The Luna Queen's Rebirth (Ellie and Dominic) novel Chapter 27

Ellie POV

I always thought the Moon Goddess had a twisted sense of humor. She did give me a second chance at life.

But this?

This was cruelty with a bow on top.

Dominic stood in front of me, his eyes wide and frustratingly unreadable. The wind shifted between us, carrying that warm, electric pull I knew far too well. The bond. The same bond I died with in another life. The same bond I swore I would never walk blindly into again.

It felt so good, so close I could almost relive it over again. Before I took it by the throat and squeezed.

“I reject the bond,” I whispered, even though my throat felt raw. “You hear me?”

Dominic swallowed once, like the odd relief on his face was suddenly pierced with reality. “Ellie, what— why—?” His hand moved to my shoulders, but I pulled away.

“No.” My voice cracked like thin ice. “No, this isn’t right. Because that would mean the Moon Goddess is a lunatic. Or—” I jabbed a finger at him, “—she’s got some kind of personal vendetta against me.”

“What?” Dominic’s breath puffed, looking more than lost. “Ellie, what are you even talking bout—”

“She paired me with you?” Again!? “Are you kidding me?”

He looked baffled, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Ellie,” he finally said. “I’m not going to—”

Panic clawed up my spine, raising a hand to stop him.

Not again. Not the same path. Not the same cage.

“I’m not doing this,” I snapped, stepping back. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was supposed to have free will. A different story. Not—” I waved furiously between us, “—this cosmic déjà vu.”

Dominic frowned like I was being unreasonable, which only made me want to scream.

“Ellie, I have no clue what you're rambling about, but fate is fate.”

“Oh my god, do not ‘fate’ me right now.” I grabbed the front of his shirt, hauling him closer. “Break it. Reject the bond with me. Do it so we’re free.”

His jaw tightened. “I don’t—”

“Say it,” I hissed. “Say the words.”

He didn’t. He hesitated.

Something in my chest cracked so loudly I swore he could hear it.

“You can’t even do that for me,” I whispered, hating how broken it sounded.

“It’s not that,” he said, catching my wrists. “Ellie—”

“Bull! Don’t even start! You still have one hand on me and the other wrapped around Vivian.” My voice sharpened like a blade. “Still stringing me along like you did before. You don’t want me, Dominic. You just don’t want me free!”

His eyes flashed. “That’s not true.”

“It is. And don’t you dare try to rewrite history.”

I tore myself out of his grip and turned. I didn’t trust myself to stay. My anger was shaking, trembling, and barely holding the weight of the panic underneath.

“Ellie, stop,” he called behind me. “We’re fated! You know that.”

“Shut up!” I turned on him, breath ragged. “We are nothing. Do you hear me? Nothing. I am not doing this. No goddess, no prophecy, no stupid glowing thread between our souls gets to make my choices.”

I didn’t wait to see his reaction, I ran.

The moment I was alone, the silence inside my head hit me like a wall. I reached inward—toward the place my wolf should be, toward the quiet warmth of her presence…

Nothing.

A dead, hollow quiet.

“Great,” I muttered. “Perfect timing to ghost me.”

Frustration surged hot and fast. My chest hurt. My eyes burned. I didn’t know if I was sad or furious or both in a way that made me want to tear something apart.

So I went to the only place that made sense: the training field.

The night air bit at my skin as I threw myself at the practice dummies. My gown snagged and split at the red seams, fabric ripping as I slashed my claws through burlap and straw.

Thud.

Rip.

Crack.

Every strike was a question the universe refused to answer.

Why him? Why again? Why give me another chance just to shackle me to the same destiny?

Thud.

My breath heaved.

Rip.

My hair stuck to my face.

Crack.

My vision blurred.

Finally, when my hands shook too hard to hit anything else, I staggered back and glared at the moon.

“It’s not fair!” I screamed, voice raw. “You don’t get to rewrite my life the same way twice! You don’t get to pretend this is mercy!”

The wind swallowed my words, carrying them upward like a challenge.

“Why him?” I whispered. “Why the one person I swore—”

My voice gave out before the sentence could finish.

Vivian made sure to play it up. She pressed closer, sliding her fingers around my neck, whispering in my ear, saying how happy she was.

I put my hand at her waist automatically. But my mind?

Nowhere near Vivian.

It was with the look on Ellie’s face when the bond snapped into place between us.

Shock.

Fury.

…and something else she tried like hell to bury.

She renounced me. Or tried to.

Why?

She always acted like she loved me, would do any for me. She never complained, she never went against me. The kind where her eyes only brighten every time I paid attention to her, and I’d tell myself: see? She’s obsessed.

But tonight’s fury wasn’t cute. It wasn’t banter.

It was real.

Vivian murmured something about how good we looked together under the moonlight. I didn’t respond. She leaned in closer, nails ghosting my jaw, tilting my face toward hers.

And for the first time… I felt absolutely nothing.

I didn’t want to kiss her.

Didn’t want to flirt.

Didn’t want to play the role I’d been so comfortable in.

Because the bond was still thrumming in my chest, stubborn and alive, and it wasn’t for Vivian. It was for the girl who looked at me like I ruined her entire universe.

Ellie.

Independent, stubborn, this infuriating new Ellie, who keeps trying to run from me like I’m a bad habit instead of—apparently—her destiny.

Suddenly, Vivian felt heavy in my arms. Like I was holding up the wrong story. The wrong partner. The wrong life.

I cleared my throat, stepping back just slightly. “Viv, maybe we should—”

But the cameras clicked again, capturing the moment her eyes glittered with triumph, and I realized something bone-deep and uncomfortable:

Vivian didn’t interest me.

Not like Ellie with her sharp tongue and quiet strength and the way she looked at me tonight like she’d rather die than be tied to me.

And I suddenly needed to know why.