– Chapter 175

Selene

Helene and I waiter patiently until Arabella left her opulent apartment at the city center. It felt almost like being a part of one of the mystery shows I love watching at home. We staked out the apartment for hours, munching on unhealthy junk food and staring at the building’s front doors until our vision seemed blurry.

Finally Arabella emerged, departing with the air of a socialite off on some sultry affair – dressed to the nines and slinking off towards the pack house.

“There she goes!” Helene whispers excitedly, “Go on now, I’ll stand watch.”

“Now, already?” This was all happening much too fast for me to process. I thought I might reconnect with Bastien in a few days, after an extended mission watching their apartment. I’m not ready to face him now. Still, my mentor seems only too eager for me to take this step.

“Yes now!” Helene scoffs, “This is what we’ve been preparing for you silly thing.”

“Okay,” I mutter, drawing in a deep breath. “Okay, you’re right.”

Dashing across the street, I follow Bastien’s scent upstairs, climbing flight after flight rather than attempting to use the elevator – on which I would have had to press every button in order to catch my mate’s scent. Striding to the apartment door, I heave in a few deep breaths, attempting to calm myself before facing my mate.

In the end I don’t even have to knock. The door swings open in front of me, and Bastien appears – fuming, handsome beyond reason and with eyes full of hatred, “What are you doing here?” He demands.

“I wanted to talk to you.” I confess. “I have a message from Lila.”

“Lila.” He says her name in that same dazed manner he had when we met in the alley.

“Do you remember Lila?” I ask hesitantly. “Do you remember me?”

“Of course I remember you.” He growls, dragging me inside and pushing me up against the closed door. “You destroyed our lives. You tricked me into thinking Frederic’s bastard was my own.”

“No Bastien, I mean: do you remember meeting me in Tartarus the other day?” I clarify. “Do you remember talking to me and meeting Helene?”

“What are you talking about?” He demands, “the last time I saw you we were in Elysium.”

“You saw me two days ago.” I inform him softly, shaking my head with worry. “We were in an alley a few blocks from here. You told me about the dream you had while you were sick last week.”

His powerful hands soften on my body as his brow furrows in confusion. “How do you know about that?”

“Because you told me.” I say again, resisting the urge to reach out to him. “We talked about the news and Frederic, Arabella tried to make you reject me but the night watchmen came around before you could.”

“Arabella was there?” Bastien rumbles, looking completely beside himself.

“Yes.” I confirm gently, “She followed you when you left the house.”

“This doesn’t make any sense.” He groans, releasing me and scrubbing his hand over his face.

“Bastien, I think she’s doing something to your memory.” I tell him, moving forward when he retreats deeper into the apartment. “The things she’s been telling you aren’t true. A lot has changed in the last six years, she’s not the girl you remember.”

He slumps down on the sofa, “she has been behaving oddly – unlike herself, but that’s your doing.” He accuses, eyeing me fiercely. “Yours and Blaise.”

The name of the Calypso Alpha sends a flicker of unease through my veins, “what does Blaise have to do with any of this?”

“She came here for his help, but he’s turned out to be a monster. He wants to make her his mistress and she’s terrified he’ll force himself on her.” He explains.

I relax slightly, relieved that she hasn’t told him about me or Lila and praying she never finds out about his bounty. “Then why are you still here?” I question, “If she’s that afraid of him, why haven’t you taken her back to Elysium yet?”

“We can’t go back yet.” Bastien announces, sounding as if he’s reciting lines from a play; things he doesn’t feel of believe, but somehow knows he’s supposed to say. “You and Frederic have made it impossible.”

“Bastien, Frederic and I aren’t working together. He’s not even in Elysium anymore.” I recount, pulling out my phone. Pulling up the video of our confrontation on the street, I offer him the device. “Here.”

I watch with baited breath as Bastien plays the recording, praying it will knock some sense into him. His eyes narrow further and further, until they’re little more than slits as he watches. “What is this?” He demands.

“This is what was playing on every news station the week you got mysteriously ill, Bastien.” I share, kneeling in front of him and resting my hands on his knees. “Arabella didn’t want you to see it, so she must have made you sick so you’d miss the coverage.”

