Chapter 132

Elora’s POV

Those days just tangled together, like I was drifting through some dream I didn’t really want to wake up from. For a while, I was convinced I was dying as everything felt muffled. But then, bit by bit, warmth started creeping back in.

Every time I managed to claw my way up to the surface, there was Dominic. Sometimes reading a book, sometimes just sitting there, not saying a word. Sometimes he’d be seated in that chair, passed out, looking like he hadn’t slept in a month.

My body hurts, sure. But honestly? My heart hurt way more.

Dante showed up every day too. Brought food, flowers, silly little things from before, when life made sense. But when we locked eyes, there was always this weird tension, fear, guilt, I don’t know. Pick your poison.

And Dominic, well, he just kept showing up. Didn’t ask for anything. Didn’t give me the “you have to fight” speech or beg me to stick around or whatever. He just… existed. That was enough.

One night, after the fever finally reduced and my chest stopped feeling so heavy and painful, I managed to sit up. Dominic was there, seated by the window with a stack of paperwork, pretending to be busy, but I could feel him before I saw him.

“You should rest,” he tossed out, not even glancing up.

I rolled my eyes, or at least tried to. “Pretty tired of resting, actually.” My voice sounded like sandpaper... cute.

He finally looked over, eyebrows all scrunched up. “You’ve only been awake, what, three days?”

“Maybe that’s long enough.”

He let out this heavy sigh, dumped his papers, and came over. “You don’t have to push yourself.”

“I’m not pushing,” I shot back. “I just… I need to feel literally anything that isn’t this pain and exhaustion.”

He watched me for a second, like he was trying to solve a puzzle. “So, what do you want to feel?”

I looked at him, and the question just kind of hung there, awkward. “I don’t know,” I barely got out.

Dominic sat down by the bed, hands on the mattress but not touching me. “You’ve been carrying everybody else for so long. Maybe let me carry you for a bit?”

Those words just shook me. I didn’t say anything. My throat dried up and the first tear dropped.

“I don’t even know who I am anymore,” I said, my voice choking.

“I’m Dante’s mate. Your Luna. The pack’s luna. But when it’s just me, I don’t know what’s left of me.”

He sat there for a minute, not saying anything. Finally , he spoke

“All of it. You get to be all those things.” he said.

“Then why does it feel so wrong?”

He reached out, brushed away a tear with his thumb. Warm, steady, gentle. “Because you were never supposed to just belong to someone else. You’re supposed to belong to yourself, first.”

Something in me cracked. I don’t know if it was a sob or just a sigh that got stuck somewhere inside. My heart went wild, like it had forgotten what direction was up.

I leaned into his hand without thinking. He sucked in a breath, but stayed right there.

“Dominic,” I whispered, voice low.

“Yeah.”

“Why do I feel safe with both of you?”

He just stared at me, his eyes filled with a storm. I could see everything he didn't want to say... love, guilt, longing, all of it.

He didn’t even try to answer.

He just moved in closer... so close I could feel the heat rolling off him. His hand slid down from my cheek, fingers weaving into my hair like he was terrified.

When he finally pulled me close, I could feel his heartbeat on his chest. Not fast, not wild, just steady. Like nothing in the world could shake him.

I let myself lean into it for a second. The steadiness, that weird safety. Like he was promising me, without saying a thing, like telling me I wasn't alone.

So I pressed my forehead into his shoulder, my voice fading “Why does it feel like the closer I get to you guys, the more I lose myself?”

Dominic let out this slow breath, his hand tracing circles on my back. “Because love doesn’t play nice, Elora. It’s the storm and the quiet after. Sometimes it’s gotta break you so you can actually see who you are underneath.”

God, that stung. But he wasn’t wrong.

I shut my eyes and just let his arms touch me. And for once, I didn’t feel like I was about to crash and burn.

He pulled me in tighter, and maybe I should’ve pulled away. Maybe I should’ve remembered the guy waiting outside, the mate bond humming in the background, trying to remind me who I was supposed to be.

But right then? I was just me. Just Elora. Exhausted, scared, stupidly human.

And wrapped up in Dominic’s arms, I felt safe.

After what felt like forever, I lifted my head, my heart still racing. “Dominic,” I breathed, barely above a whisper, “do you… still love Mira?”

He went absolutely still... like, statue-still. The whole room just got heavy. I thought he was going to dodge the question. But then his eyes locked on mine, and there wasn’t a trace of lies in them.

“No,” he said, voice stern with a tone of finality. “What did I have with Mira? That wasn’t love. It was guilt, loyalty, maybe what I thought love was supposed to be. But not love.”

“So what is this?” I said. “What do you feel when you look at me?”

He let out this shaky breath, like saying the truth would hurt him. “You. I feel you, Elora. Every piece. The light, the shadows, the fire that scares the hell out of me and somehow keeps me breathing.”

My heart just about stopped.

He caressed my face, thumb on my cheek. “I don’t love Mira,” he whispered, like it was the most important thing in the world. “I love you.”

Those words just hung there as we stared at each other.

But for once, I actually believed him.