Chapter 37

Dominic’s POV

Her words hit harder than a punch to the gut. Harder than a sword, even. I could practically feel the bruise blossoming inside me.

She clearly knows what happened on that day. How could she accuse me of taking the throne?

Couldn’t get them outta my head. Like, not even for a second. They just… sat there, rattling around my skull, gnawing at my patience until I felt like I might just snap. Faithful. To me. When she had every goddamn reason to walk away. When I’d left her out in the cold, let Mira sweep through the halls like some ghost, filling up the spaces that were supposed to belong to Elora.

What the hell was wrong with me? I had convinced myself Elora was already halfway gone, body here, heart tucked away in Dante’s hands. Every suspicious glance, that weird buzz in the air when they crossed paths, the way the maids whispered behind their hands, all of it tangled around my mind until I felt poisoned. Like maybe I was just the guy with the title and she had chosen him a long time ago.

And now, she’s standing right in front of me, eyes basically lit on fire, ripping my world apart.

Did it calm the crazy inside? Not a chance. If anything, it poured gasoline on the whole thing. Jealousy? Nah, this was something uglier, something hungry. I couldn’t stop thinking about actually claiming her, staking my flag in the ground, making sure there was no more room for shadows or Mira or those doubts.

…But then there’s Mira.

Her name felt like iron shackles. Still wrapped around my throat, even with Elora’s scent burning itself into my lungs.

I scrubbed my hands over my face. Paced like an idiot in circles after Elora slammed out, the air still hot with her anger. Every inch of me, especially the wolf inside, wanted to hunt her down. Drag her back. But Mira… she pulled me back, all memory and chains.

That night crept in.

The one where I had walked out of the room just to find Mira waiting, eyes sharp enough to cut steel.

I had shut Elora’s door as softly as I could, but the whole conversation still echoed in my chest. She’d looked so… fragile, standing there by the mirror. Hollow-eyed, sure, but stubborn as ever. If I’m being real, I didn't mean to stay as long as I did. There was just something about her, she hooked me, kept me there whether I wanted it or not.

When I got back to my room, Mira was there by the window. Arms locked tight, practically vibrating she was so pissed.

“Really, Dominic?” She didn’t even let me get a foot inside.

I rolled my eyes, yanking at my shirt collar. “Not tonight, Mira. Seriously. It’s late.”

“Oh, don’t you even start with me!” Her voice? Sharp enough, I swear, I winced. “You stink of her. Don’t tell me not to start!”

Jaw clenched, of course. “I was checking on Elora. She’s Luna. She deserves...”

“She deserves nothing!” Mira leaps in, spits it out like venom. “She’s taking everything that should’ve been mine, and now you...What, you reward her?” Her eyes are full-on wild at this point. “Tucking into her room at night now?”

“It wasn’t like that.”

She laughed, but it’s all broken glass. “Right. Because I don’t see how you look at her. Like your heart falls out of your chest. Don’t lie to me, Dominic, because I’ll know. I always know.”

The thing is, it’s not because she’s right. It’s that she believes she is. That burrows deeper than it should. Part of me genuinely wonders if she’s not totally wrong.

“I’m Alpha,” I shot back, clinging to that like it meant something. “It’s my job to keep the Luna strong. The pack’s a mess if she’s a mess, and I’m not letting it fall apart. That’s all.”

She scoffed, lips curling. Hands were shaking, too. “Save it. You were gone way too long for just duty. You look guilty, Dom. You want to admit it or should I...” She cut off, like the words physically hurt coming out.

“Should what?” I bit out.

Next thing from her lips? Pure poison. “Maybe I should break the bond myself. Is that what you want? Because I swear, if you keep pushing, I’ll end it and you’ll never pull me back.”

That shut me up. The silence after that nearly suffocated me. She was daring me to call her bluff. My wolf wanted to. Bond dragged the leash, wouldn’t let me. Wouldn’t let me just dismiss her like some rogue on the borders.

“Mira...”

She shook her head, hard, even as tears streaked down. Still pissed as hell. “No. I’m leaving. Don’t call, don’t chase, don’t even try. If you do, swear I’ll break the bond for real this time.”

Her threat might as well have been a knife. I knew she meant it. Our bond wasn’t the fairy tale some of these idiots got blessed with, but it was real enough to keep me anchored. Real enough I knew she could rip it apart if she really wanted.

So I stood there. Let her shove past, let the door explode shut behind her, let her scent sour in the air until there was nothing but an empty kind of quiet.

Even after all this time, the weight of it hadn’t let up. Felt like some invisible chain. And the worst part, I had let her walk away. Just stood there, hands at my sides like some clueless bystander, when she told me not to follow. Respecting her wishes tasted like sand in my mouth. Now, with her gone, my brain wouldn’t shut up. Elora, Elora, Elora. The shape of her shoulders as she turned, the wild challenge in her eyes when she spat Dante’s stupid, stolen title at me, just, everything about her clung to my thoughts.

She had been loyal, too. Faithful, even when I sucked at deserving her. Faithful. The word stung now, like it was poisoning my bloodstream. She picked me, despite all the reasons she shouldn’t have. She was mine, she had probably always been, and I had been too dense to see it.

So what am I even supposed to do with that? Shout her name to the sky? Drag her in front of the pack and claim her, even while Mira’s shadow is still breathing down my neck? My stupid wolf inside is all for it, positively rabid, but the guilt? The guilt chewed holes in my insides. Mira and I are a knot that’s fraying, not broken, big difference. If I go too far, if she waltzes back and catches me with Elora...that won’t be pretty. She’d torch the whole thing, sad as it is, I don’t know if I could survive that. I hate her all I want, it’s complicated.

When I close my eyes, it's not Mira haunting me. It’s Elora. Her stubborn pride, her pain, the way she still swore she had stuck with me, even after I royally screwed up.

It hurt. Came on so sharp I had to grip the damn table to keep from reaching for something, someone. Her. I didn’t want her out of obligation, not some Luna trophy for the Alpha. That wasn’t it at all. I wanted her like a real man wants a real woman, and honestly, that scared me way more than anything else.

Because if I gave in even a little, if I let everything I’m feeling flood out, that’d be it. No rewind, no apology strong enough. Elora would be marked mine, forever. Dante, her would-be knight in shining armor? He would hate me even more. Not sure I could live with that either.

This was the first time since tossing on the so-called Alpha crown that I felt well and truly lost. Stuck smack between the iron chain of duty and this wildfire Elora set off in me. Both roads ahead looked grim. Ruined, maybe, no matter which way I turned.

But lying there, with the dark closing in and the old walls pressing closer, only one thing felt real. One thing burned hotter than all my guilt and confusion.

I couldn’t keep away from her. Not anymore...not now