Chapter 134
Dominic's POV
The wheelchair is the line.
I see it halfway down the hallway.
And something inside me snaps.
Ellie sits in it too straight.
Too stiff.
Her hands are folded neatly in her lap, like she's trying to decide whether she's embarrassed or furious.
Probably both.
Lucas is crouched beside her, adjusting the footrests carefully.
Too carefully.
Like he's terrified that one wrong movement will hurt her.
Like she's made of glass.
Something ugly twists in my chest.
I try counting to ten.
Like my mother taught me when I was eight.
It didn't work then.
It doesn't work now.
At lunch, I find Lucas.
I don't even have to look.
I follow his scent down an empty hallway until he's finally alone.
"Hey."
My voice is sharper than I intend.
He freezes.
Turns around.
The second he sees me, his expression hardens.
"Don't."
I step closer.
"Don't what?"
His jaw tightens.
"Don't start."
I ignore that.
"Ask why she's in a damn wheelchair?"
His eyes flash.
"That's none of your concern anymore."
The words hit wrong.
I move closer.
Not enough to threaten.
Just enough to remind him exactly who he's talking to.
"She collapsed into me."
My voice lowers.
"She can barely walk."
"Every time I see her, she's pale."
"And now she's being pushed around the academy like she's eighty years old."
My hands curl at my sides.
"You don't get to stand there and tell me it's none of my concern."
"What's happening to her?"
"Why don't the healers know?"
Lucas's expression shifts.
Concern.
Frustration.
Exhaustion.
"Back off."
"No."
My voice drops.
"Something is wrong."
I step forward.
"She needs better care. This is insane."
His eyes sharpen.
"You think I don't know that?"
"Then do something."
The words come out harsher than I mean.
"If you were handling this like an Alpha, we wouldn't be here."
"Get your healers involved."
"Get the best healer you can find."
"Now."
A bitter edge enters my voice.
"Or is that too much because your family might complain?"
Silence.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Then Lucas exhales.
Like he's been holding his breath for days.
"She won't let me."
The answer catches me off guard.
"What?"
"She won't let me."
His voice is quieter now.
"And she won't tell me anything."
He looks away.
"She keeps saying she's fine."
"That it's temporary."
"That I shouldn't worry."
I stare at him.
"And you believed her?"
His head snaps back.
"I wanted to."
The honesty in his voice stops me.
"What was I supposed to do?"
"Drag the information out of her?"
"Force her?"
My hands tighten.
"Aren't you two together?"
Lucas blinks.
Like I just said something completely ridiculous.
"What?"
I glare.
"Then act like it."
My voice rises.
"Ellie is stubborn."
"She's difficult."
"She's the strongest person I've ever met."
"The worst combination."
I step closer.
"You know her, don't you?"
"Then act like it."
"Get help."
"Find someone who can actually fix this."
His expression falls.
"She said no."
I hit the locker beside me with my fist.
The metal echoes down the hallway.
"She's going to die."
The second the words leave my mouth, Lucas changes.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Something else.
Something raw.
Something broken.
"We were never together."
I freeze.
"What?"
Lucas looks down.
"Not like that."
My thoughts stumble.
That doesn't make sense.
What does that have to do with Ellie?
"She never loved me."
His voice is rough.
"There was no relationship."
"No secret plan."
"No game."
He looks back at me.
"I care about her."
"That's all."
"And I don't know how to help her."
The silence stretches.
Then he says the words that hit hardest.
"But you do."
I stare at him.
"You want me to believe that?"
He doesn't flinch.
"You need to talk to her."
I let out a sharp, humorless laugh.
"She won't talk to me."
Lucas holds my gaze.
"She will."
A pause.
"Just not when I'm there."
The words settle heavier than I expect.
This isn't a victory.
It doesn't feel like one.
It feels like a responsibility.
A weight dropped onto my shoulders.
Because suddenly everything looks different.
The rumors.
My parents.
The assumptions.
All the things I convinced myself were true.
I built an entire story around Ellie without ever asking her what was actually happening.
And while I was fighting ghosts...
She was getting worse.
"If you want answers," Lucas says quietly, "you have to stop fighting her long enough to listen."
I look at him.
"Actually listen."
My jaw tightens.
"And you're just okay with this?"
Lucas runs a hand through his hair.
A tired laugh escapes him.
"No."
He shakes his head.
"I'm not."
Then he looks at me.
"But I have this feeling..."
A pause.
"...that you're what she needs."
My chest tightens.
"Go."
I don't move for a second.
Then I turn.
Because for once...
Lucas is right.
And that might be the most terrifying part.