Chapter 124 Damian's POV
The poison was unlike anything I had seen before. I have treated countless cases of poisoning over the years. Snake venom wolfsbane is standard toxins used by rogues and enemies. But this was different, more sophisticated and more deadly.
I worked through the night, trying every treatment I knew. Activated charcoal to absorb the toxin. Antidotes for known poisons blood transfusions to replace what he was losing.
Nothing worked.
Kaden's body was shutting down his organs failing one by one his breathing becoming more labored despite the oxygen mask.
"Come on," I muttered, administering another round of medication. "Fight you're an Alpha. Your mate needs you, your son needs you. Fight."
But Kaden wasn't responding. His vitals were dropping steadily around three in the morning, his heart stopped.
"No!" I grabbed the defibrillator paddles. "Clear!"
His body jerked from the shock.
"Again! Clear!"
Another shock, this time his heart rhythm returned. Weak but present. I sagged against the wall, exhausted and terrified. I'd brought him back. But for how long?
By dawn, Kaden had slipped into a coma.
His body was still fighting the poison but his consciousness was gone. He lay there pale and still, hooked up to machines that beeped and hummed, keeping him alive.
I sat beside his bed, monitoring his vitals, adjusting treatments, praying to the heavens I'd stopped believing in years ago.
My phone buzzed. Ethan.
"How is he?" Ethan asked without preamble.
"Alive barely he is in a coma, his body is fighting but I don't know if he's strong enough to win."
"And the poison? Do you know what it was?"
"Not yet. I have sent blood samples to every lab I have access to but the results will take days, maybe weeks."
"We don't have weeks."
"I know."
"Has anyone tried to visit?"
"The elders came by asking questions. I demanded I tell them if Elara deliberately poisoned him."
"What did you say?"
"That it's impossible that Elara would never hurt Kaden, that someone else must have tampered with the food."
I ran my hand through my hair. "They didn't believe me. They think I'm protecting her because I have feelings for her."
"Do you?"
I was quiet for a moment. "That's not relevant right now."
"It's absolutely relevant. If they think you're biased, they will dismiss everything you say."
Before I could respond, the door opened. Selena walked in, perfectly composed despite the late hour.
"How is he?" she asked, moving toward the bed.
"The same critical but stable."
"Poor Kaden to be betrayed by someone he trusted so completely." She reached out to touch his hand.
I moved between her and the bed. "Don't touch him."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me don't touch him, don't come near him. Get out of my medical wing."
"I have every right to be here I care about Kaden-"
"You don't care about anyone but yourself. You've been trying to destroy him and Elara for months. And now you're leading a mob calling for her execution. You don't get to pretend you care."
Selena's mask slipped. "She poisoned him the evidence is clear-"
"The evidence is circumstantial at best. Yes, Elara prepared the meal. But that doesn't mean she poisoned it. Someone else could have tampered with the ingredients. Or added something to his plate after it was served."
"Who? Who else would want to hurt Kaden?"
"You, for starters. You've made it clear you would do anything to get rid of Elara and have Kaden for yourself."
"How dare you accuse me-"
"I'm not accusing. I'm observing you have a motive. You have an opportunity. And you have a history of trying to harm Elara."
I moved closer to her. "If I find out you had anything to do with this, if you put poison in that food and framed Elara for it, I will personally make sure you pay for it."
"You have no proof-"
"Not yet but I will and when I do, not even your father's political connections will save you."
Selena's eyes flashed with fury. "You're in love with her. That's what this is really about. You can't stand that she chose Kaden over you. That she will always choose him."
"Get out."
"Gladly but you should know the elders are meeting this afternoon to formally charge Elara with attempted murder. When they do, there will be a warrant for her arrest. And if Kaden dies?"
She smiled. "It becomes a murder charge. With execution as the penalty."
She left before I could respond.
I stood there shaking with rage and fear. If Kaden died, Elara would be executed. And our son Adrian would grow up without either parent.
I couldn't let that happen.
The elders summoned me that afternoon and all six of them sat in the council chamber, their expressions grave.
"Doctor Damian," Elder Marcus began. "We need your professional opinion. In your medical judgment, did Elara deliberately poison Alpha Kaden?"
"No. Absolutely not."
"How can you be certain?"
"Because I know her. I've worked with her for months. She loves Kaden. She's carrying his child and she has no motive to harm him."
"Love and motive aren't medical facts," Elder Rowan said. "We need scientific evidence."
"The scientific evidence shows that Kaden was poisoned. It doesn't show who administered the poison or how it got into his food."
"But Elara prepared the meal herself. She served it to him and no one else touched his plate."
"That we know of but the kitchen is accessible to dozens of people. Anyone could have tampered with the ingredients before Elara even started cooking."
"That's speculation," Marcus said. "What we know for certain is that Elara made the food and Kaden was poisoned, that's sufficient for charges."
"It's not sufficient for execution! You can't kill her based on circumstantial evidence!"
"If Kaden dies, we won't have a choice. Pack law is clear: anyone who kills an Alpha faces death."
"She didn't kill him! Someone else did and framed her for it!"
"Then prove it," Elder Vera said quietly. "Prove someone else is responsible. Until then, the evidence points to Elara."
They dismissed me without another word. I left the council chamber feeling defeated and desperate.
Back in the medical wing, I tried calling Elara. Her phone went straight to voicemail and tried again with the same result.
Either her phone was off or she was somewhere with no signal or someone had blocked her number from the pack network.
I was checking Kaden's vitals again when Ethan appeared in the doorway.
"How is he?" Ethan asked.
"No change, still comatose, still fighting." I looked at him carefully. "Where's Elara?"
"Safe. That's all you need to know right now."
"The elders are pushing for murder charges. If Kaden dies-"
"He's not going to die. And Elara didn't poison him."
Ethan moved closer. "But we need to prove it. We need to find out who actually did this."
"I've been thinking that the poison is sophisticated, not something an amateur could make. Whoever did this has knowledge of toxins and chemistry."
"Or access to someone who does."
"Exactly and it had to be someone with access to the kitchen. Someone who could tamper with ingredients without being noticed."
"That's a long list of kitchen staff, anyone who regularly visits the pack house, even some of the servants."
"We need to investigate quietly before the elders make this official."
"Agreed, I will start asking questions and you will focus on keeping Kaden alive."
Ethan left and I returned to my vigil beside Kaden's bed. Three hours later, there was another knock on the door.
Lyssa walked in, already dressed for travel.
"I'm leaving," She announced. "Going back to the Dark Moon Pack. I wanted to say goodbye before I left."
I studied her face. She looked pleased about something, almost excited.
"Why the sudden departure? I thought you were staying to convince me to come back."
"Plans change. I realized I'm needed elsewhere."
She moved closer. "Xavier called. Said there's been some... developments that require my attention."
"What kind of developments?"
"The kind that involves your precious Elara."
Her smile was sharp. "She's in Dark Moon territory now, isn't she? That's where Ethan took her. That's where she's hiding."
My blood ran cold. "How did you know that?"
"I have my sources. And now I'm going home to make sure she understands just how unwelcome she is in our pack."
Lyssa headed for the door. "Give my regards to Kaden. If he wakes up."
She left before I could stop her. I immediately called Ethan.
"Lyssa knows Elara is in the Dark Moon Pack. She's heading there now. You need to warn her."
"How does Lyssa know?"
"I don't know. But she does. And based on her expression, she's planning something."
I looked at Kaden's unconscious form. "Elara's walking into a trap. And there's nothing I can do to stop it.”