Chapter 57 57
Fabrice POV
I had been certain she would have wormed her way into his bed by now.
“Daddy, Daddy Mummy’s back!”
Delphine’s excited shout carries in from the living room, where Miss Lambert and a handful of warriors had been keeping watch over her. I had been seated in Damien’s office with Lucas and Théo, the three of us combing through every scrap of information that might hint at Dominique’s whereabouts.
One report stood out unusual movement flagged by an alpha whose territory bordered a quarry to the west. I wanted Damien’s input before acting. That alpha fell under his alliance, not mine.
“Thank the goddess,” I breathe out, relief loosening my chest. She had been gone longer than expected, and the distance had been too great for our mind-link to reach.
Lucas and Théo rise with me as we head for the front door, the disturbance of their return already echoing through the courtyard.
“You drove like an idiot!”
Aurélie’s voice slices through the air as she slams the car door shut.
What in the hell happened?
“I commanded you to drive slowly, and you ignored me,” Damien roars back. “The second you had your keys, you sped off!”
Their argument draws attention fast Bloodnight pack members slowing, stopping, openly watching as the tension crackles between them in the courtyard outside the alpha house.
“Guess what, Alpha Damien?” Aurélie shrieks, spinning on him and jabbing a finger into his chest. “I don’t follow your commands. I’m an alpha. I set my own!”
I’m no longer the only witness.
From the side of the house, Geneviève stands watching, her gaze locked firmly on the pair of them. She always disappeared into the back gardens yet somehow managed to materialize the moment something worth seeing unfolded.
“Mummy”
Delphine’s hand slips from mine as she bolts toward Aurélie. She’s swept up safely into her mother’s arms, Aurélie showering her face with kisses, just a little too enthusiastically.
“Mum…” Delphine groans, wriggling as her cheeks are squished. “You’re squashing me.”
Aurélie pulls back instantly. “Sorry, darling. Mummy just missed you so much.”
Her eyes soften as Delphine cups her face.
“Did you find Dominique?”
“Not yet, baby. But it won’t be long.”
Her gaze flicks to me and I know immediately she’s lying.
Something is wrong.
She looks hurt. Shaken. Uneasy in a way she rarely allows herself to be.
I take a step toward her, intent on speaking but Geneviève moves faster.
“Damien, thank the goddess.” She rushes into the courtyard and throws her arms around his shoulders. “I was so worried.”
Her voice drops into a coo. “I woke up and you were gone…”
Damien removes her hands from around his neck without looking at her. His attention never leaves Aurélie not even for a second.
“Ask the female alpha,” he growls, eyes narrowing.
Aurélie hasn’t looked away either. Not from him. Not from Geneviève’s hands that had been on him.
A low, dangerous growl rolls from Aurélie’s chest.
Delphine flinches slightly, and Aurélie reins herself in immediately always careful to shield her daughter from that dominant edge.
“Next time,” Aurélie snaps, “don’t follow me.”
“You’d be dead if I hadn’t,” Damien fires back. “Next time, use your fucking brain and don’t flirt with enemy alphas.”
He storms past us, up the front steps, brushing by me as he shoves through the doors of the alpha house.
Was that jealousy?
Anger?
Or both?
I turn back to Aurélie, stunned. Her mouth hangs open in shock until Delphine reaches up and gently presses it closed, then leans in to whisper excitedly about cupcakes.
Children had a remarkable talent for dismantling tension.
My attention shifts to Geneviève.
She’s staring at Aurélie with open hostility, her glare sharp and unrestrained. Then, as she steps closer, the sneer melts into a carefully practiced smile.
“Perhaps communication would be better handled through email now,” she says lightly, arching a brow at Aurélie.
She was trying poorly to mimic the authority of the Darkvale alpha.
She failed spectacularly.
“Yes,” Aurélie replies coolly, lifting her chin and tightening her hold on Delphine. “Perhaps it should.”