Chapter 64: Should I Really Expect?

Third POV

The festival glittered around her, a sea of silk and candlelight and carefully practiced smiles. Tori moved through the crowd with measured steps, her heart pounding beneath the simple grey gown she had chosen for the occasion.

Not too fine, not too plain. Nothing that would draw attention. Nothing that would make anyone look twice.

Three years away from Emberclaw had changed her. Her face had thinned, her cheekbones more prominent. Her hair was longer, darker, swept up in a style she had never worn before. She walked differently too, with a quiet confidence that had been born of survival rather than comfort.

No one recognized her.

That was the point.

She kept to the edges of the great hall, weaving between clusters of nobles, her gaze sweeping the room with practiced caution. The king stood near the center, speaking with a group of alphas. The queen leaned on her silver cane beside him, her smile bright, her eyes sharp. Hecate was nowhere to be seen, hidden in the shadows as always, watching, waiting.

Tori scanned the crowd until she found Ysabella.

Her friend stood near one of the tall windows, her dark hair pinned up with silver clasps, her gown a deep shade of emerald that made her eyes glow. She looked beautiful. She looked lonely.

Emrich was nearby, of course, his Beta senses no doubt tuned to every corner of the hall. But he was not standing beside her. He was pacing the perimeter, his gaze fixed on the doors, the windows, the faces in the crowd. Security. Control. The weight of his duty pressing down on his shoulders.

Ysabella caught Tori's eye and smiled, a real smile, the kind that crinkled the corners of her eyes and made her look younger. Tori crossed the room and slipped into the space beside her, close enough to speak, far enough to seem casual.

"You came," Ysabella said, her voice low.

"I said I would."

"I know. I just..." Ysabella exhaled. "I did not want to be alone tonight."

Tori looked around the hall, at the glittering guests, the laughing couples, the servants weaving through the crowd with trays of wine. "You are not alone. There are hundreds of people here."

"None of them are my friends."

Tori touched her arm, quick and gentle. "I am here now."

They stood together, watching the crowd, speaking in low voices about nothing and everything. The cut of a noblewoman's gown. The awkwardness of a young lord trying to impress a lady who was clearly not interested. The way the fire dancers had nearly set the curtains ablaze earlier in the evening.

It was easy, being with Ysabella. It had always been easy. Even after three years apart, even with all the secrets and the lies and the dangers that lurked in the shadows, their friendship remained. Steady. Unbroken.

"I am going to get more wine," Ysabella said after a while. "Do you want anything?"

"More wine."

Ysabella laughed and slipped away, disappearing into the crowd.

Tori turned back to the room, her gaze sweeping across the dancers, the musicians, the glowing candles floating overhead. She felt almost safe here, wrapped in the anonymity of the crowd, surrounded by people who did not know her name.

And then someone bumped into her.

"Pardon me," a man said, reaching out to steady her. "I was not looking where I..."

He stopped.

Tori looked up.

The man was tall, broad shouldered, with dark hair that curled at the edges and eyes the color of honey. His jaw was strong, his lips curved in a half smile that had not yet faded. He wore a well tailored coat of deep blue, the fabric rich, the cut fine. He looked like a noble. He looked like someone important.

And he was staring at her as if he had seen a ghost.

"Tori?" he said.

Her blood went cold.

No one here knew her name. No one here was supposed to recognize her. She had been so careful, so deliberate, so certain that the years had changed her beyond recognition.

But the man in front of her was not looking at a stranger.

"Eilad?" she whispered.

His face broke into a grin, wide and warm and utterly disarming. "By the Goddess. It is you. I thought I was imagining things."

Tori's heart pounded in her chest. Eilad. She had not seen him since she was a girl, since before she had been called to serve in the castle, since before Samantha, since before everything. They had grown up together in the poorer quarters of the pack, two omega children with too much free time and too few expectations.

He had been small then, scruffy, his clothes always torn and his hands always dirty. They had played in the muddy streets, chased stray cats, stolen apples from the market when no one was looking. He had been her first friend. Her oldest friend. The only person from her childhood who had ever made her feel like she mattered.

And now he stood before her, tall and polished and impossibly handsome, looking at her as if she were the answer to a question he had forgotten he was asking.

"Eilad, I..." She swallowed hard. "What are you doing here?"

"I am here with Alpha Orion's retinue. I am his assistant now." He said it with quiet pride, his shoulders straightening. "I handle his correspondence, his schedule, his travel arrangements. It is not a glamorous position, but it is honest work. It has allowed me to see places I never thought I would see."

Tori stared at him. "You work for the Alpha of Obsidian?"

"I do." He tilted his head, studying her face. "And you? What are you doing here? I heard you were working in the castle. I looked for you once, years ago, but the servants said you had left."

"I did leave. I..." She hesitated, the lies piling up on her tongue. "I have been traveling. Working for different households. I am here with a lady from the Midnight Pack."

Eilad nodded, accepting her explanation without question. "I am glad to see you. Truly. I have thought of you often over the years."

Tori's cheeks warmed. "You have?"

"Of course. You were my best friend." His smile softened. "You still are, if you will have me."

Before she could respond, a horn sounded across the hall. The music faded. The laughter quieted. All eyes turned toward the center of the room, where King Maddox stood, his golden eyes bright, his voice carrying over the crowd.

"Friends. Allies. Members of the Seven Packs." The king's voice was warm, welcoming, the voice of a ruler who had learned to wear his crown like a second skin. "Thank you for joining us tonight to celebrate the arrival of spring. A season of renewal. A season of hope. A season of new beginnings."

The crowd murmured its approval.

"As you know, tonight is a sacred night. The Moon Goddess walks among us. She sees our hearts. She knows our desires. And she will bless those who are ready to receive her gifts." The king's gaze swept the room, lingering for a moment on the faces of the young wolves, the hopeful ones, the ones who had come here searching for something they could not name. "The matebond ceremony will begin shortly. I ask that you prepare yourselves. Open your hearts. And trust in the Goddess's plan."

The crowd applauded. The musicians struck up a new melody, softer now, more reverent. Servants began to move through the crowd, distributing cups of wine and plates of bread. The ritual would begin soon.

Tori turned back to Eilad.

He was watching her with an expression she could not read.

"The matebond ceremony," he said. "Are you planning to participate?"

"I..." She hesitated. "I had not thought about it."

"Neither had I. But now..." He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "What if the Goddess has a plan for us, Tori? What if she brought us here tonight, to this place, to this moment, for a reason?"

Tori's heart stuttered. What were the chances that the Moon Goddess would bind her wolf to Eilad's? What were the chances that the boy who had been her first friend would become her fated mate?

She did not know. She could not know. But standing here, looking into his honey colored eyes, she felt something she had not felt in years.

Hope.

"The ceremony will begin soon," she said. "Perhaps we should... wait and see what happens."

Eilad smiled. "Perhaps we should."

They stood together in the crowd, their shoulders almost touching, their eyes on the center of the room where the king was still speaking, still welcoming, still preparing the way for the Goddess to descend.

Tori thought of Samantha. Of Isaac. Of the life she had built in the shadows, hiding from the king, hiding from the past, hiding from the future.

She thought of Eilad. Of the boy who had stolen apples with her. Of the man who stood beside her now, looking at her as if she were someone worth seeing.

The musicians played on. The candles flickered. The ceremony was about to begin.

And Tori could not help but wonder if the Goddess had something unexpected in store for her tonight.