Page 24

The light burned. I strained to keep my eyes open, waiting for something, anything to come into focus. I felt so drowsy, but there was something out there I wanted. I needed.

"Dominic..."?? The words escaped me.

The world finally came back into focus. I blinked, and the blurry white light transformed into a hospital room.

My mother and father sat on opposite sides of the room, and had their eyes on me.

Upon hearing my words, Dominic rushed to my side and placed his hands on either side of my face.

His eyes had dark circles under them, and tears started to well in them.

Stray pieces of hair stuck to his forehead, and he was wearing one of my oversized t-shirts, which was tight on him.

He looked like a complete wreck, but I never saw him look so handsome.

"Oh, Elaine..." Dominic whispered, rubbing my cheek lovingly with one of his thumbs. "I was so worried."

My parents joined to stand around me, both of them had tears streaming down their faces. My father squeezed my ankle lovingly.

"Turkey-butt, I'm so glad to see those gorgeous eyes of yours open." My father said with a smile.

"Why didn't you tell us what was going on?" My mother shouted in frustration.

"Will you just shut the hell up? She just woke up and you're already yelling at her!" My father chided my mother.

"I-" No words could come to me. I was so overwhelmed by everything that was going on that my mind just shut down, went blank.

My eyes drifted over to Dominic, and his eyes were glowing that gold color- was that his wolf eyes?

Dominic's eyes quickly flicked over to my parents and gave them a deadly glare.

"If you can't get along for her sake right now, you better leave." Dominic said in a deep, commanding voice, leaving no room for rebuttal.

My parents both gave each other a glance, then looked down at me. Dominic seemed to not even care they were standing there watching as he lovingly caressed my face.

"Elaine... what-why? Why?" Dominic asked with tears welling in his eyes.

I didn't know what to say to him. How can one explain the desire to not exist anymore? The overwhelming need to find a solution to the storm in my head. However, I was glad he stopped me. Saved me. Even though I may have been insane to believe it, I was his mate. I needed to live for him.

"Elaine?" Dominic pressed.

"It's all just too much." I admitted. Anxiety crept over me as I replayed the scene of my suicide attempt. I was so desperate for a release... a break from the overwhelm. The overwhelm of my parents' divorce. From my mom's addiction. From the intense loneliness I felt.

"Why didn't you say anything? Why did you run from me?" Dominic's voice cracked. He looked so hurt, and it twisted my heart and pained my soul. I was such a fool. I failed him. I failed everyone.

"I didn't trust you. I thought you were insane." I finally revealed the truth to him.

Dominic's face dropped, and he turned away from me. He took in deep breaths, seeming to try and calm himself. His breaths seemed ragged, and he clenched his fists. It was clear that my words hurt him, but I couldn't find it in myself to apologize. I just merely stated the truth.

"Do you still believe that? Believe that I am an insane person unworthy of trust?" Dominic said in a strained voice laced with hurt.

"No... I believe you now. You saved my life.

" I looked up at him with glassy eyes, my emotions finally processing.

But did I really believe him, or was I only saying that to make him feel better?

Feel understood. The idea of paranormal creatures existing in this world was a reality I don't think I could truly understand.

Dominic seemed to perk up after my words, a wash of calm spreading over his features.

His icy blue eyes turned golden again, and I couldn't help but stare into them.

They glowed with an otherworldly brilliance, and I wanted nothing more than to drown in them.

His eyes grew closer to mine as he leaned forward, hovering his face just over mine.

I dropped my eyes to where his lips were, and they were slightly parted.

Suddenly, he pressed his forehead against mine and captured my lips in a kiss.

I've never felt so much passion in my life before. The electricity between us grew even greater than it ever had before. Though Dominic kissed me slowly, it felt as if he was consuming my soul. Before I knew it, he forcefully pushed his tongue into my mouth, and we were full-blown making out.

A throat clearing in the background broke us both out of our trance and reminded us that we were still in a hospital room.

With my parents watching. Dominic pulled back from me, but still kept a hand on my arm, refusing to let me go.

Once he cleared my sight, I saw a nurse standing in front of my bed.

Her face looked grim, and soon a middle-aged male doctor entered the room behind her.

"Hello Elaine, I am Dr. Pittman. I have been the doctor in charge of your stay here thus far.

" He paused and came to stand on the side of me opposite of Dominic.

He pulled out a clipboard and wrote down my vitals that were displayed on the monitor.

