Chapter 277 277
Damien POV
I step closer, my gaze locking onto the photographs spread out before me too many of them. Far more than I’d expected.
Fuck. How did Geneviève even get her hands on these?
“What is this?”
“The soldiers we took down,” Maurice replies flatly. “Some are being held. A few had to be killed.”
“A few?” My jaw tightens as I scan the images again. “This isn’t a few soldiers, Maurice. This is two… maybe three full squads.”
His head snaps toward me, a low snarl curling from his chest. “You think I would’ve left your family my mate vulnerable over some pathetic threat?” His voice is sharp, ice-edged. He’s furious. Furious at Geneviève. At Sabine. At himself.
The outburst catches me off guard, but I don’t rise to it. If anything, my anger dulls as the weight of what he’s accomplished sinks in. The humans in those photos weren’t here to intimidate they were sent to kill. Their weapons and armour make that painfully clear. Maurice and his men wiped out a threat that could’ve cost us everything. He saved us from losing this war before it even began.
I turn away from the photos and focus on the maps instead. He’s searching them too too intensely. Looking for Sabine.
Fuck.
Being separated from Aurélie for four years nearly broke me. Back then, I didn’t even know she was alive. Didn’t know she was my fated mate. Maurice knows Sabine is alive. And now he’s standing at a crossroads hunt her down, or force himself to keep living without her.
“Aurélie is awake,” I tell him quietly.
He’s been shouldering the blame for everything. If I can ease even a fraction of that weight, I will. His shoulders loosen, just a little.
“That’s good,” he says. “I’m glad she’ll be okay.” His tone remains distant, guarded but the relief is there, buried beneath the frost. His thoughts are elsewhere.
“Look” I begin.
Maurice abruptly stands, a growl ripping free as he sweeps the maps off the desk. Paper scatters across the floor. His wolf is clawing for release, for an outlet to pour all that rage into and I’m not about to stop him.
I remain silent as he tears through Aurélie’s office, furniture scraping, objects crashing. Letting him destroy something is better than letting him destroy himself.
I’ll make sure the room is restored before Aurélie returns. Every broken thing fixed. But right now, Maurice needs this. His wolf needs this. He should shift but I know his own beast is punishing him, locking him out, denying him even that relief.
When his eyes finally turn on me, they’re feral. Raw. The demon inside him is begging for a fight, likely hoping I’ll knock him unconscious and grant him peace, however briefly.
I don’t move.
He’s hurting. And hurting him back would be cruelty, not strength.
Eventually, he stops. His eyes slide shut as he forces his breathing to slow, a harsh sigh tearing from his chest.
“I was too hard on Sabine,” I say quietly. “I see that now.”
It’s the truth. My actions didn’t protect her they pushed her away. She needed understanding, not isolation.
She was young. Still reeling from learning what she was half human, half werewolf. From discovering she’d been drugged since she was thirteen. I failed her when she needed support most.
“She was wrong to help Stéphane escape,” Maurice says, his voice strained. “She knew it. If Aurélie hadn’t”
He cuts himself off. Neither of us wants to finish that thought. If Aurélie hadn’t survived… Sabine wouldn’t have survived it either. I’m certain of that.
“Aurélie’s pregnant,” I say softly. “I just found out. That’s why she couldn’t shift. Sabine saved her. Saved our baby.”
His head lifts sharply. “Pregnant?” A stunned breath escapes him before a small, genuine smile breaks through. “Woah… I’m happy for you, my brother.” He claps a hand on my shoulder, setting aside his own agony for my joy.
“I’ve lost her,” he admits, voice rough. “I can feel it. My wolf feels it too.”
“Then we’ll find her,” I say without hesitation. “Together.”
Whatever it takes.