Chapter 245 245
Maurice POV
“Feeling better?”
“Yes… although my hands still sting.” She lifts them toward me, palms turned upward. Tiny cuts scatter across her skin, souvenirs from the woods. “If I were a werewolf, wouldn’t these have healed by now?”
“As your wolf becomes more aware, your body will follow,” I tell her, settling beside her on the bed. I take her hands gently in mine. She doesn’t look away as I lower my head, running my tongue slowly along each palm, letting my alpha saliva seep into the shallow wounds to speed the healing.
“What are you doing?” she gasps, sucking in a sharp breath.
“Alpha saliva has healing properties,” I explain quietly. “You’re my mate, Bee. I can help you.”
“Mates…” she murmurs. “What exactly are mates?”
I continue, slow and deliberate, ensuring every cut is touched. “Chosen by the Moon Goddess. Bound to one another. You’re my mate destined for me. Destined to be my pack’s Luna.”
“Right…” Her brow creases as I release her hands. She pulls her legs back in, wrapping her arms around them again. “How will I know we’re mates?”
“Does this tingle?” I ask, tracing a single finger from her toes up to her knee.
Her breath stutters. I can hear her heartbeat quicken instantly.
“Yes,” she exhales.
“There you go,” I say softly. “Only mates have that effect on each other.”
She tilts her head, curiosity sparking. “So if I touched you… would you feel it too?”
“Try it.” I smirk.
She scoffs, unconvinced, though her lips twitch. “Nice try.”
Her expression shifts. “Was Mum mates with Father?”
“No.” My tone sobers. “Damien’s parents were mates. But not all mates are good ones. Gaston wasn’t a good mate to Damien’s mother.” Some bonds are curses, not blessings.
“So… my mum wouldn’t have felt the tingles?”
“No, Bee. Your mother was human. If she had been his mate, she would have felt the bond. Sometimes the Moon Goddess pairs our kind with humans for reasons we don’t fully understand.”
“Like what?”
“We’re stronger. It takes immense control for a werewolf to be gentle with a human mate. And it risks exposing our world to humans.”
She swallows. “So I’m the result of a sleazy affair?”
The way she says it flat, almost dismissive slices through me. My wolf snarls, furious at how little she thinks of herself.
“No.” I lean closer. “Your parents may have loved each other deeply. Only they would have known the truth.”
She shrugs. “I didn’t grow up with a father. Mum barely spoke about him. I had photos, but I just assumed he left. Like some of my friends’ dads.”
There’s no anger. No bitterness. Just acceptance and that unsettles me more than rage ever could. She should be furious. She should want answers. Instead, she carries it like a fact of life.
“You didn’t shift earlier?” she asks suddenly, looking up at me. Curiosity glints in her eyes as they flick briefly toward the files on the bedside table.
“No.”
“Why? He could’ve hurt you.”
“Please,” I scoff lightly, earning a small smile from her.
“Does shifting hurt?”
“No, Bee. It doesn’t.” I hesitate. “Most wolves begin shifting around twelve or thirteen. I won’t lie your delay might mean your wolf needs extra support. But I’ll be there. Every step. I want to help you.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re mates.”
“Right.”
“I brought these files up,” I say, nodding toward the bed. “We’ll go through them one at a time. No rushing. No overload.”
She nods, shifting her position and my robe slips just enough to reveal her upper thighs. My wolf surges, possessive and hungry, urging me to taste every inch of her, not just her palms. I force the growl back down.
“I’ve got T-shirts and boxers in the drawer over there,” I offer.
She hops off the bed to change. While she’s turned away, I open the folder then stop. My chest tightens.
I can’t show her that yet.
Quickly, I remove the forged birth certificate and slide it into the top drawer of the bedside table, closing it softly.
One truth at a time.