Chapter 311 311
Aurélie POV
Goddess it was big.
Far bigger than I’d expected.
From a distance, the structure loomed, unmistakable in its size and prominence, impossible to ignore once your eyes found it.
“I want to talk to you about what happened in the cave.”
I keep my gaze forward, giving Lucas time time to think, to measure his words, to decide what truths he’s willing to hand over. I only hope he doesn’t disappoint me.
“Aurélie”
“Let me finish,” I interrupt quietly. “Then I’ll listen. But I need you to keep what I’m about to say from Damien. Just for now. Until I can do some more research.” I finally turn to face him, needing to see his eyes when he makes that promise. “Can you do that for me?”
I may not be his Alpha by title, but what Damien and I have built goes far beyond a bond between mates. Two packs. Two alliances. Separate leadership shared loyalty. When one of us is threatened, the other stands without question.
“Yes,” Lucas says firmly. “I can promise you that.”
“Gaston died in that cave,” I continue, my voice steady despite the tightness in my chest. “He died. I saw it. I watched the life leave his eyes like a candle being snuffed out.”
Damien has sealed that moment away, blocked it from me within the mate bond. It’s subtle, almost imperceptible but I can feel it. Like a corner I can’t quite reach. A wall I keep brushing against without ever seeing.
Whether he’s doing it consciously, or whether his wolf is protecting him, I don’t know. But it’s there.
“When Gaston died, I felt something else,” I say slowly. “Something enter Damien. Like the transfer of an Alpha’s command the moment when a father passes leadership to his successor.”
I shift slightly, straightening my back.
“But that shouldn’t have happened. Gaston had already given Damien everything he could. Every ounce of authority. Every shred of power.”
Lucas stays silent.
“So tell me,” I say. “What really happened in those caves? Why didn’t you burn his body? And why did you seal the cave?”
“Fabrice has been talking,” he mutters, exhaling sharply.
“My beta struggled with the decision to tell me,” I reply coolly. “But you know he did the right thing. Especially when it involves my husband and potentially our children. You can’t fault him for following his duty.”
“I’m not angry with him,” Lucas says. “I just didn’t want to worry you.”
“About what, Lucas?” I press. “That the Bloodnight warriors were stealing drugs from my hospital? That they were suffering panic attacks?” My jaw tightens. “Why didn’t Damien hear about that? Why wasn’t it reported?”
“I swore the men to secrecy,” he admits quietly. “If anyone asked, the body had been burned just like we planned.”
He closes his eyes and tilts his face toward the morning sun.
“Is the body still in there?”
“No… I mean yes. But not how you left it.” His voice wavers. “The truth is… I don’t know where it is.”
He isn’t helping himself his answers are evasive, fractured but I force myself to remain patient.
“We went into the cave,” he says finally. “And with every step, the moonlight vanished.”
“Yes,” I murmur.
“I turned on my phone torch. That’s when I saw the drawings.”
“Yes. Cave drawings. We saw those too.”
“There were shadows,” Lucas continues, his voice tightening. “Shadows on the walls that weren’t ours. They moved on their own.”
His breathing quickens, pulse visible at his throat.
“We froze all of us. That’s how I know it wasn’t us. The men drew their swords, but what were they supposed to do? Fight shadows?” He swallows hard. “They moved like spectres. Wrapped around the body. Dragged it backward down into the cave until I couldn’t see him anymore.”
Lucas is one of the bravest men I know. Seeing him like this tells me everything.
“We ran,” he says hoarsely. “My body forced me out of that place. Whatever those things were… they weren’t from this world.”
“You think it was a portal?” I ask quietly. “How would that even be possible?”
“I don’t know,” he snaps, frustrated. “How is any of this possible? We’re werewolves. Humans who shift into beasts. I only know what I saw. And judging by the men’s reactions they saw it too.”
A portal.
The caves had felt wrong. Like they resisted your presence. Like gravity itself wanted you gone.
“What did you block the cave with?” I ask.
“Bricks and cement.” His head snaps toward me. “Why?”
Because I need to get into that cave.