Chapter 377 377
Sabine POV
“What did you do?”
“Excuse me?”
“With Frédéric,” Aurélie says, practically glowing as she cradles her mug. “He slept through the entire night. I feel like a brand-new woman.” Her shoulders sink into the chair, every inch of her looking lighter.
“Um…”
What could I possibly say? That Gilles appeared in the middle of the night and vanished just as suddenly? That I still had no idea how he slipped past the guards?
My gaze drifts to Maurice. His eyes are sharper than usual, studying me with quiet intensity. He must have sensed someone cross the border he always does. And if not him, then the guards surely would have reported it.
So why was he staying quiet… just like me?
Frédéric, meanwhile, is curled peacefully in his father’s arms, something I’ve never seen before. Maybe whatever Gilles did… maybe it truly worked.
“You know what,” Aurélie sighs, leaning down to admire her sleeping son. “I don’t even want to know. It was probably just a fluke.”
Her fingers brush gently over Frédéric’s soft hair before sliding up to caress Damien’s cheek.
“So,” I ask softly, glancing between them, “what’s the plan for today? Do you need to rush off, or can you stay?”
I’m hoping silently, desperately that they choose to stay. I want every moment I can get with my niece and nephews.
Aurélie and Damien exchange a look, then smile.
“We have some time.”
And just like that, the day disappears.
It feels like only minutes pass before Dominique tugs on my arm, announcing he’s hungry. When I finally check the clock, I’m shocked to see it’s already lunchtime.
After we eat, we split into teams for charades. Delphine lays down the only rule: everything has to be princess-themed.
Damien is utterly devoted to his mate and children it shows in the way he drops to all fours, neighing dramatically as a talking horse from some animated movie.
“Maximus!” Delphine squeals, launching herself off the couch onto her father’s back.
“You are… correct,” Damien laughs, gently rolling her off and pinning her beneath him as he tickles her until she shrieks.
“Auntie Sab’s turn!” Dominique calls eagerly, scooting forward.
“Okay… let me think. Alright ready.”
My earlier attempts had been disasters. I’d tried acting out Snow White and somehow mixed it with Sleeping Beauty. According to Delphine, the key clue was an apple, not a dragon.
This one should be easier.
I wrap my arms around myself, pretending to shiver.
“Cold…”
“Freezing…”
“Not Snow White again,” Dominique groans, slapping his forehead.
“No,” I chuckle.
“No talking,” Damien warns, pointing at me.
I shoot him a glare far too competitive for someone supposedly playing for fun.
Quickly, I gather my hair and braid it to one side, tying it off. Then I grab a blanket and drape it around my shoulders like a cape.
“Supergirl?” someone guesses.
“She’s not a princess!”
I sigh as Dominique and Delphine start arguing, and in desperation I glance at Maurice.
He smiles like he’s known all along.
“Frozen.”
“Yes,” I breathe out in relief, dropping back beside him.
“That’s not fair! You mind-linked,” Dominique protests.
“I haven’t marked her yet,” Maurice replies smoothly, ruffling Dominique’s blond hair. “So you can’t use that excuse.”
“Then it’s the pack link.”
“Not until I mark her. She’s not a pack member.”
“Well I wish you’d hurry up.”
“Keen to get rid of me, are you?” I tease, curling into Maurice’s side.
He lifts his arm around my back, pulling me closer. Touching him grows easier with every passing day.
We haven’t gone all the way yet but I know I’m ready. More than ready.
“No,” Dominique says seriously. “I just don’t want you running away again.”
The room falls completely silent.
Every pair of eyes turns to me.
“Dominique…”
The lake house flashes through my mind. My chest tightens. Maurice’s arm firms around me he feels my heart racing.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper. “I promise.”
“You really promise?”
“Yes. I really promise.”
I meet his innocent gaze, my throat thick.
“Because”
“Dominique, enough,” Damien snaps.
“But”
“I said enough!”
His roar fills the living room, his alpha aura crashing outward. Both children gasp, shrinking back.
“Damien!” Aurélie scolds sharply, standing as Dominique and Delphine hide behind her. “You scared them! What is wrong with you?”
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to.” He exhales heavily. “I must just be tired. Maybe we should head home after all.”
His outburst isn’t entirely unlike him when he has reason to be angry.
But this time… there was no reason.
My wolf stirs, pushing forward, her senses sharpening.
“Something isn’t right,” she murmurs inside my mind.
“What do you mean?” I ask her silently. Our bond grows stronger every day.
“Look at his eyes.”
“Damien?”
I step closer, studying his face.
“What?” he asks, still trying to soothe the children.
“I”
I gasp.
A dark shadow slides across his eyes there for only a heartbeat, then gone.
I reach for him without thinking, standing on my toes and gripping his face firmly in my hands, pulling him down to me.
“What was that?”
“What was what?”
“Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“I think you’re right, Damien,” Aurélie says suddenly, her tone cold and decisive. “We should leave.”
“But”
I turn toward her, but she’s already gathering the children’s things.
“Thank you for having us,” she says briskly. “It’s been good to see you happy, Sab.”
She kisses my cheek, then Maurice’s.
She’s in a hurry too much of one.
“But” I begin again, only to stop when Maurice’s familiar coffee-and-cinnamon scent surrounds me.
“Bee.”
His arm wraps around my waist, pulling me back against him.
His eyes lock onto mine, firm and knowing.
He wants me to let it go.
Whatever I saw…
He already knows.