Chapter 24 Kaden's POV
Three days had passed since Elara remembered the rejection. Three days since she'd looked at me with fear and pain in her eyes.
Three days since she had called for Damian and not me.
I threw myself into work because it was the only thing I could do. The only way to keep from going insane while my mate recovered in the room next to mine and refused to even look at me.
"The southern border is secure.” Ethan said, spreading another map across my desk.
"Double patrols like you ordered no signs of rogue activity."
I nodded, barely looking at the map. "And the eastern border?"
"Everything is quiet, maybe too quiet."
He was right ever since we would find those bodies with Erebus's symbol burned into their chests, there had been nothing, no more attacks, no more signs, just silence.
And silence was almost worse than action.
"I want the patrols tripled." I said. "If Erebus's followers are out there, they are planning something."
"Kaden, we're already stretched thin. The wolves are exhausted."
"Then rotate them more frequently. I don't care. I want our borders locked down."
Ethan sighed but didn't argue. He knew better than to push me when I was like this.
I turned back to the book open on my desk. Ancient pack histories. Records from two hundred years ago when Erebus had nearly destroyed the entire pack system.
"Find anything useful?" Ethan asked.
"Just more confirmation that Erebus was real. That his followers were fanatics. That they marked their victims with those symbols before burning them."
I rubbed my eyes. "But nothing about why they are back now or what they want."
"Maybe it's not actually them, maybe someone's just using the symbol to scare people."
"Maybe." But I didn't believe that. The attacks felt too organized and deliberate.
A soft sound from the hallway made me look up. The footsteps were light and careful.
Elara.
My wolf perked up immediately, alert and focused. I could feel him pushing forward, wanting to go to her.
‘She's awake, she is moving, we should check on her.’
"We should stay here." I told him. "She doesn't want to see us."
‘She's our mate. She's carrying our child. We should be with her.’
"She called for Damian, not us. Remember?"
My wolf whimpered but didn't push further. Even he understood that Elara wanted nothing to do with us.
"Is that her?" Ethan asked, glancing toward the door.
"Yes."
"She's getting stronger. That's good."
It was good. Damian had told me yesterday that her condition was improving. The bleeding had stopped. The swelling in her brain had gone down. She was eating small amounts and keeping it down. The baby was stable.
All good news.
Except she still wouldn't see me still flinched when she heard my voice in the hallway. Still asked Damian to keep me away.
"You should talk to her." Ethan said.
"She doesn't want to talk to me."
"You don't know that unless you try."
I looked at my best friend. "She remembered the rejection, Ethan. I remembered everything I did to her. Why would she want to talk to me?"
"Because you are her mate because she is carrying your child. Because eventually, you two are going to have to figure out how to coexist."
He was right. I knew he was right but the thought of facing Elara again, of seeing that fear and pain in her eyes, made something in my chest twist painfully.
The footsteps in the hallway grew fainter. She was moving away from my office. Probably going to the small sitting room at the end of the hall. Damian had mentioned she liked to sit there in the mornings, looking out at the forest.
‘We should go to her, my wolf urged.
‘ Just to make sure she's okay.’
"Damian is with her. He's taking care of her."
‘We should be taking care of her.’
"She doesn't want us to."
My wolf was quiet for a moment then, softer. 'Then we need to show her we've changed. Show her we can be what she needs.’
I wanted to argue and wanted to say it was too late, that I had destroyed any chance I had with her.
But I couldn't because my wolf was right. If I wanted any hope of fixing this, I had to try.
"I'm going to check on her," I told Ethan.
He nodded. "Good. Just... be gentle. She's been through a lot."
I knew that better than anyone.
I found her in the sitting room, just as I had thought. She was standing by the window, one hand resting on her stomach, looking out at the trees. She was wearing clothes Damian must have gotten for her soft pants and a loose shirt that hid how thin she'd become.
Damian was sitting in a chair nearby, watching her carefully.
"Kaden." He acknowledged when I walked in.
Elara's entire body went rigid. She didn't turn around.
"I just wanted to see how you were feeling," I said quietly.
"I'm fine," She said, her voice flat.
"Damian says you're eating better. That's good."
She didn't respond.
I moved a little closer, and my wolf pushed forward slightly, making my voice softer. Gentler. "Is there anything you need? Anything I can get for you?"
"No."
The single word hurt more than it should have.
"Elara, I know you are angry with me, you have every right to be. But we need to talk eventually about the baby about what happens next."
"I don't want to talk about anything with you."
"I understand. But-"
"Do you?" She finally turned to face me, and the look in her eyes made me stop breathing.
"Do you understand what it's like to wake up with no memories except the ones of you destroying me?”
“ Do you understand what it's like to know that the person who was supposed to protect me was the one who hurt me most?"
"Elara-"
"I don't want your apologies, I don't want your concern. I just want you to leave me alone."
My wolf whimpered, hurting from her words. And despite my pride, despite everything, I found myself softening my voice even more.
"I can't leave you alone, you are living in my quarters, you are carrying my child."
"Then I will leave as soon as I'm strong enough, I'll go somewhere else."
"No." The word came out sharper than I intended.
"You're not safe out there whoever attacked you could still be looking for you."
"Maybe I would rather take my chances with them than stay here with you."
That hurt more than anything else she could have said.
Damian stood up. "That's enough for both of you. Elara, you need to rest. This stress isn't good for you or the baby."
Elara nodded, still not looking at me. She started to move past me toward the door.
And I couldn't help it. My wolf pushed forward, making me reach out.
"Elara, please-"
The moment my hand moved toward her, she flinched. Actually flinched like she thought I was going to hit her.
I froze, my hand suspended in the air between us. She looked at my hand, then at my face, and I saw genuine fear there. It was not anger, not pain.
Fear.
Of me.
"Don't touch me." She whispered, her voice shaking.
Then she hurried out of the room, one hand protectively over her stomach. I stood there, my hand still outstretched, feeling like someone had just ripped my heart out of my chest.
"She's afraid of me." I said quietly.