Chapter 152
Ellie POV
I wake slowly.
First thing I know is I’ve been asleep too long.
Again. Dry mouth, body achey.
But second, is the warmth.
My fingers twitch, and instead of empty air, they brush against skin. It’s callused, warm, and unmistakably Dominic’s. Our hands are still tangled together, his thumb resting loosely against my knuckles like it belongs there. Like it’s always belonged there.
He’s asleep, on the chair pulled up next to my bed.
But, like, really asleep. Head tilted awkwardly against the side, dark hair falling into his eyes, jaw slack in a way I’ve never seen when he’s awake. For once, there’s no tension carved into him, no sharp edges. Just exhaustion.
I squeeze his fingers gently.
Not to wake him. Just to remind myself that he’s real. That last night wasn’t some cruel hallucination my body cooked up while
it was dying.
My chest tightens.
A soft movement near the door makes me glance up. One of the senior healers stands there, older than the rest, expression calm in the way that never means good news. Not Mr. Armstrong, but she has a badge. She approaches quietly, checks the monitors, then looks at our joined hands.
She doesn’t comment on them.
“Ellie,” she says gently. “I need to explain what’s happening.”
I nod once, throat already tight.
She keeps her voice low, professional. “Dominic’s presence is stabilizing you. Temporarily. Like before.”
I swallow.
“The mate bond, his claim on you, but our guesses, soothed your sickness through proximity and contact,” she continues.” Even though you’re still rejecting it. You’re case is… unusual, but not unheard of.”
Her gaze moves back to our hands.
“I don’t see why you fate this claim so much. It’s killing you. And clearly, you two care about eachother.”
My gaze drifts back to Dominic. To the rise and fall of his chest. To the way my head doesn’t feel like it’s splitting open right
now.
I guess…we do.
“But, without the acceptance of his claim, this it isn’t a solution,” the healer says. “Every time the bond is soothed and then pulled away again, the backlash worsens. Your body is already showing signs of degradation.”
My fingers tighten reflexively around Dominic’s.
“If this continues,” she says plainly, “you will suffer permanent damage. You will die.”
The words land quietly. No drama. No hesitation.
1/4
I breathe in. Out.
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“You won’t survive another backlash,” she adds. “Not one like the last. Even if Dominic claims you again, your body won’t return. You got…lucky. Very lucky.”
My eyes burn, but I don’t cry. I just stare at the ceiling, at the cracks in the paint I hadn’t noticed before, my thoughts spiraling uselessly.
“So that’s it,” I murmur. “No alternatives.”
She doesn’t answer right away.
“The only way to stop it,” she says finally, “is to fully accept the fated bond.”
Surrender.
That’s what it feels like. A wordless closing of doors. A narrowing hallway with no turns left.
I nod again because I don’t know what else to do. Because arguing with a healer about biology feels pointless when my heart is barely keeping up.
Before I can speak, before I can ask the questions clawing up my throat, the door slams open so hard it rattles the wall.
“Ellie!”
Lucas.
He storms in, breathless, eyes wild with panic, and the healer steps back instinctively. Lucas takes one look at me, at the pale of my skin, the dark circles under my eyes, the way I can’t even sit up properly, and something in his face breaks.
“What did they do to you?” Lucas demands.
“Lucas-“I start, my voice weak.
Dominic stirs beside me, lifting his head slowly.
Lucas’s focus snaps to him, fury igniting instantly. “This has gone on long enough!” he snarls. “You should’ve ended this already. Mark her!”
Dominic blinks once, then turns his head like he’s spotted something unpleasant. “Wow. Morning to you too,” he growls. “Now get the fuck out of my face.”
“You’re killing her!” Lucas fires back. “Are you even taking this seriously? You’re standing there pretending this is noble while she’s falling apart!”
Dominic rubs his face with a low growl. “Technically,” he mutters, “I’m sitting.”
“Stop,” I rasp, trying to push myself upright. My arms tremble uselessly. “Both of you-stop.”
Neither of them listens.
“Mark her!” Lucas shouts. “End it. If you care at all, you’ll do it!”
Dominic’s eyes flash. “She hasn’t accepted me,” he snaps. “I’m not forcing her. It has to be her choice.”
“And if you keep waiting?” Lucas shoots back. “She’ll die. If you won’t do it-then I will.”
The air goes tight. Charged.
Dominic rises slowly. “You wanna say that again?”
“It’s about keeping her alive!”
2/4
+30 Bonus
“It’s about her choice,” Dominic snarls. “I’m not claiming her like that.”
Lucas steps closer. “I can’t let you kill her.”
“You touch her,” Dominic hisses, “and I’ll kill you.”
“So we just let her die?” Lucas roars, voice cracking. “That’s your plan? Stand there and posture while she fades away? Coward.”
That’s when it breaks.
Dominic’s hand slips from mine. He vaults over the bed, shifting mid-movement. They collide hard-snarls, claws, heat exploding in the cramped room. A table crashes. Glass shatters. Vials scatter.
“Stop!” I scream, but it barely comes out.
Pain detonates inside me.
My chest seizes. I collapse back, coughing violently as fire tears through my veins. My vision explodes in white.
“D-”
“Ellie-shit!” Dominic shouts. There’s a sickening crack as he slams Lucas into the bathroom door, cracking it.
Dominic is back at my side instantly, hands steady, voice urgent and low. “Hey. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
The pain eases enough to breathe.
I hear guards shouting, hands dragging Lucas away. Dominic doesn’t even look up.
“You’re lucky,” he snarls over his shoulder, “that she needs me here. Otherwise you’d already be dead.”
The door slams.
Silence floods the room.
I sink back into the pillows, exhausted beyond words. Dominic’s hand stays wrapped around mine, solid and warm.
“Sorry,” he mutters. “He just… pisses me off.”
“I know,” I whisper.
It’s quiet again-but Lucas’s words won’t leave my head.
I turn slightly, looking at Dominic.
And the truth settles heavy in my chest.
He’s not wrong.
If I don’t choose a path–an Alpha-
I’m going to die.
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