Chapter 149
Dominic POV
I wake up to the sound of the world ending.
At least, that’s what it feels like.
Alarms rip through the hospital halls.
Not the quiet warning sounds from before.
Something worse.
Something urgent.
Red lights flash across the walls, blurring together until everything looks like chaos.
For a moment, I don’t know where I am.
I’m just awake.
Just afraid.
My heart is already racing before my mind catches up.
Then I hear it.
“Code red.”
The words echo through the hallway.
“Code red.”
I jolt upright so quickly that the chair scrapes violently against the floor.
My pulse pounds in my ears.
Beside me, Sarah wakes with a gasp.
Her hand shoots out and grabs my arm.
Hard.
Like I’m the only thing keeping her from falling apart.
Her eyes are wide.
Terrified.
Already filled with tears.
“Ellie?”
Her voice breaks.
“Do they mean—”
She swallows.
“Dominic, do they mean Ellie?”
I force myself to breathe.
“I don’t know.”
My mouth feels dry.
“They didn’t say a name.”
But everything inside me is screaming.
Something is wrong.
Something is slipping.
Sarah is already standing.
She nearly trips over the chair.
“They don’t call code red for no reason.”
Her voice rises with every word.
“They stabilized her earlier, right?”
She looks at me desperately.
“They said she was stable.”
“They said managed.”
The correction comes out sharper than I intended.
I drag a hand through my hair.
Trying to hold myself together.
“They said managed.”
I look toward the sealed doors.
“Not fine.”
Sarah’s face falls.
“Oh, my god.”
Her hand covers her mouth.
“Oh my god, Dominic…”
She looks like she can’t breathe.
“What if—”
She stops.
She doesn’t finish.
She doesn’t have to.
“What do we do?”
Her voice shakes.
“No one is telling us anything.”
As if summoned by her words, a nurse rushes past.
Clipboard pressed against her chest.
Her ponytail swings as she hurries down the hall.
“Hey!”
Sarah lunges forward.
“What’s happening?”
Her voice cracks.
“Is it Ellie?”
The nurse doesn’t slow down.
Doesn’t even look back.
Sarah turns toward me.
Her breathing becomes uneven.
“Did you see her face?”
I stare at the hallway.
“That wasn’t a normal complication.”
My chest tightens.
“I know.”
I take a step forward.
“I’m going to find out.”
Even though I don’t know if I believe myself.
Sarah grabs my sleeve.
This time, there’s panic mixed with anger.
“Dominic, don’t.”
I look back.
“They’ll throw you out if you start using your Alpha status.”
“I’m not—”
“They won’t care.”
Her grip tightens.
“Don’t make this worse.”
I try to pull away.
“They’ll listen.”
She shakes her head.
“I can’t just sit here.”
Her voice cracks.
“I can’t wait here alone.”
A tear slips down her cheek.
She doesn’t notice.
“If Ellie dies—”
The words stop me.
Her expression breaks completely.
“I can’t lose her.”
Her voice becomes barely audible.
“She’s my best friend.”
Something in me softens.
I turn back toward her.
“You’re not losing her.”
The words come automatically.
Even though I don’t know if I’m comforting her…
Or myself.
“Ellie is too stubborn for that.”
Sarah lets out a shaky laugh.
“Yeah.”
She wipes her face.
“She’d probably haunt the healers out of spite.”
For one second—
One tiny second—
We both believe it.
Then another alarm sounds.
Louder.
Sharper.
Closer.
Sarah grabs my arm again.
“That’s closer.”
Her eyes widen.
“That’s her room, isn’t it?”
I don’t answer.
Because I don’t know.
Because I do.
A nurse passes.
My hand moves before I think.
I stop her.
She freezes when she sees me.
“Sir…”
Her voice is nervous.
“You need to let go.”
“Is it Ellie?”
My voice is low.
Controlled.
Barely.
“What happened?”
The nurse hesitates.
“I’m not supposed to tell you.”
She glances toward the doors.
“You can’t go back there.”
My grip tightens slightly.
“Tell me.”
Her expression changes.
Fear.
“She…”
She swallows.
“Her heart rate dropped.”
The words hit.
“They’re working on her.”
Sarah makes a sound I never want to hear again.
A broken sound.
She stumbles backward.
Her hands cover her mouth.
Her knees almost give out as she collapses into the chair.
“Dropped?”
My voice is quiet.
Too quiet.
The nurse looks at me.
“Define dropped.”
“Sir…”
“Tell me.”
The nurse swallows.
“She coded.”
Everything stops.
The hallway tilts.
Coded.
My brain repeats the word.
Coded.
Sarah is crying now.
Openly.
She grabs my jacket like it’s the only thing anchoring her.
“No.”
Her voice shakes.
“No, no, no.”
She shakes her head.
“She was talking to me yesterday.”
A sob breaks through.
“She was joking.”
I stand there for half a second.
Frozen.
Then I move.
“Sarah.”
She looks up.
“Sit.”
My voice is firm.
“Breathe.”
She shakes her head.
“I can’t.”
“Look at me.”
I kneel slightly.
“Breathe, Sarah.”
She tries.
Fails.
Tries again.
My own hands are shaking.
But my voice stays steady.
Because someone has to be steady.
“Ellie is fighting.”
I force the words out.
“She’s still fighting.”
The nurse steps closer.
“Sir, you can’t go back there.”
I look at the doors.
“You’re not a healer.”
“You can’t help her.”
The words are logical.
Reasonable.
They mean nothing.
“Okay.”
The word leaves my mouth.
Empty.
Hollow.
Like I’m pretending to accept something I never will.
“Okay.”
Sarah looks up at me.
Tears running down her face.
“What do we do?”
I stare down the hallway.
At the flashing lights.
The sealed doors.
The place where Ellie is fighting for her life.
Without me.
Something inside my chest twists.
Tears itself apart.
I can’t wait.
I can’t stand here.
I can’t listen to alarms while she’s alone.
My jaw tightens.
And then I move.
No permission.
No hesitation.
No thought.
My legs carry me forward.
My shoes squeak against the floor.
My heart pounds so hard it makes me dizzy.
“Dominic!”
Sarah’s voice follows me.
Another voice shouts behind me.
“You can’t go back there!”
“It’s restricted!”
“Only healers are allowed past those doors!”
I keep moving.
Because for once…
I don’t care about rules.
I don’t care about consequences.
I only care about getting to her.