Chapter 291 291
Aurélie POV
“I don’t know what my parents would have done,” I say, my voice shaking despite my effort to steady it. “They’re dead—dead because of power-hungry traitors like you. I won’t put my family or my pack at risk the same way.”
I step back from him, my entire body trembling with fury. The audacity of him using my parents, their brutal, cold-blooded murders, as leverage to sway me. As if invoking their deaths could weaken my resolve.
I know exactly what they would have done. I know how I was raised.
“I can’t betray him,” Jérôme sobs. “He’ll kill Clémence… please.” His voice cracks as he crawls closer. “As a parent… as a mother yourself…”
He reaches for me, clutching at my leg, dragging himself forward until he’s at my feet begging.
Fabrice moves instantly.
A deafening roar erupts behind us, vibrating through the hall, and Fabrice slams into Jérôme, knocking him away from me and positioning himself between us, blocking any immediate threat.
As much as I hate to admit it…
He’s right.
I can’t kill him in cold blood.
He’s unarmed.
“Aurélie?” Damien’s growl slips into my mind as I finally allow him access through the mate bond.
“I can’t kill him,” I admit. “He’s right. I give rogues a chance why should he be any different?”
“You can’t be serious”
I cut Damien off before he can finish, before the swearing starts.
I force myself to breathe. To think. To truly consider what my father would have done.
A slow, heavy sigh leaves me as the truth settles in.
I am his daughter. Cut from the same cloth.
“You will be held as a prisoner,” I say firmly, turning back to Jérôme. “You will have no access to your pack until I decide your fate.”
“Yes, yes… my lady is merciful,” he babbles, lifting his hands toward the ceiling, praying to me, or to the Moon Goddess, I’m not entirely sure.
“You will undergo our reconditioning program,” I continue coldly. “If you fail, I will have no choice but to sentence you to death. This is your second chance, Jérôme. Don’t make me regret it.”
I sneer as I say it, even as something deep inside me curses me for being foolish.
But I am staying true to myself. To my heart. To my upbringing.
He is treacherous I know I can never truly trust him but I have to follow the process. I have to prove he was given a chance.
The Darkvale alliance is fair. And just.
I need them to see that while I am mated to Damien, my alliance is not his shadow that I have the strength and authority to make my own decisions.
“I’ll be held at the Darkvale pack grounds?” Jérôme asks cautiously.
“No. You’ll be sent to a partner pack. I don’t trust you on my territory.”
“Whatever my Alpha sees fit. Thank you…”
“My Beta will place you in our holding facilities until we decide which pack you’ll be transferred to,” I say, turning to Fabrice.
He nods calmly. He knows me. None of this surprises him or my warriors.
The Bloodnight warriors, however…
I turn to find Damien and his men staring at me in complete shock.
They think I’m making a mistake.
They would have killed him already.
I start walking toward Damien when I see his eyes suddenly widen locked on something behind me.
I hear a sharp intake of breath.
Then a monstrous growl tears from Damien’s chest.
I spin just in time to see Jérôme pulling a gun from the hem of his trousers.
He raises it aimed at me.
My instincts explode.
My hand surges forward, tearing through skin and muscle until I feel his heart beneath my grip pure reflex, raw aggression
But I’m struck from the side.
The force sends me crashing to the ground as a thunderous bang echoes through the hall the gunshot.
Everything happens at once.
As I hit the floor, my first, panicked thought is the baby.
But arms wrap around my waist, absorbing the impact. A familiar scent engulfs me, grounding me instantly.
Damien.
He has repositioned himself beneath me, shielding my body with his own so I take none of the fall.
I twist my head just in time to see Jérôme’s face frozen in shock, twisted with pain before his already-collapsing body finally crumples lifelessly to the ground.
Silence crashes down around us.
And the truth settles heavy in the air.