Chapter 66 66
Aurélie POV
“Well? Are you coming or not?” Damien huffs, already turning away from me as he strides out of the Alpha house.
“I’ll drive!” Alpha Maurice announces, darting past Damien and heading straight for the courtyard. I hadn’t even realised he was here.
My heart stutters as I turn back to Fabrice and Delphine. I can’t just leave her again.
“Mummy, I’ll be fine. Go… Dominique is waiting for you.” She barely looks up, already lowering her head back to her maths book, as if this decision has been made for me.
“Go. Keep me posted,” Fabrice says, pushing back his chair as he follows toward the courtyard, Simon right behind him.
“Okay, baby. Be good. I won’t be long.” I kiss the top of her head, then lift my gaze to the women still in the room.
Florence, Denise, and Élodie meet my eyes with gentle reassurance. Geneviève is nowhere to be seen. If she were here, I doubt I’d be able to walk away from Delphine at all.
“I know,” Élodie says softly, reading my hesitation. “I’ll stay. I promise. I’ll keep her away from her.”
That’s enough. I grab my phone and handbag and rush out, checking yet again that my charger is safely inside. I don’t take chances anymore.
“Maurice, you are not driving!”
“Damien, your cars carry your emblem. They aren’t subtle you can spot them from miles away. My vehicles are built to stay under the radar,” Maurice replies coolly. “Something you might consider learning.”
Damien doesn’t bother hiding his irritation, which quickly sharpens into anger.
“Fine!” He stalks toward Maurice’s car, a plain grey saloon that blends in far too well. “But I’m driving.”
“That’s fine by me,” Maurice says easily. “I’ll sit in the back with Alpha Aurélie.”
They bicker like an old married couple while I turn back to Fabrice, who’s murmuring something to Simon before Simon steps away, giving us privacy.
“I don’t like you going,” Fabrice admits quietly.
“I know. But I can’t stay here and wait. I have to do something. I have to get him back.”
He exhales slowly, then cups my face, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Just… be careful.”
“We need to go,” Damien growls, already opening one of the rear doors.
“Keep her safe,” I call back to Fabrice as I hurry forward. I brush past Damien, his scent curling sharply in my senses, and slide into the back seat. He gestures sharply, shooing me aside, forcing me to move over before he joins me.
I arch a brow at him when he looks my way.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he smirks. “Afraid my hands might wander?”
“No,” I snap. “Because your fingers would be broken before they crossed the middle seat.”
The threat loses some of its edge when I have to wind down the window, his scent thick and suffocating in the enclosed space.
Three hours later, Maurice finally pulls in for petrol. The entire drive has been filled with their constant arguing, and my head is pounding. They’re worse than children.
Maurice steps out to refuel, leaving Damien and me alone in the car.
“How much further?” I ask.
“Another hour, maybe. Depends on traffic.” His eyes stay glued to the map app on his phone as he zooms in, counting buildings with a frown of concentration.
“What are you doing?”
“Studying the location. Looking for potential threats.” He shrugs, then looks up at me. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind, and I hate that.
“Let me guess,” he adds, “you’d have rushed in without checking anything.”
“No,” I say coldly. “I’d do whatever it takes to rescue my son.”
“And you’d get yourself captured in the process,” he counters smoothly. “Then what? How would you help Dominique then?”
I hate that he’s right. I hate even more how smug he sounds about it.
“Lucky you’ve got me, sweetheart.”
“I don’t have you,” I snap. “And I don’t need you. If you weren’t here, Fabrice and my warriors would be.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” he murmurs. “Keep pretending you don’t need me.”
I snarl at him, but he’s spared my response by the door opening and Alpha Maurice’s annoyingly pleasant smile appearing.
“I’m just going to pay. Do you want anything?”
“I’ll come in,” I say sharply, already opening my door. “I need water. I’ve got a sudden headache.”
I slam the door behind me. Damien has a gift for pressing every single one of my buttons.