Chapter 128 Kaden's POV
I started running. "ELARA! ADRIAN!"
The house was engulfed in flames. Orange and red consuming everything the heat was intense even from a distance.
I ran toward the door but the fire was too hot. I couldn't get close.
"ELARA!"
A window shattered. I saw her inside. Saw her trying to get to Adrian who was crying in the corner.
"KADEN!" she screamed. "HELP US!"
I tried to break through and tried to find a way in. But the fire was everywhere. Blocking every entrance.
"I'm coming! Hold on! I'm coming!"
But I couldn't reach them. Couldn't break through the flames. I watched helplessly as a beam fell. Saw it strike Elara. Saw her fall.
"NO!"
Adrian was screaming. Crying for me. "DAD! DADDY, HELP!"
"I'M TRYING!"
But I couldn't save them and couldn't do anything except watch as the fire consumed them.
Elara's screams stopped first. Then Adrian's. Then there was just silence and the roar of the flames. I fell to my knees, screaming. Screaming their names screaming at my failure.
I'd lost them, lost everything, lost the perfect life we'd built together. And it was my fault. I'd left them. I'd gone away and while I was gone, they'd died.
Just like everyone else I loved. My mother, my sister now Elara and Adrian, everyone I loved died while I was powerless to stop it.
I screamed until my throat was raw.
"ELARA!"
I jerked upright, the scream still tearing from my throat.
Machines were beeping frantically. Hands were on me, pushing me back down.
"He's awake!" Someone's voice is familiar. "Get Damian! He's awake!"
I looked around the wildly white walls of medical equipment and the sterile smell. A hospital, the medical wing.
"Elara," I gasped. "Where's Elara? Where's Adrian? The fire-"
"There's no fire. You're safe. You're in the medical wing." Damian appeared in my field of vision. "Kaden, can you hear me? Do you know where you are?"
"The house was burning. Elara and Adrian were inside. I couldn't save them-"
"That was a dream or a hallucination. The poison in your system can cause vivid nightmares."
Damian was checking my vitals, shining a light in my eyes. "You've been in a coma for eight days. Do you remember what happened before that?"
Eight days not weeks not the lifetime I'd spent in that perfect house. It had all been a dream. A cruel, beautiful dream.
"Dinner," I said, my voice hoarse. "Elara made dinner. Then I... I was poisoned."
"Yes, someone put a rare toxin in your food. Your body's been fighting it for over a week."
"Where's Elara? I need to see her need to know she's safe-"
Damian's expression changed. Became guarded. "Kaden, there's a lot you need to know. Things that happened while you were unconscious."
"Just tell me. Is she alive? Is the baby okay?"
"She's alive. The baby's fine but she's not here."
"What do you mean she's not here?"
"The elders charged her with attempted murder your attempted murder. There was a mob calling for her execution. Ethan got her out before they could arrest her."
The words didn't make sense. "Charged her? They think she poisoned me?"
"The evidence looked damning. She prepared the meal. She served it to you. And then you collapsed."
Damian's voice was gentle but firm. "I know she didn't do it. You know she didn't do it but convincing everyone else has been difficult."
"Where is she?"
"Safe. That's all I can tell you. Ethan got her somewhere the Blue Moon elders couldn't reach her."
"I need to see her. I need to tell everyone she's innocent-"
"You need to rest, you just woke up from a coma. Your body is still recovering-"
"I don't care about my body! My mate is being hunted for a crime she didn't commit! My son is in danger!"
I tried to sit up but my arms wouldn't support my weight. "Bring me the elders. Now. I need to clear Elara's name."
"Kaden, please. You need to recover first. You're in no condition-"
"I said bring me the elders!"
My vision was swimming. The room is tilting. I was too weak. Too sick. My body was failing even as my mind screamed at me to move. To act. To protect my family.
"Fine," Damian said.
"I will send for them. But you need to calm down. Your heart rate is dangerously high. If you don't rest, you'll slip back into a coma."
"I'll rest when Elara is safe, not before."
Damian sighed but moved toward the door to send for the elders.
I lay there, my mind racing.
The dream had felt so real, the house and life. Adrian at four years old. Elara is happy and safe.
And then the fire watching them burn. Hearing their screams.
I touched my face and realized I was crying. It had been a dream, a nightmare. A hallucination caused by poison.
But the fear was real, the terror of losing them was real.
And right now, with Elara in hiding and the pack calling for her execution, that nightmare was closer to reality than I could bear.
I had to fix this, had to clear her name and brought her home.