Chapter 81 81
Damien POV
I refused to stay in the hospital overnight.
I felt better much better. Whatever rehydration trick they’d used had worked. The doctors admitted they were surprised by Fabrice’s methods; they would’ve taken me straight into surgery to remove the bullet. I had a strong suspicion that, doctor or not, Fabrice enjoyed inflicting pain just a little too much with his approach. Still, I hadn’t been put under, and more importantly, I hadn’t been cut off from the pack link. Maybe that had been part of his reasoning too.
Damn him he was a good doctor.
I’d never say that to his face. Or to Maurice’s.
My wolf hadn’t wanted to leave Maurice alone back at the Alpha house. I knew Maurice was deliberately trying to provoke me, but my wolf was convinced he’d make a move on her the moment my back was turned.
Geneviève had insisted on keeping vigil at my bedside all night, which meant I’d been awake since four in the morning with her now, sitting in the kitchen, checking emails. The longer she stayed near me, the harder it became to tolerate her presence.
Tell her to leave, my wolf growled in my head.
She’s making sure I don’t pass out face-first on the kitchen table, I shot back. Have a heart.
Geneviève had been there for me for the past four years. She hadn’t run when things became difficult. Yes, we’d argued. Yes, there were days she irritated the hell out of me. But she stayed. She always stayed.
And yet—the fact that I hadn’t touched her sexually screamed like a warning bell in my mind.
How had it been this long?
I wasn’t pretending I hadn’t taken care of myself, but four fucking years? What was I waiting for? I believed Aurélie was dead. I had seen it with my own eyes when I went to the Darkvale pack. If she was dead, why had my body refused to move on? Why hadn’t I claimed another wife? Why hadn’t I taken Geneviève?
She isn’t mine…
And Aurélie is? my wolf snapped back. She abandoned us. Abandoned her role as Luna and took our children away. Four years, Damien. Four years we’ll never get back. Aurélie is an Alpha in her own right now. Geneviève has been acting Luna for four years
“No!” I roared aloud, my body jerking as the force of my wolf’s fury tore through me.
“Are you okay?” Geneviève shot up from her chair, her hand flying to my forehead. “You’re burning up,” she fretted, fingers brushing her lips.
“I’m fine,” I said tightly. “It’s just my wolf arguing with me.”
“About what?”
“Nothing important.” It wasn’t the right time. I didn’t even know what I wanted anymore or what Aurélie was planning now.
“I’ll get you another drink,” she said, turning toward the kitchen.
Even at this early hour, she was dressed in a tight vest and tiny shorts, the fabric clinging to her curves. When she bent over, her bare skin was on full display. Fluffy slippers with heels padded softly against the floor, and she looked every inch the perfect Luna—polished, composed, desirable.
So why was it Aurélie who haunted me?
She unsettled me in ways no one else ever had. She angered me, confused me, intoxicated me. She’d spent years building alliances against me why? What had I done to deserve that level of betrayal?
All I had ever asked was that she show kindness to a Luna in need. To shelter a Luna whose pack had been slaughtered in a vicious attack.
That was it.
Yet she turned packs against me while knowingly carrying my children and walking away.
How was I supposed to forgive that? Why should I?
My mood didn’t improve when the kitchen began to fill for breakfast. I swore under my breath as Élodie and Simon walked in I’d completely forgotten they were even here.
Maurice joined soon after, and between him and Élodie, they seemed to take pleasure in baiting me, directing little comments across the table toward Geneviève.
“Stop,” I growled, slamming my clenched fist down hard enough to rattle the dishes.
“Geneviève is the acting Luna,” I warned, sweeping my glare around the table. “And you will show her respect.”
They didn’t have to like her but they would remember that she was under my pack’s protection.
The tension broke when the Darkvale pack family entered and quietly took the remaining seats. Dominique and Delphine settled beside Élodie. Fabrice took the chair next to Simon, leaving the seat beside me empty.
She noticed it and hesitated before stepping back, choosing instead to stand behind her children to help serve their plates. I caught the slight shake of her head silent communication between her and Fabrice. Private. Intentional.
“Good morning, Master Dominique.”
“Hello, Beta Simon,” he replied politely, his attention drifting almost immediately to the food laid out in the center of the table.
And just like that, the morning continued thick with tension, unspoken histories, and wounds that refused to close.