Chapter 21 Kaden's POV
"What did you do to her?"
I was across the room in seconds, grabbing Damian by his shirt and shoving him against the wall. Blood was streaming from Elara's nose, staining the white pillows. Her eyes were closed, her body limp.
"Get off me!" Damian shoved back, surprisingly strong for someone who wasn't a warrior.
"I'm trying to help her!"
"She is bleeding! She was fine and now she's bleeding!"
"She pushed herself too hard trying to remember! Now let me go so I can actually help her!"
I released him, my hands shaking. Damian immediately went back to Elara, tilting her head forward, pressing gauze against her nose.
"Is she breathing?" I asked, my voice rough.
"Yes her vitals are stable but her brain is swelling from the strain." He worked quickly, checking her pupils, feeling her pulse.
"Get me the medical bag, the black one on the table."
I grabbed it and brought it to him. "What strain? What happened?"
Damian pulled out a syringe and a small vial. "She was upset and crying asking questions about why she is here, why people are treating her strangely, why that woman attacked her."
Selena I would deal with her later right now, all that mattered was Elara.
"So she started crying and her nose just started bleeding?" I didn't believe that for a second.
Damian filled the syringe, his movements precise despite the urgency. "No, she started crying because she was terrified and confused.”
“Then she demanded I tell her the truth about what's really going on."
My blood ran cold. "What did you tell her?"
He looked at me directly. "Everything that you are her mate that you rejected her, that the baby is yours."
"You had no right!" I roared. "That wasn't your truth to tell!"
"She had every right to know!" Damian shot back.
"She is carrying your child and living in your quarters and everyone is treating her like she's either precious or a threat, and she doesn't understand why! She deserved to know the truth!"
He injected the medication into Elara's IV line. "And when I told her, she tried to force herself to remember she pushed too hard.”
“The trauma to her brain is still fresh, forcing memories can cause exactly this brain swelling, hemorrhaging, seizures."
The word seizures made my stomach drop. "Is she having a seizure?"
"Not yet but if the swelling doesn't go down, she could." He checked the gauze. The bleeding was slowing.
"This medication should help reduce the inflammation she needs to rest. No stress, no emotional upheaval, nothing that could trigger another episode."
I sank into the chair beside her bed, my head in my hands. "This is my fault, all of this is my fault."
"Yes, it is." Damian said bluntly.
"You rejected your pregnant mate, you drove her away. And now she is fighting for her life and the life of your child because of choices you made."
Each word was a knife each one deserved.
"I know." I whispered.
"I know what I did and I would give anything.. anything to take it back."
Damian was quiet for a moment then he said, more gently, "She asked about you, you know. After I told her the truth. She asked why you would reject her."
I looked up. "What did you say?"
"I said I didn't know that you wouldn't tell me." He adjusted Elara's pillow, careful not to jostle her. "Why did you reject her, Kaden? What could possibly have been worth this?"
I stared at Elara's pale face, at the blood still staining her skin, at the way her hand rested protectively over her stomach even unconsciously.
"Fear." I said finally.
"The bond was so strong, stronger than anything I had ever felt. It terrified me and made me feel like I was losing control. So I pushed her away before she could have power over me."
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."
"I know, I know it was stupid, I know it was cruel. I know I destroyed the best thing that ever happened to me because I was a coward."
My voice broke. "And now she is lying here bleeding because of my mistakes and I can't fix it. I can't make it right."
Damian checked the gauze again, then removed it and the bleeding had stopped. "She is stable for now."
"For now?" I stood up.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the next few hours are critical. If the swelling goes down and she wakes up without complications, she'll be fine. If it doesn't..." He trailed off.
"If it doesn't, what?"
"If it doesn't, there could be permanent damage. Memory loss beyond what she already has cognitive impairment or worse."
"Worse." I repeated numbly
.
"Brain hemorrhage stroke death." Damian's voice was clinical, but I could see the worry in his eyes.
"I won't lie to you, she is in serious condition. The pregnancy makes it even more complicated. Her body is already under stress from supporting the baby and adding this on top of it..."
"She is going to be okay." I said firmly.
"She has to be okay."
"I'm doing everything I can but some things are out of my control." He pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down.
"I will monitor her through the night. If anything changes, I will let you know immediately."
I didn't want to leave every instinct I had screamed at me to stay, to watch over her, to be there when she woke up.
But she was afraid of me. I had seen it in her eyes before she collapsed with genuine fear. My presence would only make things worse.
"I will be in my room." I said quietly. "If anything changes, anything at all you call me immediately."
Damian nodded.
I walked to the door, then stopped. "Keep her safe. Please."
"I will."
I left the room and closed the door behind me. Stood in the hallway trying to breathe, trying to think, trying to figure out how everything had gone so wrong.
My mate was unconscious and bleeding. My child's life hung in the balance and it was all because of me.
I heard footsteps and looked up to see Ethan approaching, his face grim."Kaden, we have a problem."
"Not now, Ethan."
"It can't wait, the elders are demanding an emergency council meeting.”
“They have heard about Elara being in your quarters. They are asking questions."