Chapter 150 Kaden's POV
Silence fell over the hallway then everyone started talking at once. Questions and fears. Demands for explanations.
"Quiet!" I roared. "Everyone quiet!"
They fell silent.
"Emergency council meeting now. In the main chamber. I want every elder, every Beta, every pack leader present. We need answers and we need them immediately."
Within twenty minutes, the council chamber was full.
Ethan stood beside me. Kira sat in a chair, still too weak to stand for long. Damian had left someone else to monitor Elara's surgery so he could attend.
"The prophecy," Elder Miriam began. "It speaks of a child born of two great bloodlines who will-”
"I don't care about prophecies!" I interrupted. "I care about this blood debt Erebus claims. What pact did my ancestors make?"
"We don't know," Marcus admitted.
"Those records are lost. If the Xandros line made a deal with dark forces, it was kept secret."
"Then we find out we research we-"
"There's something else," Damian said quietly. "Something I need to tell you. About Xavier. About the Dark Moon Pack."
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Xavier is my half-brother," Damian said. "We share the same father, a man named Lucian Cross."
Shock rippled through the room.
"Because I didn't want it known. Because I spent years trying to distance myself from that connection." Damian's expression was grim.
"Our father was cursed by the Dark Moon. An ancient curse placed on him for betraying a dark ritual affected both his sons, me and Xavier."
"What kind of curse?"
"The curse of divided loyalty one son would serve the light. One would serve the darkness. Neither would know which they were destined for until the crucial moment came."
He paused. "Xavier chose darkness and embraced it and became one of Erebus's most loyal followers."
"And you chose light?"
"I thought I did but the curse is still active. Still affecting me. And there's something else….something about our father."
"What about him?"
"He might be Erebus or at least connected to Erebus in a way I don't fully understand."
Damian's hands were shaking. "The woman I loved, the one who died in the Dark Moon Pack, discovered this. She tried to tell me and she was killed for that knowledge."
The room erupted in chaos again. Shouting. Accusations demand for Damian to explain further.
But he couldn't. Or wouldn't. "I don't have all the answers. I just know that Xavier and I are connected to this war in ways that go deeper than pack loyalty. And that connection makes me a liability."
"You're not a liability," I said firmly.
"You're my friend. My pack's doctor. You've saved countless lives including my mate's. Whatever curse affects you, we'll break it."
"Some curses can't be broken."
"Then we'll find a way anyway."
Before anyone could respond, alarms started blaring.
"What now?" Ethan demanded.
A guard burst into the chamber. "Alpha! Scouts report massive troop movements on all our borders! Dark Moon Pack. Rogue factions. Other packs we don't recognize. They're surrounding us!"
"How many?"
"Hundreds. Maybe thousands. They're preparing for a siege."
"Then we prepare for war." I stood.
"Double all border patrols. Recall every warrior. Stock weapons and supplies. Evacuate non-combatants to the shelters."
"What about Elara?" Kira asked. "If they attack while she's still in surgery-"
"The medical wing has its own security protocols. She'll be as safe as anyone can be." I looked around the room.
"We have three days before Erebus's deadline. Three days to prepare. Three days to find a way out of this."
"And if we can't find a way?" Marcus asked.
"Then we fight and we make them regret ever threatening my family."
The council dispersed to begin preparations.
I returned to the medical wing just as Damian was coming out of surgery.
"She's alive," he said before I could ask.
"Stable. The repairs are holding this time. But Kaden, she can't take another injury. One more trauma and her body will give up. She needs complete rest and recovery."
"How long until she wakes up?"
"Could be hours, could be days her body needs time to heal."
But it was only four hours later when I got the call. "She's awake. Asking for you and Adrian."
I ran to her room, Adrian in my arms Elara was pale and weak, hooked up to machines, but her eyes were open. Alert.
"Kaden," she whispered. "Adrian. Is he okay?"
"He's perfect." I brought our son to her side. "He's been crying for you."
The moment Adrian saw his mother, his cries quieted. Elara managed to lift one weak hand to touch his face.
"My baby. My beautiful baby."
Tears streamed down her face. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you from Selena."
"You did protect him, you nearly died protecting him. You're a hero."
"I'm a mother. That's what mothers do."
We stayed like that for a long time, the three of us together as a family.
I told her everything that had happened during the battle. The prophecy the blood debt. Erebus's demand.
"We're not giving him up," She said fiercely despite her weakness. "I don't care what ancient pact was made. Adrian is ours, no one takes him from us."
"Agreed we fight."
"Together?"
"Always together."
Two days later, Elara was strong enough to leave the hospital. I drove her home myself, Adrian safely secured in a car seat Kara had prepared.
Kira came with us. I'd decided she would live in the pack house, in quarters near mine. She needed family around her as she recovered from fifteen years of torture.
The pack gathered to welcome them home.
When they saw Kira Kaden's sister, returned from the dead there were gasps of shock and joy.
The elders looked stunned. They'd all believed she was dead. Had attended memorial services for her.
"Kira Xandros," Elder Miriam said, tears in her eyes. "You're alive. After all these years, you're alive."
"I am thankful to my brother. And to Elara." Kira stood tall despite her weakness. "And I'm here to help protect my nephew. To help fight the war that's coming."
Cheers erupted from the gathered pack members. We were together, we were strong, we were ready.
Let Erebus come let Xavier attack with his armies. We would be waiting and we would win.
Because we had to.
For Adrian. For our future. For everything we'd fought so hard to build, the war was coming but we would face it as a family.
And that made us unbreakable.