dreams whisper through silence by mae 338

Chapter 338 

Ellie’s POV 

Lucas’s house was smaller than Dominic’s. Quieter, too. I’d always appreciated that about being here, away from the noise and gossip back home. 

Then again, I supposed it wasn’t “home” anymore. 

I didn’t know what was. 

He led me inside and gestured toward the couch. “Sit. I’ll get the first aid kit.” 

I sat, mostly because my legs were still shaking too much to keep myself upright for long. The adrenaline from the confrontation with Dominic was starting to wear off, and mow all I felt was numb. Hollow. Like my insides had been scooped out and left on the forest floor, right along with all of my mother’s blood and her final breaths. 

Lucas returned a moment later with a white plastic box and set it on the coffee table. He knelt in front of me and opened it, pulling out antiseptic and gauze. 

“Where are you hurt?” he asked. 

I glanced down at myself. My shoulder was still in agony from where the rogue had cut me during the kidnapping. My feet were torn up from walking barefoot through the forest. My wrists had rope burns from being tied up. And there were a dozen other cuts and bruises scattered across my arms and legs that I hadn’t even noticed until now. 

“Everywhere,” I said. 

Lucas’s jaw tightened. He had me remove my sweater so he could examine my shoulder first. It was deep but not life-threatening. My wolf would heal it eventually, but right now, she was too exhausted to do much of anything. 

He dabbed at it with antiseptic, and I hissed through my teeth. 

“Sorry,” he murmured. 

“It’s fine.” 

He worked in silence for a while, cleaning the wound and wrapping it in gauze. Then he moved on to my wrists, gently wiping away the dried blood and applying ointment to the raw skin. 

“So. Are you able to tell me what happened now?” he asked after a while. 

I stared at the wall behind him. I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t want to relive any of it. But Lucas had put himself in Dominic’s crosshairs-again-to take me away, so he deserved to know why he had done it. 

So I told him. About the full moon date Dominic had planned. About the rogues showing up and taking Vivian. About Dominic being forced to choose between us, and how he’d chosen her. About walking for hours through the forest until I thought my legs gave out. 

I told him about the rogue leader who thought I was some kind of Lycan Queen and wanted to marry me. About pretending to go along with it just to buy myself some time. About escaping and running and 

1/2 

+30 Bonus 

running, trying to get to my mother only to arrive and find that she was gone. 

And then… 

The rest of it. 

By the time I had finished speaking, Lucas’s hands had stilled on my ankle. He was staring at me like he didn’t know what to say. 

“I’m sorry,” he said simply, meeting my gaze. “I’m so sorry, Ellie.” 

I nodded but didn’t trust myself to speak. 

He finished wrapping my ankle and sat back on his heels. “You can stay here as long as you need. I’ll keep you safe. I promise.” 

“Thank you,” I said quietly. 

A knock at the door interrupted us. Lucas stood and crossed the room, opening it to reveal Sarah standing on the porch. Her eyes were wide and frantic as she pushed past him and hurried over to me. 

“Ellie,” she said, sitting down beside me and pulling me into a hug. “I heard what happened. Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine,” I lied. 

She pulled back and looked me over, taking in the bandages and the bruises. Her face darkened. 

“Vivian did this,” she said. “Didn’t she?” 

“Probably,” I said. 

“I knew it.” Sarah’s hands clenched into fists. “That manipulative little-” She stopped herself and took a deep breath. “Are you absolutely certain Dominic was behind this too?” 

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