Chapter 304 304
Six Months Later
Aurélie POV
“Erm… red.”
“You can’t have your bedroom painted red,” Dominique groaned from the back seat, already exasperated as he looked at his sister beside him.
“Why not?” Delphine shot back.
“Dominique is right, sweetie,” I said gently, aiming for diplomacy. “It’s a bit too… strong a colour for your age.”
“Then blue.”
“Nooo,” Dominique moaned again, somehow managing to sound even more frustrated than before.
“I want blue!” Delphine shouted back, folding her arms tightly across her chest. I caught her reflection in the rear-view mirror and smiled softly. I knew exactly what she was thinking if her room was blue, Roland would want to play in there when he visited instead of always choosing Dominique’s room.
“How about pink?” I suggested. “It’s like a calmer red. And we could add some fairy lights make it really cosy.”
Her face lit up instantly. “Ooh, yes! Good idea, Mummy.”
An hour later, we were leaving the home store laden with paint tins, fairy lights, and new bedding for Delphine’s room.
The house itself had been finished a week earlier; we were just tying up the last loose ends of decorating. Damien, unable to choose between two plots of land, had bought both. The property sat perfectly balanced equal distance between Bloodnight and Darkvale territory fair to both packs, neither Alpha family favouring one side over the other.
Florence and Fabrice had agreed to remain at Darkvale, providing steady leadership and continuity for the pack. I spoke to them every day often more than once and while the separation had been difficult at first, I knew I couldn’t keep uprooting Dominique and Delphine. They needed stability after everything they’d endured.
Things, finally, were settling.
Lucas had offered to do the same for Damien at Bloodnight watching over the pack in his absence, reporting anything urgent, but mostly handling matters himself.
Damien had thrown himself into designing the house, and it had been good for him. It gave him something to focus on during the quiet distance that followed Gaston’s death.
The Bloodnight council hadn’t helped. They’d accused us both of acting out of revenge. But when several Alphas came forward those Jérôme had contacted to plan and execute an uprising the narrative shifted. They saw that we’d acted swiftly on the information we had. A trial would have left too much room for retaliation, for Gaston to leak information the council was desperate to keep buried.
In the end, things had settled into something unexpected.
Calm.
Peaceful.
Rogue attacks across both alliances had ceased. A few still wandered into Darkvale territory, but as before, most were lost rather than dangerous seeking help more than trouble.
In our new home, Damien and I shared a large Alpha office. We’d agreed to continue running our packs independently, but to collaborate offering advice, support, and shared decisions when needed.
It also meant we weren’t spending endless hours apart in separate offices. We were still together every day. When the baby arrived, we’d planned for a crib in the office taking turns caring for our child while continuing to lead.
As the only female Alpha, maternity leave wasn’t really an option. And Damien, having missed the first four years of the twins’ lives, was determined not to miss a single moment this time.
Pulling into the driveway of our new home, I parked and shut off the engine. It wasn’t technically Bloodnight or Darkvale land, but it was guarded just as tightly run with the same precision and security as any pack territory.
Schooling decisions could wait. For now, being together as a family mattered more than anything.
The moment I opened the front door, Delphine darted past me, arms full fairy lights, bedding, and her beloved bunny teddy clutched precariously against her chest.
She was off to find Damien.
The bunny still went everywhere with her, but her anxiety had begun to ease. The night terrors born from the basement and the Lake House were fading, little by little.
Dominique was sleeping better too. I suspected having a room entirely his own no longer sharing with his twin had made all the difference.
Standing there in the doorway, watching them race ahead into their future, I felt it clearly for the first time in a long while.
We were healing.