Chapter 152
Ellie POV
I wake slowly.
The first thing I notice is that I’ve been asleep too long.
Again.
My mouth is dry.
My body aches in that deep, miserable way that makes every movement feel like too much effort.
But the second thing I notice…
Is warmth.
My fingers twitch.
Instead of empty air, they brush against skin.
Warm.
Callused.
Familiar.
Dominic.
Our hands are still tangled together.
His thumb rests loosely against my knuckles, like it belongs there.
Like it has always belonged there.
My eyes slowly open.
He’s asleep in the chair beside my bed.
But not normally asleep.
Completely gone.
His head is tilted awkwardly against the side of the chair, dark hair falling into his eyes.
His jaw is relaxed.
For once, there’s no tension.
No anger.
No walls.
No sharp edges.
Just exhaustion.
He looks younger like this.
Less like an Alpha.
More like the person underneath everything.
I squeeze his fingers gently.
Not enough to wake him.
Just enough to remind myself.
He’s real.
Last night was real.
Not some cruel dream my dying body created.
My chest tightens.
A soft movement near the door catches my attention.
I look up.
An older healer stands there.
Not the head healer.
But someone important.
She has a badge marking her as senior staff.
Her expression is calm.
The kind of calm that usually means something difficult is coming.
She walks in quietly.
Checks the monitors.
Then her eyes move to our joined hands.
She doesn’t comment.
“Ellie,” she says softly.
I swallow.
“Yes?”
“I need to explain what’s happening.”
I nod once.
She lowers her voice.
“Dominic’s presence is stabilizing you.”
My stomach twists.
“Temporarily.”
I look down at our hands.
“Like before?”
She nods.
“The mate bond. His connection to you. The claim.”
The word makes something inside me tense.
“Your body responds positively to him.”
She pauses.
“Even though you continue to resist accepting the bond.”
I don’t answer.
Because I don’t know what to say.
She studies me.
“Your situation is unusual, Ellie. But not impossible.”
Her gaze shifts back to Dominic.
“I don’t understand why you continue fighting this so fiercely.”
My fingers tighten around his.
“It’s killing you.”
The words are quiet.
Not cruel.
Just factual.
“And clearly…”
She glances between us.
“You both care for each other.”
My eyes drift back to Dominic.
The steady rise and fall of his breathing.
The warmth of his hand.
The fact that my head isn’t splitting apart right now.
The fact that I’m alive.
Maybe…
Maybe she’s right.
“But this isn’t a permanent solution.”
The healer’s voice pulls me back.
“Every time the bond is soothed and then rejected again, the backlash becomes stronger.”
My throat tightens.
“Your body is already showing signs of severe damage.”
I stare at the ceiling.
“If this continues…”
She pauses.
“You will suffer permanent consequences.”
A silence.
Then—
“You will die.”
The words are simple.
No drama.
No fear.
Just truth.
I breathe in.
Slowly.
“You won’t survive another backlash like the last one.”
My eyes burn.
“Even if Dominic stabilizes you again…”
She shakes her head.
“You won’t recover the way you did this time.”
Lucky.
That’s what she’s saying.
I got lucky.
Too lucky.
I stare at the ceiling.
At the small cracks in the paint.
Things I never noticed before.
“So that’s it.”
My voice is barely audible.
“No alternatives.”
The healer doesn’t answer immediately.
And somehow, that tells me enough.
Finally, she speaks.
“The only way to stop this completely…”
She looks at me.
“Is to fully accept the fated bond.”
Accept.
The word feels too small.
Because what it really means is surrender.
Closing every door.
Walking down a path I never chose.
I nod.
Because I don’t know what else to do.
Because arguing won’t change biology.
Because my body is running out of time.
Before I can speak—
The door slams open.
Hard enough to shake the wall.
“Ellie!”
Lucas.
He rushes inside.
Breathing hard.
His eyes are wild.
The healer immediately steps back.
Lucas takes one look at me.
My pale skin.
The exhaustion.
The weakness.
And something in his expression breaks.
“What did they do to you?”
“Lucas…”
My voice is barely there.
Dominic stirs beside me.
Slowly lifting his head.
The second Lucas sees him, his expression changes.
Anger.
Pure and immediate.
“This has gone on long enough.”
Dominic blinks.
Lucas points at him.
“You should have ended this already.”
His voice rises.
“Mark her.”
Dominic stares at him.
Then slowly turns his head.
“Wow.”
His voice is rough with sleep.
“Morning to you too.”
He sits up straighter.
“Now get the hell out of my face.”
“You’re killing her!”
Lucas snaps.
“Do you understand that?”
Dominic’s jaw tightens.
“You think I don’t know?”
“You’re standing there pretending this is noble while she’s falling apart!”
Dominic rubs his face.
A low growl leaves him.
“Technically…”
He looks around.
“I’m sitting.”
“Stop.”
My voice is weak.
I try to push myself upright.
My arms immediately shake.
“Both of you…”
Neither listens.
“Mark her!” Lucas shouts.
“If you care about her, you’ll do it!”
Dominic’s eyes flash.
“She hasn’t accepted me.”
His voice is cold.
“I’m not forcing her.”
“And if you keep waiting?”
Lucas steps closer.
“She dies.”
The room goes silent.
“If you won’t do it…”
His voice drops.
“I will.”
Everything freezes.
Dominic slowly stands.
“You want to repeat that?”
“It’s about keeping her alive.”
Lucas’s voice cracks.
“Not about your pride.”
Dominic’s expression darkens.
“It’s about her choice.”
“I can’t let you kill her.”
“You touch her…”
Dominic’s voice lowers.
Dangerous.
“And I’ll kill you.”
Lucas laughs bitterly.
“So what?”
His eyes burn.
“We just let her die?”
He points at me.
“That’s your plan?”
“Stand there and pretend you’re protecting her while she disappears?”
A pause.
“Coward.”
Something breaks.
Dominic’s hand slips from mine.
The warmth disappears.
And before I can stop him—
He moves.
Fast.
Too fast.
He vaults over the bed.
His body shifts mid-motion.
Lucas barely has time to react before they collide.
The room explodes into chaos.
Snarls.
Claws.
Heat.
The table crashes.
Glass shatters.
Vials scatter across the floor.
“Stop!”
I scream.
But my voice is too weak.
Too small.
Pain tears through me.
My chest seizes.
Fire races through my veins.
My vision flashes white.
“D—”
“Ellie!”
Dominic’s voice cuts through everything.
There’s a loud crack.
Lucas hits the bathroom door hard enough to fracture it.
Then Dominic is back.
Immediately.
At my side.
His hands are gentle.
His voice is desperate.
“Hey.”
His forehead presses against mine.
“I’ve got you.”
The pain slowly eases.
Enough to breathe.
Enough to think.
I hear guards rushing in.
Hands grabbing Lucas.
Dragging him away.
Dominic doesn’t even look.
“You’re lucky,” he snarls.
His eyes stay on me.
“That she needs me here.”
A pause.
“Otherwise, you’d already be dead.”
The door slams shut.
Silence fills the room.
I sink back into the pillows.
Exhausted.
Dominic’s hand finds mine again.
Warm.
Steady.
“Sorry.”
His voice is quiet.
“He just…”
A sigh.
“Pisses me off.”
I close my eyes.
“I know.”
The room settles.
But Lucas’s words stay.
They won’t leave.
I turn my head slightly.
Looking at Dominic.
And the truth finally settles in my chest.
He wasn’t wrong.
Lucas wasn’t wrong.
If I don’t choose a path…
If I don’t choose an Alpha…
I’m going to die.