Chapter 211 Kaden's POV

Chapter 211 Kaden's POV

The pack meeting had run late. By the time I left the conference room, it was past ten o'clock.

All I wanted was to get back to Elara and Adrian. Maybe have a quiet evening together. Continue building the normal life we had started with our date.

I was heading to my car when Damian appeared from the shadows.

"Kaden we need to talk now."

His tone made me stop seriously worrying.

"What is wrong? Is it Elara? Adrian?"

"Not exactly but we need privacy to come with me."

He led me to a secluded corner of the parking garage. Kira was already there, looking equally serious.

"What is going on? Why all the secrecy?"

Damian pulled out his phone. "I need to show you something. It is going to be difficult to see but you need to know."

He showed me a photo of Elara covered in blood. Standing over what looked like dead rogues. Her eyes were cold and empty , nothing like the warmth I knew.

"What is this? When was this taken?"

"Three nights ago by a rogue who was tracking her. He said she appears in the forest at night. Different from her daytime self, she says things that don't make sense."

"That is impossible. Elara doesn't leave the pack house at night. She has been with me every night-"

"Has she?" Kira interrupted. 

"Are you absolutely certain? You sleep deeply. She could leave and return without you knowing."

I wanted to argue to insist they were wrong but doubt crept in.

The blackouts Elara had mentioned the lost time the way she had been acting strange lately.

"Tell me everything," I said quietly.

Damian explained the rogue's testimony, his death by dark magic before he could reveal more. The photo shows Elara with the lunar pulse mark, proving it wasn't an imposter.

Then Kira spoke, her voice guilty. "I found her. Three nights ago in the forest, covered in blood standing over dead rogues. 

“She didn't remember how she got there and didn't remember killing them. I helped her clean up, hide the evidence."

Rage exploded through me. "You what? You helped her cover up murders and didn't think to tell me?"

"She was terrified and confused. I thought it was a one-time thing. A trauma response or pulse malfunction but now-"

"Now you realize you have been enabling something dangerous. Something that could hurt people could hurt our pack."

"I know I'm sorry I should have told you immediately."

I forced myself to calm down and anger wouldn't help. I needed to think clearly.

"Show me the test results again, the ones showing dark magic in her blood."

Damian pulled them up on his phone. "See? Sometimes the lunar pulse is strong and the dark magic is absent.”

“Other times, the pulse weakens and dark magic appears. Like they are fighting for dominance."

"Could it be possession? Something else controlling her at night?"

"Possibly or it could be a split personality. A darkness within her that emerges when her conscious mind is suppressed."

"How do we find out for sure?"

"I would need to examine her. Specifically looking for signs of possession or consciousness splitting.”

“But Kaden, she doesn't know what I'm looking for. If there is something else inside her, alerting her could be dangerous."

"Then we do it secretly, tell her it is a routine checkup related to the pulse eruption. Can you do that?"

"Yes. But the results might not be conclusive. Possession is difficult to diagnose definitively."

"Try anyway. I need to know if my mate is still my mate. Or if something else is wearing her face."

We made plans. Damian would call Elara in the morning for a routine follow-up exam. He would run every test he could think of while keeping the true purpose hidden.

I drove home in a daze. My mind is spinning with terrible possibilities.

Was Elara possessed? Was something dark living inside her? Taking control at night? Killing rogues and attacking people?

Or was this all a misunderstanding? A series of coincidences that looked suspicious but had innocent explanations?

I wanted to believe the latter wanted to trust my mate. Trust that she would tell me if something was wrong.

But the evidence was damning, the photo. Kira's testimony, the dark magic in her blood.

I couldn't ignore it, not when lives might be at stake.

I reached our quarters to find Elara asleep in bed. Adrian in his bassinet everything peaceful and normal.

She looked so innocent so beautiful, so completely incapable of violence but I had learned that appearances could be deceiving.

I climbed into bed beside her carefully. She stirred, curling against me. "Kaden? You are home late."

"Long meetings, go back to sleep."

"Love you," She mumbled, already drifting off again.

"Love you too."

Did I think so? Could I still love her if she was doing these things? If she was killing people and not remembering?

Or would I love her anyway? Stand by her? Try to save her from whatever darkness was consuming her?

I didn't know and that uncertainty terrified me more than any enemy ever had.

The next morning, Damian called. "Elara, I need you to come in for a follow-up exam. After the pulse eruption, I want to make sure everything's healing properly."

"Do I have to? I feel fine."

"It was just precautionary for an hour at most."

"Okay. I will be there this afternoon."

I watched her get ready, watched her play with Adrian, watched her go about her morning routine like nothing was wrong.

And I wondered if I was looking at my mate. Or at something pretending to be her.