Chapter 134 : Pieces Returning

Chapter 134 : Pieces Returning

ELIAS’S POV

I watched Kai from the hospital bed as he paced slowly near the window, our son sleeping soundly in the crib beside me. The afternoon light caught the sharp lines of his jaw and the tension in his shoulders. He had returned from the interrogation room with blood on his knuckles and something new burning in his eyes. Not rage. Not confusion. Something closer to recognition.

“You went to see them,” I said quietly.
Kai stopped pacing and turned to me. He crossed the room in three strides and sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to jostle me or the baby. His hand found mine immediately, thumb stroking across my knuckles like he had done it a thousand times before.

“I did,” he admitted. “I needed to look them in the eyes. Claire tried to twist everything. Gavin tried to make me doubt what I feel when I look at you.” He paused, jaw tight. “It hurt. Physically hurt. Like someone was cracking my skull open from the inside.”

I squeezed his hand. “What did you remember?”

Kai looked down at our joined hands, then at our sleeping son. His voice dropped lower. “Flashes at first. Your face in a school hallway. The way you used to glare at me when I pushed you. Then warmer things. You laughing at something I said. The way you tasted the first time I kissed you. The night you told me you were pregnant. It is not everything. Not yet. But it is coming back in pieces. And every piece makes me want to protect you more.”

My chest tightened. I had spent so many nights wondering if he would ever look at me the way he used to. Now he was here, fighting for those memories, fighting for us.

“Does it scare you?” I asked. “The pain?”
Kai nodded. “It terrifies me. But losing you again scares me more. I may not remember every detail of our life together, but I feel it. Here.” He pressed my hand to his chest, right over his heart. “When I look at you holding our son, something inside me settles. Like I was always meant to be right here.”

Our baby made a small sound in his sleep. Kai’s face softened instantly. He reached over and gently adjusted the blanket around the tiny body, his movements so careful it made my eyes sting.

“He looks like you when he sleeps,” Kai said. “The same stubborn little frown.”

I laughed softly, the sound catching in my throat. “He has your temper. He screamed for twenty minutes straight when they checked his weight earlier. The healers said they have never seen a newborn with that much lung power.”

Kai smiled, but it faded quickly. “While I was in that room with Claire and Gavin, I kept thinking about what could have happened if they had succeeded. If they had taken you from me. Taken him. I do not remember all the battles, but I remember enough to know I would burn the world down before I let that happen.”

I shifted closer, ignoring the pull in my incision. “We are safe for now. You made sure of that today. But I am still scared, Kai. Every time I close my eyes I see them coming back stronger. Seraphina’s father. Their new allies. Our son is so small. So helpless. What kind of world did we bring him into?”

Kai moved up the bed and carefully pulled me against his chest, mindful of my healing wound. His arms wrapped around me, warm and solid. “The kind we will make better. I may not have all my memories, but I have this. Us. Him. That is enough to fight for.”

We stayed like that for a long time. His fingers traced slow circles on my back. Our son slept peacefully between us. For the first time since Kai had woken up without his memories, the silence between us felt comfortable instead of heavy.

Later that evening, after the nurses had checked on us and left, Kai helped me walk slowly around the room. Every step pulled at my stitches, but his arm around my waist made it bearable. He matched my pace perfectly, never rushing.

“Tell me something I do not know yet,” he said. “Something small. Not about the big battles or the politics. Something about us.”

I thought for a moment. “You used to steal my food during meetings. You would reach over and take the best pieces from my plate while pretending to listen to the elders. Then you would deny it with the most innocent face I had ever seen.”

Kai chuckled. “That sounds like something I would do. Did you let me get away with it?”
“Sometimes,” I admitted. “Other times I stabbed your hand with my fork. You always laughed like it was the best part of your day.”
He stopped walking and turned me gently to face him. His eyes searched mine, intense and focused. “I want those days back, Elias. Not just the memories. I want to build new ones. With you. With him.” He glanced at the crib. “I want to be the mate you deserve. The father our son needs.”

My throat tightened. “You already are. Even without the memories. The way you look at me now… it feels like the beginning again. Only better. Because this time we both know how precious this is.”

Kai leaned down and kissed me. It started soft, almost careful, then deepened as I pressed closer. His hands slid to my waist, holding me steady. When we pulled apart, his forehead rested against mine.

“I keep getting these flashes,” he whispered. “Your laugh in the garden. The way you looked at me when we first mated. The fear in your eyes when you told me about the prophecy. They hurt when they come, but I want them. All of them.”

I cupped his face. “They will come. We have time now. No more running. No more hiding. Just us.”

Our son woke with a small cry. Kai moved instantly, lifting him carefully from the crib and bringing him back to the bed. He settled beside me, our son between us. The baby quieted the moment Kai touched his cheek.
“Look at that,” Kai murmured. “He knows me already.”

I rested my head on Kai’s shoulder. “He always has.”

We spent the rest of the evening like that. Talking quietly. Passing our son back and forth. Planning small things for when we could go home. Kai told me about the flashes he was getting, the emotions that came with them. I shared stories from our life together, careful not to overwhelm him. Every shared memory felt like another bridge being rebuilt.
Night fell. The room grew quiet except for the soft sounds of our breathing and the occasional sigh from our sleeping son. Kai kept one arm around me and the other hand resting protectively on the baby.

“I do not remember everything yet,” he said into the darkness. “But I remember enough to know I am lucky. Luckier than I deserve.”
I turned my head and kissed his jaw. “We both are.”

Sleep came slowly for me. The pain from the surgery lingered, but Kai’s presence made it easier to bear. I listened to his steady breathing and the small sounds our son made in his sleep. The world outside still held dangers. Claire and Gavin were still free.

Seraphina’s father still plotted. But in this room, with my mate beside me and our child safe between us, I felt something I had not felt in a long time.

Peace. It was not a perfect peace, nor was it permanent, but it was real. And for tonight, that was enough.