Chapter 133 Elara's POV
About returning to the Blue Moon Pack. The mate bond pulled us back together despite everything.
About him marking me at the alliance celebration. Claiming me publicly as his mate and Luna.
About moving into his quarters building a life together preparing for our son's birth. About dinner. The poison watching him collapse thinking I had killed him.
The tears came again and I couldn't stop them.
All I wanted was to be with him to have him hold me. To know we'd get through this together.
But instead, I was here alone waiting to give birth without my mate beside me.
Movement caught my eye. A reflection in the water.
Someone standing behind me.
I turned to tell Kara I was okay, that I just needed a few more minutes.
And froze.
Kaden stood there just a few feet away. Looking thinner than I remembered. Pale but alive awake real.
"No," I whispered. "No, this isn't real. You're not here. I'm hallucinating. Or dreaming. Or losing my mind."
He didn't speak, just stood there watching me with an expression I couldn't read.
"Please don't do this to me," I said, more tears falling. "I can't handle seeing you when you're not really here. I can't-"
He started walking toward me.
"Stop. Please stop. You're not real. You can't be real. Ethan said you were too weak to travel. Said you needed to recover. You can't be here."
But he kept coming and kept moving closer. And then he was running. Closing the distance between us in seconds.
He pulled me into his arms carefully, mindful of my pregnant belly and held me tight.
He was solid and warm real.
I felt his chest against mine and his arms around me. I felt him bury his face in my hair and breathe deeply, taking in my scent.
"You're real," I gasped. "You're actually here. You're-"
The sobs took over completely. I couldn't speak, could only cry and shake and cling to him.
"I'm here," he said, his voice rough. "I'm here. I've got you. You're safe."
"How? How are you here? You were in a coma. You were dying-"
"I woke up three days ago and the first thing I did was try to clear your name and try to get the execution order revoked."
"Did you? Did they listen?"
His silence was answer enough. "They still want to kill me," I said.
"They won't. I won't let them. I will find proof of who really poisoned me. I will make them see the truth."
"But what if you can't? What if there's no proof? What if-"
"Then we'll figure something else out. But I'm not losing you. I'm not letting them take you from me."
He pulled back just enough to look at my face. His hands came up to cup my cheeks, wiping away tears with his thumbs. "I love you. I love you more than anything. And I will fight for you until my last breath."
"I love you too. I love you so much it hurts."
I looked at him, really looked at him. "But you shouldn't be here. You're still recovering. You're too weak for this kind of journey-"
"I don't care about being weak. I needed to see you. Needed to hold you, needed to tell you face-to-face that I believe you. That I know you didn't poison me. That nothing, not the elders, not the evidence, not anything will make me doubt you."
More tears. I couldn't stop crying.
"I was so scared," I whispered. "So scared you'd died that I'd killed you. That our son would never meet his father."
"Our son." Kaden's hand moved to my swollen belly. "Adrian. How is he?"
"Big. Active. Ready to be born any day now." I placed my hand over his.
"He kicks constantly. I think he's impatient. I want to meet you."
"I want to meet him too." Kaden's eyes were bright with unshed tears.
"I want to be there when he's born, want to hold him, and want to be the father he deserves."
"You will be somehow, we will make this work. We'll find a way to be together."
"We will. I promise you that."
He kissed me deeply and desperately. Pouring all his fear and love and determination into it.
I kissed him back with equal intensity, my hands in his hair, my pregnant belly pressed between us.
When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard.
"How long can you stay?" I asked.
"As long as I need to. I'm not leaving you again."
"But Blue Moon Pack-"
"Ethan can handle things. I left him in charge."
Kaden helped me stand carefully. "Right now, my priority is you and our son. Making sure you're safe. Making sure you know you're not alone."
"I'm not alone anymore," I said, leaning into him. "You're here finally, you're here."
He held me as the sun set over the waterfall. Held me as if he'd never let go.
And for the first time in weeks, I felt something other than fear and grief.
I felt hope.
Maybe we would find a way through this. Maybe we would clear my name. Maybe we would get to raise our son together.
Maybe the prophecy was wrong. Maybe love was stronger than fate.
I had to believe that I had to trust that our bond was powerful enough to overcome whatever darkness was trying to destroy us.
Because the alternative of losing Kaden, losing everything we'd built was too terrible to contemplate.
So I stood there in his arms and chose to believe. Chose hope over despair, chose love over fear, chose us.
No matter what came next.