Chapter 357 357
Maurice POV
“What time are Bee and Aurélie due back?” I ask Damien, raising my voice over the chaos of the children.
“Lucas messaged to say he’s with them now. They shouldn’t be long,” he replies.
“Uncle Maurice higher!” Delphine shrieks, her laughter ringing through the garden.
“Oh sorry, Delphine, darling.” I push the swing higher, my arms already aching. The twins have thoroughly used me today. I’ve been a horse, a monster, and my personal favourite a pirate. My dignity didn’t survive the morning.
Not long after, the Lunas return.
Aurélie bursts into the garden like a storm of energy, clearly fuelled by lunch out and a few blissful hours away from the children. She scoops the twins into her arms, squeezing them until both protest dramatically about being crushed and unable to breathe.
Bee doesn’t follow her.
She lingers by the back doors instead, not stepping outside. Her gaze is fixed on Damien. And when we all head back inside together, she does her best to fade into the background.
Something’s wrong.
“Bee?” I call as she reaches the stairs.
“I’m just going to put these away,” she says quickly, clutching her shopping bags as she disappears upstairs.
My wolf doesn’t need to alert me her mood is off. Completely wrong. This isn’t the same Bee who left me this morning.
Did she not enjoy herself?
“Is Bee okay?” I ask Aurélie, who swats Damien’s hand away as he tries to peek into her shopping bags. His grin turns downright devious when he spots the lingerie store logo.
“She was fine until the end,” Aurélie says gently. “She said she felt tired… unwell. I think she just needs a bit of time alone.” She offers me a cup of coffee in reassurance.
I try to give Bee space. I really do.
But it doesn’t come easily.
By the time I finish my coffee my wolf having forced me to drink it so fast I’ve burned my tongue he decides enough is enough.
She hasn’t come back down.
If she’s resting, she won’t even notice me checking on her.
As I reach the top of the stairs, I hear it muffled sobs seeping through her door. My heart stutters painfully in my chest.
I don’t knock.
I push the door open to find her face buried in her pillow, her body shaking as she cries.
“Bee?”
“I’ll be down in a bit,” she manages through broken sobs.
“Has something happened?”
“Please, Maurice,” she pleads. “Just leave me alone.”
“I can’t,” I say quietly. “Not now.”
She doesn’t answer.
I step further into the room, knowing there’s no version of this where I walk away.
“Please, Maurice…”
“You don’t have to tell me,” I say firmly. “But I’m not leaving you like this.”
I sit on the edge of the bed. Her crying falters slightly she must sense the mattress dip beneath my weight.
“I promise,” I murmur. “I won’t do anything. I’m just going to lie here with you.”
“I can’t stay here,” she says, her voice muffled but clear enough.
“Why?”
Silence stretches between us.
“I can’t be surrounded by lies,” she finally whispers.
“Did you know?”
“Know what, Bee?” I turn onto my side, propping myself on one elbow so I can see her face.
“It doesn’t matter,” she mutters. “I need to leave.”
“We can go to my pack,” I offer without hesitation. “Would you be ready for that?”
Damien will lose his mind but she’s my mate. Mine to protect. Mine to love. And if she wants to leave, I’d selfishly seize the chance to take her home with me.
“What about my mother’s place in the city?”
“You want to go there?” Whatever happened today, Aurélie seems utterly unaware of it. Bee adores the twins so for her to want distance… something has shifted badly.
“Can I?” Hope trembles in her voice.
And I hate myself for what I have to say next.
“No, Bee. It wouldn’t be safe for you.” I soften my tone. “Your safest place is with me… with Damien.”
She scoffs at the sound of her brother’s name. The emotional whiplash between those two is exhausting I truly thought they’d found some kind of peace.
“Will I have freedom at your pack,” she asks quietly, “or will you cage me like my”
“Your father?” I finish gently.
She struggles with his name. With the memories. With the betrayal.
“No,” I say firmly. “You’re my Luna. You were fated to rule my pack by my side. My people will love you.”
“Even if I don’t have a wolf?”
“Even then,” I say without hesitation. “But you do have one. She’s just waiting. Waiting for you to bond with her… to let her show you what it means to be whole. What it means to have a mate.”
I lean closer, my voice steady, sincere.
“Please, Bee. Give her a chance. Give us a chance.”