Chapter 32 The Quiet Betrayal
Lila couldn't sleep. She paced her chambers as midnight passed into the early hours, her mind racing through plans and contingencies. By dawn, she'd have Margot's evidence. By noon, Garrett would be arrested. By evening, Theo would be safe.
The bond with Adrian pulsed with his own restlessness. He was awake too, probably sitting in his study, fighting the urge to hunt Garrett down before proper justice could be served.
Just a few more hours. That's all they needed.
Then she heard it. Footsteps running through corridors. Voices raised in alarm. The peculiar chaos that meant something terrible had happened.
Lila threw open her door. A servant rushed past, face white with panic.
"What's happened?" Lila grabbed the woman's arm.
"Prince Theo. He's fallen. From the west terrace." The servant pulled free and kept running. "They're saying he's badly hurt."
Terror shot through Lila. The pack bond flared with pain and confusion, Theo's tiny consciousness struggling to understand why everything hurt. She ran, ignoring guards who called after her, ignoring restrictions and rules and everything except the desperate need to reach him.
The west terrace was chaos. Guards everywhere. Servants crying. Healers rushing with supplies. And in the center, Adrian knelt on cold stone, cradling Theo's small body against his chest.
Blood trailed from the child's temple, stark red against pale skin. Theo's eyes were closed, his breathing shallow. He looked so small, so fragile, barely more than a baby.
"What happened?" Lila's voice came out strangled.
Adrian's face was carved from ice, but his eyes burned with barely controlled violence. "He fell. From the terrace railing. Twenty feet onto stone."
"How?" The terrace had safety bars. A one-year-old couldn't climb them alone.
"An excellent question." Adrian's voice was death itself. His eyes cut to Garrett, who stood several feet away looking appropriately concerned. "Lord Garrett, perhaps you'd like to explain how Prince Theo ended up on a terrace he shouldn't have been able to access alone."
"A tragic accident, Your Majesty." Garrett's voice carried just the right amount of distress. "I was walking the grounds when I heard a cry. Ran to investigate and found the Prince had somehow gotten through the safety gate. It must not have been properly latched."
"The gates are always latched. Always locked." Adrian's hands shook where they held his son. "Someone would have had to deliberately open it."
"Perhaps a careless servant?" Garrett suggested smoothly. "An oversight in the chaos of increased security after the kidnapping scare?"
Lila watched Garrett's face. Too composed. Too prepared with explanations. He'd done this. Followed through on his threat. And now Theo lay bleeding in his father's arms.
The healers arrived, carefully taking Theo from Adrian. Iris examined the injury with glowing hands, her expression grave.
"The skull is fractured. There's internal bleeding. We need to get him to the healing chambers immediately." She gestured to her assistants. "Carefully. Any jarring could make it worse."
They carried Theo away on a floating stretcher. Adrian stood frozen, watching his son disappear into the palace. Through the bond, Lila felt his absolute rage, his wolf howling for blood, his barely maintained human control fracturing.
"Your Majesty." A messenger approached hesitantly. "The council requests your immediate presence. An urgent matter has arisen."
"My son is dying and they want council meetings?" Adrian's voice could have shattered stone.
"It's about... allegations, Your Majesty. Against you and Lady Lila." The messenger's face reddened. "They've received evidence of impropriety. They demand immediate hearing before the situation escalates further."
Lila's blood went cold. No. Not now. Not when Theo needed them.
"What evidence?" Adrian demanded.
"Letters, Your Majesty. Between you and the healer Miriam. Discussing... the mate bond." The messenger looked like he wanted to disappear. "And other correspondence that suggests emotional infidelity."
Celeste. She'd done it. Used the letters as leverage exactly when they were most vulnerable. Exactly when Adrian couldn't defend himself without abandoning his injured son.
"Tell the council I'll attend when my son is stable. Not before." Adrian turned toward the palace.
"Your Majesty, they've issued a formal summons. If you don't appear, they'll consider it contempt. They could—"
"They could what?" Adrian spun back, his eyes flashing pure gold. "Strip my crown while my son fights for his life? Let them try."
He stormed into the palace. Lila followed, her mind racing. This was coordinated. Garrett hurt Theo. Celeste released the letters. Both attacks timed perfectly to destroy Adrian when he was most vulnerable.
She found Margot in the library, exactly where their plan said she'd be gathering evidence. The woman looked up at Lila's entrance, her expression carefully neutral.
"I need those documents now." Lila's voice shook. "Garrett followed through on his threat. Theo is badly hurt. And Celeste just exposed the mate bond to the council. We're out of time."
"I know." Margot's voice was flat. "I heard about both situations."
"Then give me what I need to destroy Garrett. Now. Before Adrian loses control completely and murders him."
"I can't." Margot stood slowly. "I'm sorry, Lila. I truly am. But I can't help you anymore."
"We had a deal."
"We had a deal before Garrett proved he has allies stronger than your mate." Margot's voice carried genuine regret. "Three council members are in his pocket. The head of palace security owes him massive debts. Even Lady Margaret is backing him because he promised her trade routes she's wanted for years." She met Lila's eyes. "If I move against Garrett now, I don't just lose power. I lose my life."
"So you're abandoning our alliance." The words tasted like ash.
"I'm surviving. Like I always do." Margot moved toward the door. "Garrett's pressure is stronger than anything you can offer. And I have no choice but to yield to the greater force."
"Theo could die."
"Children die every day." The cold realism in Margot's voice was chilling. "I'm sorry it might be him. But I won't sacrifice myself for a lost cause."
She left before Lila could respond. Left her standing in the library with nothing. No evidence. No allies. No way to protect anyone.
Lila returned to find Adrian outside the healing chambers. He stood like a statue, staring at the closed doors beyond which healers worked frantically to save his son.
She saw Celeste, pacing restlessly and noticed she just knew, probably to busy thinking she needed to expose the truth. Garrett might have manipulated her mind.
As I walked in closer her eyes met mine. It had grief and rejection
“Get out of here Lila,” she said with greeted teeth.
“Please I just want to know…”
“I said get out.“ She screamed, tears falling from her eyes.
Lila stood like a stature until Adrain grabbed her arm and angrily took her out of there. They stopped when they got to the balcony.
"The council is convening." His voice was hollow. "They're discussing the letters. Debating whether a king with a forbidden mate bond can be trusted to rule." He laughed without humor. "My son is dying and they're worried about my heart belonging to the wrong woman."
"We'll fight them. We'll explain."
"Explain what? That the mate bond is real? That I've been bound to you since my wedding day? That every moment of my marriage has been a lie?" Adrian's control cracked. "They'll strip my crown. Invalidate Theo's claim as heir. Destroy everything I've built."
Through their bond, Lila felt his despair. Felt him realizing he'd lost. Garrett had won. Celeste had won. All their careful plans and desperate alliances had crumbled.
Inside the healing chambers, Theo's small voice cried out in pain. Adrian flinched like he'd been struck.
"I can't go in there." His voice broke. "Can't watch him suffer and know I failed to protect him."