Chapter 105 Kaden's POV
Xavier looked at me meaningfully. "You need Elara to be your Luna. Officially. Not just your mate, but your equal partner in leading this pack."
"She's not ready for that. She's still figuring out who she is-"
"Is she not ready? Or are you not ready to give up that much control?"
The question hit harder than I expected.
Was I holding Elara back? Keeping her from stepping into her power because I was afraid of what that might mean?
"Think about it," Xavier said, standing.
"I actually came here to discuss border negotiations. Our packs share a northeastern boundary that's been disputed for decades. I thought it might be time to formalize a permanent agreement."
I forced myself to focus on politics instead of guilt. "What are you proposing?"
"A clearly marked boundary line joint patrols in the disputed area. Shared resource rights to the river that runs through it."
He pulled out a map and spread it on my desk. "Here's what I'm thinking."
We spent the next hour negotiating. It was good for me. Gave my mind something concrete to work on instead of spiraling into self-recrimination.
By the time we finished, we'd hammered out a preliminary agreement that would need formal approval from both our councils but seemed fair to both packs.
"I'll present this to my elders," I said. "Get back to you within a week."
"Sounds good." Xavier rolled up the map.
"And Kaden? About Elara. Give yourself some grace. You're doing the best you can in an impossible situation that has to count for something."
After Xavier left, I sat alone in my office trying to decide what to do next.
I needed to talk to someone. Someone who understood pack politics and personal relationships, someone who might have perspective I was missing.
Elder Miriam.
I found her in the gardens, tending to the herbs she grew for various pack purposes. She looked up when I approached, immediately setting down her tools.
"You look terrible," She said bluntly. "What happened?"
I told her everything about rushing Elara back. About the vehicle breaking down about the night in the woods and Elara collapsing about the fight with Damian.
She listened without interrupting, her expression growing more troubled with each detail.
"And now she's unconscious in the medical wing and it's all my fault," I finished.
"Is it?" Miriam asked. "Or are you taking blame for things you couldn't control?"
"I could have let her stay one more day. I chose not to."
"Because you sensed danger because your instincts honed by years of protecting this pack told you she needed to come home immediately."
Miriam brushed dirt from her hands. "Were those instincts wrong?"
"I don't know if the shadow hasn't appeared again, maybe I overreacted."
"Or maybe having her back home prevented whatever was going to happen."
Miriam stood. "You're not all-knowing, Kaden. You make decisions based on the information you have. Sometimes those decisions have bad consequences that don't make them wrong decisions."
"Damian thinks they were wrong."
"Damian is in love with your mate of course he thinks any decision that puts her at risk is wrong he's not objective."
She fixed me with a stern look. "But neither are you. You're so consumed with protecting Elara that you can't see the bigger picture."
"What's the bigger picture?"
"That she's not just your mate she is Elena Silvercrest. Daughter of a destroyed Alpha line. Possibly the key to understanding Erebus's plans. The mother of a blessed child."
Miriam's voice was serious. "She's important beyond your relationship with her and the sooner you help her step into that importance instead of hiding her away for protection, the sooner you'll both be able to face what's coming."
"I don't know how to keep her safe while also letting her be powerful."
"That's because you're trying to do both alone. You need to trust her. Trust that she's strong enough to protect herself. Trust that the heavens that chose her for a reason."
"What if I trust her and she gets hurt anyway?"
"Then she gets hurt and you deal with it together." Miriam put her hand on my arm.
"You can't prevent every bad thing from happening, Kaden. You can only be there when they do that's what partnership means."
We talked for a while longer about leadership and love and the impossible balance between the two. About my father and how his grief had destroyed him about not repeating his mistakes.
By the time I left the gardens, I felt slightly better. Still guilty, still worried. But with some clarity about what I needed to do differently.
I needed to talk to Elara to really talk about us. About her role in the pack. About building a real partnership instead of me constantly trying to protect her from everything.
But first, she needed to wake up.
I was walking back toward the medical wing to check on her when my phone buzzed.
A message from Ethan.
" Selena brought people into the pack house. They're throwing a party in the main hall you need to get here now.
Rage flooded through me immediately.
A party Selena was throwing a party. In my pack house without permission.
The day after she'd been released from detention. The day Elara was lying unconscious in the medical wing.
I changed direction and headed for the main hall, my wolf pushing forward.