Chapter 27
Ellie POV
I always thought the Moon Goddess had a twisted sense of humor. She did give me a second chance at life.
But this?
This was cruelty with a bow on top.
Dominic stood in front of me, his eyes wide and frustratingly unreadable. The wind shifted between us, carrying that warm, electric pull I knew far too well. The bond. The same bond I died with in another life. The same bond I swore I would never walk blindly into again.
It felt so good, so close I could almost relive it over again. Before I took it by the throat and squeezed.
“I reject the bond,” I whispered, even though my throat felt raw. “You hear me?”
Dominic swallowed once, like the odd relief on his face was suddenly pierced with reality. “Ellie, what-why-?” His hand moved to my shoulders, but I pulled away.
“No.” My voice cracked like thin ice. “No, this isn’t right. Because that would mean the Moon Goddess is a lunatic. Or-“I jabbed a finger at him, “-she’s got some kind of personal vendetta against me.”
“What?” Dominic’s breath puffed, looking more than lost. “Ellie, what are you even talking bout-”
“She paired me with you?” Again!? “Are you kidding me?”
He looked baffled, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Ellie,” he finally said. “I’m not going to-”
Panic clawed up my spine, raising a hand to stop him.
Not again. Not the same path. Not the same cage.
“I’m not doing this,” I snapped, stepping back. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was supposed to have free will. A different story. Not-” I waved furiously between us, “-this cosmic déjà vu.”
Dominic frowned like I was being unreasonable, which only made me want to scream.
“Ellie, I have no clue what you’re rambling about, but fate is fate.”
“Oh my god, do not ‘fate’ me right now.” I grabbed the front of his shirt, hauling him closer. “Break it. Reject the bond with me. Do it so we’re free.”
His jaw tightened. “I don’t-”
“Say it,” I hissed. “Say the words.”
He didn’t. He hesitated.
Something in my chest cracked so loudly I swore he could hear it.
“You can’t even do that for me,” I whispered, hating how broken it sounded.
“It’s not that,” he said, catching my wrists. “Ellie-”
“Bull! Don’t even start! You still have one hand on me and the other wrapped around Vivian.” My voice sharpened like a blade. “Still stringing me along like you did before. You don’t want me, Dominic. You just don’t want me free!”
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His eyes flashed. “That’s not true.”
“It is. And don’t you dare try to rewrite history.”
I tore myself out of his grip and turned. I didn’t trust myself to stay. My anger was shaking, trembling, and barely holding the weight of the panic underneath.
“Ellie, stop,” he called behind me. “We’re fated! You know that.”
“Shut up!” I turned on him, breath ragged. “We are nothing. Do you hear me? Nothing. I am not doing this. No goddess, no prophecy, no stupid glowing thread between our souls gets to make my choices.”
I didn’t wait to see his reaction, I ran.
The moment I was alone, the silence inside my head hit me like a wall. I reached inward-toward the place my wolf should be, toward the quiet warmth of her presence…
Nothing.
A dead, hollow quiet.
“Great,” I muttered. “Perfect timing to ghost me.”
Frustration surged hot and fast. My chest hurt. My eyes burned. I didn’t know if I was sad or furious or both in a way that made me want to tear something apart.
So I went to the only place that made sense: the training field.
The night air bit at my skin as I threw myself at the practice dummies. My gown snagged and split at the red seams, fabric ripping as I slashed my claws through burlap and straw.
Thud.
Rip.
Crack.
Every strike was a question the universe refused to answer.
Why him? Why again? Why give me another chance just to shackle me to the same destiny?
Thud.
My breath heaved.
Rip.
My hair stuck to my face.
Crack.
My vision blurred.
Finally, when my hands shook too hard to hit anything else, I staggered back and glared at the moon.
“It’s not fair!” I screamed, voice raw. “You don’t get to rewrite my life the same way twice! You don’t get to pretend this is mercy!”
The wind swallowed my words, carrying them upward like a challenge.
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“Why him?” I whispered. “Why the one person I swore-
My voice gave out before the sentence could finish.
I stood there panting, broken gown fluttering around my legs, hands trembling with fury and fear. Somewhere inside me, the bond tugged. It was warm, soft, like a memory I never wanted.
And the worst part?
For the first time since waking up in this life…
I didn’t know if the anger in my chest was for the Moon Goddess or for myself.
Dominic POV
Ellie.
Ellie?
My fated mate?
I just stood there like a frozen mannequin after she bolted, staring at the garden path she disappeared through. My brain was still buffering. This couldn’t be right. There had to be some cosmic glitch, some divine typo. The Moon Goddess was supposed to be wise, not…
Ellie and I?
My errand girl?
That was like pairing a wolf with a blowtorch. Sure, it’s exciting. Sure, it’s hot. But someone’s getting burned alive.
Probably me.
By the time I managed to move-if you could call stumbling in a daze “moving”-I ended up back in the ballroom, the lights nearly blinding me. Music thumped, laughter echoed, and everything felt too loud compared to the sound Ellie made when she told me we were nothing.
Like… nothing.
She really said that. To me. How could she be so…against it.
“Dom!” Lucas was on me instantly, practically appearing out of nowhere. He grabbed my arm. “Where’s Ellie? She just… vanished.”
I forced my face into what I hoped looked like mild confusion instead of divine, destiny-altering confusion.
“Uh… no idea. Probably needed fresh air.”
Lucas stared at me. Hard. Too hard. His eyes darkened with suspicion because Lucas is annoyingly perceptive when no one needs him not to be.
Before he could interrogate me, Vivian swooped in like a sugary perfume-scented hurricane.
“There you are,” she purred, sliding her hand into mine. “You owe me a dance, remember? Date’s rules.”
Right.
I did promise that. But…
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But the cameras clicked again, capturing the moment her eyes glittered with triumph, and I realized something bone-deep and uncomfortable:
Vivian didn’t interest me.
Not like Ellie with her sharp tongue and quiet strength and the way she looked at me tonight like she’d rather die than be tied to me.
And I suddenly needed to know why.
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