Chapter 131

Dominic’s POV

Elora hadn’t eaten in, what, two days now? Maybe three? Time was a blur.

The healer’s potions kept her running on fumes... barely. Dante was always busy, darting around, pretending to be all about the pack’s safety, but come on. I knew that look. The guy was hiding from the fact that he couldn’t do a squat to help her. I didn’t get to run away. If I left, who would sit here and make sure she didn’t slip away for good?

Every damn hour, I checked her water. Sat on the edge of her bed, feeding her like she was a kid. Once in a while, she’d mumble thanks, maybe flash a weak smile. But most of the time, she just drifted in and out of consciousness.

It killed me how small she looked. Like, this was the same woman who dragged us all through the war? Now she looked like she’d vanish if I breathed wrong.

She started gasping again, the way she did sometimes. I leaned in, hand on her chest, just trying to keep her here. “Easy, Elora. You’re okay. I got you,” I whispered.

Her eyes fluttered open, lashes barely moving. “You shouldn’t be here,” she said.

“Yeah, well, I’m not going anywhere,” I said back.

She tried to argue, but all that came out was a cough. I just signed and continued talking.

“You know, when I was a kid, my father used to toss me in the river every spring.” I said, bringing a strand of hair away from her face.

Her mouth moved, something like a smile. “Sounds… kind of awful.”

“Trust me, it was.” I laughed, short, sharp. “He said it’d make me tough. I nearly drowned three times before I figured out how to swim.”

She made a noise... could’ve been a laugh or a groan. It was hard to tell. “Did it work?”

“Make me strong?” I leaned back, trying to catch her gaze. “Not really. But I learned you don’t have to fight the river every time. Sometimes you just have to float and let it take you.”

She stared at me, and for a second, she actually saw me. “You always talk like the Moon wrote you love letters,” she murmured.

I snorted. “Maybe she did. Or maybe she just made me talk too much.”

Her hand twitched under the blanket, fingers looking for something. I grabbed her hand before it slipped away. She was cold and her skin was rough. I rubbed circles into her palm, desperate to keep her here.

“Don’t go, Elora. Not now, not when we’re finally putting the pieces back together.”

She sighed, eyes closing. “I’m trying. Feels like something’s dragging me under.”

“Then I’ll drag you right back.”

Her eyes watered, glinting. “Dominic...”

“Nope, no speeches,” I whispered. “You just listen. Stay with me.”

She nodded, barely.

So I rambled. Told her about stealing bread from the kitchen when I was thirteen. About the first time I shifted and got stuck until sunrise. About chasing a shooting star into the woods thinking I'd get a wish.

She smirked, eyes slowly closing. “Did it?”

“All I found was a pile of ashes,” I said, voice cracking a bit. “But I wished, anyway.”

“What’d you wish for?” she breathed.

I hesitated. Could’ve lied, but what was the point? “Someone who could see past the Alpha. Someone who could see the real me.”

Her breath became slower, but steady.

I squeezed her hand and whispered, “Pretty sure I found her.”

Her grip tightened on my fingers, barely there.

She opened her mouth to say something, but I wasn’t having it. I just shook my head. “You need to sleep. I’m not going anywhere.”

She just stared at me, for a long moment. Like she wanted to remember what I looked like when she closed her eyes. That weird connection between us, it hummed along, soft but powerful. Her pulse fluttered under my hand, delicate, yeah, but still beating.

Time went weird. Minutes, hours, who knows? The rest of the world just…poof. Gone. There was only her breathing, that slow rise and fall, keeping me grounded.

She moved closer, shivering with exhaustion. I slipped my arm around her, pulling her up so she could lean on me. She didn't fight it as her head landed against my chest, and at last, sighed in relaxation.

I held her, just listening to her breath even out, her fever smell easing a little. Her hair tickled my jaw, and something inside me finally chilled out. My heart stopped doing that anxious thumping, and I felt like even the sound of it calmed her, too.

The bond between us pulsed again, low, steady, impossible to ignore. My wolf didn’t snarl or snap or demand. He just…settled. Like, yeah, this is it. This is what we’re supposed to be.

He whispered in my head, all smug and sure. Ours.

I didn’t even bother arguing. What was the point?

Right then, with her heart beating against mine, her breath soft and steady, I finally got it. Like, I really understood what loving her meant.

It wasn’t about staking a claim or winning some cosmic lottery. None of that.

It was just showing up. Being there.

When she couldn’t stand on her own. When everything else went quiet.

It was promising her without words, that she wouldn’t have to face whatever was coming alone.

Her hand slipped off my shirt as she drifted, her body getting heavier on me. I leaned back, let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. All that tension? Gone.

The chaos in my chest finally calmed down.

For the first time in ages, my wolf just…relaxed. No itch. No fight. Just peace.

All because she fell asleep with her heart pressed to mine.