LOGINEllie POVDominic stepped into our space with ease. He was smiling, the air changed immediately, the way it does when a predator enters a room and everyone pretends they don’t notice.I couldn’t help but shrink as his hand closed over mine, as if he could feel the tremor running through my fingers.
Lucas’s jaw tightened at the last word, and for a moment something in his expression flickered—almost softness, almost regret.Then it was gone.He nodded once, slow.“Yeah, well,” he said. “You never really needed it, so don’t worry about it. You’re exactly where you want to be, right?”My fists cu
Ellie POVThe first time I laughed, it surprised me.It slipped out before I could catch it, bright, totally unguarded, and the sound felt unfamiliar in my own throat, as if my body had forgotten how to make it without flinching afterward.For a second I expected the room to turn sharp again, for so
Ellie POVMy mother rushed past me like I wasn’t even there.For a moment, I just stood frozen, watching the hem of her deep purple gown sweep across the floor as she dropped to her knees beside Vivian, her white-gloved hands hovering helplessly over Vivian’s cheek, which was already swelling an ugl
He didn’t speak.He just stood there, staring at me with an expression I couldn’t fully name, something wounded and furious and heartbreakingly human all at once. His fingers twitched at his sides, curling and uncurling like he wanted to reach for me and didn’t trust himself to try.I felt this shar
Ellie POVYou know, I expected this.Even after everything Dominic had done these past few weeks, after the contract and the quiet promises and the way he had looked at me lately as if this arrangement was something fragile and real instead of something written in ink and obligation, a part of me ha
Ellie POV By the time I made it halfway across campus, the bandage on my head had started to itch.Our ‘relaxing’ outing didn’t exactly include nearly drowning. Not great for my stress levels right now.I tugged my hood lower, hoping no one would notice the wrap beneath it. The scrape wasn’t even b
Ellie POV If I couldn’t study at home, I would study at the one plce my mind couldn't wonder.The library.But after another full day of reading, I had reached the point of delirium where the words on my page no longer behaved like words. Again.My notes looked like a crime scene. My handwriting, w
Dominic POV I’m done. Enough.I’d been searching since first period. Not openly, because I wasn’t that pathetic.Maybe a little recklessly, fury chewing at my ribs.They were not at breakfast.Not in morning training.And every classroom I checked since then had been empty of scent.I stalked throu
Dominic POV The thing about Marcus and Jake is that they don’t know how to take no for an answer.Or maybe they do, they just choose violence instead.“Come on, man,” Jake groaned, slinging an arm across my shoulders. “You’ve been brooding for, like, days. It’s depressing. Even for you.”“I’m not b