“How do I know this isn’t just some trick?” Bastien interrogates, emitting a vicious growl when he sees Frederic raise his hand against me. “Maybe you set Frederic up so you could take control of the pack.”

“That wouldn’t explain why he confessed to all those things. They can’t be true if we were working together the way Arabella insists.” I reason.

“But all the things he’s saying she did – those are the things you did to her.” Bastien insists, making my heart ache in my chest.

“No, they aren’t.” I state, desperately trying to hold onto my sense of calm. “Go to the next video.”

He flips over to the next recording downloaded on my device, one that Drake sent me just this morning. In it Lila is beaming into the camera, her sweet face smeared with chocolate even as Sophie stands behind her with a damp rag, trying to convince her to get cleaned up before making the video.

“Hi Daddy!” Lila chirps, waving an equally dirty paw. “I miss you so much! I’m in ‘sphodel with Uncle Rake and Aunt Sophie, an’ we’re having lots a fun, but I wanna come home! You’ve been gone too long and I wanna go for wolf rides and bake with Mommy an’ hear your silly songs.” She rambles off her wishlist in one breath, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. To finish, she spreads her little arms out wide, “I love you this much, Daddy! Please come home.”

Bastien is smiling at the screen, that same besotted expression he got the first time he saw her. “She has your…” He looks up at me in confusion, trailing off, “eyes.”

“My eyes.” I confirm, “when they’re not disguised. And your smile.” I point out, nodding towards the phone. “She’s yours, Bastien – you can see it plain as day.” Pressing my hand to my belly, I add. “And so is this one.”

Bastien looks back at the small rectangular screen, flipping to the next video without being told. It’s the sonogram I had Dr Lee take just before I left the city. “You didn’t come here for Arabella, Bastien. You came here because we’re having another baby, and Blaise is a threat to all three of us. I don’t know how it happened that you ran into Arabella, but you cannot trust her.”

Swiping over, I pull up the last video I requested, one Odette sent not a half hour ago. “If you won’t believe me, maybe you’ll believe them.” I suggest, pressing play.

In the recording, Odette is standing with Aiden and Donovan, looking very somber indeed. “Bastien, do not trust Arabella.” His mother begins. “I was there the night she tried to kill Selene, Aiden and Donovan were there when you saved Lila from starlight poisoning.”

“We witnessed these things with our own eyes.” Aiden adds, “You called us after the assassination attempt because you were afraid for Selene. You were in contact for days afterwards and your memory was fine.”

“Everything Arabella is telling you is a lie.” Donovan proclaims, “She fled Elysium because she’s committed countless crimes, trying to enact her Vendetta against you. She hates you because of Flynn. She blames you for his death.”

Bastien lowers the phone with a grim expression. Pinching the bridge of his nose as if he’s got a headache, he growls, “this doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand.”

“Just come home.” I beg. “Forget Blaise, forget Arabella and come away with me, at least until you can get your memory back.”

“Blaise.” He repeats thoughtfully, “why did you say he was a threat to you?”

“He’s the reason you came here – he has a bounty on Volanas. It’s why my eyes are disguised. He’s hunting us and he’ll kill us if he finds us.” I share, both afraid of Bastien waking up and realizing that I defied his express orders never to come here, and wishing for nothing more.

Hearing that I’m in danger seems to rile Bastien enough for his wolf to rise to the surface, because suddenly his silver eyes are glowing and his claws extended. “He wants to kill you?”

“Yes, and so does Arabella. She’d kill me and Lila in a heartbeat Bastien. She thinks we’re standing in her way.” I tell him anxiously.

“If that’s true, I can’t just leave.” Bastien decides, sounding like himself for the first time in a long time.

“Then… do you mean… do you believe me?” I squeak.

“How can I not?” He murmurs, gesturing with the phone.

“Then come away, please, before she can take your memory again.” I plead.

Just then I hear the sound of heels clicking in the hall, and smell Arabella’s vile perfume. “It’s too late.” Bastien announces gravely. “She’s back.”