Chapter 20 New Normal
Six months after the wedding, the palace had settled into a strange new rhythm. Celeste and Lord Garrett were inseparable, their affair conducted openly enough to confirm rumors but discreetly enough to maintain propriety. Adrian spent his days ruling and his evenings at Miriam's cottage with Lila. The court whispered, but no one could prove anything improper.
Lila stayed at the cottage for three weeks before Miriam declared her stable enough to return to the palace. Not the tower. Adrian moved her to a suite in the east wing, rooms with windows that opened and doors that stayed unlocked. She was still confined by council decree, but the cage had larger bars now.
Her body healed slowly. The constant care, the medicine, the lack of bond rejection gradually brought color back to her cheeks. She gained weight, her bones disappearing under healthy flesh. Her wolf stirred more frequently, no longer fading but not fully present either.
Adrian visited every evening after council meetings. They sat in her sitting room, talking about nothing and everything, carefully not touching. The bond hummed between them, easier now without the active rejection, but still unfulfilled. Still aching for completion they couldn't give it.
"The baby is due in a month." Adrian said one evening, staring at his hands. "Celeste has been making preparations. Hiring wet nurses, decorating the nursery, planning the announcement celebration."
"With Garrett's help?" Lila couldn't keep the bitterness from her voice.
"Yes." Adrian's jaw clenched. "He's always there. Standing beside her, touching her, making her smile. The whole palace knows they're lovers."
"You gave her permission."
"I gave her no choice." He corrected. "I destroyed our marriage, so she found happiness elsewhere. I can't blame her."
Lila watched him, saw the guilt eating him alive. "Do you regret it? Telling her the truth?"
"Every day." He met her eyes. "And not at all. Living the lie was destroying us all. At least now everyone knows why the King's marriage is broken."
The court had adapted to the new reality with surprising speed. Celeste appeared at formal events with Garrett as her constant companion. Adrian ruled alone, distant and cold, making it clear his marriage existed only on paper. And Lila remained the ghost in the east wing, the reason for everything without being acknowledged.
Lady Margot watched it all with calculating eyes. She'd been unnaturally quiet since Lila moved from the tower, her usual venom replaced by careful observation. Lila didn't trust it. Margot was planning something, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Seven months after the wedding, Celeste sought Lila out. It was the first time they'd been alone together since the cottage confrontation. Celeste appeared in Lila's sitting room looking heavy and tired, her pregnancy in its final weeks.
"Can we talk?" Celeste's voice was neutral.
"Of course." Lila gestured to a chair. "Would you like tea?"
"No. I can't keep anything down lately." Celeste lowered herself carefully into the chair. "The healers say it's normal. Final weeks discomfort."
They sat in awkward silence. Sisters who used to be close, now separated by circumstances neither had chosen.
"I didn't come to fight." Celeste said finally. "I came to say I understand."
Lila looked up, surprised.
"The mate bond." Celeste continued. "I've been reading about it. Talking to Miriam. Learning what it means to find your fated mate." She met Lila's eyes. "You didn't choose this. Neither did Adrian. The Moon Goddess made the choice, and you've both been suffering because of it."
"That doesn't excuse what we did to you."
"No. But it explains it." Celeste's hand rested on her belly. "I'm not happy. But I'm not destroyed either. Garrett makes me feel wanted. Desired. He looks at me the way Adrian looks at you, and it's enough."
"Is it really?"
"It has to be." Celeste's smile was sad. "Because this is the life we have. Not the life we wanted, but the life circumstance gave us." She paused. "After the baby comes, I'm leaving. Taking Garrett to the southern estate. Raising my child away from the palace and its complications."
"Celeste, no." Lila leaned forward. "You're the Queen. Your child will be the heir. You can't just leave."
"I can and I will." Determination filled her voice. "Adrian and I will work out the politics. The child will still be legitimate heir. But I won't stay here watching my husband pine for my sister while I pretend everything is fine." She stood carefully. "We're both victims, Lila. Both trapped by decisions made before we had any power. But we can still choose dignity over suffering."
She moved toward the door, paused. "I don't hate you. I probably should, but I don't. We're both just women caught in an impossible situation." She looked back. "Be kind to him. When I'm gone. Adrian carries enough guilt without adding more."
She left before Lila could respond. The words hung in the air, both forgiveness and goodbye.
Two weeks later, Celeste went into labor.
It started during a state dinner. Lila wasn't attending, but she heard the commotion from her chambers. Shouts. Running feet. Healers being summoned urgently.
Maya burst into her room, face white. "It's the Queen. She's in labor. But something's wrong. The baby is coming too early."
Terror shot through Lila. Seven months. The baby was only seven months along. Too early. Too dangerous.
Through the bond, she felt Adrian's absolute panic. His wolf howling. His human side frozen with terror for his wife and child.
"I need to go to her." Lila stood despite the council's restrictions.
"You can't. The council forbids it." Maya grabbed her arm. "If you leave your chambers without permission, they'll exile you immediately."
"She's my sister." Lila pulled away. "And she's in trouble."
She ran through corridors toward the Queen's chambers, Maya following and protesting. Guards tried to stop her but she pushed past, driven by fear and bond-amplified emotion from Adrian.
The Queen's chambers were chaos. Healers everywhere. Blood on white sheets. Celeste screaming in pain. And Adrian, standing frozen in the corner, watching his wife suffer while unable to help.
Celeste saw Lila in the doorway. Their eyes met across the bloody chaos.
"Something's wrong." Celeste gasped between contractions. "The baby. Something's wrong with my baby."