Thank you, but it has to be me.” My voice didn’t waver. This was my responsibility my position, my pack, my decision.
I dialed the number. After a few rings, a rough male voice cut through the line.
“Yes?”
“Alpha Quentin?”
“Yes?” His reply came as a grunt, curt and uninterested. It was obvious I wasn’t the first woman to call him about pack matters lately.
“Alpha, this is the Alpha of the Darkvale Pack”
Silence. Heavy, telling silence.
“I wanted to discuss your recent communication with us,” I continued, realizing quickly I needed to be the one to guide this conversation.
“I’m confused,” he said after clearing his throat. “I was under the impression the Alpha handled Darkvale’s communications?”
“I am the Alpha.”
A beat. Then, “Right.” The uncertainty in his tone drifted through the speaker as I set the phone on the desk so Fabrice could listen in.
“Alpha Quentin,” I said, my voice calm and unwavering, “I am the Alpha of the Darkvale Pack, and you’re currently on speaker with my beta. I’m not calling to catch you off guard I’m calling to clarify why you declined my proposal.”
There was a pause, then a muttered, “Alpha… my apologies. Yes, I received a call from the Luna of the Bloodnight Pack. She threatened my pack’s safety if I stepped away from the Alpha King’s alliance treaty.”
So she was his Luna. Judging from the way he shifted nervously over the phone, she might need some lessons in diplomacy or basic pack PR.
“That is precisely why we established a new alliance,” I said. “The Bloodnight Pack will never change. I’ve seen their true nature myself. I’m not pressuring you I simply want to keep communication open. I want you to know that you do have a friend in Darkvale. I can offer protection. Warriors. Resources from our alliance network. Why don’t you come see for yourself how far we’ve progressed?”
“Oh no… I couldn’t do that.” His voice cracked with anxiety. “He’ll be watching everything I do. He’ll have scouts following me.”
His fear was palpable, even over a non-visual call.
“Alright… is there someone else you could send? Your Luna, perhaps?” I looked at Fabrice, shrugging slightly as we tried to devise an alternative together. The Saint Wolf Pack was well-respected; securing their membership would bring others. I’d met Quentin before at a Bloodnight Moon conference always flanked by his fellow alphas, never alone.
“No, I wouldn’t risk her safety,” he answered quickly. “But my beta could go with his mate. They’ve never been off pack grounds, so I could frame it as a short getaway for them. That shouldn’t raise suspicion.”
“That sounds reasonable.”
“I would need your exact address,” he said in a clipped, direct tone.
I hesitated, glancing at Fabrice. This was my pack. My people. Opening our borders was no small decision. It required trust real trust.
“Before I share that, Alpha Quentin,” I said, “I need your word. Alpha to alpha. My identity must remain hidden. There is a reason a female alpha stays off the radar.”
He didn’t hesitate. “Yes, of course, Alpha. You have my word I won’t disclose your identity.”
“Thank you.”
I had just placed a great deal of faith in the Saint Wolf Pack. I only hoped Quentin would prove himself worthy of it. He promised not to reveal my identity even to his beta, in case they were intercepted something the Bloodnight Pack would absolutely attempt.
The next few days were consumed with preparations for the Saint Wolf beta and his mate. They would be staying in the Alpha house another leap of trust on my part, but I couldn’t ask for faith without offering it too.
I was alone in my office on the afternoon of their arrival. Fabrice and Miss Lambert had taken Dominique and Delphine out on their bikes to burn through the endless energy they seemed to wake up with every single day. They were like tiny whirlwinds that didn’t stop moving until they literally collapsed into sleep.
“Alpha, the guests are here,” Théo announced through the pack link.
And just like that, the next chapter of our alliance began.