Chapter 227 227
Aurélie POV
I was not impressed.
I woke up alone in bed, fully convinced Damien had gone to prepare dinner. Instead, when I went downstairs, I discovered not only was he gone but so were Maurice, Lucas, and a large number of warriors.
Even worse… some of my warriors.
“I’m coming,” Fabrice said over the mind-link as I tore into him for not waking me as well. I was already sliding into my car, my temper blazing hot.
“No,” I snapped, starting the engine. “I’ll be fine. I know exactly where she is.”
“Keep the kids safe. I’ll be back before they wake.”
All Fabrice had managed to tell me was Ash Valley and warehouses. That was more than enough. I already had a strong suspicion about where this girl had been hiding.
When I arrived, the scene before me was far from the united front I’d expected.
Damien’s wolf and Maurice’s were locked in a vicious dominance clash Damien winning, but only just, and not for long.
Had he forgotten this was Maurice’s land?
That Maurice wasn’t part of any alliance?
That he held no royal authority here?
I didn’t need a mind-link for Damien to understand the fury burning in my eyes. My glare slid next to my own warriors the ones foolish enough to think they could follow another Alpha’s orders without mine.
Mate or not, if Damien wanted to delay completing our bond, then he could wait to command my pack.
Still seething, I was too focused on reprimanding Damien’s wolf to notice Maurice had already reached the girl until his possessive growl shattered the air.
“Mine!”
“What?” I stepped toward Maurice, only for Damien’s wolf to growl at me apparently offended by the naked man standing in front of us.
She was young, but she held herself with surprising strength. A metal bar was clenched tightly in her hands, ready to strike at the slightest threat.
She looked utterly exhausted. Her clothes were unkempt, her hair dull and unwashed. Her hands and legs trembled not the kind of shake that comes from fear alone, but something deeper. Something wrong.
The girl suddenly laughed.
Damien answered with a warning growl.
“What’s so funny?” Maurice asked, his voice lower than usual. He already sounded like he was fighting his wolf resisting the urge to mark her.
“It makes sense now,” she said lightly. “I must’ve had a fever. I’ve obviously passed out… or I’m hallucinating. Or both.”
She flashed a wide, toothy grin one bold enough to rival Maurice’s.
She seemed harmless. Yet something about her was undeniably off. I just couldn’t pinpoint it yet.
“You two!” I barked at my warriors who’d arrived without permission.
“Shift and find clothes for Alpha Damien and Alpha Maurice. Now.”
Command laced my voice, absolute and unquestionable. I felt her watching me felt the weight of her attention and Damien did not like it.
His wolf stepped closer, attempting to push me aside, before moving toward the girl and sniffing her openly.
Maurice’s eyes flashed in warning.
Honestly. Alphas.
When my men returned with clothing, I tossed some at Maurice while Damien shifted.
“Well?” I demanded, irritation flaring. The lack of a mind-link between Damien and me was infuriating in moments like this.
“She smells like him,” Damien murmured to me.
Maurice heard anyway.
“Put some fucking clothes on, Maurice!” Damien shouted, making the girl flinch.
Maurice didn’t move. He remained planted in front of her, his hand lifting to rest against her forehead. I watched in stunned silence as she leaned into his touch.
Their mate bond was powerful though she clearly believed she was dreaming.
“She’s burning up,” Maurice said, turning to me.
He gestured for me to come closer. I did, placing my hand at her neck.
She was scorching.
“I’ll take her back to Fabrice”
“You’ll do no such thing, Aurélie,” Maurice snapped. “This is my land”
“And Fabrice is the best doctor around,” I cut in sharply. “Don’t turn this into pack politics.”
I raised an eyebrow, holding my ground. She was coming with me argue all he wanted.
“Aurélie”
“Maurice,” Damien growled, stepping between us, blocking my path, “why do I have to keep telling you to put clothes on?”
“You forget I’m not part of your alliances”
“Don’t we know it,” Damien cut in.
“I don’t answer to anyone,” Maurice continued, “especially not on my own land.”
“Maurice,” I said calmly, stepping out from behind Damien. “We need to confirm her identity. If she is who we think she is, then she falls under Damien’s care part of Damien’s pack. You’re welcome to join us, but she’s leaving with us.”
Damien’s protectiveness was appreciated but unnecessary. I was one of the strongest Alphas here.
“Why aren’t you putting clothes on?” Damien growled again, throwing his hands up in frustration.
I turned away from the arguing males and focused on the girl.
“My name is Aurélie,” I said gently.
She no longer laughed. Her eyes tracked my every move, wary, alert her heartbeat loud enough that even I could hear it.
“You’re safe,” I assured her. “No one here will hurt you.”
“People…” She laughed again unnervingly so.
Her eyes shifted grey, yellow-tinged, feline. Her pupils darkened as her body swayed.
“I’m Sabine,” she said softly. “Bee or Sab, for short.”
“I need you to come with us.”
She leaned closer and whispered, “Can you do that… turn into a wolf?”
Why whisper? She had to know we could all hear her.
“I’m a werewolf,” I answered carefully. “Yes. Have you never seen a wolf before?”
“No,” she said simply. “I haven’t been outside my father’s apartment building for six years.”
I glanced back at Damien and Maurice. Their argument had died completely.
“What about your mother?” I asked. “Is anyone else there with you?”
“No. Just me.” She smiled brightly but the sadness beneath it was unmistakable.
Well. She wouldn’t be alone anymore.
“I’d like my doctor to check your fever,” I continued. “Get you antibiotics if”
“Insulin,” she interrupted, lowering the metal bar at last.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m diabetic,” she said quietly. “I need insulin shots every day. I didn’t bring my medication. If I don’t get it… I could go into shock.”
“Aurélie…” Damien’s growl was low and heavy.
Maurice stood frozen, the truth finally crashing down on him.
She hadn’t even shifted.
Her wolf had been suppressed for years kept dormant by medication given by her own father.
What kind of monster does that?
No wonder she seemed feral. Unbalanced. Wild.
“You look like him,” she said suddenly, tilting her head as she studied Damien.
“Don’t say that,” he scoffed, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Sabine,” I said softly, “this is Damien. And I think… he might be your brother.”