"I am glad to see you awake Elaine. How are you feeling? "

His question jarred me a little. I hadn't once considered how I was feeling since I had woken up. Now that I thought about it, I still was feeling a little fuzzy in the head from all of the medication I had swallowed earlier. Or was that from Dominic's kiss?

"I'm doing fine." I replied hesitantly.

The doctor gave a questioning look to my response as if he didn't believe it, but he did not comment on it. Dr. Pittman took in the presence of everyone in the room and let his eyes rest on my parents.

"You are Mr and Mrs. Hayes I assume?" Dr. Pittman addressed them. My parents both silently nodded, but I could see my mothers face slightly fall. The doctor then turned to Dominic. "And who are you, young man?"

Dominic stood up straight, and seemed to size up the doctor. I wondered what caused him to have that reaction. Maybe he was trying to protect me in his own weird way?

"I'm her boyfriend." He said simply, but his deep voice carried a possessive edge.

My father let out a chuckle. "So we finally figured out who this mystery guy is."

My mother's response was much different. "Isn't Nick your boyfriend? Have you been cheating on that poor boy?" My mother chided me.

Dominic stiffened up and let out a slight growl of frustration. I stiffened up as well. Dominic and I have yet to discuss the whole situation with Nick, and I could feel the tension in the air.

"Mrs. Hayes, we are here to discuss your daughter's health, not her dating life." Dr. Pittman firmly corrected my mother, putting her in her place.

My mother let out a slight huff of anger, but did not say anything further.

Dominic looked down at my arm and possessively traced his fingers down my arm before he interlocks his fingers with mine.

I let out a sigh of annoyance. It seemed as if everyone in the room were more concerned with drama than what I was actually going through.

Dr. Pittman looked down at me and gave me a strained smile, showing sympathy towards the situation I was in.

"So Elaine..." The doctor said loudly, getting the attention of everyone in the room.

"You were taken to the emergency room after you attempted an overdose.

When you came into my care you had passed out from the effects of the medication you had taken.

" The doctor then gestured towards Dominic.

"Thanks to the effort of this young man, the amount of medication in your system was not enough to kill you.

However, we still went ahead and pumped out your stomach as a precautionary measure. "

I winced slightly, remembering Dominic sticking his hand down my throat so I would vomit out the pills I had swallowed. That was probably why he was wearing one of my shirts now. His shirt was probably still covered in vomit, sitting on my bathroom floor.

The nurse, a young woman probably in her thirties, came over and adjusted my IV drip. She attached a new bag of fluids as the doctor walked over to my parents with a clipboard in hand.

"So, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes, we will be transferring your daughter to a psychiatric facility as soon as we find an opening..." Dr. Puttman announced.

"You mean like a mental hospital?" My father asked the doctor, his face turning pale.

"Yes... because of her attempt, we are legally obligated to send her to one to get her stabilized..." The doctor explained in a calm voice.

Before I even had a chance to process the fact that I was going to a mental hospital, Dominic erupted in anger.

"Like hell you will! She is not going anywhere!" Dominic lashed out with a growl.

"Young man, settle down..." Dr. Puttman said in an attempt to calm him; however, this only seemed to anger Dominic more.

"Elaine is not going and that's final." Dominic growled while standing beside me. I tried squeezing his hand in an attempt to calm him, but he just squeezed my hand more, showing he wasn't going to budge.

My father walked over to Dominic's side and placed a hand on his shoulder, but he just brushed him off. Dominic was standing his ground, and it was clear that he was not leaving without a fight. My heart raced with anxiety over the situation, and I just wanted to hide.

The doctor took a step towards Dominic. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave." He said firmly.

Dominic was about to say something, but I didn't give him a chance. "Stop! Just stop." I shouted in frustration.

Dominic looked at me with frantic, crazed eyes. "Elaine... you can't... I... I don't want to leave your side."

Though I understood his side of things, I knew that there was no stopping me going to the mental hospital. Though I personally would rather go home and be held by Dominic, I had no choice in the matter.

"I'll call you every day I'm there..." I reassured him, but he just panicked even more.

"What do you mean? Are you just going to accept this?" Dominic asked in an accusatory way.

Before I knew it, two security guards were grabbing Dominic by the arms and pulling him away from my side.

Dominic started shouting, and even tried to take a swing at one of them.

They quickly apprehended him and escorted him out of the room.

As soon as he was out of sight, I felt as if I could not breathe.

It was just my parents, the doctor, and I in the room.