Chapter 3: The Breaking Point

“Uh!” Drake let out a quiet cry as pain shot through his head. Red blood ran down his face in dark lines, staining his skin. In Elena Monroe’s shaking hand was the stone she had just hit him with, its rough sides now covered in his blood.

Everyone froze, staring in shock. No one could have guessed that gentle Elena, always calm, would ever strike Drake.

The stone slipped from her hand and dropped to the floor.

How could he?

He knew that her time in Atwater Village had caused her deepest pain. Yet he twisted that pain, using it against her like a knife.

Elena’s face hardened. Her voice came out rough with emotion, sharp as she spoke through the silence. “Whatever bound us… is gone, Drake.”

Drake’s mind went blurry. Through the throbbing pain, a memory surfaced…

Under a golden sunset, a girl in a school uniform had playfully pushed him against a wall. Her laughter echoed in his head. But when her face began to appear clearly, a sharp pain cut through his chest, breaking the memory apart.

“Drake, say something… are you okay?” Cassandra’s voice pulling him back to the present.

Drake reached out, as he brushed the warm blood on his skin.

“Moon Goddess!” Drake growled, the words slipping out before he could stop himself.

His eyes turned to Elena, but before he could move toward her, Cassandra grabbed his arm and stopped him from moving further.

Marcus rushed in between Elena and Drake, then pulled Elena close to himself.

Elena was already weak. Her instincts that pushed her to hit Drake with the stone have gone. And just as she was about to fall, an arm wrapped around her waist, 

She looked up, surprised.

The man holding her was dressed all in black. His eyes were full of anger as stares at Drake.

Immediately Drake saw him, his anger vanished. He was so afraid to face him.

“ Do- Dolphus…” Drake stammered. 

Dolphus didn’t have any time to argue anything with him. He picked up his tie, then loosened it and gently wrapped it around the wound on Elena’s forehead.After that, he lifted Elena into his arms.

He carried Elena and walked toward his parked car without  saying a word to anyone. 

“ Dolphus!” Drake called him out again.

Dolphus dropped Elena gently in the back seat of his car,  then turned.

His eyes locked on Drake, then he asked. “Who told you to touch her?”

Drake's lips moved, but no answer came out.

Dolphus’s car door slammed shut, cutting Drake off.

In the medical center

Elena and Drake entered the emergency room one after the other. The nurse got ready to treat Elena’s head and reached for the scarf around her neck.

“Could I please keep it on?” Elena asked.

“Remove that scarf from your neck,” Dolphus said firmly.

Elena tried to ignore him but on a second thought, she removed it and it was showing the dark bruise around her neck.

The door slightly opened as Drake came out from a room that is close to the room that Elena was admitted to. Drake’s breath caught as he saw the bruise.

Did I do that? The thought hit him like a blade.

But his eyes shifted to Dolphus, whose gaze burned with anger and protectiveness.

Drake stepped closer, his head bowed. “Dolphus… I… I lost control.” “It wasn’t my intention to…”

Dolphus’s eyes were hard to read. 

Then he spoke calmly to Drake. “Drake, you celebrated your 16th birthday in the hospital because of Elena,” he said. “Now, ten years later, you’re here again. But this time… you’re the one who put her here.”

Cassandra froze beside Drake. Dolphus’s words hit her too, sharp and cold.

Drake stepped in front of Cassandra, as if he wanted to protect her.

“I take full responsibility,” he said. “She had nothing to do with it.”

Dolphus glanced at Cassandra briefly, then looked back at Drake with cold eyes.

“Has no one told you why the Farringtons have stayed tied to the Hamiltons all this time?”

Drake stayed silent, his heart racing.

“Elena is the reason,” Dolphus said calmly, but his words carried great weight. “She is the last descendant of Elder Raphael Farrington.”

Later that evening

After Marcus paid the bills, Cassandra and Drake included left. Elena stayed for more monitoring.

The wound on her forehead was stitched up to four times.

Dolphus stayed behind. He was on call with someone near the sofa by the window.

Finally, Dolphus said quietly to the person on call, “Come back by next Monday,” and ended the call.

When he turned his face to Elena, his eyes landed on the bruise on Elena’s neck. 

“What happened?” Dolphus asked Elena calmly.

Elena blinked. She was slow to catch up to what Dolphus was saying. “Sorry?” Then she realized what he meant. “Oh… Drake thought I told Cassandra something… and he hit me.”

Dolphus’s eyes darkened even more.

Without them noticing, Drake stood near the doorway, his wolf crying inside as he heard every word.

“I meant your neck,” Dolphus said sharply.

Elena’s face went blank, her eyes distant. “It happened during my brother Elijah’s wedding.” Her voice was flat, hiding the pain.

“The Monroe family wanted me to cover his wedding… his new car, his house.” “I refused, and that broke the bond between us.” Elena stated. 

A faint, cold laugh left Elena’s lips. “They came to my school and tried to take my tuition money. When that failed… They tried to kidnap me.” “Trade me away to pay for Elijah’s wedding.”

The mark on her neck was from that struggle.

Dolphus did not say a word for a while. Then the look on his face softened.

“Elena,” he finally called her. “Eight years ago, I told you something. You did not give me any reasonable answer at that time. Well, I want to make you understand that I haven't changed my mind about it.”

Elena wanted to ask him what he was talking about but she didn’t know how to say it so that Dolphus wouldn't feel offended.