Chapter 129 Elara's POV
The first time Xavier left for a council meeting, everything changed. He'd been gone less than an hour when Lyssa appeared at the safe house with three servants behind her.
"Xavier's away for the next three days," She said, her smile cold. "Which means I'm in charge of guest accommodations. And I've decided you two need to earn your keep."
"What?" Kara stepped forward. "Xavier said we were under his protection-"
"Protection doesn't mean free room and board. You're not prisoners, but you're not guests either. Not anymore."
Lyssa gestured to the servants. "These new quarters are much more appropriate for people of your... status."
The room they showed us to was barely larger than a closet. Two narrow beds with no windows. A single lamp for light.
"This is unacceptable," I said. "Xavier promised-"
"Xavier isn't here. And when he returns, you can complain all you want. Until then, you follow my rules."
Lyssa handed me a list. "Here are your daily chores. Kitchen work. Laundry. Cleaning. You start in one hour."
She left before I could protest further.
Kara looked at me, her expression worried. "We should call Ethan. Or try to reach Xavier-"
"We can't. We don't have any way to contact them. And if we cause trouble, Lyssa might tell Xavier we're ungrateful. That we tried to take advantage of his hospitality."
I looked at the list of chores. It was extensive. Deliberately so. "We'll do the work. Just until Xavier returns."
But it wasn't just three days.
Xavier was called away again and again. Council meetings. Border negotiations. Alliance discussions. And every time he left, Lyssa made our lives worse.
The chores increased scrubbing floors on our hands and knees. Washing dishes for hours. Hauling heavy laundry baskets despite my pregnancy.
"You're too slow," one of Lyssa's servants would say, shoving me toward another pile of work. "Do it again and do it right this time."
Kara tried to help, doing double the work to cover for me. But there was always too much.
"Please," Kara begged one of the servants. "She's pregnant. She shouldn't be doing this kind of heavy labor-"
"Then she should work faster so she can rest sooner."
My back ached constantly and my feet were swollen. And Adrian kicked harder and harder, clearly distressed by my exhaustion and stress.
"I'm sorry," I whispered to him at night. "I'm so sorry you have to go through this."
On the fifth day of Xavier's latest absence, I woke up feeling wrong. Hot too hot my skin was burning.
"You have a fever," Kara said, touching my forehead. "A high one we need to get you to a doctor."
"I'm fine, just tired."
"You're not fine, you are sick and you are pregnant, this could be dangerous for the baby."
She went to find Lyssa, returning minutes later with the other woman in tow.
"She has a fever," Kara explained. "She needs medical attention. Please, let us take her to the hospital-"
"No," Lyssa said flatly.
"What do you mean no? She's ill!"
"Then she should rest and take the day off from chores. But I'm not wasting medical resources on someone who's being charged with murder in her own pack."
"She's pregnant! If something happens to the baby-"
"That's not my problem. If she'd stayed in Blue Moon Pack and faced her charges like an adult, she'd have access to proper medical care. Instead, she ran. These are the consequences of her choices."
Lyssa left, ignoring Kara's pleas.
I spent the day in bed, shivering despite the fever. My body ached, my head pounded and Adrian's movements were frantic, almost violent.
"Something's wrong," I told Kara. "The baby. He's moving too much. Like he's in distress."
"We need to get you help-”
"How? We're trapped here with no phone and no way to contact anyone. And Lyssa won't let us leave."
"Then we will sneak out wait until night and find a doctor ourselves-"
"And where? We don't know this territory. We don't know who to trust, we could make things worse."
Kara looked like she wanted to argue but couldn't. Because I was right we were trapped.
The next morning, despite still having a fever, I forced myself out of bed.
"You should rest," Kara protested.
"If I don't work, Lyssa will make things worse. She'll find some way to punish us. I just need to get through the day."
But I could barely stand my vision and kept swimming. Every movement took enormous effort.
