Chapter 195

Chapter 195: Chapter 195

Lena’s POV

I glanced at the clock on the wall.

2:22.

Anna would be here in twenty-three minutes.

"Who are you planning to use that on?" I stared at the syringe in Eliza’s hand.

"It’s just a sedative," she shot back fast. "Gemma needs rest. She’s unstable. She keeps treating things she made up like they’re real."

"Then why did you lock the door?"

"Because she’ll run."

The second the words left Eliza’s mouth, she realized what she’d said.

All the color drained from Gemma’s face. She’d been trapped for eight years, and after finally coming back, the sister she trusted most still thought locking a door was the answer.

"Give me the key," Gemma said.

"I’ll open it after she leaves."

"Give me the key!"

Eliza’s lips trembled. "Everything I’m doing is for you. You’re this weak, so why can’t you just stay still and let people take care of you?"

"Care doesn’t make people afraid." Gemma looked straight at her. "You just want to control me. Same as eight years ago."

"And those shipping records?" I cut in. "Did she imagine those too?"

Eliza’s face froze.

I deliberately rested my hand over my coat pocket so she’d know the documents were inside. Sure enough, her eyes followed the movement.

"Lena, give it to me."

"Open the door first."

"You’re in no position to bargain with me."

"Then come take it."

She came at me. I stepped back and moved in front of Gemma.

The room was tiny, one exit only. Kitchen to the right, kettle and a neat row of glasses on the counter. Window to the left, six floors up. Jumping was obviously a terrible idea.

Eliza’s attention stayed glued to my pocket. I snatched up a pill bottle from the table and hurled it hard in the opposite direction.

It smashed against the wall, white tablets scattering everywhere. Eliza turned her head on instinct. I lunged, grabbed her wrist, and slammed her toward the doorframe.

She was faster than I expected. Her elbow drove hard into my ribs. A grunt slipped out of me, but I didn’t let go.

We crashed into a chair, sent it flying, then slammed into the counter. The kettle hit the floor, hot water spreading across the tiles in seconds. My foot slipped, and my knee cracked hard against the ground.

Pain flashed black across my vision, but weirdly, it made me sharper.

I wasn’t that girl anymore, the one curled up in a basement waiting for the beating to end.

I didn’t need to be stronger than Eliza.

I just needed to hold out until Anna got here.

The syringe dropped to the floor.

Gemma spun her wheelchair fast and rolled right over it. The barrel snapped with a sharp crack.

Eliza screamed, grabbed my hair, and yanked me down. The back of my head smashed into the corner of the table, and white light exploded across my vision.

"You ruined everything!" She straddled me, both hands locked around my throat. "If it weren’t for you, Dominic would’ve come back to me already!"

I grabbed her wrists and drove my knee up into her stomach.

She cried out and toppled sideways. I rolled over and sucked in a huge breath.

"He was never yours," I coughed out. "Without Gemma, without me, he still wouldn’t love you."

That hit harder than any punch.

Eliza’s eyes went red instantly. She snatched a glass off the table and hurled it at me. I jerked my head aside. It scraped past my cheek and shattered against the wall.

Gemma put herself between us. "Enough, Eliza."

"Shut up!" Eliza whipped around toward her. "I only wanted you to miss one dinner! You were the unlucky one! Those people were the ones who wouldn’t let you come back! I already paid them, okay? I did what I could!"

The room went dead silent for a beat.

She finally said it out loud.

She’d taken my phone, yeah, but Anna’s phone had been tracking our shared location the whole time from the car. More than ten minutes had already passed.

"So you knew." Gemma’s voice was so soft it was almost nothing. "You knew I was alive all along."

"I didn’t know!" Eliza shrieked. "They only said they’d handle it! After that, they never contacted me again. I thought you were dead!"

"You wanted me dead."

"I just wanted Dominic to look at me!"

Gemma closed her eyes.

Right then, a brutal pounding hit the door.

"Lena!" Anna’s voice cut straight through the wood.

Eliza panicked. She dove for the broken glass on the floor, snatched up a shard, and pressed it to Gemma’s throat.

"No one comes in!"

The pounding stopped.

Then Daniel’s voice came from outside, calm in a way that was honestly more chilling. "Open the door."

"Get Dominic here!" Eliza’s hand shook violently. "I want to talk to him!"

"I’m here."

The second Dominic spoke, the whole room seemed to turn cold.

Eliza froze.

The next second, the lock—and a chunk of the doorframe with it—blew inward. The door slammed hard against the wall.

Dominic stood in the doorway. His eyes had turned blood red, and black markings were crawling from his neck up along the side of his face. Daniel and Anna stood behind him, and the hallway was packed with pack guards.

His gaze landed first on the bruised fingerprints around my throat, then on the glass shard in Eliza’s hand.

A growl rolled up from deep in his chest.

Eliza’s grip loosened for one split second. Gemma jerked her head away and rolled her chair back. I lunged and grabbed Eliza’s arm. Daniel rushed in at the same time and slammed her to the floor.

It was over.

The danger was done.

But Dominic didn’t stop.

His bones cracked with a sickening sound. His nails lengthened fast, and the killing intent pouring off him filled every inch of the room. The guards instinctively stepped back. Daniel still had Eliza pinned, but he looked up at me.

Only I could stop him.

Dominic took a step toward Eliza.

I moved in front of him.

"Move." His voice barely sounded human anymore.

"No."

"She hurt you." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"I’m still alive." I lifted my hand and pressed it to his chest. "Look at me."

His red eyes stayed locked on Eliza.

"Dominic, look at me." I raised my voice. "You promised you wouldn’t let the beast control you again."

His chest rose and fell hard. The black markings had reached his jaw now, and his fangs showed at the corners of his mouth.

I didn’t back away.

"Back in the cellar, I called you back." I fisted his shirt tight. "Same thing now. Come back."

A few long, dragging seconds passed.

Then finally, he lowered his head and looked at me.

My face reflected in those blood-red eyes. The black markings began to recede. His nails returned to normal, and his fangs slowly drew back.

It took time. Every breath looked like a fight, like he was wrestling the beast inside for control of his own body. I kept my hand on his chest the whole time, until the heartbeat under my palm stopped pounding like a drum gone off the rails.

"Good," I whispered. "That’s it."

His hand covered mine. In that moment, even though our mate bond had already broken, it still felt like it was there. I couldn’t hear his thoughts, but I knew exactly what he was afraid of.

Not losing control.

Not Eliza.

He was afraid I’d die before he got to me.

Anna rushed in and threw her arms around me so hard my ribs screamed.

"You promised you wouldn’t play hero!" she nearly yelled.

"I didn’t play hero. I held out for twenty-one minutes."

"How is that any different?"

I thought about it. "The timing is more precise."

She looked ready to smack me, then saw the marks on my neck and just hugged me hard again instead.

Everyone in the room finally let out a breath.

Dominic reached up and touched my neck, so gentle it was like he thought I might break. "Does it hurt?"

"A little."

He pulled me into his arms and held me tight. His heartbeat slammed against my ear.

"I thought I was too late again."

I didn’t answer. I just closed my eyes.

The medics lifted Gemma onto a stretcher. As they passed us, she looked at Dominic.

"Stop wasting time," she said tiredly. "The person you’re really afraid to lose couldn’t be more obvious."