Chapter 29 Kaden's POV
The council meeting was dragging on, endless debates about border security and resource allocation, when it hit me.
‘Help.’
The word crashed through my mind like a thunderclap through the bond. Through the connection I had tried to ignore for weeks.
Elara.
‘Help us.’
I was on my feet before anyone could react.
"Kaden, what-" Elder Marcus started.
"The meeting is over." I was already moving toward the door.
Ethan stood immediately. "What's wrong?"
"Elara something is wrong."
I ran. I didn't care about the confused elders behind me. Didn't care about anything except getting to her.
My wolf was howling inside me, terrified and furious.
‘Our mate, our child, they are in danger.’
Ethan kept pace beside me as we sprinted through the hallways. "What happened? How do you know?"
"The bond she called for help through the bond."
We burst into my private quarters. I could smell it immediately, something wrong, something chemical and bitter.
In the dining room, I found her.
Elara was on the floor, unconscious, deathly pale. Kara the servant was kneeling beside her, crying.
"I don't know what happened!" Kara sobbed. "She just collapsed, I called for a doctor but-"
I was already scooping Elara into my arms. She was limp, her head lolling against my chest.
"Get Damian on the phone," I ordered Ethan. "Tell him we are coming now."
"The car-"
"No time. I'm running."
I shifted partially, just enough to give me speed, and ran. Ran faster than I ever had in my life, cradling Elara against my chest. Her scent was wrong and tainted with something toxic.
Poison.
Someone had poisoned my mate.
Damian was waiting at the hospital entrance when I arrived. He took one look at Elara and immediately started barking orders.
"Examination room three now. Get me an IV, activated charcoal, and the toxicology kit."
We burst through the doors and I laid Elara on the table.
"What happened?" Damian demanded, already checking her pulse.
"I didn't know she was having dinner and then she collapsed."
"Did she eat anything unusual?"
"I don't know! I wasn't there!"
Damian inserted an IV with practiced efficiency. "Her pulse is weak but steady. Breathing is shallow. Pupils are responsive."
He pressed his hands gently against her abdomen. "The baby's heartbeat is... actually, that's strange."
"What?" My voice came out as a growl.
"The baby's heartbeat is stronger than hers. Much stronger."
Damian grabbed a scanner and moved it over Elara's stomach. "The lunar pulse is really active. It is almost like..."
"Like what?"
"Like the baby is protecting her by filtering the toxin somehow." He looked up at me, amazed.
"I have never seen anything like this. She should be dying from the amount of poison in her system but the baby is keeping her alive."
Relief and rage warred inside me. My child was saving Elara but someone had tried to kill them both.
"Will she be okay?"
"Yes the baby is doing most of the work, but I will help flush out the toxin. She will need to stay here overnight for observation, but she should be fine."
I sank into a chair, my legs suddenly unable to hold me, tears burned in my eyes.
"She called for me." I whispered. "Through the bond even after everything, she called for me."
Damian's expression softened. "Because you are still her mate. Her body knows that even if her mind doesn't."
I stayed with Elara while Damian worked. Watched as color slowly returned to her face. Watched as her breathing deepened and steadied.
When Damian confirmed she was stable, when I knew she would survive, the relief turned to pure rage.
"Someone poisoned her." I said quietly. "Someone in my pack tried to kill my mate and my child."
"Do you know who?"
I thought about the envelope passing between Selena and Rowan. Thought about how Selena had been so concerned about Elara being in my quarters.
My wolf was snarling, showing me an image of Selena's face.
‘Her,’ he growled. ‘She's the one who searches her room.’
"I have an idea." I told Damian. "Stay with Elara. Don't let anyone in except me or Ethan."
I called Ethan on my way back to the pack house.
"Get four guards to meet me at Selena's quarters now."
"What are we looking for?"
"Poison."
Selena was in her room when we arrived. She opened the door with a sweet smile that faltered when she saw the guards.
"Kaden? What's going on?"
"Step aside, we are searching your quarters."
"What? You can't just-"
"I'm the Alpha. I can do whatever I want now move."
Her face went pale. "This is ridiculous, I haven't done anything wrong."
"Then you won't mind us looking."
Ethan and the guards spread out through her rooms. I watched Selena carefully. Watched the way her eyes kept darting toward her bedroom.
"Check the bedroom." I told Ethan. "Thoroughly."
Selena's breathing quickened. "Please, this is a violation of my privacy."
"Elara is in the hospital because someone poisoned her dinner. So forgive me if I don't give a damn about your privacy."
Ethan emerged from the bedroom holding a small vial. "Found this in her vanity hidden in a false bottom."
He handed it to me. The liquid inside was clear and odorless.
"That's not mine!" Selena said quickly. "Someone must have planted it!"
"Then you won't mind if we test it compare it to what's in Elara's system."
Her face crumbled. "Kaden, please you have to understand. She was ruining everything. The coronation, your focus, your leadership-"
The roar that tore from my throat shook the entire mansion.
"YOU POISONED MY MATE?!"
I was across the room in seconds, my hand around her throat, slamming her against the wall.
"Kaden!" Ethan shouted.
"She tried to kill them!" I squeezed harder, watching Selena's face turn red. "My mate. My child tried to murder them both!"
"Kaden, stop! You can't kill her like this!"
"Watch me!"
"Think about Elara! Think about what she would want! You kill Selena now, you become a monster. Is that what you want Elara to see?"
His words cut through the rage. Slowly, reluctantly, I released Selena. She collapsed to the floor, gasping.
"Lock her up," I told the guards.
"Highest security, no visitors , no communication with anyone."
They dragged her away, still protesting her innocence.
I stood there shaking, my hands clenched into fists.
"I need to make an announcement." I said. "Call an emergency pack meeting, everyone attends no exceptions."
"When?"
"Tomorrow night I want every pack member there." I looked at Ethan.
"And I want Elara there too protected, surrounded by guards, but there.