Chapter 250
Cassian's POV
My breath caught in my throat as I strained to hear more through the phone. Every nerve in my body screamed at me to keep listening, to catch even the faintest trace of her voice in the background. Zero pushed forward, sharpening my senses beyond normal limits, desperate for any scrap of connection to our mate.
"Kade," I started, my voice hoarse. "Is she—"
"There's been a change in leadership structure," he interrupted, his tone deliberately neutral. "My uncle is taking a more direct approach to management."
I blinked, thrown by the abrupt shift in topic. "What does that mean? Is Ethan—"
"Ethan's not ready," Kade said bluntly. There was a pause, then he added carefully, "The role might go to someone else. Someone... he or she would be better suited."
He or she.
My heart slammed against my ribs. Elowen. He was talking about Elowen becoming the heir. The rightful heir to the Lycan King.
Before I could process that bombshell, Kade's voice shifted, becoming exasperated. "For fuck's sake, Elowen, just eat the damn broccoli."
Every muscle in my body locked. Her name. He'd said her name.
"If you try to feed me that shit one more time, Kade, I swear to the Moon Goddess I will shove this stem so far down your throat you'll be tasting green for a week."
Her voice.
Her voice.
Sharp. Defiant. Furious. And so, so beautiful it physically hurt to hear.
Zero howled in my mind, clawing at my control. Our mate. She's right there. RIGHT THERE.
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. My hand trembled so violently I nearly dropped the phone.
"Your iron levels are shit," Kade shot back, clearly unbothered by her threat. "You need to eat more vegetables. Doctor's orders."
"I don't care what the doctor says. I'm not eating that."
The stubbornness in her tone made my chest ache with something between agony and adoration. That was my Elowen. Still fighting. Still refusing to be told what to do.
Not yours anymore, a vicious voice whispered in my head. You gave her up. You broke her.
"Kade," I said desperately, my voice cracking. "Is she... is she okay? The babies—"
"Try sweet potatoes," I blurted out before he could answer. "With mayonnaise. She loves them that way. It'll help with the iron and she'll actually eat it."
The silence on the other end stretched for three agonizing heartbeats.
Then Kade's voice came back, carrying a hint of surprise. "Sweet potatoes with mayo?"
"Yes." I swallowed hard. "Trust me. She... she used to eat them all the time."
When she was ours. When she smiled at us. When she let us take care of her.
"Huh." There was a rustling sound, then Kade's voice grew distant. "Ronan! Alaric! You two want sweet potatoes with mayo?"
"Hell yes!" Ronan's voice boomed in the background.
"Make mine extra crispy," Alaric added.
"I'm not running a fucking restaurant for pregnant women and their bodyguards," Kade muttered, but I could hear the resignation in his tone.
Another pause. Then his voice lowered, became more private. "Hold on."
I heard footsteps, a door closing. The background noise faded.
"She's doing well," Kade said quietly. "Physically, at least. The babies are healthy. Growing right on schedule."
Babies. My throat constricted. Our babies. The twins Elowen was carrying—one mine, one Casper's. Children we might never get to hold.
"And... emotionally?" I forced myself to ask, even though I dreaded the answer.
Kade exhaled slowly. "She's managing. Ronan's been good for her. Alaric too. They keep her... occupied."
Jealousy flared hot and vicious in my chest, but I shoved it down. They were protecting her. Caring for her. Doing what Casper and I couldn't.
Because you're playing house with Sarah, Zero snarled. Because you chose duty over our mate.
To keep her alive, I shot back. To keep our children alive.
But the justification felt hollow.
"She's taken over the entire chaise lounge in the sitting room," Kade continued, and I could hear the faint amusement in his voice. "Ronan curls up with her most nights, but at the rate she's growing, he's not going to fit much longer."
The image slammed into me—Elowen, round with our children, nestled safe and warm with her brother. Protected. Cared for.
Without us.
My eyes burned.
"There's something else," Kade said, his tone shifting. "Sarah's throwing some kind of ball. Elowen's planning to attend."
My blood ran cold. "What? No. She shouldn't—she needs to rest, she shouldn't be—"
"I tried that argument," Kade interrupted dryly. "She told me if I tried to keep her locked up like a princess in a tower, she'd find a way to break my kneecaps even while heavily pregnant."
Despite everything, a choked laugh escaped me. That was so her.
"Ronan's indulging her," Kade continued. "He says if she wants to go, she'll go. And honestly? I think she needs it. Needs to feel like she has some control over her life."
Because we took that from her, Zero whispered bitterly. We made her choices for her. Again.
"Is it safe?" I asked hoarsely.
"Ronan and Alaric will be with her the entire time. She won't be out of their sight for a second." Kade paused. "Look, Cassian... I know this is hard. But she's not your responsibility anymore."
The words hit like a physical blow.
"She'll always be my responsibility," I said roughly. "Her and the babies. Always."
Another silence.
Then Kade's voice softened, just slightly. "If you want to visit sometime... or even just talk to the babies through the bond... you can. Anytime. They respond to voices, you know. Especially Ronan's. He talks to them every night."
My chest cracked open. Ronan talked to my children. Got to feel them kick. Got to be there for Elowen in ways I couldn't.
In ways you chose not to be, that cruel voice reminded me.
"Thank you," I managed. "For... for taking care of them."
"I'm not doing it for you," Kade said bluntly. "I'm doing it for her. She's family now."
"Give me that fucking phone, Cassian!"
My heart stopped. Before I could react to those words, the phone was torn from my grasp, my fingers still warm from where it had been pressed against my palm just seconds before.