Chapter 43 Kaden's POV
Damian was at the nurse's station. He looked up when he saw me.
"Where is Elara?" I asked.
"She left about ten minutes ago and said she was going to get coffee while she waited for you to pick her up. Why? What's wrong?"
"I don't know if she called me, sounding scared."
Damian's expression shifted to concern. "She was fine when she left here. The check-up went well. We talked for a while and everything seemed normal."
"She said she was at a coffee shop near here. Which one?"
"There is only one close by the Moonlight Café. Two blocks north."
I was already heading for the door when I saw her.
Selena.
She was leaving through the hospital's side entrance, flanked by her father's guards. She was carrying a large bag and looked agitated. Her perfect composure was cracked, her face flushed with anger or frustration.
Our eyes met across the lobby.
Something passed between us. It was a moment of mutual understanding. She knew I had seen her and knew I had figured out she had been here.
Then she turned and walked out quickly, her guards closing ranks around her.
What the hell was she doing here?
I pulled out my phone and called Elara again.
"Kaden?" She answered immediately.
"Where are you exactly? I'm at the hospital."
"I'm walking back. I'm almost there. I can see the building."
"Stay on the phone with me."
"Okay."
I walked outside, scanning the street. Then I saw her walking quickly toward the hospital, her arms wrapped around herself, her head down.
I ran to her.
"Elara!"
She looked up and when she saw me, something in her expression crumbled. She wasn't crying but she looked close to it, scared. Shaken.
I reached her and immediately scanned her body for injuries. "Are you hurt? What happened?"
"I'm fine physically I just-" She looked around nervously. "Can we go somewhere private? Please?"
"Of course. Come on."
I led her to my car and drove to a small park nearby. It was empty at this hour, just trees and benches and quiet.
We got out and walked to a bench overlooking a small pond. Elara sat down heavily, like her legs wouldn't hold her anymore.
I sat beside her, careful to maintain some distance but close enough that I could reach her if she needed me.
"Tell me what happened," I said gently.
She was quiet for a long moment, staring at the water.
"Elara," I tried again. "You called me. You were scared. Tell me why."
"I saw Selena," she said finally.
My entire body went rigid. "What?"
"At the hospital she was there when I left. She said she wanted to talk to me."
"And you talked to her?" I couldn't keep the incredulity out of my voice. "Elara, she tried to kill you!"
"I know! But I was curious. I wanted to know what she could possibly have to say."
"So what did she say?"
Elara's hands were shaking. She clasped them together in her lap. "She took me to a coffee shop. Showed me documents about the pack's financial situation. About how weak we are. How the alliances are falling apart."
I felt cold dread settling in my stomach. "What else?"
"She told me that I'm the reason the pack is struggling. That you're so distracted protecting me that you're neglecting everything else. That the pack hates me and it's only going to get worse."
Every word was like a knife because there was truth in them. Not the whole truth, but enough to be dangerous.
"She's manipulating you," I said. "Trying to make you feel guilty-"
"Is she wrong?" Elara turned to face me, her eyes searching mine. "Is the pack falling apart? Are people blaming me?"
I wanted to lie and wanted to tell her everything was fine and she had nothing to worry about.
But I couldn't.
"The pack is struggling." I admitted.
"Yes we are facing challenges, financial problems, weak borders, Erebus threatening us but that is not because of you."
"Isn't it? You canceled the Luna coronation and arrested Selena. You are spending all your time and resources protecting me instead of focusing on pack business."
"That is my choice to make."
"But is it the right choice? For the pack?"
I grabbed her hand, forcing her to look at me. "Elara, listen to me. Selena is trying to get in your head trying to make you doubt yourself and me don't let her."
"There's more," she whispered.
"What more?"
She pulled her hand away and looked back at the water. "She offered me a lot of money, five million dollars."
The number made me freeze. "For what?"
"To disappear, to take the money and go somewhere far away where you would never find me."
Rage started building in my chest. "And what did you say?"
"I was considering it for about two seconds. Because she made some valid points about the pack needing stability about me being a distraction."
Elara's voice was shaking now. "But then she added one more condition."
"What condition?"
She didn't answer, just sat there trembling.
My wolf was pushing forward, sensing something was very wrong. I let a bit of my Alpha power seep into my voice not to intimidate her, but to compel the truth.
"Elara. What condition?"
She flinched at the command in my tone but answered.
"She wanted me to abort the baby."
For a moment, I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't process what I had just heard.
"She what?"
Elara was crying now, tears streaming down her face. "She wanted me to kill our child, Kaden to murder our baby for money."
A growl tore from my throat deep, primal, and absolutely feral.
It echoed across the empty park, sending birds scattering from nearby trees.