ELLA.

Honestly, I felt guilty and there was no point denying it.

A part of me knew I had gone too far with Lurgard. The look on his face after I hit him... the way he just stood there, stunned, it lingered in my mind longer than I wanted it to.

But at the same time...

What was I supposed to do?

I needed to set boundaries, clear ones. They couldn’t just corner me, pin me against walls, and kiss me whenever they felt like it. I wasn’t some object they could pass around, something to satisfy whatever impulses they had.

It was frustrating and annoying.

And the worst part?

My body wasn’t even helping me.

My stupid wolf—Nyx. She kept reacting in ways I didn’t understand, stirring at the slightest touch, responding to them in ways she had never responded to Alex, not even once.

That alone made everything more confusing.

What was wrong with her?

Or... what was wrong with me?

I exhaled sharply, trying to push the thoughts away, but the irritation still lingered and then there was Lurgard.

I was still pissed at him.

He asked questions, made decisions, and never gave me the chance to actually respond. He just assumed, acted, and expected me to follow along like I had no say.

And because of that...I was stuck here, bound to them until Goddess knows when I could find a way out.

"So annoying..." I muttered under my breath.

My fists clenched tightly at my sides, my frustration building all over again and it was only when I felt a hand wrap around mine that I snapped back to reality.

Lawrence.

He was still here.

His presence felt... quieter compared to the chaos that had just unfolded, but it was still there.

"Alpha Lawrence..." I called softly, pulling my hand away from his grip almost immediately. "I think you should leave too."

The words came out more direct than I expected.

For a split second, his expression darkened.

I saw it, as clear as day but just as quickly, he masked it, replacing it with a small, controlled smile.

"I heard you had a nightmare, Theresa," he said instead, completely ignoring what I had just said.

As if my request didn’t matter.

As if he hadn’t heard me at all.

"Yes, I did," I replied, my voice more tired now than anything else. "So would you please just leave?"The desperation in my tone surprised even me. "I need to sleep," I added, softer this time. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

There was a brief pause before he sighed lightly.

"Okay... I’m leaving now," he said, finally giving in. "But don’t hesitate to call me whenever you need something."

He stood up slowly, lingering just a second longer than necessary before leaning down and placing a light kiss on my forehead.

The gesture caught me off guard, and despite everything...I couldn’t help it but to roll my eyes.

I let out a slow breath the moment the door closed behind Lawrence.

Relief washed over me, heavy and immediate, as though the air in the room had finally cleared. My shoulders dropped, the tension I had been holding onto slipping away bit by bit.

Without thinking, I sank into the bed.

My body ached. Every part of me felt drained, physically, emotionally, mentally. It was as if everything that had happened earlier had taken a toll on me all at once.

I didn’t even have the strength to overthink anymore and thankfully, sleep came quickly...almost instantly.

***

The next time I opened my eyes, it wasn’t by choice, It was the noise and voices. Loud... overlapping... colliding from downstairs.

My brows furrowed slightly as I blinked, still caught between sleep and wakefulness. For a moment, I just lay there, trying to process where I was.

Then it all came rushing back, slowly, I turned my head toward the window and light streamed in, soft but bright enough to make me squint.

Morning.

It was a new day.

I should have stayed in bed.

Better yet, I should have gotten up properly, freshened up, changed out of my pyjamas into something decent before stepping out.

But curiosity...It got the better of me.

Always did.

I pushed myself up, ignoring the slight discomfort in my body, and made my way out of the room.

The noise downstairs hadn’t stopped, If anything, it had grown louder.

Without thinking much about it, I hurried down the stairs, one hand rubbing at my sleepy eyes, trying to clear my vision enough to make sense of what I was about to see.

But then...I froze mid-step.

My breath caught.

Because the moment my eyes adjusted, the scene in the living room became clear and so did the person standing there.

Alex.

My heart skipped.

Why was he here?

Of all places... why here?

I remained on the stairs, my body stiff, my mind racing as panic began to creep in. This definitely wasn’t good at all.

Instinctively, I took a small step back.

Maybe...Maybe it wasn’t too late to turn around and go back upstairs. To pretend I hadn’t seen anything because the last thing I wanted right now...was to face him.

But before I could fully turn...A hand landed on my back, sudden and unexpected.

And then...everything happened too fast, my footing slipped, my balance gone and before I could even react...I was falling.

My body tumbled down the stairs, each step hitting against me painfully, my head knocking against the hard tiles again and again until...I hit the ground hard.

A sharp pain shot through my body, my vision instantly blurring as the world around me spun uncontrollably.

I couldn’t move and I could barely breathe because everything hurt.

Was... this it?

Was this how it ends?

No...My thoughts struggled to form as panic clawed at my chest. My pup has to live.

I tried to hold onto that thought, to stay conscious, but the darkness began creeping in, pulling me under slowly.

And just before everything faded completely...I heard loud voices, filled with panic.

"Theresa!"

"Ella!"