Chapter 382 382
Sabine POV
Conflicting emotions continued to ripple through the mate bond from Maurice.
One moment, he was calm.
The next, a flare of anger would surge through him sharp and hot until he remembered I could feel everything now. Then the bond would go quiet as he shut me out.
He wasn’t telling me what was happening.
But I wasn’t the same female who had first arrived here either.
I was the Luna now.
And through the pack bond, I could sense the unrest spreading the tension wasn’t random.
It was directed.
At one person.
Odette.
The weight of it was impossible to ignore.
At least there was something lighter happening.
My wolf was growing stronger every day, her presence filling my mind almost constantly. She chatted endlessly, as if making up for years of silence.
Sometimes I woke up to her humming songs.
Other times far worse she’d be counting.
I figured she was reclaiming lost time.
I was also aware that I still hadn’t shifted yet.
Something every Luna was meant to experience.
I knew I couldn’t put it off much longer.
But there was one thing I needed to do first.
Something for me.
I needed to return to the apartment I’d lived in after Mum died.
I had to find the paperwork that would lead me to my inheritance.
Not just for myself but for the pack.
I could use it to strengthen the borders, improve things here.
I refused to be someone who lived off her mate’s wealth.
Now that I felt settled after Mum’s death, I could feel it clearly I had her business mind.
And I wanted to use it.
I stepped into the Alpha office and immediately found Maurice and Maxime falling suspiciously silent, their hands sweeping maps off the desk as I entered.
“Should I come back?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow.
“I was just leaving, Luna,” Maxime said quickly.
“No need,” I replied. “I just need a warrior to take me to my old apartment. Who would you suggest?”
“My old apartment, Luna?” Maurice repeated.
“Yes. I need to collect some paperwork.”
“I can go for you, miss,” Maxime offered.
“No need. Besides…” I smiled lightly. “It would be good for me to see it again.”
“Bee…” A dissatisfied growl rolled from Maurice’s chest.
I understood his concern.
I wasn’t looking to put myself in danger.
I needed to face the past to close that chapter for good.
“I’m not going alone,” I said firmly. “And you can come with me. I want you there. This is something I need to do for myself.”
“I can’t leave until this afternoon,” he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“Then I’ll wait,” I said softly, smiling.
Relief flickered across his face I think he’d been expecting an argument.
But he was busy.
And he’d been patient with me.
I could wait.
“Are you sure about this?” Maurice asked as we stood beside his car later.
“Yes,” I said quietly. “I never felt at home there. It always felt like a prison. Like a tower keeping me away from the world. I can see that now.”
“Once I get my things, it’ll give me closure.”
“Alright,” he said slowly. “I’ve got men watching the back, and a few at the front.”
“I don’t think anyone will be watching anymore.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
His wolf’s low growl vibrated through the bond, unsettling.
“Who’s going to touch me with you beside me?” I teased with a wink.
But his worry pulsed strongly through the bond.
He didn’t want me going inside.
Not even with him there.
“I’m coming in with you,” he said firmly.
“I’d expect nothing less.”
We exited the car, Maurice quickening his pace to stay at my side. His hand immediately found my lower back, protective, tense.
The entire area was swarming with warriors positioned discreetly.
Even Beta Maxime sat on a nearby bench, pretending to be an office worker on lunch break coffee in one hand, an untouched sandwich in the other.
Maurice’s arm tightened around my waist as we crossed the road toward the apartment building.
A man I didn’t recognize held the door open, nodding politely.
That wasn’t surprising I’d been gone a long time.
But when my gaze drifted to reception, the same woman was still there.
I immediately tugged Maurice toward the stairwell.
I didn’t need to be seen.
Didn’t need recognition.
We reached the top floor the penthouse.
The hallway was silent.
Too silent.
Dim.
Had it always felt so lifeless?
A sudden chill crawled up my spine, my feet slowing as dread coiled in my chest.
Something felt wrong.
I even started to step back.
Maurice’s hand pressed gently but firmly against my lower back, guiding me forward while he stepped slightly ahead of me.
Shielding me.
His fingers intertwined with mine as he led us toward the door.
“You didn’t bring the key, did you?” he asked.
“Nope. Guess this is an old-fashioned break-in.”
“Stand back.”
He lifted his leg and kicked the door in.
“At least there’s no alarm,” he muttered.
“No. You can’t enter this building without being watched,” I said quietly. “Which means we don’t have long.”
I inhaled deeply and crossed into my old apartment.
Nothing had changed.
It looked exactly as I’d left it back when I had no idea another world existed beneath the surface of my own.
I moved quickly, not wanting to linger.
Straight to my bedroom.
I crouched and slid my hand beneath the bed, pulling out the small box of childhood memories.
To most people, it was filled with photos.
And it was.
But there was more hidden inside.
I returned to the main room where Maurice waited by the door.
His gaze swept over the apartment lingering on the framed pictures of my father and me.
Whatever he was thinking, he blocked it completely.
When he noticed me, he smiled warm, gentle as though I weren’t connected to the man who might have played a role in his father’s death.
A thought I was becoming more certain of.
And one I suspected Maurice had accepted long ago.
“Got it?” he asked, pushing off the wall and extending his hand.
“Yep.”
“A shoebox with stickers?”
“No,” I said, lifting the lid. “My memory box.”
I reached inside and pulled out Mum’s small black leather pocketbook.
Every contact.
Every deal.
Every bank account.
Every password.
“This.”
“And what exactly is that?” he asked skeptically.
“Everything,” I said softly. “All I need to start claiming it back.”
“That all?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Because we need to leave. Maxime’s getting impatient.”
Maurice practically dragged me down the stairs, taking two sometimes three steps at a time.
I let out a breath of relief when the reception area was still empty.
But Maurice never released me.
Not as we exited the building.
Not as we crossed toward his car.
Suddenly, my wolf surged forward.
The hair on the back of my neck shot up.
I spun just as we reached the car.
A woman was approaching.
“What is it?” Maurice demanded through the mind-link.
Before I could answer, I recognized her.
Something black was in her hand.
“Luna!” Maxime roared.
He lunged forward, yanking the woman back just as she reached me.
Stopping her.
Stopping the shot.
“Bee!” Maurice growled as he spun me around, throwing his body in front of mine shielding me completely as Maxime wrestled the attacker away.