Chapter 112

Dominic’s POV

The sun was downright vicious that morning. Seriously, it was like it had a personal vendetta, spilling all over everything we’d patched back together. The rebuilt walls, the neat lines of trainees, the stupidly polished spears and armor, all shining like the world was actually in order now.

I was standing up at the courtyard’s edge, arms folded, just watching. Elora and Dante were out there, surrounded by warriors, drilling them in formation. She moved between them like she owned the place... not in a loud way, just… confident. Her voice had this steel wrapped in velvet thing going on and people listened. Even the ones shaking in their boots. Dante, that idiot, kept grinning at her whenever she snapped at him for butting in. They looked good together, all sync and easy banter. Yeah, I admit it.

Meanwhile, my chest felt like someone had reached in and just squeezed it hard.

The wolf inside me started pacing, snarling, mine. I ignored it. Been ignoring it for weeks now. I’m the Alpha. The rock, the example, supposedly unbreakable, right? Except I was crumbling, quietly, while she smiled at my brother.

Training kept rolling, swords clashing, people grunting, orders getting tossed around. I tried to focus on all that, on the discipline we’d been trying to rebuild. But every time she handed him the staff, every time he brushed her arm to adjust her form, I felt my grip slipping.

Dante caught my eye. Stumbled over his words for a second, probably reading the murder in my stare, then turned away. Smart move. He’s always been sharp. Honestly, the guilt flickering in his eyes just made everything burn hotter.

Guilt wasn’t what I wanted from him. Hell, I didn’t even know what I wanted anymore.

Training wrapped up. I headed down the steps. The chatter faded, Alpha on the field, everyone straightening up. Dante wiped his face off, and Elora turned, hair sticking to her neck, face impossible to read.

“Alpha,” she said, all formal, bowing her head.

I should’ve done the usual, kept it professional, distant. But nope. Something in me just snapped.

“Your stance is off.”

She scowled. “What?”

“Your stance,” I repeated. “When you’re correcting them, you leave your left side wide open. In a real fight? You’d be dead already.”

Dante shifted, looking like he wanted to say something. “Dominic...”

“Not talking to you,” I snapped, still locked on Elora.

“Thanks for the tip, Alpha, but I don’t remember asking for your advice,” she said, clenching her jaw.

The rest of the pack all pretended to look busy, but you could practically see their ears twitching as the tension thickened.

I took a step closer. “Maybe you should. You lead them, sure, but let’s not forget who built this pack out of nothing.”

She didn’t blink. “And who kept it together when you couldn’t?”

That one hurt. My throat closed up for a second. The whole yard went silent, even the wind went on hold.

Dante started to step in, but I held up a hand. Don’t. “Watch it,” I said, real quiet. “Remember who you’re talking to.”

Her eyes flashed... not fear, just pure fire. “And you remember who you’re talking about. I bled for this pack. I carried your name when you couldn’t even stand, Dominic. I took the blade meant for you.”

She used my name. Not “Alpha,” not “sir.” Just.. Dominic.

That hit harder than any blade.

Dante clenched his jaw. “Enough. Both of you.”

But I was already off the rails. All that control I’d been clutching since the war? Gone. “You think I don’t know that?” My voice came out shaky. “You think I don’t see everything you’ve done? Everything I owe you? You dragged me out of hell, Elora. And every time I see you, I remember it. Every damn time.”

Her lips parted, just barely. Eyes huge.

You could’ve heard a pin drop in that courtyard. Not a soul dared breathe. People froze, thinking the Alpha had lost his cool.

Dante slid over to her, all protective, fingers brushing her shoulder. That did it. Some animal thing in me just snapped, clean and sharp.

“Don’t touch her,” I snapped, way louder than I meant to.

Everybody jumped. Hell, I flinched too.

Dante shot me a look... one of those, “Back off or else” specials. “She’s not yours.”

“I know that!” It came out half-barked, half-broken. Real smooth, Dom.

And then? Nothing. Just the echo of my own voice while I stood there, breathing hurt like inhaling shards.

Elora’s face shifted, just a little. Pity? Confusion? Something in between. “Dominic…” She barely made a sound.

I stared at her. The woman who’d saved me and ruined me, all tangled up together. What was the point of pretending anymore?

“I see you with him,” I muttered, softer now, like the words burned my tongue. “And I keep telling myself it’s good. That you deserve peace after all the crap I put you through. But every damn night, Elora, every night I look up at that moon and feel…wrong. Like something’s missing and I can’t get it back.”

Dante’s face went stormy. “Don’t do this. Not here.”

Did I listen? Not a chance.

“I tried to let go. God, I tried to kill it. But it won’t die,” I said, voice shaking. “You deserve love, Elora. Even if it shreds me to watch.”

Her eyes shone with tears. She didn’t look away. For a second, it was just us, with everyone else watching.

Then she turned, leaned into Dante, like she needed him just to stand up straight.

There you go. That’s all the answer I needed.

Nobody breathed. The silence pressed in, thick as fog.

I straightened up, slapped the Alpha mask back on my face. “Training’s done,” I croaked. “Go home.”

The crowd scattered, mumbling. Dante stayed clamped to her side, looking pissed and guilty all at once. Elora gave me one last look—not angry, not nasty, just sad. The kind of sadness that sticks in your ribs.

She almost said something. Didn’t. Just let her lips hang open, no words coming out.

Couldn’t take it. I turned and walked out before I had to see that face again.

By the time I reached the corridor, it all came crashing down, war, the pack, every ugly thing I’d buried, and her, picking safe arms over mine.

The walls felt too close. My chest was on fire.

But you know what? I didn’t wish I’d kept quiet.

Not this time.

Because at least now, all of it...the guilt, the love, the missing piece was out there, not rotting inside me.

And if she never looks at me the same way again? Fine.

At least she finally knows.