Chapter 86 - Victor Arrives
The scout didn't slow when he crossed the courtyard.
"Alpha!" he called, breathless. "They've moved."
Silas turned immediately. Rowan and Kael stepped in close.
"Where?" Silas asked.
"Down the ridge road. Openly."
A pause.
Then-
"Victor Whitlock is with them."
Silence fell hard.
Athena felt it in her bones before she understood why.
The scout swallowed. "And... his son."
Her heart stuttered.
James.
The name hit her like a stone dropped into still water.
Ripples of memory spread through her chest.
The house. The quiet obedience. The life she had shrunk herself into.
And then another memory layered over it.
Fire.
Smoke.
Being carried away.
A man's calm face in the middle of chaos.
Victor.
Her breath slowed.
Not with fear.
With recognition.
"He's not hiding anymore," Rowan muttered.
Silas's jaw tightened. "He wants to be seen."
Athena stepped forward slowly.
Her voice was steady when she spoke.
"I remember him."
Silas turned to her immediately.
"What?"
She swallowed.
"His face. That night. I remember it clearly now."
Her eyes moved toward the gates like she could see through stone.
"He didn't save me."
Her voice lowered.
"He took me."
A strange calm settled over her.
"And James?" Kael asked carefully.
Athena closed her eyes for a brief second.
"I remember feeling small with him."
She opened them again.
"But I don't feel small now."
Silas stepped closer to her, protective instinct flaring hard in his chest.
"They are coming to the gate," the scout added.
Silas nodded once.
"Then we meet them there."
Athena didn't hesitate.
"I'm coming with you."
Kael's eyes snapped to Silas.
Silas looked at her.
And saw it.
Not the girl who had been stolen.
Not the wife who had been controlled.
But the woman who remembered.
Who stood tall.
Who wasn't afraid of the man who had shaped her entire life.
She wasn't shaking.
She wasn't panicking.
She was ready.
Silas gave a single nod.
"Stay at my side."