dreams whisper through silence by mae 232

Chapter 232 

Ellie’s POV 

The assassin was here. 

And the world tilted around me as my heart slammed too wildly against my ribs for my head to keep up. 

He was here. He was back. It was all happening again, just with slightly different details this time, and now… 

The last thing I saw before everything went dark was Dominic’s face, full of concern, turning toward me. “ Ellie!” he shouted. But it was too late. I was already slipping away. 

My dreams came in short, painful bursts. Between the patches of darkness, I saw scenes from my past life. I saw an Alpha Ceremony, the room packed to the gills with attendees. I looked down and saw a shimmering white gown that pooled around my feet. I saw Vivian sneering at me from where she stood beside Dominic. I saw the crown being lowered onto his dark hair. 

Then, I saw the movement in the crowd. People being shoved. A dark cloak billowing around a half- 

concealed face. 

I saw the flash of a sharp blade aiming at Dominic’s back. 

I moved before I could think. The blade plunged into my shoulder, white-hot and blinding. The pain was always the same. Sharp. Immediate. All-consuming. 

I saw Dominic’s face hovering over mine; his brief moments of concern punctuated by a familiar coldness that was utterly undeniable. 

The healers said I would make a full recovery. There had been so much blood, but the knife hadn’t hit anything major. All I needed was surgery and rest. Lots of rest. 

But then, a few days later, the symptoms started. The wolfsbane toxin, as if dormant until now, suddenly fanned throughout my body on a conquest. Purple veins spiderwebbed up my neck, clawing at my throat, I could hardly breathe. The pain of this was so much more unbearable than the initial cut, and far more drawn out. 

Days passed in agony, each moment ticking by at a snail’s pace. And yet, it all happened so fast at the same time. One moment I was a healthy female wolf in her prime, and the next… 

Well. You know the rest, don’t you? 

“Dominic… Dominic…” 

When I woke, I found myself laying on cool, damp grass that soaked through my clothes. Sunlight pierced through my eyelids, turning the darkness red and warm. 

“Dominic…” 

“Oh, thank the Goddess, she’s awake.” 

I cracked my eyes open to see Dominic’s face hovering over mine, just as it had in my past life. The concern 

in his gaze made something in me react on instinct, and I felt the mate bond flare to life like he had given it the gentlest strum. 

1/3 

+30 Bonus 

“Ellie.” He cupped my face in one hand. “You were whispering my name in your sleep. What happened?” 

Of course I was. 

For a moment, just a moment, I was almost relieved to wake in his arms. Almost. But then I thought about the concern he had shown for me in my past life, and how short-lived it had been. One moment he was sitting by my bedside, talking to me and showing a tenderness for me that he had never shown before, and the next he wasn’t there at all while I was dying 

I supposed I had almost forgotten about those moments in my past life. The loneliness. The despair. The yearning for a man who couldn’t even be bothered to come to my bedside even though he knew I wasn’t going to make it. 

And he had put my crown on Vivian’s head before I even drew my last breath. 

Suddenly, whatever tenderness I had briefly felt today washed away once more. I clenched my jaw, resolving to not let that happen again, no matter what. Dominic was still the same person; history was repeating itself in this life, just in slightly different ways, but repeating itself nonetheless. 

Dominic had still trapped me. He was still slowly replacing me with Vivian. His concern was only temporary. 

And the assassin was back. 

I shot bolt upright then, gasping as that thought shot through me. The assassin; I had almost forgotten in my half-asleep state. 

Was he still here? Planning to kill Dominic? Or me? 

Whatever his reasons for being here today were, I knew they weren’t good. Someone could be in danger. I could be in danger again. 

I needed to find him and stop him before it happened again. 

Without saying anything, I stood abruptly. Dominic sat back on his heels, looking up at me in confusion. My head spun a little, but I pressed my hand to my temple, refusing to faint again. 

“I have to handle something,” I said. 

Dominic blinked at me. “Handle what?” he asked, rising. “You were just unconscious. Maybe you should be resting.” 

“I’m fine.” 

I didn’t wait for a response. I was already moving across the capture the flag field, scanning the faces for the man in the hood. I didn’t see him anywhere, but I recalled which direction he had gone before I passed out so I hurried that way. 

“Ellie!” Dominic called after me. “Ellie, what are you doing?” 

I didn’t respond. Didn’t stop. I scanned the faces, the ground, anything for any sign of that man. He was 

gone, but he must have left some kind of clue. Something to help me uncover his identity so I could stop him and keep my second life from ending just like my first. 

There must be something. 

2/3 

+30 Bonus 

I wasn’t sure how long I scanned the ground. I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other, covering the territory inch by inch. I walked the perimeter of the game field, then ducked under the rope separating it from the rest of the festival grounds. 

“Ellie!” Dominic’s voice was closer now. He was jogging after me, concerned and confused. 

I ignored him. 

Suddenly, just as I was about to cross over to Vivian’s side of the festival, I spotted something sticking out from one of the hay bales. A small scrap of fabric was stuck to the end of one of the bales. 

Curious, I snatched it and turned it over in my palm. The fabric was black, with the edge of what looked like some kind of symbol on it. Like it had been torn from something bigger. 

I studied the symbol closer, trying to discern what it might have been. There were two angular lines that were framed by something that looked like… a wing? Or a feather? I couldn’t be sure. 

“Ellie.” Dominic finally caught up with me, grabbing my arm and turning me so I was forced to look at him. His expression was full of worry now, and he was studying me like he was afraid I might pass out again. “ Did you hit your head? Why are you acting like this?” 

Before I could answer, Dominic’s eyes drifted down to the fabric in my hand. “What’s that?” he asked. 

I quickly tucked it into my pocket before he could see it. 

“Nothing,” I said. “Just a piece of trash.” 

Dominic lifted a brow and didn’t let go of my arm, but he didn’t press the matter. “Well,” he said, “will you at least tell me why you’re acting so strange now?” 

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