Chapter 308 308
Aurélie POV
“Thank you, Fabrice. Thank you, Florence.”
My voice is heavy with exhaustion, my eyes fighting to stay open as my hand reaches blindly for Florence. She takes it immediately, squeezing it with surprising strength.
“It’s been an honour, Aurélie. I wouldn’t have missed this for anything,” she says softly. “He’s incredibly strong. I think he’ll give Dominique a run for his money.” Her lips curve with amusement. “Delphine, on the other hand…”
She leans down and presses a gentle kiss to my forehead.
She isn’t wrong.
There is something about Frédéric something different. Not quite an aura, not quite anything I can name. His eyes are rarely open for long, fluttering between feeds and sleep, sometimes attempting to do both at once.
But when Damien and I have seen them… they’re unmistakably his father’s. That deep, storm-dark navy. Powerful. Intent.
Only without a wolf yet.
Goddess only knows what fate has woven for us. There has never been a child conceived by two Alphas before.
“Vitals look good,” Fabrice says calmly. “We’ll let Aurélie rest and check on them both again in a few hours.”
“I hear him say it to Damien, though my body is already sinking into sleep.
“Thank you,” I murmur, forcing my eyes open just long enough to see Damien pull Fabrice into a firm embrace. The contrast makes me smile so different from the tension that filled the room only hours ago.
Fabrice steps closer, cupping my face gently in his hands.
“I’m proud of you.”
I don’t know why perhaps it’s exhaustion, or hormones but his words undo me.
“Thank you,” I whisper, my voice breaking. “Thank you for always being here. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
A tear slips free. Because it’s true. He has been there for everything.
“Enjoy these first few weeks,” he tells me quietly. “Be a family. You’ve earned that all of you. The pack will be fine. Florence and I will handle what we can. If something isn’t urgent, it can wait. If it is, we’ll call. Alright?”
Rest. Recover. Bond.
“Yes,” Florence adds with a knowing laugh. “Think of it as parental leave.”
She knows full well I’ll still be checking my emails by morning.
Still, it’s comforting knowing I can ease off, even just a little. Knowing Frédéric is safe in Damien’s arms. Knowing my pack and alliances are secure in Fabrice’s hands.
For now, I let go.
“Be gentle Delphine. Not so rough.”
Damien hovers anxiously, trying to demonstrate how to hold a newborn.
“Daddy,” Delphine sighs, rolling her eyes, “I know he isn’t a doll.”
I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me as she tuts at Damien, thoroughly unimpressed by his overprotectiveness of her baby brother.
“How are you?” Dominique asks, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed.
Delphine climbs up beside me while Damien gently places Frédéric into her arms, sliding a pillow underneath to support his tiny weight.
“I’m fine, darling,” I assure him. “Nothing a bit of sleep won’t fix.”
“Oh… he’s perfect,” Delphine breathes. “Look at his fingers they even have nails.”
Frédéric curls his fingers around her index finger, and her face softens completely.
Reluctantly, she hands him over to Dominique. With Damien’s help and another pillow Frédéric is settled into his big brother’s arms.
“Well?” Damien chuckles. “What do you think?”
Dominique goes utterly silent, staring down at him.
“He’s…” He swallows. “…I’m going to teach him everything about football.”
He grins up at Damien, who looks between his eldest and his youngest with unmistakable pride.
“He might not like football,” Delphine scoffs.
“Of course he will.”
“Mummy,” Delphine says suddenly, turning to me with alarming seriousness, “can the next one be a girl, please?”
I nearly choke on my own breath.
“I’m not an ordering service, darling,” I manage once I recover. “And you’ll need to give me a bit of time.”
“Fabrice said three months,” Damien smirks.
I fix him with a thunderous glare.
Poorly. Timed. Joke.
Damien POV
“Pizza or burgers?”
I glance between Dominique and Delphine as they sit beside me on the sofa downstairs. I’ve decided to order dinner tonight no cooking, no distractions.
Not when Aurélie might need me at any second.