Chapter 211 212
Damien’s POV
I want to kill him.
I want to kill him with my bare hands.
My own father my blood would betray me so completely? Would betray the Moon Goddess herself with something so vile, so unforgivable?
I rise to my feet, the purpose snapping into place with brutal clarity.
My path is set.
I will find him.
And I will end his life.
No one—no one dares threaten my mate. No one suggests something so twisted, so unnatural, and lives to breathe another day.
I don’t even register how far I’ve gone until I’m standing at the entrance to the secret passageway, my steps driven by a single, violent need to erase that threat from her life, no matter who it is.
A hand closes around my shoulder.
My body reacts instantly, muscles tightening, my wolf surging beneath my skin.
“Not like this, Damien,” Maurice says firmly. “Your family needs you. I’ll help see what I can uncover. You focus on getting her better.”
My wolf snarls, fighting me for control. I don’t even know which of us wants the revenge more.
Maurice moves in front of me, deliberately blocking my line of sight shielding Dominique from the storm raging inside me. He knows this fury cannot be witnessed, not now.
“Don’t do this,” he says quietly. “Don’t become him.”
He presses his forehead to mine, his eyes burning into me, searching past my anger, past my wolf pleading with my soul itself.
He’s right.
I don’t want to be that man.
I am different.
“Alpha, she’s ready…” Lucas calls from behind me as Fabrice prepares to move Aurélie.
“Damien!” Lucas’s voice reaches for me again both aloud and through the bond trying to pull me back from the edge.
But it’s Dominique’s voice that finally breaks through.
“Dad…”
The fire inside me eases, just enough.
I draw in a deep breath and feel it the quiet hum of the mate bond between Aurélie and me. It’s there. Not complete, not yet. That will come when she marks me.
But it’s real.
And it gives me hope.
A sense of belonging I didn’t realize I’d been starving for.
I turn back to her.
I kneel and lift her gently from the floor, cradling her against my chest. Fabrice watches me closely the entire time.
She is the most important thing in my world damn anyone who doubts that. I’m not going to drop her.
I carry her out in steady, unwavering arms. As we pass, warriors from our pack and from Saint Wolf and Ash Valley bow their heads, offering quiet blessings.
An Alpha down female or male was still an ally. And allies wished her strength. Recovery. Life.
“Mummy? Dominique?” Delphine gasps, standing beside an empty car waiting for us. She clutches her bunny tightly, one hand still gripping Roland’s shirt.
She rushes forward and throws herself into Dominique’s arms, her sobs breaking free once more.
“I knew you were okay,” she cries. “I could feel it. But Mummy was hurting.”
Then she pulls away suddenly.
“Daddy!”
She runs to Fabrice, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lifts her up.
“She’s going to be okay, princess,” he promises gently. “I just need to get her to the hospital…”
He tries to lower her, but she clings tighter.
“No, Daddy. Don’t leave me…” she sobs.
My chest tightens painfully for everything she’s endured, for what she’s seen… and for what she’s been spared from seeing.
“It’s fine. I’ll drive,” Lucas says, already stepping forward as one of Aurélie’s warriors tosses him the keys. It feels seamless like we’re moving as one pack, one unit.
“Damien, hold Aurélie steady in the back,” Lucas orders, slipping fully into doctor mode.
I bite down on my tongue to stop a sharp reply. He’s worried. He has every right to be.
I climb into the back seat and carefully pull Aurélie onto my lap, keeping her cradled against me.
I don’t let go.
Not for a second.
She’s safe here in my arms. Where she belongs. Where she’s always belonged.
“I’ll go with Théo,” Dominique says as Delphine climbs into the front seat with Fabrice, settling onto his lap.
“No,” I say sharply. “You stay where I can see you.”
After everything they’ve been through everything it took to get them back neither of them is leaving my sight again. Ever.
“Fabrice will drive ahead with Théo and Roland,” Florence says, appearing at his window. “I’ll prepare a medical room. Lucas will need to drive slowly.”
She knows Fabrice isn’t ready to leave Aurélie not when she may still need care on the way.
“Thank you, Florence,” I tell her. “Use whatever you need. My medical center and staff are under your authority.”
She inclines her head.
“Thank you, Alpha Damien.”
And as the car begins to move, I tighten my hold just slightly anchoring her to me, anchoring myself to the one thing that still matters more than rage.
Her.