Page 36

I woke slowly, like my body was trying to shield me from returning to the real world.

At first, I wasn't even sure where I was.

The scent of cedar filled the room, and sunlight filtered through gauzy curtains, catching in the dust motes that danced in the air.

I was warm, cocooned in soft blankets. Alone. My heart sank. No Dominic.

I sat up carefully, every muscle aching like I'd run a marathon in my sleep. The soreness was deep, threaded through my bones like I'd been broken and stitched back together again. But somewhere inside that pain... I felt her. Faint, but present. My wolf.

It was like hearing a familiar voice in a distant room—comforting and fragile, but real. The silence I'd feared was gone. She wasn't gone. Just recovering. Like me. I closed my eyes for a moment, pressing my hand over my chest. We'd made it.

The door creaked open. I looked up, half-hoping it would be him—but it was Liana. Her hair was pulled into a loose braid, and her eyes scanned me quickly, as if trying to assess whether I was truly awake or just drifting in and out again.

"You're up," she said softly. "Thank God."

"Where is Dominic?" I asked, my voice cracking.

She hesitated. "He left."

My heart jumped. "What do you mean left?"

"He found something. A note in your things. From Nick."

The name hit me like a slap. "What did it say?"

"That he doesn't think you're safe with Dominic. That he's 'taking you back.'" Her mouth twisted in distaste. "And his scent was mixed with silver."

I felt like the floor dropped out from under me. "So Dominic just ran off?"

"No," Liana said. "He's tracking him. Before anything worse can happen."

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and tried to stand. Pain flared, but I forced myself upright. "He shouldn't have gone alone."

"You're not strong enough yet."

"I don't care." My breath caught. "If something happens to him—"

"You think he'd want something to happen to you?" she interrupted. "You almost died, Elaine. He saw that. He carried you, held you when you blacked out, and didn't sleep for two days."

I looked away, throat tight.

"He left because he knew he had to protect you," Liana continued, softer now. "That's the only reason. Not because he doesn't care."

I nodded slowly, though the ache in my chest refused to loosen. "Still. I can't stay here."

"Then I'm coming with you," she said simply.

I blinked at her. "What?"

"You're not going alone, either. If we do this, we do it smart."

I looked at her—this woman who once terrified me with her sharp tongue and blunt honesty—and I realized I was lucky she'd stayed.

"Okay," I said. "Let's go."

Because no matter how much pain still clung to my bones, I knew I wasn't going to sit in that room while Dominic faced whatever darkness Nick had dragged into our lives.

Not again. Not without me.