Note: This chapter contains a short sexual assault scene which is intended to be upsetting. The start and end of this scene are marked within the text.

Noel wasted no time in searching for Gaetan’s clothes. That afternoon, once he had returned to the mansion and restored all the paperweights to their rightful places, he went straight to Madelaine’s room. Or rather, it had been Gaetan’s room, up until she took it over. She apparently hadn’t had time yet to completely erase her erstwhile husband’s presence; upon entering the room, Noel could clearly see which pieces of furniture had belonged to Gaetan and which Madelaine had added. The bed and armoire were well-crafted from fine wood, polished to show off the quality of the materials, but the vanity was gilded and covered in tacky ornamentation, and the bedspread dripped with expensive, impractical lace trimmings.

Noel closed the door quietly and walked further in, unsure of himself.

The first place he looked was the armoire, but all Gaetan’s clothes had been taken out, and it was filled with nothing but dresses. A quick look in the drawers of the dresser beside it revealed all sorts of underwear. He checked under the bed, but the area beneath was spotless, with not even a stray sock underneath. He rifled through the chest at the end of the bed, but it was filled with nothing but spare sheets and blankets. Discouraged, Noel picked his way across the entire room, but couldn’t find any sign of any of Gaetan’s clothes, let alone a specific set.

After looking everywhere he could think of, Noel stood in the middle of room and sighed in frustration. He could check the other rooms or go to the laundry, but if the clothes weren’t in Madelaine’s possession, they might not be anywhere at all.

Noel refused to think like that, though. He shook his head and decided to check the bedroom over one more time before he gave up.

On his second go around, Noel was a lot more thorough picking through Madelaine’s dresses. Although he came up empty-handed, he faced the dresser with the same grim determination. Madelaine had such a voluminous quantity of colourful underthings that Noel didn’t believe she could possibly use all of them. They weren’t well-taken care of, either, left to crease and tangle in disarray while absorbing the scent of an excessive number of lavender sachets.

The first drawer wasn’t too bad. It was mostly stockings and garters, in an array of colours and fabrics. The second drawer was crinolines and petticoats. The last drawer, closest to the floor, were intimates. Noel opened the drawer and looked down at the contents with grim determination. He reach in and began gingerly manipulating the undergarments, checking in between the layers for any sign of Gaetan’s clothes.

When he worked his way to the very bottom of the drawer, Noel spotted something promising. A dark piece of fabric that didn’t look right among the rest. Hastily pushing aside the intimates, he unearthed a pair of neatly folded men’s trousers, along with a men’s shirt and a few other items. Noel’s heart soared; everything was accounted for, and now he just had to bring it all back to Gaetan! Then he heard the door click.

Noel hastily reburied Gaetan’s clothes as the door opened, then slammed the dresser drawers shut and turned around.

Madelaine was standing at the entrance to her bedroom, wearing a light grey dress. She watched him with a sly smile and a glint in her eyes. One hand played with her chatelaine, inducing little chitters in the chains. “Oh Noel,” she said breathily, “who knew you could be so naughty?”

Noel tensed. For the briefest second, he worried that she knew what he was doing in her room, but she wouldn’t have been smiling if that were the case. He forced himself to relax, even though he felt vaguely sick knowing what she’d done to Gaetan. “Sorry, I’ll be leaving now,” he said, trying to brush her off, and made to leave.

Madelaine walked around the bed, blocking his path. “Oh, don’t apologize Vicomte,” she tittered, “you’re right where I want you to be.” She stood square in front of him, batting her bright, mischievous eyes, and making no moves to let him pass. Her chatelaine jangled with a swish of her hips.

Noel’s eyes wandered from Madelaine’s face to the open door and back again. For better or worse, Madelaine really didn’t seem any different than usual. He could come back for the clothes later. “I’d rather leave,” he told her bluntly.

assault scene begins

“No,” Madelaine’s eyes went wide in mock surprise, “don’t leave… I need your help, Noel,” she pouted. As she spoke, she moved closer and snuck her hands around Noel’s waist. “Can you help me get—”

Noel didn’t let her finish. Madelaine’s hands felt like slithery eels against his sides and completely ruined any good mood he had had after finding Gaetan’s clothes. Deciding the time for gentility was over, he grabbed her by her upper arms and moved her bodily out of his way. However, Madelaine was unphased. Her chatelaine clattered about as she got hold of one of his arms and threw herself back onto the bed, dragging him with her.

“Oh Noel!” she said again, louder than before. She couldn’t help the sharp smile that came to her lips, and she giggled outrageously as he used his free arm to catch himself on the bedpost before he could fall on top of her. The surprise on his face delighted her, but she wasn’t satisfied. As Noel restored his balance, she hiked up her skirt, moaned dramatically and yanked his hand in between her legs.

“NOEL!” a voice boomed from the doorway.

Noel wrenched his arm free and reeled back as Madelaine flashed her white, predatory grin at him from the bed. He looked up to see Alcide standing in the doorframe, rage radiating from his posture. A numbing chill went through him as he realized that her teeth and claws had been more dangerous all along than Gaetan’s ever were. He swallowed and went to his brother’s side, hoping to explain himself.

assault scene ends

Alcide, however, gave him no chances. Before Noel could say a word, the irate man grabbed him by his collar and dragged him through the house and out the front door. “Stay here,” he commanded, depositing him on the front steps.

“Wait—” Noel tried to interject, but he found himself talking to the doors. He shivered and put his hands up to the long scratches that marred the surface. If he went back inside now, he’d only anger Alcide further; he’d have to wait until the other was calmer to clear things up. For now, all he could do was pace in place to keep warm.

Noel felt very differently standing outside the front entrance than he had mere weeks ago, when Madelaine had first approached him about the monster. At the time, he’d been preoccupied with the size of the monster, with its danger, and with the hunt. But now, when he ran his fingers along the deep grooves in the wood, he could sense just how desperate Gaetan must have been. The time had passed quickly for Noel, but every day must have been an eternity to Gaetan.

Noel was happy he finally had a way to help. He hadn’t been able to shrug off the man’s sudden ‘death’ the way others had. It had never felt right to him. Finding out that Gaetan was both the wolf and the monster, as strange as it was, was a relief to him. Now, he just had to get the clothes and bring Gaetan back, and everything would fall into place. Or at least, everything would return to normal, and they would both get everything they wanted, and he could learn to forget all the prior events in the forest.

Noel tucked his fingers into his armpits to keep them warm and watched his breath plume in front of him. He wished that Alcide had just let him wait in the living room. Better yet, he wished that Alcide had calmed down and listened to him first; he didn’t know what Madelaine was telling them inside. Even knowing that she was responsible for Gaetan’s disappearance, he had still underestimated her shamelessness.

Noel had waited until his nose turned blue when his family’s carriage drew up to the front steps. A moment later, Alcide came bursting through the front doors, still angry enough to make the heavy wood swing on its hinges. “Get in,” he ordered, tersely jerking his head towards the carriage.

Noel swallowed, recalculating how long it was going to take for Alcide to calm down. “Can we talk about—” he tried to speak but was cut off by his brother’s glower. He would have to choose between getting into the carriage or being thrown in. He would have preferred not leaving the St Germain estate at all, but that option was clearly not in the cards. After a moment of dithering, Noel went and sat down inside the carriage.

Alcide followed suit, sitting on the opposite side and crossing his arms sternly. Noel suddenly found it within himself to miss the monster; his brother would be much harder to placate, and at least the monster didn’t know how to shoot a gun.

Noel tried to say something as the carriage started moving, “I didn’t—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Alcide cut him off.