Chapter 196

Chapter 196: Chapter 196

Dominic’s POV

Lena only had minor injuries.

The second the doctor said that, the iron grip squeezing around my heart finally eased a little.

Daniel sent me the recording from the scene. Eliza admitted it herself—she leaked Gemma’s location, and she also admitted she’d been blackmailed by the kidnappers.

Blueridge’s transport files were already in the council’s custody. No one could bury this anymore.

I listened to the recording three times.

The first time, I wanted to kill Eliza.

The second time, I wanted to wipe the entire Blueridge Pack off the map.

The third time, I finally heard Lena’s voice for real. She had been stalling the whole time, staying sharp even when things were at their worst. She knew Anna would come. She knew exactly how to push Eliza into spilling the truth.

And the first thing I did after arriving was still the same as always—let rage take the wheel.

If Lena hadn’t stepped in front of me, I probably would’ve destroyed every last piece of evidence that could get justice for Gemma.

There was a bruise on the back of her head, finger marks on her neck, and cuts on her arm from broken glass. No fractures. No internal injuries. No danger to her life.

And still, when I saw her lying on that exam bed, I wanted to kill someone.

"Don’t look at me like that," she said. "I’m fine."

"Every time you say you’re fine, you’re not."

"This time the doctor can back me up."

The doctor glanced at me and, very wisely, said nothing.

Lena refused to let me stay. Anna came in to sit with her, and Daniel took over handling Eliza and the evidence at the scene. So the only place left for me to go was Gemma’s room.

Right before I reached the door, I turned back once.

Lena was leaning against the hospital bed while Anna fixed her hair for her. Her face was pale as paper, but she was still smiling, like she wasn’t the one who’d almost been strangled today.

Our bond was gone. I could no longer feel her pain through it. That freedom was what she had wanted, but right then, it scared the hell out of me.

Before, even the slightest shift in her emotions would set my wolf on edge. Now, even if she died on the other side of a wall, I might not feel a thing.

That was when I finally understood what she had taken from my world the day the bond was broken.

Not just a title. Not just a relationship. She had taken the way I knew she still existed.

I couldn’t rely on instinct to find her anymore. From now on, if I wanted to know whether she was safe, I would have to ask. If I wanted her to stay, I would have to give her a reason.

She was awake, an IV line taped to her arm. Celeste sat beside the bed, eyes swollen and red.

"Come here," Gemma said the second she saw me, tipping her chin up at me.

I didn’t move.

She let out a sigh. "You saw the records already?"

"I did."

"And you know what Eliza did?"

"Yes."

"So now you’re planning to kill Blueridge and everyone involved."

I said nothing.

Gemma gave a short laugh. "Yep. Sounds about right."

She told Celeste to step outside first. Then it was just the two of us in the room.

"Dominic, I don’t need you to avenge me."

"This isn’t revenge." My voice came out flat and cold. "It’s the price they should pay."

"Then let the wolf council handle it. Don’t destroy everything you still have over something that’s already happened."

My eyes dropped to the arm exposed beneath her hospital gown. Old scars crossed over each other, some faded white, some still raised.

My throat tightened. "If I hadn’t been late that day—"

"Then you would’ve watched a woman with no hope left throw herself off a cliff," she cut in. "You saved Lena’s mother. Even if all you gave her was one more day, it still mattered."

"But you—"

"The people who kidnapped me ruined my life. Eliza’s jealousy ruined my life. Your kindness didn’t."

Gemma looked straight into my eyes.

"Stop carrying other people’s sins like they’re yours. You always do this. Because you couldn’t save me, you took care of Eliza. Because the curse might hurt people, you shoved everyone away. Because you were scared Lena would leave, you pretended you didn’t love her."

My fingers curled tighter, one by one.

"I wasn’t pretending."

"Then do you love her?"

I went silent.

Gemma rolled her eyes. "Eight years later, and you’re still this hopeless."

I had almost forgotten she used to talk to me like that.

"I did love you once," she said, her voice turning softer. "That part was real. But that feeling stopped eight years ago. Now when I look at you, all I see is an old friend—stubborn, arrogant, and somehow always there when people need him most."

She paused for a beat.

"After I came back, you found doctors for me, arranged treatment, and kept trying to make up for something you never even owed me. But the second Lena left, you looked like someone had ripped your soul out. Dominic, do you seriously not see it?"

Of course I saw it.

That was exactly why I’d been too afraid to say it out loud.

Lena asked me to tell her I loved her. Back then, if I’d said one word—just one—I could’ve kept her. But I thought of Gemma. I thought of Eliza. I thought of every person who had once said they loved me and still ended up leaving.

I convinced myself that if I never said it, no one would ever get the chance to use it to break me.

In the end, I pushed her away with my own hands.

The hospital door opened. Celeste walked back in, holding a folded check.

"Lena gave it back to me," she said, setting it on the bedside table. "She didn’t take a single cent."

I stared at the paper.

"When?"

"The day you ended the bond."

"Why am I only hearing this now?"

Celeste looked pale. "I thought she was just trying to protect the last bit of her dignity."

"Did she tell you why she didn’t want it?"

Celeste looked away. "She said ending the bond was what she wanted anyway. The check only gave you that last little push."

Something slammed hard into my chest.

Lena knew exactly how to make me let go. She knew that if she showed even the smallest sign of reluctance, I never would’ve agreed. So she turned that check into a weapon and made me believe she had chosen money.

And I knew she was lying.

But I was too proud. I’d rather help her tear everything between us to pieces than admit I was scared.

"You’d rather believe she was putting on an act than admit you got her wrong."

"Dominic—"

"You brought her into my life. She saved me. She saved the whole pack. And after I fell in love with her, you tried to pay her to leave."

Tears welled in Celeste’s eyes. "I just wanted to make it up to Gemma."

"You don’t get to make up for one woman by using another woman’s life."

Gemma reached over and took Celeste’s hand. "Celeste Mom, you were wrong."

Celeste lowered her head, shoulders trembling faintly.

"I’ll apologize to her," she whispered.

"You owe her that," I said, getting to my feet. "But whether she accepts it or not is her choice."

I walked to the door, and Gemma called after me.

"You still didn’t answer."

I turned back.

"Do you love her?"

This time, I didn’t hesitate.

"I do."

When the words left my mouth, they didn’t carry the fear I’d imagined for so long. They simply settled into the air—plain, clear, like a truth that had always been there, waiting for me to stop lying to myself.

Gemma smiled. Not sadly. Not forcing it. Just relieved, like she’d finally lived long enough to hear me admit I’d been an idiot.

"Then go tell her."

"She might not want to see me."

"Then wait outside her door. Weren’t you always weirdly good at blocking people in?"

I gave her a look.

"Don’t stare at me like that." She closed her eyes. "I just crawled back from death’s doorstep. I’ve earned the right to make fun of you."

I left the hospital and drove to Lena’s apartment.

I stood outside her door and lifted my hand, but I couldn’t make myself knock.

The door opened from the inside.

Lena stood there in loose pajamas, the bruised finger marks on her neck still painfully obvious. Her gaze flicked to my raised hand.

"So," she said, "how long were you planning to stand out here?"

"No idea."

"What do you want?"

I looked at her.

This time, I wasn’t going to let silence answer for me.