Chapter 87 87
Aurélie POV
There was something wrong with the space between Damien and me.
Not wrong charged.
It hummed. A low, vibrating current that made the air feel thicker, heavier, like it was pressing in on my skin. Being this close to him was suffocating… and at the same time, dangerously intoxicating.
I hated how easily he got under my skin. Hated that I couldn’t pinpoint whether it was him or something broken inside me that reacted so violently to his presence.
He wore aftershave. I was close enough to catch it fully now, the scent still sharp and potent, spiced with something warm and masculine. Beneath it lingered that unmistakable leathery sweetness that was him. The combination sent my wolf into a restless frenzy.
She pushed against my restraint, urging me closer.
Breathe him in. Taste him. Press your nose to his neck. Lick his skin claim the scent.
I forced myself to stay still.
My eyes refused to leave his face. Even after everything after betrayal, after pain he was still the most beautiful man I had ever seen. Dominique carried that same beauty, a living reminder of what I had once loved… and what I had sworn never to repeat.
My son was proof that beauty meant nothing on its own.
Beauty could lie.
Beauty could hide monsters.
My lips felt dry beneath Damien’s stare. The moment my tongue slid across them, a low growl rolled out of his chest, vibrating straight through me.
I tried to move my hands, but they were still pinned behind my back.
Legs, Aurélie, I told myself sharply. You still have your legs.
As if he’d read my thoughts, the instant I went to drive my knee up into his groin, he shifted. His leg slid between mine with brutal precision, his upper thigh pressing firmly against my lower core. Heat flared instantly, traitorous and intense.
“Let me go,” I snarled.
“And let you get attacked?” he replied calmly. “Not happening, sweetheart.”
There was power in his voice commanding, absolute. If I wasn’t so furious, if I didn’t hate him so much in that moment, I would have shoved him against the desk instead and tested just how much control he truly had.
I felt him inhale, his nose brushing my hair, settling near my temple.
“You’ve been holding back,” he murmured.
He pulled back just enough to meet my gaze, his eyes dark and intent.
“You’re powerful. I’ve never met another Alpha whose aura mirrors mine so closely.” His fingers brushed my forehead, gently sweeping a loose strand of hair back and tucking it behind my ear.
“But you lock everything away in here…”
His hand moved slow, deliberate until his palm rested over my chest.
“…and in here.”
Sparks exploded beneath his touch.
The hum intensified, vibrating through my bones, pulling at me like gravity itself. I stared down at his hand, at the place where his skin met mine, breath hitching as the magnetic pull tightened.
“You need to let your emotions out,” he continued quietly. “Let your wolf channel more.”
“There’s a reason I stay in control, Damien,” I shot back, my jaw tightening. “Unchecked emotions lead to disaster. But you already know that, don’t you?”
His brows furrowed, his gaze flickering between my eyes and my mouth like he was afraid to miss a single word.
“I want to see her,” I demanded, struggling again against his hold.
“No.”
“I want to know what she planned,” I pressed. “What she was willing to do to my son”
“Our son,” he cut in sharply. “And I said no.”
He finally let me go.
The moment his body left mine, the intensity shattered, leaving behind a hollow ache I refused to acknowledge.
“Why?” I exhaled.
“Because I’m not putting you in harm’s way again.”
The words made my anger spike.
I had chosen to come for Dominique. I was responsible for my own safety not him.
“I’m not asking, Damien,” I snapped. “She committed crimes against my pack. Against a future Alpha of an alliance.”
My voice shook with fury. “By the Goddess, I’ll bring every warrior I have and take her by force if I have to.”
Damien POV
It wasn’t the right time. I knew that.
Not in the middle of chaos. Not with everything burning down around us.
And yet… I couldn’t help it.
I enjoyed her like this furious, demanding, unyielding. She was devastating when she was angry. The way her jaw tightened made her lips swell slightly, turning them impossibly kissable.
When she licked them, my control frayed. I wanted nothing more than to run my tongue over her mouth, to soothe the dryness myself.
And then I saw it the hurt in her eyes, buried beneath the fire.
Fuck.
How had I missed it four years ago?
I hadn’t meant to push her aside. Not truly. Geneviève had nearly died when her pack was attacked. They had slaughtered her mate the Alpha right in front of her.
And somehow, in trying to save one woman, I had shattered another.