Chapter 71: Cautious

Tori POV

The courtyard was emptying, guests streaming toward the exits, their voices a chaotic murmur of shock and speculation. Tori stood near the edge of the crowd, her hands clasped before her, her heart still pounding from the events of the past hour.

She watched as Hecate helped Maddox to his feet. The king was pale, shaking, his body barely covered by the cloak she had draped over his shoulders. Beta Emrich moved to his other side, supporting him, guiding him toward the castle. The three of them disappeared through the great doors, swallowed by the shadows of the corridor.

The festival was over. The moonlight was fading. But the memory of what had happened would linger for a long time.

Hecate had done it. She had taken control. She had claimed the throne.

Tori could not have been prouder.

A warm hand touched her elbow. She turned to find Eilad standing beside her, his honey colored eyes still wide with wonder and confusion.

"That was intense," he said, his voice low. "I have never seen anything like it."

Tori nodded, not trusting her voice.

Eilad glanced toward the doors where the king had disappeared, then back at her. "That woman. The healer. She tricked him, did she not? She manipulated him into giving her the throne." He shook his head, his expression troubled. "She must be powerful. And dangerous. But the council will not allow it. The alphas will not stand for it. At best, the Seven Packs will unite against her. At worst, there will be war."

Tori's stomach tightened. She understood why Eilad thought that way. To an outsider, to someone who did not know the truth, Hecate's actions looked like betrayal. Like theft. Like a witch seizing power through manipulation and magic.

But Tori knew better. She knew what Hecate had suffered. What Samantha had suffered. The years of pain, the years of hiding, the years of planning. This was not theft. This was justice.

"It is more complicated than it seems," Tori said carefully. "The king himself said she is his mate. Her place on the throne is already hers, one way or another."

Eilad's brow furrowed. "You speak as if you know her."

Tori hesitated. She could not tell him the truth. Not yet. He was her mate, yes, but she did not know him well enough to trust him with something so dangerous. The secret of Hecate's identity was not hers to share.

"I have been in this castle long enough to see things," she said, avoiding his gaze. "Things are not always what they appear."

Eilad studied her face for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly, accepting her evasion.

"Where are you going?" he asked as she stepped back.

Tori looked toward the doors, toward the castle, toward the woman who had been her friend and protector for three years. "I have something I need to do."

"Will I see you again?"

She turned back to him. His face was open, hopeful, vulnerable. He had just found his fated mate, and she was walking away.

"Yes," she said. "We will see each other soon. I promise."

Eilad lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles. Tori's skin tingled where his mouth had touched, and she felt the bond pulse between them, warm and insistent.

Then she turned and walked away.

She slipped through the side corridors, avoiding the crowds, keeping to the shadows. The castle was in chaos, servants running in every direction, guards shouting orders, nobles demanding answers. No one paid attention to a woman in a simple grey gown, moving with purpose through the chaos.

She reached Hecate's studio and slipped inside, closing the door behind her.

The room was dark, lit only by the dying embers of the hearth. Tori stood in the shadows and waited.

The door opened a few minutes later.

Hecate entered, her dark gown stained with ash, her hair loose and tangled, her face pale with exhaustion. But her eyes were bright, fierce, triumphant.

Tori crossed the room and threw her arms around her friend.

"I was so afraid," she whispered, her voice breaking. "When you tore the pendant from his neck, when he began to transform, I thought..."

"I had it under control." Hecate's arms wrapped around her, strong and steady. "I always had it under control."

Tori pulled back and looked at her face. There were shadows under her eyes, lines of tension around her mouth. She looked tired. She looked like a woman who had been carrying a heavy burden for a long time.

"You are not fine," Tori said. "You have never been fine."

Hecate's lips twitched, almost a smile. "Perhaps not. But I am alive. And I am winning."

Tori shook her head, half in admiration, half in exasperation. "You are impossible."

"So I have been told."

They stood in silence for a moment, the weight of the night pressing down on them.

"I should return to the cottage," Tori said. "Isaac has been alone too long. It is not safe to leave him."

Hecate's expression shifted, growing serious. "Actually, it is not safe for him to be away from me now."

Tori's blood ran cold. "What do you mean?"

"Maddox I can control. But the other alphas? The six of them?" Hecate shook her head. "They will want to destroy me. They will see me as a threat to their power, an interloper who seized the throne through trickery. And my son..." She paused, her voice catching. "Isaac is a target. He is Maddox's heir. The one person who could unite the packs against me if they got hold of him."

Tori's hands began to tremble. "What do you want me to do?"

"Bring him here." Hecate gripped her shoulders, her dark eyes intense. "He will be safer with me than anywhere else. I can protect him. I can hide him. But he cannot stay in the cottage any longer."

Tori nodded, though her heart was pounding with fear. The cottage had been their sanctuary for three years. A place of safety, of secrecy, of peace. Leaving it felt like stepping off a cliff.

"I will go tonight," Tori said. "I will bring him back before dawn."

Hecate pulled her into another embrace, fierce and quick. "Thank you, Tori. For everything. I could not have done this without you."

Tori held her friend tightly, feeling the steady beat of her heart, the strength in her shoulders. "You would have found a way. You always do."

She stepped back, and Hecate's expression softened.

"You said the Goddess blessed you with a mate," Hecate said. "Tell me about him."

Tori felt a smile tug at her lips, despite everything. "His name is Eilad. He is from the Obsidian Pack. He works as Alpha Orion's assistant. We grew up together, in the poorer quarters of the pack. I have not seen him in years, and then tonight, at the festival..."

"He found you."

"He found me." Tori's cheeks warmed. "He is kind. And patient. And he looked at me as if I were the only woman in the world."

Hecate's eyes glistened. "You deserve this, Tori. You deserve to be happy. To be loved."

"I know." Tori took her friend's hands. "But first, we have to survive the next few days. The alphas will not surrender their power quietly."

"Let them try." Hecate's voice was hard, cold. "I have waited three years for this. I will not let anyone take it from me."

Tori squeezed her hands and stepped back. "I should go. Isaac is waiting."

"Be careful."

"I will."

Tori slipped out of the studio and made her way through the corridors, keeping to the shadows, avoiding the clusters of guards and servants. The castle was still in turmoil, voices echoing off the stone walls, footsteps running in every direction.

She reached the side gate and slipped out into the night.

The moon was low on the horizon, its silver light fading as dawn approached. The village was quiet, the streets empty, the windows dark. Tori walked quickly, her heart pounding, her eyes scanning the shadows for threats.

The cottage appeared through the trees, smoke curling from its chimney, a single candle burning in the window. Tori pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Nessa looked up from the hearth, her grey eyes wide with concern. "What happened? We heard shouting from the castle."

"Isaac," Tori said. "Where is he?"

"Sleeping. Tori, what is going on?"

Tori crossed the room and knelt beside the small bed where Isaac lay curled beneath a pile of blankets, his wooden wolf tucked under his arm. His dark curls spilled across the pillow, and his golden eyes were closed, his lips slightly parted.

He looked so small. So fragile. So vulnerable.

Tori reached out and gently touched his hair.

"We are leaving," she said. "Tonight. Hecate wants us to come to the castle."

Nessa's face paled. "Is it safe?"

Tori looked at her sister, at the fear in her eyes, and thought of Hecate standing in the courtyard, her hand extended, commanding the beast to obey.

"Nothing is safe anymore," Tori said. "But she will protect him. She is the only one who can."

She gathered Isaac into her arms, careful not to wake him, and turned toward the door.

The night was cold, and the road to the castle stretched before her, dark and uncertain.

She walked anyway.