Chapter 3 Chapitre 3

The silence of the house was comforting. Fl pushed the front door, a slight smile touched on her lips when she saw her children running towards her, their little feet beating the ground with effervescent energy. One of them rushed into his arms, while the other two surrounded him with overflowing enthusiasm. Their joy was a breath of fresh air in a world that sometimes seemed too heavy, too heavy with secrets that she had to carry alone.

- Mom ! Mom ! You are finally there!

She hugged them, feeling the warmth of their young bodies against hers. They were the center of her universe, and their innocence protected her from the shadows of the past. But every time she looked at them, a weight grew in her, an invisible burden that she could not share with them.

She put a kiss on the head of each of her triplets, then slowly detached from their embrace.

- I came back, my treasures. Are you doing well ?

The smiles broke out on their faces, their eyes shone with happiness, but a part of her knew that she could never relax completely. The secret she was carrying in her was a breach in her inner peace. A secret that was likely to destroy everything if someone came to discover what she had hidden during all these years.

She had given them life, she had raised them alone, in the shadow of this story that she had never told anyone, and she never wanted it to become a burden for them.

But today, with each stealthy look exchanged between her and ML, with each thrill that he let out in the air, she knew that the truth was resurfaced. And if it were bursting, everything was likely to collapse around her.

She turned slightly, her thoughts landing on what was going on beyond these walls. Basically, she feared that the secret she had protected so long does not end up destroying everything. She stood there, in the illusion of security, but the rumbles of the past, they kept reaching it.

***

In the darkness of the night, ML was there, alone in the silent room of his house, his head pressed against the back of the chair. His gaze was lost in darkness, a dull agitation hugging his soul. The spirit occupied by memories which returned to haunt him.

The night.

The night he had found it.

The night when everything had changed, and however, nothing had really changed.

He remembered details with painful clarity: the softness of his skin under his fingers, the warmth of his breath against his neck, the feeling of his body against his, fragile and confident. They had been two foreigners in a world they knew too well, two lost souls who had found themselves. And yet, something in him was broken that night, something he couldn't repair.

He woke up in the morning, lost in this same emptiness that had always followed him, and left him behind without a word, without an explanation. He hadn't known. Or maybe he had chosen not to know. The responsibilities, the heaviness of his position as alpha ... All of this had seemed to him more important than he felt.

He got up, the room revolving around him. He walked towards the window and observed the glow of the moon filtering through the curtains, bathed in the space of this silver glow which seemed to make fun of him. The regrets still invaded him, and he wondered if he could have acts otherwise. But the questions remained unanswered. The past was too heavy. And she ... she had turned her back.

His thought turned to FL, this woman whom he had never completely forgotten. The pain he had caused, the way he had let her rebuild alone, all of this gnawed at the inside. But what disturbed him even more was the question of the future. He felt that something had changed in her. He no longer recognized her. She was different. Stronger, more distant, but something in his eyes ... Something he could not define, reminded him of memories that he did not want to face.

And he couldn't help but wonder if, by rejecting it in the past, he had not lost more than he thought.

He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. All of this devoured him from the inside. He would have liked to go back, erase everything. But time was a calm sea that took the regrets without possible return.

And basically, he knew what he had lost would not come back. He also knew that sooner or later he should face the consequences of his actions. But, for the time being, he was only a broken man, haunted by memories of a night he would have preferred to forget, but who remained engraved in each fiber of his being.

He finally got up, his trembling hands sliding on the wooden wood, looking for the stability that his thoughts no longer offered him. He went to a neighboring room, a room he had never really used. There, among papers and forgotten books, he sought something, anything that could prevent him from getting lost again in this inner whirlwind.

But deep down, he knew that that night was not just a memory, not just a mistake among many others. That night was the start of a path he should one day take, and this path would probably lead him to her. To fl. Towards what he had left behind.

In the shadows of the forest, a sneaky murmur was circulating among the ancient ML allies, a wind of rumors which was becoming more and more pressing. One of his former rivals, a fallen alpha who had never stopped waiting for the opportunity to take power, had straightened up, taking advantage of ML's weakness. Since his betrayal and forced loneliness, ML was a weakened alpha, and the other, feeling the opportunity, sneaned through the packs of the pack to prepare his blow.

This alpha, more cunning than he had never been, knew exactly when to strike. He knew that ML, weakened and still marked by the loss of his status, was vulnerable. In secret meetings, he whispered in the ear of influential members of the pack, sowing doubt, fueling rumors. "A weak alpha is not worthy of the pack," he said. "The order must be restored. We need a stronger leader, a leader who will be able to defend our interests. »»

The murmurs grew, and several of the youngest, those who had not known ML in his full glory, began to ask questions. The seeds of doubt were sown, and they germinated quickly. ML's position seemed more and more precarious.

In this context of fragility, another emergency arose. A member of the pack, an experienced but elderly warrior fell seriously ill. The traditional remedies, herbs and potions that healers usually used did not work. The disease seemed strange, virulent, out of control of the pack capabilities. Time pressed, and panic began to settle. The Alpha could not ignore this problem, but he knew that the help of FL was the only chance to save their comrade.

After a night of reflection, ML finally decided to take one of the most humble steps of his life: he went to FL. It was not just the situation that pushed him towards her, but a mixture of guilt and despair. The coldness he had felt from him during their last meeting only intensified his need for help. But he had no other choice. The pack, its burden, the life of one of its members were at stake.

He arrived in the evening, just before the light started to withdraw from the horizon. When he presented himself at his door, his gaze was more humble than usual. He did not have the presence of an alpha in full force of his power, but that of a man who seeks a solution, who admits his weaknesses.

- FL, he said, standing in the doorway, a hand on the frame as if he still hesitated to enter. I need you. A member of my pack is seriously ill, and it seems that no one can help him. You are the only person I can call on.

The words, although pronounced with a tone that betrayed his desolation, were nothing begging. It was just the truth. He was at the end of his resources, and in this world of wolves, there was no place for pride when the life of a member of the pack was at stake.

Fl looked at him for a moment, seeking to understand what was hiding behind his gaze. She remembered the promises made once, broken ties, the love she had tried to forget, but that she had never been able to erase. However, at that moment, she knew that she could not turn her back on the situation. Someone's life was at stake.

- Come, she simply replied, her firm voice despite the storm of emotions that was shaking her heart. I will see what I can do. But you know it's not a question of magic or herbs. If your friend is also sick, it is because there is something more ... deep.

She invited him to enter, and without one more word, they headed for the room where the sick man was lying down, his laborious breathing and his abnormally pale skin. The ground seemed heavier under the footsteps of ML. The situation was pressing, and he could not avoid wondering, in the oppressive silence of the play, which still awaited his future.