Chapter 31 The threat
The threat hung in the air between them. Lila felt her blood go cold.
"You wouldn't dare."
"I would do whatever necessary to secure my future with Celeste." Garrett's voice was flat, emotionless. "That child stands between us and freedom. If accidents need to happen to remove that obstacle, so be it."
"You're threatening to murder a baby."
"I'm suggesting that curious children sometimes have tragic accidents. Falls down stairs. Drownings in fountains. So many dangerous things in a palace." His eyes bored into hers. "But those accidents only happen if people interfere with my plans. Stay quiet, let nature take its course, and Theo lives to adulthood. Try to expose me?" He shrugged. "Well, I can't control what might happen to an unattended child."
Lila's hands trembled with rage and fear. He was insane. Absolutely insane. And he held Theo's life as leverage.
"Celeste would never forgive you if something happened to her son."
"Celeste would grieve, then move on. She's not particularly maternal, if you haven't noticed." Garrett moved toward the door. "Think carefully about your next move, Lady Lila. You could save one child. Or you could try to be a hero and end up responsible for his death."
He left before she could respond. Lila stood frozen in the empty corridor, Garrett's threats echoing in her mind. He'd admitted everything. Staged the kidnapping. Threatened Theo's life. And she had no proof. No witnesses. Nothing but her word against his.
If she told Adrian, Garrett might actually hurt Theo. But if she stayed silent, he'd continue manipulating situations, continue endangering people to get what he wanted.
She had to tell Adrian. Had to warn him despite the risk. Because keeping silent meant accepting Garrett's control, meant letting him use Theo as a hostage.
Lila ran through the palace toward Adrian's study. Guards tried to stop her but she pushed past, the pack bond driving her forward with desperate urgency. She burst through the study doors without knocking.
Adrian sat at his desk surrounded by investigation reports. He looked up at her intrusion, concern flashing across his face.
"Lila. What's wrong?"
"Garrett." The name came out breathless. "It was Garrett. He staged the kidnapping. He admitted it to me. And he's threatening to kill Theo if I tell anyone."
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Adrian went absolutely still. Not the calm stillness of controlled emotion. The predatory stillness of a wolf about to strike. Through their bond, Lila felt his rage explode, felt his careful restraint shatter into pieces.
"What did you just say?" His voice came out too quiet, too controlled. Dangerous.
"Garrett opened the garden gate. He coordinated with Margot. Staged the kidnapping to make Celeste look incompetent so she'd agree to leave with him." Lila's words tumbled out frantically. "I confronted him. He admitted everything. Then he threatened that if I exposed him, he'd make sure something worse happened to Theo next time."
Adrian stood slowly. His hands gripped the edge of his desk hard enough to crack the wood. "He threatened my son."
"He wants Celeste free. Wants her to take her settlement and leave. Sees Theo as an obstacle to his future." Lila moved closer. "Adrian, he's insane. Completely insane. He talked about accidents. About children falling down stairs or drowning. He meant it."
"I know he meant it." Adrian's voice had gone flat and cold. The voice he used before violence. "I can smell truth in fear. And you're terrified, which means you believe him capable of following through."
"I do. He's desperate. Obsessed with Celeste. Willing to do anything to have her to himself."
"Where is he now?" Adrian's eyes flashed gold. "Where is Garrett right now?"
"I don't know. He left me in the east corridor about ten minutes ago." Lila grabbed Adrian's arm as he moved toward the door. "Wait. We need a plan. We need proof. If you confront him without evidence, he'll deny everything. Make me look like I'm lying out of jealousy or spite."
"I don't need proof to tear him apart." Adrian's wolf was rising, visible in his glowing eyes and lengthening canines. "He endangered my son. Threatened to kill my heir. That's enough."
"Adrian, please." Lila tightened her grip. "Think. You can't just murder him. You're a king. There are laws. Procedures. If you kill him without trial, the council will question your judgment. Other kingdoms will question your stability."
"I don't care." The words came out as a growl. "He threatened Theo. Nothing else matters."
