Chapter 391 391
Maurice POV
The moment she realizes it’s me, she breaks into a run.
Her arms fly open as she barrels straight into my chest, throwing herself at me with a sob I feel more than hear. I catch her instinctively, lifting her off the ground and locking her safely against me, my arms tightening as if letting go would shatter her.
“Thank the Goddess,” I breathe, my voice rough with relief. “We’ve been so worried. Are you alright? Are you hurt?”
Even as I ask, my eyes are already searching her—her arms, her legs, her face scanning for blood, for injuries hidden by the dim light.
“No,” Delphine says quickly. “We’re fine.”
Her gaze darts past me. “Where’s Mum?”
Dominique steps closer then, just close enough for me to reach out. I cup his cheek, my thumb brushing gently along his skin, grounding myself in the warmth of him.
“She’s here,” I reassure him softly. “She’s been beside herself with worry.”
Then the absence hits me fully. My brow creases as I look to Didier. “Is Damien not with you?”
Delphine’s hand lifts, trembling. Her index finger points shakily past us toward the darker stretch of the cave, where the shadows grow thicker and the air heavier.
“Daddy’s in there…”
I turn to Didier sharply. “Didier?” I need confirmation. I need this to make sense. Damien wouldn’t willingly walk deeper into a place like this.
“He took out the guards,” Didier says grimly. “But he’s not right. Something’s wrong. I would’ve followed him, but I couldn’t leave the children alone.”
“No,” I cut in firmly. “You did the right thing.”
My grip tightens on his shoulder. “Take the kids and get out of here. Get them as far away from these lands as possible.”
“Caroline?” he asks urgently.
“She’s safe. At the alpha house with Bee and Aurélie.”
Relief flickers across his face, but it’s short-lived. “I need to be with the warriors.”
He starts for the exit, but I seize his upper arm, stopping him cold.
“The allied packs are here,” I tell him. “I released the warriors who were imprisoned in the pack hall. There are more than enough fighters.”
“I’m the acting alpha,” he argues. “I can’t just run.”
“You’re not running,” I snap. “You’re protecting the royal heirs. You cannot leave them alone.”
The weight of it settles over him then. He understands how vital this is. Not just for me. For Aurélie. For his king.
“And you?” he asks quietly.
“I’m going to find Damien.”
I walk them to the mouth of the cave. As soon as Delphine’s feet touch the ground, she reaches for Didier again. He takes her hand takes both their hands and in a blur of motion, he’s gone, racing toward the alpha house with the children in tow.
I turn back.
The lump in my throat is thick and stubborn as I swallow and step once more into the cave. This time, it feels different. Heavier. The air presses in around me, thick with damp stone and something else something wrong.
With every step forward, it feels as though I’m descending rather than walking, the darkness deepening, closing in. The smell of wet earth grows stronger. My wolf claws at me from the inside, urging me to turn back, warning me in frantic pulses.
I don’t need to be a scientist to know this place is unnatural. Something unworldly lingers here something that does not belong.
The cave should be empty. Just Damien and me.
So why does it feel like countless eyes are fixed on my skin?
A sickening awareness crawls over me, the unmistakable sensation of being watched and not by anything benevolent.
“Damien?” I call out, my voice low at first. Then louder. Sharper. Fear coils tighter in my chest with every unanswered step.
He took out the guards.
Yet he didn’t leave with the children.
Didier had protected them even from their own father.
What the hell was happening?
Damien hasn’t been himself lately, but…
He would never endanger the children.
Never.
I pull out my phone and switch on the torch. The beam cuts weakly through the darkness too weak, even for my wolf’s eyes. Still, I keep moving. I won’t leave him alone in here. Not my friend. Not my mate’s brother.
The hairs on the back of my neck rise. My blood runs cold.
I keep going.
Deeper.
Further.
Shapes emerge along the cave walls dark images painted into the stone. Animals. Twisted. Blackened. There’s something demonic about them, something deeply sinister that makes my stomach churn.
“Maurice?”
The sound hits me like a strike.
My senses snap to attention as I swing the torch forward
Damien stands alone in the pitch-black void ahead of me.
His eyes are as black as the darkness that surrounds him.