Chapter 384 384
Maurice POV
My warriors surrounded the safe house.
I wasn’t about to trust some stranger who had failed my mate in her past.
Of all people, I knew exactly what Gaston was capable of.
And if this woman had known too…
Why hadn’t she acted sooner?
Why hadn’t she reached Bee before he did?
My men had hers cornered outside, weapons ready, waiting only for my command.
Even though they were positioned beyond the walls, I remained connected to them through the pack link.
Mine would strike before hers ever realized what was happening.
I stayed alert, uneasy with how small the safe house was my gaze constantly scanning for hidden threats, for anything out of place.
“How long have you had this place?”
Bee moved beside the woman, their arms linked as they walked slowly down the narrow hallway toward a modest living area.
The sight of her trusting so easily made something tighten in my chest.
“Around the time you were born,” the woman replied. “Your mother believed Gaston would do right by her.”
“I thought differently.”
“I don’t understand,” Bee said, stopping suddenly.
She still hadn’t learned how to shield her emotions through the mate bond yet.
Confusion crashed through her like a wave.
“Come,” the woman encouraged gently. “We have time. Let me make us some drinks”
“No.”
The word snapped from me before she could finish.
“We do not have time.”
Whether it was the unease in Bee’s emotions or how comfortable the woman seemed with my mate, I wasn’t sure but anger flared hot and fast.
“I have no tactics, Alpha.”
“Good,” I snarled. “Because you may think you’re holding the cards here.”
“But I assure you, you’re not.”
“Maurice…” Bee gasped softly through the bond, sensing the threat in my voice.
I could feel her happiness at seeing this woman again.
So strong it was clouding her judgement.
I would protect her from anything.
From anyone.
Even this woman.
“When you were born, everything was fine,” Thérèse began quietly. “But your father started changing.”
“Small things at first. Then his aggression toward your mother worsened.”
“He became obsessed with her business one he had no part in building.”
“Yet he acted as though having you with her entitled him to her money. To her success.”
“She tried to appease him. Gave him responsibilities. Assets.”
“But it was never enough.”
“She loved him too much to see the darkness growing inside him.”
“The shadows.”
“Shadows?” Bee’s interest sharpened.
“I tried to protect you from that world,” Thérèse continued. “You were meant to live with me. To live as a human. The beast within you was meant to remain dormant.”
“That’s what my father did to me,” Bee whispered.
“Yes but for different reasons,” Thérèse said. “He did it for control. He would’ve kept doing it until you were ready. Until you were prepared.”
“Being connected to the moon is a gift,” I growled, stepping closer to Bee and pulling her firmly into me.
Possessiveness rolled off me in waves.
“Not a curse.”
I was proud of her.
Of everything she had survived.
Drugged against her will.
Lied to her entire life.
And still here she stood.
Strong.
Loving.
Finding light in every day.
“Did Mum know?” Bee asked softly.
“Yes,” Thérèse answered. “She knew what he was… and what you were”
My growl cut her off.
Her wording threatened all the healing Bee had fought for.
“I didn’t know until you were born,” Thérèse continued carefully. “Until I saw your eyes flash with your wolf before disappearing again until she was needed.”
“That must have been frightening,” Bee said gently, trying to calm my rising aura as she touched my arm and leaned closer.
“No,” Thérèse said firmly. “You were beautiful then.”
“And you’re beautiful now.”
“Your mother never feared your wolf. She only wanted you to have a choice.”
“To choose which world you belonged to.”
“You can’t live in both.”
“But your father took that choice from you.”
“He drugged her so she couldn’t be sensed,” I snarled. “So no one could find her when her wolf came of age.”
“That wasn’t protection.”
“It was manipulation.”
Calculated.
Cruel.
“It was more than that,” Thérèse added quietly. “It was theft.”
“He tried to take everything from you, Sabine.”
“But your mother was wise.”
“She hid funds from him in my name.”
“Businesses. Accounts.”
“Everything he couldn’t touch.”
“All waiting for you.”
“You just have to say yes.”
“You just have to want it.”
“You have my inheritance?” Bee breathed.
“Not all of it. Some.”
“The rest we’ll have to fight for.”
“And it won’t be easy.”
Bee turned to me, those innocent cat-slit eyes shining as she silently asked for my opinion.
But this was her decision.
I would stand by whatever she chose.
She didn’t need the money.
She was my Luna.
By bond alone she already held half of Ash Valley’s wealth including the human businesses I owned.
“What would you do?” she asked softly.
“This is yours, my love,” I said, brushing my thumb along her cheek and lifting her chin before kissing her gently.
“But… if there was something my father fought for while he lived?”
“I would finish that fight for him.”
“How do we even begin?” Bee asked, turning back to Thérèse.
“That’s why you must be completely certain,” Thérèse warned as she slowly sat at the wooden table and opened a laptop.
“It will bring things to the surface.”
“Things that will be hard to hear.”
“Like what?”
“We’ll have to declare…” she hesitated, glancing toward me.
“…foul play.”
“Foul play?” Bee echoed.
Confusion surged through the bond again.
“Foul play, Bee,” I murmured, pulling her against my chest.
Her body melted into me, her face resting over my heart.
“You think my father killed Mum?” she whispered, pulling back just enough to stare at Thérèse.
Anger exploded through the bond.
My wolf surged forward instantly, ready to soothe her.
“Yes, my dear,” Thérèse said carefully.
“I always thought the death certificate was strange,” Bee whispered. “But… you really believe he played a part in her death?”
She looked at me.
“What do you think, Maurice?”
I’d never wanted this moment.
Never wanted her to know how deep her father’s darkness ran.
“I think you knew him better than I did,” she said brokenly.
Pain clenched in my chest.
“You knew Gaston?” Thérèse asked sharply, standing and leaning over the table.
“Our fathers were best friends,” I answered. “Until they weren’t.”
“The diaries…” Bee whispered in my mind.
“What if he killed my mother like he killed your father?”
Her fingers laced with mine.
“It’s possible.”
“You think he killed your dad too?”
“Yes.”
“But you haven’t told Damien?”
“Damien isn’t responsible for his father’s sins.”