4

Dominic’s POV

I had been unsettled ever since Elena left. Nothing had been the same. The palace was quiet, too quiet, the kind that got under your skin.

Clara’s betrayal hadn’t helped either. My mate. My supposed gift from the moon goddess. She not only cheated on me but got pregnant for another wolf. The memory, the humiliation and the disgust in the eyes of my people still burned.

I had no choice but to reject her, To banish her. From my palace and from my life.

But even after all that, peace never came. No matter how hard I tried, something inside me wouldn’t rest. It was as if the moment Elena walked out of my life, she took every bit of calm I ever had with her.

At first, I started having dreams. It became so traumatic i could barely sleep at night. Elena would appear to me trembling in fear and crying my name.

I thought it was guilt. That maybe, deep down, I regretted what I did to her. But it became more than that. The dreams began to feel… real. Too real. Six years, and she still haunted me.

Some nights I woke up with some fresh and burning claw marks on my chest.

Upon hearing all these, The elders said I’d been cursed. That Elena had cursed me.

I didn’t want to believe them at first. I was an Alpha afterall, I didn’t bow to superstition or old tales. But what else could explain the things happening around me? My land had lost its light. My warriors were growing weaker. Even the moon goddess herself had stopped blessing our hunts and Above all, my wolf grew weaker.

Some nights, I could barely shift. My wolf would whimper and retreat deep inside me, like he was …afraid of something I do not understand. That was when I knew it wasn’t just a curse. It was her Elena.

The girl I had broken, the one I cast aside like she was nothing, had somehow become the very thing my soul couldn’t live without. So I began to search for Elena.

At first, I sent scouts, Then trackers. But no one found a trace of her. It was as if she’d vanished into thin air. Months turned into years, and still, nothing. Until one day, a report came in that they saw her living near the human borders.

It took me three months to trace it. Three long months of chasing nothing and dead ends before I finally found her, liiving among humans, Mere humans.

When I first heard it, I laughed a bitter, hollow sound. Elena? A wolf, my Elena living among mere mortals? It didn’t make sense. She was born of power, raised among dominance and strength. What was she doing hiding in their world?

I sent an urgent letter that same night, commanding her to come to me within a week and but she didn’t respond.

Of course she wouldn’t. She definitely hates me. I sent her, an orphan away with nothing, no family, no home, no pack to call her own. An orphan, stripped of everything she ever knew, all because I couldn’t face what I felt for her.

After waiting for days and hearing nothing, my patience finally snapped.

I had given her time — more than enough. But she was still ignoring me, pretending as if I no longer existed. I clenched my jaw, anger burnt beneath my skin.

If she wouldn’t come willingly, then I’d give her no choice.

“Bring her to me,” I ordered coldly. “Whether she comes willingly or not, I want her here before nightfall.”

Hours later, a messanger, entered my office. “She’s here, Alpha,” he said quietly. “We have her in one of the old warehouses near the border. She’s tied up… just like you asked.”

I rose from my seat, my pulse quickening. After all these years… six long, torturous years… I was finally going to see her again.

When I arrived at the warehouse, the air was cold and damp. The faint scent of rust and old wood mixed with familiar scent which was Soft and Maddening.

I paused at the door for a moment, my hand tightened around the knob. I didn’t know what I expected anger, hatred, maybe tears. But I knew one thing: whatever came next, I deserved all of it.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside.

The room was dimly lit, she sat on the floor and her back were turned to me with her wrists bound. Her hair was longer now, cascading down her back like liquid silk. Her body had changed, fuller, stronger, more feminie than the girl I once knew.

My breath caught.

“Elena,” I whispered her name before I could stop myself.

She stiffened instantly. Slowly, she turned her head, and when her eyes met mine, time stopped.

There was shock across her face first, then disbelief, and finally, anger. Her entire body was tensed.

“Alpha Dominic,” she said, her voice low and sharp like a blade.

The title stung. She could have called me anything else, but that… that reminded me of the wall I had built between us.

“Untie me,” she demanded coldly. “Now.”

I took a step closer, but she shifted away, her wrists rattling against the chains.

“Why am I here? Why send people to kidnap me like some criminal?” Her voice broke slightly, but her glare didn’t falter. “Haven’t you done enough already?”

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to stay calm. “We need to talk, Elena,” I said quietly.

“I have nothing to say to you,” she shot back. “You lost that right the day you sent me away.”

Her words hit harder than any physical blow. I dragged a hand down my face, fighting the guilt clawing at my chest. “You don’t understand. Things have changed. The pack...."

“I don’t care about your pack!” she snapped, cutting me off. “You made sure I had no place in it.”

I went silent, She was right. Every word was true.

Her breathing slowed, but her eyes still burned with fury. “What do you want from me, Dominic? Another humiliation?”

I looked at her, really looked at her, and for the first time in years, I saw what I’d done. I had broken her, and yet… here she was, still strong enough to face me.

“Elena,” I said, stepping closer, my voice low. “I need you to come back. The pack is dying. I’m dying. Whatever this curse is… it’s tied to you.”

She laughed bitterly. “Of course it is. Everything is, isn’t it? When you wanted to destroy me, it was all about your pride. Now that you need saving, it’s about your curse.”

“Elena, please...."

“Don’t ‘please’ me,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion. “Don't fucking 'please' me, you made your choice, Dominic. Leave me alone. You chose her, you chose your mate."

I froze.

Her words sliced right through me, bringing Clara memories I’d tried to bury.

She took a deep breath and her voice felt quieter now. “Let me go. I have a life now… someone who loves me. I’m not yours anymore.”

Suddenly something inside me snapped and my wolf Ragner stirred violently within, growling, restless.

“Mate,” Ragner growled.

My breath hitched, No… that couldn’t be, the girl I cast away and for the first time in six years, I felt a bond, same bond I found with Clara.

The moon goddess… had given me a second chance mate? and that was Elena?