Chapter 103 Elara's POV
I lay there for a moment, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling of Helena's guest room. Part of me wanted to stay to ignore Kaden's panic. To claim the freedom I'd fought so hard for.
But another part connected to him through the mate bond felt his terror. Understood that this wasn't about control, this was about genuine danger.
I got out of bed and started pulling clothes from the closet. Kara knocked softly and entered, finding me already packing.
"You're really leaving?" She asked.
Kara moved to help me pack. "Then let me help you get ready faster."
We worked quickly, folding clothes, gathering toiletries, checking that I had everything. I hadn't brought much to begin with, so it didn't take long.
A sharper knock came at the door. Damian entered carrying his medical bag, his expression serious.
"Before we leave, I need to do a quick check-up," he said. "Make sure you and the baby are okay for the journey."
"We're fine-"
"Humor me. It's going to be a long drive and we'll be traveling through the night. I need to know you are in good condition."
I sat on the bed while he checked my vitals. Blood pressure slightly elevated. Heart rate faster than normal. Temperature normal.
"You are stressed," he observed.
"Of course I'm stressed. We are fleeing in the middle of the night because of shadow magic and mysterious spells and threats I don't fully understand."
"Fair point." He pulled out a syringe.
"I'm giving you something to help you relax. It's safe for the baby. It will take the edge off your anxiety and make the drive easier to handle."
"I don't want to be sedated-"
"You won't be this is mild just enough to keep your blood pressure from spiking dangerously high. Trust me."
The needle pinched as he injected the medication into my arm. Within seconds, I felt a slight warmth spreading through my body. Not drowsiness exactly, just a loosening of the tight knot of anxiety in my chest.
Then the baby kicked hard, so hard I gasped and my hand flew to my stomach.
"That was strong," Damian said, immediately placing his hand beside mine. "The baby's very active tonight."
Another kick then another the baby was moving constantly now, pressing against my ribs, my bladder, everywhere at once. Each movement was forceful, almost violent in its intensity.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, starting to worry.
"No. Just being active with the baby can sense your stress. Your elevated heart rate, your adrenaline all of that passes through to the baby. It's responding to your emotional state."
"So I'm upsetting my own child."
"You are human, you're allowed to be stressed when your life is threatened."
He kept his hand on my stomach, monitoring the movements. "But it does remind me you are far enough along now that we can do an ultrasound to determine the baby's gender. If you want to know."
"I haven't thought about it with everything happening-"
"I know there's been no time to think about normal pregnancy things. But maybe when we get back to Blue Moon, we can schedule it. Give you something positive to focus on instead of all the chaos."
The baby kicked again, this time in what felt almost like agreement.
"Okay," I said.
"When we get back, when things calm down. We'll find out if I'm having a boy or a girl."
"Good. That's settled then." Damian packed up his medical supplies. "Are you ready to go?"
I looked around the room one last time. At the brief peace I'd found here. At the freedom that had lasted less than two days.
"As ready as I will ever be."
We left Helena's pack house just after sunrise. The sky was gray, threatening rain. Helena herself came to say goodbye, standing on the front steps looking worried.
"I'm sorry it's ending like this," she said, embracing me carefully. "I had hoped you'd have more time. More peace to process everything you learned."
"So did I. But thank you for everything. For the stories about my parents. For showing me where I came from. For helping me understand my history."
"That heritage is yours whenever you're ready to claim it. Don't forget that."
Helena pulled back and looked at me seriously. "And Elara? Be careful. Something about all of this feels wrong. The timing, the shadow appearing right after you left, the urgency to get you back. Just... be careful."
"I will."
The convoy formed our armored vehicle with me, Damian, and Kara inside, plus the driver and one guard up front. They follow the car with the other three guards. Helena's own security escorting us to the border.
I watched Red Stone Pack territory disappear behind us, feeling both relieved and disappointed.
The drive started smoothly. We made good time through Red Stone territory, the roads well-maintained and empty. We reached the border crossing by mid-morning.
Helena's guards said goodbye at the territorial line. We continued alone into the neutral zone between packs.
That's when things went wrong a loud pop from under the vehicle. Then a grinding, screeching sound that made everyone wince.
The driver cursed. "We've got a problem."
"What kind of problem?" the guard in the passenger seat asked.
"Engine trouble, serious engine trouble. We're losing power fast."
He managed to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road before it died completely. Smoke was rising from under the hood.
The guards got out to investigate while Damian, Kara, and I waited inside, watching through the windows.
"How long will this take?" I asked nervously.
"Depends on what's broken," the driver said, his voice tense. "Could be a quick fix... not quick."
It wasn't quick.
