Chapter 61 Kaden's POV
Breakfast the next morning felt different.
Elara had agreed to give our bond another chance. The words kept replaying in my mind, filling me with a hope I didn't deserve but desperately wanted to hold onto.
I had arranged for breakfast to be served in the smaller dining room the one reserved for family and close friends rather than the massive formal hall more intimate more comfortable.
Damian arrived first, looking tired but pleased when I told him Elara would be joining us.
"That's good," He said.
"She needs to eat more the baby is growth is accelerating and she is not keeping up with the caloric demands."
Ethan came next, carrying reports but setting them aside when I told him this was a personal breakfast, not a working one.
"Personal?" He asked with a slight smile. "Since when do we do personal breakfasts?"
"Since now shut up and sit down."
Then Elara walked in.
And I forgot how to breathe.
She was wearing a simple dress soft blue, flowing, nothing fancy. But the way it draped over her body, over the small bump that was now visible...
She was beautiful had always been beautiful. But pregnancy had changed her in ways I couldn't quite articulate. Her skin seemed to glow. Her hair was thicker, shinier and there was something in her eyes a fierce protectiveness, a determination that hadn't been there before.
She was becoming a mother and it showed in every line of her body.
"Good morning," She said, moving to the chair across from me.
I stood immediately, pulling the chair out for her. "Good morning how are you feeling?"
"Hungry starving, actually I could eat everything on this table."
Damian laughed. "That's a good sign. The morning sickness is finally easing."
She sat and immediately started loading her plate. Eggs, bacon, toast, fruit, pastries more than I had ever seen her eat at once.
I couldn't stop staring at her at the way her hand occasionally drifted to her stomach, unconsciously protective. At the small bump that our child was creating.
I wanted to touch it wanted to press my hand against her belly and feel if the baby was moving. I wanted to connect with this life we'd created in the only moment of pure honesty between us.
But I didn't have that right yet. Maybe I wouldn't ever have that right.
So I just watched as she ate, trying to memorize every detail of this moment.
"You are staring.” Elara said without looking up from her food.
"Sorry. I just... you look good."
"I look pregnant."
"You look beautiful."
She glanced up at me, surprise and something else maybe pleasure flickering across her face before she returned to her meal.
Damian and Ethan exchanged knowing looks but said nothing. We were halfway through breakfast when the door opened.
Selena walked in, perfectly dressed as always, a bright smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes.
"Good morning, everyone," She said cheerfully. "I hope I'm not interrupting."
The temperature in the room dropped about twenty degrees.
"This is a private breakfast," I said coldly.
"Oh, but I thought all pack members were welcome in the dining rooms. Isn't that what you told me, Kaden?"
She moved to the empty chair at the end of the table and sat without waiting for permission.
I felt my jaw clench but said nothing. Starting a fight now would only make things worse.
Selena's eyes landed on Elara's plate, still piled high with food her smile widened.
"My, my. Someone has quite an appetite this morning eating for two, are we?"
Elara continued eating, not acknowledging her.
"I have heard pregnancy cravings can be intense." Selena continued.
"But this is... impressive you might want to slow down, dear. You don't want to gain too much weight. It's so hard to lose afterward."
"Selena." Damian said warningly.
"What? I'm just being helpful giving friendly advice."
"Nobody asked for your advice," Ethan said flatly.
Selena ignored him, watching Elara with barely concealed contempt. "Although I suppose when you are carrying a child out of wedlock, with no mate to speak of, you might as well indulge in whatever comforts you can find even if those comforts are just food."
That was it.
I stood up so fast my chair fell backward. "Get out."
"I'm just having breakfast-"
"I said get out now before I throw you out myself."
Selena's mask of pleasantness finally cracked. "You are choosing her again. Just like you always do. What does she have that I don't? What makes her so special?"
"She is not a poisonous snake pretending to be a person. That's what makes her special. Now leave before I lose what little patience I have left."
Selena stood, her face flushed with anger. "This isn't over, Kaden not by a long shot."
She stormed out, slamming the door behind her. The silence that followed was heavy.
"I'm sorry." I said to Elara.
"I should have posted guards to keep her away from private meals."
"It's fine," Elara said quietly.
"She is just trying to get under my skin."
"Is it working?"
She looked up at me with a small, defiant smile. "Not even a little bit."
Pride swelled in my chest this was the Elara I had fallen for. Strong, resilient, refusing to let Selena's cruelty break her.
After breakfast, as Damian and Ethan were leaving, I turned to Elara.
"I have a request." I said.
"What kind of request?"
"Come out with me today just the two of us. Away from the pack house away from Selena and politics and everything else."
She hesitated. "I don't know..."
"Please just for a few hours we can go into town. Get you whatever you want whatever you are craving."
"I'm craving about fifteen different things right now."
"Then we will get all fifteen whatever you want."
She bit her lip, considering. "You are really that desperate to spend time with me?"
"Yes."
The honesty in my voice seemed to surprise her. "Okay but just for a few hours and you have to promise not to hover.