Chapter 74 Kaden's POV
The courtyard was packed with pack members, all of them watching as I stood facing the six elders who had turned my life into a political nightmare.
"You attacked a council member," Elder Marcus said, his voice carrying across the crowd.
His throat was still bruised from where I'd grabbed him. "That's grounds for removal from leadership."
"I defended my mate from your insults," I said coldly. "If you had kept your mouth shut about my mother, I wouldn't have touched you."
"Your mate?" Elder Rowan stepped forward.
"You mean the omega who nearly killed a dozen pack members with uncontrolled power? The one who's caused nothing but chaos since she returned?"
"The one who was attacked by an Erebus follower on our own territory. The one who nearly died protecting our future heir."
"An heir we can't afford," Marcus shot back. "Not when the mother is unstable and dangerous."
I felt my hands clench into fists. Stay calm. Don't give them more ammunition.
"Speaking of danger," I said, my voice dropping.
"The Erebus follower said something interesting before he died. He said there are traitors in this pack. In my council people feed information to our enemies."
The elders exchanged glances, some looked genuinely shocked, others looked nervous.
"That's ridiculous," Rowan said. "Why would any of us betray the pack?"
"I don't know but I intend to find out." I looked at each elder in turn. "Let's talk about weaknesses, shall we?"
"Kaden-" Vera started.
"Elder Marcus," I interrupted. "You have been gambling heavily and have lost a significant amount of money in the past six months. Money you don't have. Interesting that Erebus's followers are known to pay handsomely for information."
Marcus's face went red. "I don't have to listen to these accusations-"
"Elder Rowan. Your son is facing criminal charges in the western territories. Charges that would disgrace your family name. Unless someone with power intervened. Someone like Erebus, who has connections everywhere."
Rowan's expression hardened. "My son's situation has nothing to do with this."
"Doesn't it?" I turned to another elder.
"Elder Thorne, your mate, is very sick. And the treatment she needs is expensive. Almost impossibly expensive. But someone could pay for it. In exchange for small favors."
"You have no proof of any of this," Thorne said, but his voice wavered.
"I have enough to investigate and I will investigate every single one of you. Every financial record. Every communication. Every secret you've tried to hide."
I looked back at Marcus. "So before you talk about removing me from leadership, maybe you should worry about whether you will still have positions on this council when I'm done digging."
The crowd was murmuring now. Pack members looking at the elders with new suspicion.
"This is outrageous," Marcus said. "You are grasping at straws because you know your position is weak."
"My position is Alpha that is not weak, that is absolute."
"Not if we vote to remove you, not if the pack demands new leadership."
"Then call for the vote. Let's see how many pack members actually support your coup."
Before Marcus could respond, I heard something that made my blood run cold.
Wheels a wheelchair rolling across the stone courtyard.
I turned and saw her.
Elara. In a wheelchair pushed by Ethan. Her leg was bandaged and elevated. Her face was pale. But her expression was determined.
Fury flooded through me. "What is she doing here?"
Ethan wouldn't meet my eyes. "She insisted-"
"She has a broken leg and silver poisoning! She should be in bed!"
"I know, but-"
"Kaden," Elara's voice cut through my anger. "I asked them to bring me here."
I strode toward her, ready to pick her up and carry her back to the medical wing myself. "You shouldn't be out of bed, you need rest."
"What I need is to stop this." She looked past me to the elders. "Please. I know you are all angry. I know you are scared but let me speak."
"You have no authority to speak here," Marcus said dismissively.
"Then I'm speaking as a pack member. As someone who has lived here. Who's been hurt here. Who's trying to build a future here."
Elara's voice was steady despite her obvious pain. "I'm sorry for what happened with the Luna aura. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I didn't even know I had that power."
"That's exactly the problem," Rowan said. "You didn't know you can't control it, you are dangerous."
"I'm learning with help, I will learn to control it. But exiling me won't solve your problems. It will just create new ones."
"How so?"
"Because Kaden needs you all of you, the pack needs experienced elders who understand politics and diplomacy. Who can guide you during a crisis."
Elara looked at each elder. "And you need Kaden. He is strong and he is capable. He's kept this pack safe through impossible situations. Removing him now, during an active threat from Erebus, would be suicide."
"The pack would survive." Marcus said.
"Would it? With Erebus actively targeting us? With traitors in our midst? With attacks happening regularly?"
Elara shook her head. "You need unity right now, not division. Fighting each other only makes us weaker."
Silence fell over the courtyard. Pack members were nodding. Even some who had been chanting against me earlier seemed to be reconsidering.
Then another voice spoke up from the crowd.
"The girl is right."
Elder Miriam stepped forward, her silver hair gleaming in the sunlight. She'd been silent throughout all of this, watching and listening.
"The pack laws are clear." Miriam continued.
"An Alpha cannot be removed during active warfare or external threat. Erebus's attacks qualify as both. Any attempt to remove Kaden now would be illegal under our own laws."
Marcus sputtered. "That's a technicality-"
"It's the law you swore to uphold when you became an elder."
Miriam's voice was firm. "And as for the girl's power, have any of you considered that maybe the heavens gave her that power for a reason? Maybe she's exactly what this pack needs right now?"
"She nearly killed pack members!" Rowan protested.
"She lost control once under extreme provocation. She hasn't hurt anyone since. And she's offering to learn control.”
Miriam looked at Elara with something like respect. "I say we give her that chance."
The other elders looked uncertain now. The crowd was clearly swaying toward Elara's side.
"This isn't over," Marcus said. "But we will table the discussion for now."
"Coward," I muttered.
Marcus glared at me but said nothing. He turned and walked away, the other elders following. Only Miriam remained.
"Thank you," I said to her.
"Don't thank me, thank your mate. She's braver than all of us combined." Miriam smiled at Elara, then left.
The crowd began to disperse, people talking in low voices.
I turned to Elara, ready to lecture her about staying in bed, but stopped when I saw her face.
She was staring at nothing, her eyes wide and unfocused. Like she was seeing something that wasn't there.
"Elara?"
She didn't respond and just kept staring.
"Elara, what's wrong?"
Her hands gripped the wheelchair arms so tightly her knuckles turned white.
"I remember," She whispered.
"Remember what?"
"The night I left the night I ran from the pack."
Her voice was shaking. "I was going to my room after working in the kitchen and I heard voices on the phone."
"Who?"
"Selena." Elara's eyes focused on me, tears streaming down her face.
My blood turned to ice. "What?"
"She set up the rogues who attacked me. It wasn't random that she hired them. She told them where I would be."
Elara was sobbing now. "That's why I ran. I heard her planning my murder and I ran. But they found me anyway because she knew all the paths I might take."
Everything clicked into place the attack, the timing, and the fact that the rogues had been waiting exactly where Elara would be.
Selena hadn't just tried to poison Elara once, she had tried to have her killed months ago.