Chapter 289 289
Aurélie POV
So much for his quick escape.
“Damien, you need to arrest him and make him stand trial,” I demand through our mate bond. He needs to show them that his rule is fair. Just. That power doesn’t mean tyranny.
“He’s slippery, Aurélie,” Damien replies, his voice grim in my mind. “I can’t keep him alive long enough for that.”
“He might talk”
“No,” he cuts in. “Trust me. He won’t.”
Damien turns back to the gathered alphas, fury rolling off him in palpable waves. “Alpha Jérôme has been assisting my father in the kidnapping of not only my mate” his arm tightens around me “but also our children.”
A collective gasp ripples through the hall.
“Alpha Jérôme has been working with Alpha Gaston to overthrow the Bloodnight pack and its alliances,” Damien continues, his voice carrying easily, “and to take my mate by force before seizing control of the Darkvale alliance as well.”
A low growl spreads through the room. The alphas are not pleased. Whatever Jérôme promised them, this clearly wasn’t it. Two alliances wouldn’t exist under this plan only a dictatorship.
“If you two are married, how is that any different?” an alpha near the front demands, rising to his feet.
“Because while I am Damien’s mate, my pack and my alliance are mine,” I answer without hesitation. “Make no mistake about that. I would stand against my own mate if he ever acted against my morals or the true values of Darkvale and its partner packs.”
“But you’re married”
“And under Gaston’s rule,” I cut in sharply, “there would be no votes. No treaties. No balance. Only control. Is that truly what you want?”
My aura surges outward, pressing hard against the space Damien occupies. A low rumble vibrates from his chest disapproval but I don’t pull it back. Tough shit.
The alpha sinks back into his seat.
With my aura filling the hall, I let my gaze sweep across each of them. Some look away. Others don’t. One alpha’s son meets my stare with a slow, infuriating smirk. His eyes lock onto mine, unflinching, predatory. It takes a deliberate act of will to finally look away.
“Where is he?” Damien demands, his patience finally snapping. “Where is my father?”
Jérôme laughs a harsh, ugly sound. “You’re weak. Nothing compared to the King he was. Go to hell.”
His face reddens with hatred, his devotion warped beyond reason.
Mind control.
Gaston has had him under his thumb for so long he can’t see it. Doesn’t even want to imagine a life outside it.
Damien is right. This alpha cannot be turned. He’s too dangerous too much of a threat to our family and the entire shifter world to be left alive.
“You’ve sided with a man who would kill his own flesh and blood for power,” Damien says coldly.
“This is the dictatorship!” Jérôme snaps, spinning toward the others. “And it only ends if we fight now if we kill Damien!”
He waits for them to move.
No one does.
My warriors and Damien’s have spread farther, encircling the room. There will be no uprising here.
Damien tries to pull me behind him, but I step aside. I won’t hide behind him in the face of a threat. Still, I calm him by linking Fabrice and asking him to take position on my other side. Damien notices. His shoulders ease just slightly.
“I’m going to enjoy killing you,” Jérôme says, smirking like something crawled out of a cursed forest a predator convinced it’s found its prey.
His warriors mirror his stance, readying themselves.
“But you can’t,” Jérôme continues smugly. “I’m part of the alliance. And the treaty clearly states you can’t kill your own allied pack members not even alphas. I made sure it was included.”
“Fucker,” Damien mutters under his breath.
“Is that true?” I ask through the mind-link.
“Yes,” Damien replies. “The treaty forbids it.”
But surely it would also forbid treason. Mutiny against a King. A twisted, manipulated rebellion built on lies.
“So there’s not much you can do,” Jérôme taunts.
Then he turns his back on Damien.
On his Alpha King.
Something inside me snaps.
Whether it’s the baby sensing danger, my wolf bristling to protect her mate, or the lessons drilled into me by my parents that turning your back is the ultimate insult I don’t know.
All I know is that my anger flares white-hot.
I step forward, out of Damien’s reach, even as he tries to grab me and pull me back.
“That’s interesting, Jérôme,” I say calmly, my voice cutting through the tension like steel. “Because you aren’t part of the Darkvale alliance.”
I meet his gaze fully now.
“And I have no treaty with you to uphold.”