The guards spent three hours diagnosing the problem. A critical engine component had failed something that should never have failed in a vehicle this well-maintained.
"It's almost like it was sabotaged," one guard muttered, but quickly shut up when the others glared at him.
They had spare parts in the emergency kit. But installing them in the field, with limited tools, would take time.
Time we didn't have.
"We can't fix this before dark," the lead guard announced. "We will have to camp here overnight and continue in the morning when we can see what we're doing."
"Absolutely not," Damian protested.
"We are completely exposed here with no shelter. No proper defenses, this is the worst possible place to spend the night."
"We don't have a choice. The following car can't carry everyone; it's already at capacity. And we can't leave the armored vehicle here unguarded. Someone needs to stay with it and someone needs to stay with Elara."
"Then call for backup from Blue Moon Pack-"
"We're too far out; they couldn't reach us before dark anyway."
They argued while I sat in the disabled vehicle, watching the sun sink lower and lower in the sky. The baby was still kicking, still active, like it sensed the danger we were in.
We were going to be stuck here in the woods. In neutral territory overnight.
The thought terrified me.
By the time darkness fell completely, the guards had done what they could to prepare. They would set up a defensive perimeter around both vehicles and build a small fire for warmth and to keep animals away. Distributed emergency rations from the supply kits.
But there was no real shelter just the vehicles and the forest pressing in around us on all sides.
I stayed in the armored vehicle with Kara, wrapped in emergency blankets, trying to sleep sitting up since the seats didn't recline properly.
The mosquitoes found us around midnight. Somehow getting inside despite all the windows being closed. They must have come in when the guards opened the doors to check on us.
They bit my arms, my face, my neck anywhere skin was exposed. I slapped at them uselessly, too tired and uncomfortable to properly defend myself.
"I hate this," Kara whispered beside me, also fighting the insects. "I hate everything about this."
"Me too."
Then the temperature dropped sharply dramatically. Within an hour it went from cool to actually cold.
The blankets weren't enough. I shivered, curled around my stomach, trying to keep the baby warm even as I froze.
Kara pressed close, sharing what little body heat we had. But it wasn't enough.
"I'm so cold," I whispered, my teeth chattering.
"I know just a few more hours until dawn. Then we can get moving again and we can make it."
But I wasn't sure we could.
The baby kicked constantly, clearly disturbed by the cold and my discomfort and the stress flowing through my body. Each kick hurts now, my muscles are too tense to absorb the movement properly.
Damian checked on us every hour. Each time he opened the door, more mosquitoes got in. But he brought more blankets salvaged from the other vehicle. Offered medication that I refused because I didn't want to take anything else while pregnant.
"You need to rest," he said during one visit. "Your body needs sleep to handle stress. The baby needs you to rest."
"I can't. It's too cold, too uncomfortable and every time I start to drift off, something bites me or the baby kicks or I hear something outside that scares me."
"Try anyway please for the baby if not for yourself."
I tried dozing fitfully between mosquito bites and baby kicks and the constant, bone-deep cold that the thin blankets couldn't touch.
Outside, I could hear the guards keeping watch. Their low voices as they changed shifts. The crackle of the fire kept going all night. The sounds of the forest branches moving, animals calling, things I couldn't identify and didn't want to think about.
I prayed.For the first time in years, I actually prayed to the heavens.
Please let nothing find us please let us make it to morning safely please protect my baby.
Dawn finally came. Gray and cold and miserable.
The guards had worked through the night in shifts to repair the vehicle. By the time the sun rose, they'd managed to get it running again.
"It's not perfect," the driver warned. "But it'll get us home. We just need to move now before something else breaks."
"Let's go then," the lead guard said. "We've been sitting ducks here long enough."
We drove the rest of the way without stopping. Hours and hours of tense silence. Everyone is alert for threats that could appear at any moment. Every strange sound makes us jump. Every vehicle we passed received suspicious stares from the guards.
I dozed a little, exhausted despite the fear. Kara's head on my shoulder. The baby finally quiet, worn out from a night of constant movement.
Finally, finally, Blue Moon Pack territory appeared on the horizon.
"Almost there," Kara said, squeezing my hand. "We're almost home."
I felt relief so intense it made me dizzy at home. We were almost home, almost safe, almost back where Kaden could protect us properly.
The pack house came into view. Guards stationed at the entrance more than usual. Kaden standing on the front steps, pacing back and forth, clearly waiting. He must have been out there for hours.
The vehicle stopped and the door opened. I tried to stand. I tried to step out under my own power and tried to show I was fine.
The world tilted violently and my vision went dark around the edges. My legs gave out completely.
I heard Kaden shout my name. Felt strong hands catching me before I hit the ground.
Then everything went black.