Chapter 3
1114 Words
ELARA'S POV
We burst through the pack house doors and I headed straight for the medical wing because that's where all the healers kept their supplies.
Luna was shaking so bad in my arms I was scared I'd drop her.
"Hang on baby," I whispered. "Just hang on."
Kai was crying now, actual tears streaming down his face while he clutched his head like something inside was trying to break out.
Which it probably was.
His wolf.
Their wolves.
At five years old when they should've had at least eight more years before this happened.
"In here," Raine said and pushed open the door to the main healing room.
I laid Luna down on one of the beds and Damon put Kai on the one next to her.
Both of them were burning up, sweating through their clothes, and their eyes kept flashing between their normal colors and that glowing gold and silver.
"What's happening to them," I asked even though I was pretty sure I didn't want to know the answer.
"Their Lycan genes are trying to force an early shift," Raine said and she was already pulling out herbs and medicines from the cabinets. "Their bodies aren't ready but the genes don't care, they got activated and now they want out."
"Can you stop it," Damon asked.
"I can try to slow it down," she said. "But I can't stop it completely, nobody can."
Great.
Just great.
"Then what do we do," I said and my voice came out way too high and panicked.
"We make them as comfortable as possible and hope their bodies are strong enough to handle the transformation," Raine said and started mixing things in a bowl.
Hope again.
I was really starting to hate that word.
"Mama it hurts," Luna whimpered and reached for me.
I grabbed her hand and held it tight. "I know baby, I know, but you're so strong okay, you're the strongest little girl I know."
"I… I don't feel strong," she said and more tears leaked out.
"You are my baby," I said and kissed her forehead even though her skin was so hot it almost burned my lips. "You're my brave girl."
Kai wasn't saying anything anymore, just making these awful sounds in the back of his throat while his whole body shook.
Damon was right there beside him, one hand on Kai's chest like he was trying to hold him together through sheer will.
"It's okay son," Damon said quietly. "I got you, I'm right here."
Son.
He called him son.
Because that's what Kai was to him, that's what they both were.
His kids even if they didn't share blood.
The door opened and I knew without looking that it was Kade because the mate bond flared so hard I actually gasped.
"Get out," I said without turning around.
"No," Kade said and his voice was rough. "They're my children and they're in pain and I'm not leaving."
"You don't get to decide that."
"Actually I do," he said and suddenly he was right there on the other side of Luna's bed. "The bond's awake now and I can feel everything they feel and it's killing me."
"Good," I said and finally looked at him. "Now you know what it felt like when you rejected me."
His face twisted like I'd actually hit him.
"That's not fair."
"Fair?" I actually laughed and it came out kind of crazy. "You want to talk about fair? You destroyed me in front of everyone, called me too weak, made me feel like I was nothing, and now you show up five years later and want to play daddy and you think I'm being unfair?"
"I made a mistake," he said.
"Stop saying that," I snapped. "Stop acting like it was just some little oops, you didn't make a mistake Kade, you made a choice and now we all have to live with it."
Luna made a horrible sound and her back arched off the bed.
"What's happening," Kade asked and he looked terrified which would've been satisfying if I wasn't so scared myself.
"Her wolf's trying to break through," Raine said and held Luna down. "I need you to hold her arms."
I grabbed Luna's arms and held them as gently as I could while she thrashed.
"It's okay baby," I kept saying even though it obviously wasn't okay. "It's okay, mama's here."
"It hurts," Luna cried. "Make it stop, please make it stop."
"I can't baby," I said and I was crying now too. "I'm so sorry but I can't."
Kade's hand came down on Luna's leg and suddenly this warm golden light started spreading from his palm.
"What are you doing," I asked.
"Sharing my strength with her," he said and his eyes were glowing solid gold now. "It's an Alpha thing, I can push some of my energy into her to help her body handle the shift."
"Will it work?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "But I have to try."
The golden light spread over Luna's whole body and she stopped shaking as much.
Her breathing evened out just a little.
"It's working," Raine said and she sounded surprised. "Keep doing whatever you're doing."
Kai made another one of those awful sounds and Damon looked at Kade.
"Can you do it for him too," Damon asked and I could hear how much it cost him to ask Kade for anything.
"I can try," Kade said. "But I'll need help, I'm not strong enough to sustain both of them alone."
"What kind of help," I asked.
Kade looked at me and I already knew what he was going to say before he said it.
"The mate bond," he said. "If you open it, let it fully activate, we can channel power together and it'll be strong enough for both of them."
"No," I said immediately.
"Elara," Damon said quietly.
"No," I said again. "I'm not doing that, I'm not opening that bond."
"They're dying," Kade said and his voice cracked. "Look at them Elara, really look, they're dying and this is the only way to save them."
I looked at Kai who was barely conscious now, his eyes rolled back in his head.
Looked at Luna who was crying silent tears while her body shook.
My babies.
My everything.
"If I do this," I said slowly. "It doesn't mean anything, you understand me? It's just to save them, that's it."
"I understand," Kade said.
Liar.
He was lying and we both knew it because once that bond opened fully there was no closing it again.
But what choice did I have?
"Fine," I said. "What do I need to do?"
- Writer