"It matters because Theo needs you alive and on the throne. Not executed for murder or declared unfit to rule because you lost control." Lila pulled him back toward his desk. "We do this smart. We gather proof. We expose him properly. We make sure he can never threaten anyone again."
Adrian's hands shook with the effort of controlling his wolf. His breathing came in harsh pants. Through the bond, Lila felt his barely restrained violence, felt how close he was to shifting and hunting Garrett down like prey.
"He hurt my son." Adrian's voice cracked. "Put him in danger. Threatened to do worse. How am I supposed to control myself knowing that?"
"By being stronger than your rage." Lila cupped his face, forcing him to meet her eyes. "By being the king Theo needs. The father he deserves. Not the wolf who murders in revenge."
"You're asking the impossible."
"I'm asking you to trust me. To work with me." Lila's voice steadied. "I have an alliance with Margot. She was part of this plan. She'll know details, evidence, proof of Garrett's involvement. Let me talk to her. Let me get what we need to destroy him properly."
"Margot is a viper."
"I know. But she's my viper right now." Lila released his face, stepped back. "Give me until tomorrow. Let me get the proof. Then you can present it to the council and have him arrested legally. Tried. Executed if the evidence warrants. But done right. Done in a way that protects you and Theo."
Adrian's wolf receded slightly. Human awareness fighting back to dominance. He sank into his chair, head in his hands, his whole body still shaking with suppressed violence.
"If he touches Theo again before we can act, I will hunt him down and rip his throat out with my teeth. Council be damned. Kingdom be damned. My son's safety matters more than anything else."
"I know." Lila knelt beside his chair. "But he won't touch Theo again. We'll make sure of it. Triple the guards. Keep Celeste close. Watch Garrett's every move. And by tomorrow, we'll have enough evidence to see him executed properly."
"How can you be sure Margot will cooperate? She orchestrated this with Garrett. Why would she betray him?"
"Because I have something she wants more than her alliance with Garrett." Lila's voice hardened. "Information about her rival's crimes. Proof that could destroy Lady Margaret and clear Margot's path to power. She'll trade Garrett for that. She'll trade anyone for that."
Adrian lifted his head, studied her face. "You've changed so much. Six months ago, you would never have made deals with people like Margot. Would never have thought in terms of leverage and manipulation."
"Six months ago, I was weak and passive and useless." Bitterness colored her voice. "Now I'm fighting. Using whatever weapons I have. Becoming whatever I need to become to protect the people I love."
"Even if it means becoming something you hate?"
"Even then." She met his eyes. "Theo's life is worth more than my conscience."
They stayed like that for a long moment. Two people bound by fate and circumstance, plotting together to destroy a common enemy. It was the closest they'd been to partners in months. To equals working toward the same goal.
Finally, Adrian nodded. "Tomorrow. You have until tomorrow to get proof. After that, I handle Garrett my way."
"That's all I need." Lila stood. "But Adrian? When this is over, when Garrett is dealt with and Theo is safe, we need to talk. About Celeste. About the letters she has. About all the secrets we're still keeping."
"I know." His voice was heavy. "Too many secrets. Too many lies. Eventually they'll bury us all."
"Then we stop keeping them." Lila moved toward the door. "After we deal with Garrett. After Theo is safe. We stop hiding and face whatever comes."
She left before he could respond. Returned to her chambers where Maya waited anxiously. Where decisions needed to be made and alliances needed to be leveraged.
Where tomorrow would bring either salvation or destruction, depending on how well she played this final game.
Through the bond, she felt Adrian still sitting in his study. Felt his wolf prowling beneath his skin. Felt his barely controlled desire to hunt and kill and tear apart anyone who threatened his son.
"Where is Garrett right now?" His earlier question echoed in her mind. His voice had been death itself. "Because I'm going to tear him apart."
Tomorrow. She had until tomorrow to give him a
better option. After that, the wolf would take over.
And the Moon Goddess help anyone who stood in his way.