Chapter 80

Elora’s POV.

Walking into Dominic’s room felt like getting punched by air. He looked tiny. All curled up on the bed, breathing so shallow I almost wondered if he was trying to disappear. Never seen him like that.

“Dominic,” I muttered, setting my bowl of water and herbs down with a little more force than necessary. He cracked one eye open at me, and wow, zero spark in there. Just pure bone-deep exhaustion.

“Elora…” His voice was pure gravel. “You shouldn’t be here.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, well, I’m not exactly leaving you to marinate in your misery.” My hands were shaking as I put the rag I had watered, folded it, and laid it on his forehead, as carefully as I could. He flinched, pain or wounded pride, who knows. With him, it’s always a toss-up. “Breaking a bond’s not just a paper cut, you know. Honestly, you’re lucky you’re not a corpse.”

He let out this dry, half-hearted laugh. “Lucky,” he echoed, closing his eyes. “Sure. Let’s go with that.”

So I stayed. Kept swapping out the damn rag when it went lukewarm, just rambling about anything, the council losing their minds, Dante doubling security, the newbies tossing prayers like they were trying to win a contest. Kept my mouth zipped about Mira. That bruise wasn’t ready to poke at.

Of course, he brought her up first.

“She’s gone.” He just blurted it, voice soft and wrecked, like he was telling the ceiling instead of me. “It’s weird. There’s… nothing. First time my brain isn’t a war zone.”

That word, quiet. Felt weirdly like a eulogy and a sigh of relief rolled together.

I swallowed. “You are going to survive this?”

He looked at me, and for a second he was just some guy, wrecked, lost, not the big bad Alpha everyone tripped over themselves for. “Eventually.” He tried to smile. Didn’t really work. “Don’t waste your worry on me, Elora.”

I snorted, voice shaking. “Yeah, that’s not happening. Somebody has to remind you you’re still human. Alpha or not, you still bleed.”

Something in him eased up, just a notch. His hand twitched, like maybe he wanted to reach for me. “Go get some sleep,” he said, suddenly soft. “You’ve done enough.”

“Sure,” I lied, faking a smile. “I’ll rest when you stop looking like that.”

He didn’t argue, just drifted. No point.

Time crawled. Candles melted to sad little nubs, air got colder, heavier. Dominic slipped in and out, mumbling names, nonsense, dreams. Once, he whispered “Mira.” That one stung. Not with longing, just this ugly, heavy guilt.

I sat, barely breathing, watching him. Then out of nowhere, his hand reached out and held onto mine.

“Dominic?” I whispered, but he was somewhere else. Wouldn’t let go. His whole body shook with pain and confusion.

I could have pulled away. Probably should’ve. Instead, I just let him hang on. Part pity, part… something else I didn’t want to name.

Eventually, his breathing evened out. I pulled my hand away, stood up, and my legs were in pain.

I slipped out, the door clicking shut behind me. The hallway was freezing, and the torches were barely hanging on. Pressed my palm to my chest, like it’d help my heart chill out. Just needed distance, anything but that room and all its ghosts.

Stepped outside. The night was freezing with cold biting my lungs. I sucked in a breath, eyes squeezed shut.

And, of course, Dante’s voice cut through everything.

“You shouldn’t be out here.”

I turned. There he was, leaning on the steps, half his face in shadow, moonlight catching on that stubborn jaw. No armor, just a shirt, sleeves rolled up, looking softer but still, you know, pure steel underneath. Classic Dante.

I didn’t even know how cold I was until he appeared and threw his coat over my shoulders and his scent filled me.

He kept his voice low, eyes locked on me. “You’re killing yourself, you know. Can’t save everyone and forget you exist, Elora.”

I scoffed, yanking my cloak tighter around me. “Oh, please. Like you’re one to talk. I’m not convinced you’ve slept since, what, last Thursday or something?”

He gave this little smirk. If you weren’t paying attention, you’d think you imagined it. “Touché.”

We just stood there. Not talking, just... marinating in the silence. It wasn’t awkward, just heavy. The sort of silence that hangs in the air like fog, making everything feel sort of breakable. His eyes stuck on me, way longer than was normal, and there it was again. That weird, dangerous spark. The kind that started the second I dragged him into my mess.

He inched closer, all careful like I might bolt for the trees. “You care about him a lot.” He didn’t even bother pretending it was a question.

I hesitated. “He’s... my Alpha.”

Dante’s face softened, but his eyes? There was a storm brewing in there. Something wild, like he was fighting off a whole army of feelings. “Yeah, that’s not what I meant.”

I tried to say something clever, but my brain just went static. How do you tell someone you’re drowning in emotions you don’t even have words for?

“I care about the pack,” I finally said, voice barely above a whisper. “I care about... doing what’s right, I guess.”

He stared at me for a second, then let out a sigh. “You try to carry everything, Elora. Have you ever thought maybe you could let someone else take some of it? Just once?”

I looked up at him, the guy who used to hate me and now, I don’t even know what he is. His eyes were so warm when he stared at me.

“I’m fine,” I whispered, lying.

He just shook his head, almost smiling. “Not even close.”

Before I could throw up some witty comeback, he just pulled me in carefully and gently. At first, I stood there, stiff as a board. Then... I just let go. Leaned into him.

I think we both were shocked that I didn’t pull away.