Chapter 127 Kaden's POV
I opened my eyes to sunlight.
Warm gentle, the kind of perfect morning light that made everything look golden.
I was standing in front of a house, not the Blue Moon Pack house. Not anywhere I recognized. This was a small cozy family home with a well-tended garden and cheerful blue shutters.
Where was I?
The last thing I remembered was eating dinner with Elara. Then the terrible pain of blood in my mouth collapsing.
This had to be a dream or I was dead.
But everything felt too real, the grass under my feet. The warmth of the sun, the smell of flowers from the garden.
I walked toward the house, my feet moving without conscious thought. The front door was unlocked. I pushed it open and stepped inside.
The interior had beautiful live-in photos on the walls. Comfortable furniture. Children's toys scattered in a corner. Everything is warm and welcoming.
And then I smelled it, cooking something delicious that made my stomach rumble.
I followed the scent to the kitchen.
Elara stood at the stove, her back to me. She was wearing a simple dress, her hair loose down her back. She was humming as she cooked, completely at ease.
And her stomach was flat, not pregnant like the baby had already been born.
"Elara?" I said.
She turned and smiled. The most beautiful smile I'd ever seen. "You're home early. Dinner won't be ready for another twenty minutes."
"What is this? Where are we?"
"Home. Where else would we be?" She moved toward me, completely normal, like nothing was wrong. "Are you feeling okay? You look confused."
"I'm... I don't understand last I remember, I was poisoned and you were pregnant. We were in the pack house-"
"Dad!"
The child's voice was young and excited . I turned and saw him.
A boy maybe four years old. Dark hair like mine. Green eyes like Elara's. He ran toward me with his arms outstretched.
"Dad! You're home! Can we play outside? Please? Mom said I had to wait until you got home!"
I caught him automatically as he jumped into my arms. He was solid, real warm and alive and laughing.
"Who...?" I looked at Elara. "Is this...?"
"That's Adrian," She said, laughing. "Your son. Don't tell me you forgot your own child."
Adrian. Our son but he was just a baby. Still in Elara's womb. How was he here? How was he four years old?
"This is a dream," I said. "It has to be. None of this is real."
Elara's expression softened. She came closer and took my face in her hands. "It's not a dream, Kaden, this is real, this is our life. You, me, and Adrian. The family we built together."
"But the poisoning-"
"You recovered. Don't you remember? Damian saved you. You were in a coma for a few days but then you woke up. You came back to us."
She kissed me gently. "You're here, you're safe. Everything is perfect."
I wanted to believe she wanted this to be real so badly it hurt.
"Say you believe me," she whispered. "Say you will stay."
I looked around the house at Adrian playing with his toys. At Elara standing in front of me, whole and healthy and happy.
"I believe you," I said. "This is real."
Her smile was radiant. "Good now, sit down. Dinner's almost ready. And Adrian's been waiting all day to tell you about what happened at school."
I sat Adrian climbed into my lap and started talking rapidly about his teacher and his friends and something that happened during playtime.
Elara served dinner we ate together like a normal family. And it felt absolutely perfect as the days passed in a blur of happiness.
I woke each morning beside Elara. I spent my days working though I couldn't quite remember what work I was doing. Came home to Adrian's excitement and Elara's warmth.
We had dinner together every night. We talked about meaningless, wonderful things. Adrian's progress in school plans for the weekend. Small repairs the house needed.
Normal domestic everything I had ever wanted.
One evening, Adrian asked, "Dad, can we get a dog?"
"A dog?" I looked at Elara.
She shrugged, smiling. "I think we could handle a dog. If you're willing to help, take care of it."
"I will! I promise! I'll walk it every day and feed it and everything!" Adrian was practically bouncing with excitement.
"Then yes we can get a dog."
Adrian cheered and threw his arms around me. "You're the best dad ever!"
I held him close, feeling complete in a way I'd never felt before. This was what I'd been fighting for. This family. This life. This perfect, peaceful existence.
Days turned into what felt like weeks. Maybe longer. Time moved strangely here. I didn't question it. I didn't want to question it.
I just wanted to stay in this perfect moment forever.
One afternoon, I went out. I couldn't quite remember why something about supplies or maybe checking on something.
The details were fuzzy; everything except my family was fuzzy. But I walked away from the house and went... somewhere.
When I came back, I saw smoke black smoke billowing into the sky coming from our house.