We were in the kitchen, me washing dishes while trying not to collapse, when the door burst open.
Damian stood there, his medical bag in hand, his expression furious.
"What the hell is going on here?" he demanded.
Lyssa appeared from the other room. "Damian! You're back! We weren't expecting you until-”
"Why is Elara doing manual labor? She's eight months pregnant! She should be resting, not working like a servant!"
"She volunteered said she wanted to help out-"
"That's a lie!" Kara stepped forward. "Lyssa's been forcing her to work. Heavy chores. Long hours. Even though she's sick. Elara has a fever and Lyssa refused to let her see a doctor!"
Damian's expression went deadly. He crossed the room in three strides and grabbed Lyssa by the front of her shirt.
"You did what?"
"I was just…she's a fugitive..i didn't think-"
"You didn't think at all! She's pregnant! Sick! And you worked her like a slave!" He shoved her away. "Get out of my sight before I do something I will regret."
Lyssa fled.
Damian immediately came to me, his hands gentle as he checked my temperature. "You're burning up. How long have you had this fever?"
"Two days, maybe three. I lost track."
"And the baby? How's he moving?"
"Too much. Like he's upset. Or scared."
"We're getting you to a proper medical facility. Right now." He looked at Kara. "Pack whatever belongings you have. You're both leaving this place immediately."
"But Xavier-"
"Xavier left you in Lyssa's care. That was a mistake. I'm correcting it."
He helped me stand. "There's a separate residence on the other side of Dark Moon territory. Where the pack elders live. You will be safe there actually, not this nightmare Lyssa created."
He half-carried me to his car. Kara followed with our few possessions.
As we drove, I asked, "Why are you here? I thought you were at Blue Moon Pack taking care of Kaden-"
"I was. But the elders here invited me back for a celebration. They're welcoming me home after years away."
His jaw tightened. "If I'd known what Lyssa was doing to you, I would have come sooner."
"Is Kaden...?"
"Still alive. Still fighting."
Relief flooded through me. "Thank God."
We arrived at a large, elegant building. The elder's residence. Damian took us inside to a comfortable guest suite.
"Rest here. I will examine you properly and make sure the baby's okay."
He was thorough, checking my temperature, my blood pressure, listening to Adrian's heartbeat.
"The fever's high but manageable. I'll give you medication that's safe for pregnancy. And the baby's heartbeat is strong. He's stressed but not in immediate danger."
"Thank you. For everything save us from Lyssa."
"Don't thank me yet." Damian's expression was grim. "There's something you need to know about Kaden."
My heart stopped. "What? Is he worse? Did he-"
"He woke up two days ago and came out of the coma."
Joy and relief crashed over me. "He's awake? He's okay?"
"He's recovering weak but alive and the first thing he did was demand the elders revoke your execution order."
"And did they?"
Damian's silence was answer enough.
"They refused," I said flatly.
"Yes they said the evidence against you is too strong. That even Kaden's testimony about your innocence isn't enough to overturn the charges."
Damian sat down heavily. "He's fighting for you trying to find proof that someone else poisoned him. But until he does, the execution order stands."
"So even with him awake, even with him defending me, I'm still condemned to die if I go back."
"Yes."
I pressed my hands to my stomach, feeling Adrian kick. "What do I do? I can't stay in the Dark Moon Pack forever. But I can't go home. Can't see Kaden can't be there when our son is born."
"We'll figure something out. We have to."
Damian's voice was firm. "Kaden won't stop fighting for you. Neither will I nor will Ethan. We will find who really poisoned him. We'll clear your name."
"And if you can't? If the evidence doesn't exist?"
"Then we'll create another solution. But you're not dying. And you're not giving birth alone. I promise you that."
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to trust that somehow this would work out.
But sitting there in a stranger's pack, eight months pregnant with my mate recovering from a coma in a territory where I was sentenced to death, it was hard to feel hopeful.
All I could do was hold my stomach and pray.