Chapter 46
Ellie POV
The library was so quiet I could hear my own pulse.
I snapped my book shut and exhaled, rubbing the bridge of my nose. My brain felt like it had been wrung out, but at least I’d managed to cram another hour of studying in before the Healer Academy’s entrance exam.
One more week.
One more push.
And I could finally, finally, build a life that was mine.
I glanced at my watch.
Vivian’s party was probably winding down by now. I agreed not to be there, it was her birthday after all- and I wanted nothing to do with that circus. But I did wanted my bed eventuall. My room. My peace.
The walk home was quiet, just the sound of crickets and the soft crunch of my shoes on pavement. With nothing else to distract me, my thoughts spiraled exactly where I didn’t want them to.
The Healer Academy. My future.
And-unfortunately-Dominic.
Once I got into Healer Academy, I wouldn’t have classes anywhere near him. Different wings, different routines, different future. We’d barely cross paths. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself like a mantra.
He’d focus on Management for the Pack.
I’d focus on my training.
Vivian would get what she wanted – his undivided attention, Luna status. And maybe she’d stop seeing me as her personal competition slot machine.
Everything would settle. Everyone would be happy.
So why did my chest still ache?
I pressed a hand to my sternum, slow and gentle, hating the tiny tremor under my skin.
If I didn’t care anymore, if the bond truly meant nothing, then why did part of me feel… relieved to hear that Dominic hadn’t marked Vivian at the seminar?
Why had that stupid detail stayed tangled in my head all day?
Spite, I told myself firmly. Pure spite. I didn’t want Vivian happy. That was all.
I turned onto my street, expecting a cooling down party.
Instead, I saw lights flashing from the windows.
Of course.
I grimaced and started up the driveway, preparing myself for the noise, but then I froze.
Movement. In my room. From my windows.
1/5
+25 Bonus
A shadow passing behind my curtains.
I narrowed my eyes, rage prickling up my spine.
Really? I told Vivian explicitly to keep people out of my room. My space was the one boundary we managed to agree on!
I shoved the front door open, ignoring the music and bodies in the hallway, and stormed up the stairs two at a time. I didn’t bother dodging people. Someone squealed when I pushed past them.
I reached my room, braced myself, and threw the door open.
What I expected: Two random drunk idiots making out on my blankets.
What I got: Dominic. And Vivian.
On my bed.
Vivian draped all over him, clutching his collar. Dominic holding her by the waist, shock flashing across his face as they tumbled apart like guilty teenagers in a drama.
My world stopped.
The ground hollowed under my feet.
Everything. Every sound, every breath, vanished.
For half a second, I wasn’t in my bedroom anymore.
I was older again. Feeling that stabbed pain in my side, while watching my mate kiss someone else. My sister, all over again.
Feeling stupid.
Unwanted.
Replaceable.
My throat closed.
Vivian gasped, trying to stand upright. “Ellie-!I-I didn’t kn-hic-I just-‘
You fake-
Dominic shoved her back gently, eyes locked on me. “Ellie, wait–this isn’t what it looks like. She’s drunk. I didn’t
“No,” I croaked.
It was the only word I had left.
He took a step toward me and I stepped back so fast I hit the doorframe.
“Ellie,” he repeated, voice rough and desperate. “Hold on, just listen for a second. It’s not — ”
“No.” My voice cracked, turning sharper. “Don’t. Don’t talk to me. Just don’t.”
Vivian swayed, blinking heavily, reaching for him like she expected him to hold her up.
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+25 Bonus
The sight made something inside me snap.
“You know what?” I said, breath shaking. “Whatever this is? I’ve been staying this for too long. You two can have it. Can you just… not do it on my damn bed. Is that too much to ask?”
Dominic flinched.
“Ellie-”
“I’m done,” I whispered, because anything louder would’ve broken me wide open. “Just stay away from me.
And before Dominic could reach me, before he could say another word, before I let myself feel any of it-I turned and ran.
Down the stairs, through the living room, past the crowded kitchen, and out the front door.
Running from the one thing I swore I’d never fall into again.
The next morning, I sat at my desk. In my room. Studying… or pretending to. Truthfully, I was trying not to gag.
Everything in my room felt wrong. My sheets. My desk. My air.
The space felt… tainted. I had scrubbed every inch of it -literally on my hands and knees with a sponge – washed my bedding three separate times, opened every window, burned every candle I could find.
None of it helped.
Every time I looked at my bed, I saw Vivian’s smeared lipstick and Dominic’s startled face.
My fingers tightened around my pen as I stared at my textbook.
I hate them.
I hate them.
I hate-
A knock. I knew that knock. Mom only knocked two.
I inhaled through my teeth. “Please go away.”
The door creaked anyway.
Vivian leaned against the frame, arms crossed, hair curled perfectly despite the night she had, acting like she owned the room she desecrated.
“Well,” she said sweetly, “someone’s dramatic. Still mad about last night?”
Oh.
I could kill her. Rip her hair right out.
She gave a little pout. “Is this your plan? The silent treatment? Think that’ll get Dominic’s attention?”
I kept my gaze glued to my notes.
Vivian’s smile sharpened. “You really think you can rebel your way into getting him back? Cute. You know it’s not
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working.”
She huffed when she realized she wasn’t getting a rise out of me. “Whatever. Don’t cry when he marks really someone else. Like me.”
Then she left, shutting the door too hard.
I exhaled slowly. If I opened my mouth now, I’d explode.
Say things that would burn the whole house down.
So instead…I got up, grabbed my bag, and left for school.
Because the only revenge worth anything was proving them wrong.
Walking alongside Lucas toward the announcement board for the Healer Academy should have felt triumphant.
Instead, my stomach was doing Olympic-level backflips, and my palms were sweating like it was my first day of kindergarten.
I hadn’t slept most of the week, studying was nearly impossible, and ceaning my room had become my only coping mechanism.
Everything had been about forgetting the image burned into my skull: Dominic and Vivian in my space.
Lucas bumped me lightly with his shoulder. “Hey. Breathe. You look like you’re walking into a funeral.”
“I might be,” I muttered.
He grinned. “Well, if you fail, I’ll buy you ice cream. If you pass, I’ll buy you two.”
“That math feels rigged.”
Lucas shrugged. “Life’s rigged. Might as well have ice cream when you’re sister tries to deflower your fated mate in your own room-”
I elbow him. And almost smile.
Almost.
As we approached the board, a knot formed in my chest.
A familiar voice sliced right through it.
“Oh look,” Vivian said. “Trying to pretend she belongs here.”
I stiffened. “Why are you here?” And being so out right vile lately. She must really think she’d won.
Dominic was next to her. He’d tried to talk to me throughout the week. I never let him. So now he looked away. Eyes flicking between me and Lucas with a storm brewing behind them.
Vivian flipped her hair dramatically. “I’m you’re sister, Ellie. I’m just here to console you when you don’t get in that’s all.”
Lucas’s eyebrow twitched. “Funny, coming from someone who cried because no one marked her.”
Vivian’s face went red.
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Dominic snapped toward him. “Watch it.”
“No,” Lucas said, tilting his head. “You watch it. She’s here to see her results. And you’re here for?”
Dominic’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t say anything else.
I scoffed, “We’ll let the announcement’s decide. Can’t see who passed or failed till then.”
I kept it cool, but I felt a deep twist in my gut, clenching my fist. I had to have made it in.
I had to.
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