Sinclair

“I’m worried about Ella,” I confessed, pushing away my dinner.

“You still haven’t been able to connect?” Hugo inquired, looking up from his own meal. We were on the road that day, between territories, and enjoying a rare night free of politics—though not free of stress. This was the first time I’d been able to stop moving all day, and I knew I had a long night of research and preparations for our next destination ahead.

“Not the way I want,” I confirmed. “We talk on the phone, but something feels off. It would be different if I could actually see her, hold her, and feel her emotions myself. I can’t stand this distance.”

“Maybe that’s all it is, then,” Hugo guessed. “You feel anxious because you’re so far away and don’t have the bond to rely on, and the absence of that connection is driving your wolf to distraction.”

“But it’s not just her,” I admitted. “Every time I ask Dad or Gabriel about Ella, it feels like they’re holding something back, and it concerns me that she’s not coming to our dreams. Every time I reach out to her…it’s like she’s not even there.”

“That’s not unheard of. Dream meetings take more energy than regular sleep—more brainpower,” Hugo reasoned. “Few couples meet that way every night, or even weekly, especially under such stressful conditions.”

“My worry is that she’s too stressed. I can hardly get her to turn on the video function on calls lately, and when I do, she’s got great big circles under her eyes,” I grumbled. “And if I could get her into a dream, then I could force her to tell me what’s going on, but my voice alone can only do so much.”

“Not to mention the naughty thing finds an excuse to get off the phone as soon as we get stern with her,” my wolf added crankily.

“You knew that was a risk,” Hugo replied with a sigh. “And if you ask me, she’s not the only one working herself into the ground to distract herself from missing her mate.”

“That’s not why I’m doing it,” I countered grumpily, and he shot me a disbelieving glance. “At least, it’s not the only reason. There’s too much to do. I feel guilty every time I take even the smallest break.”

“You and Ella are two sides of the same coin,” Hugo laughed. “I think you both need to take a day off.”

“A day off to do what?” I scowled, feeling irrationally annoyed with my Beta even though I knew he was only trying to help. “Sightsee? Read a novel? While my people are dying?”

“So Ella shouldn’t get one either?” Hugo inquired slyly, finishing his plate. “She should keep working herself into the ground until she’s completely burnt out?”

“That’s different,” I bit out, baring my fangs at him.

“Why?” Hugo demanded. “Why is it okay for her to take care of herself, but not you?”

“Because I don’t have the luxury of burning out! If I do, then I compromise the entire fucking war!” I burst out angrily.

“And that’s exactly why you should set some damned boundaries for yourself, Dom,” Hugo growled. “Because if you keep this up, you will render yourself useless to us whether you approve of it or not. So, for the love of the Goddess, man, take the night off. Go call your mate and talk it out, take the edge off, do whatever you need. And come back tomorrow recharged.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, annoyance surging through my veins. “You know you can be a bloody prick sometimes.”

“Yeah, but I’m right,” Hugo snorted, not the least bit bothered by the insult.

“Of course you are; that’s why it’s so damn irritating,” I chuckled, standing and clapping him on the shoulder. “Thank you, brother.”

I left the hotel dining room and retreated to my room, pulling out my phone. It was about 8 o’clock, and though Ella and I normally talked much later than this, I thought our brief bedtime calls might be part of the problem—they didn’t leave us enough time to speak in depth. I dialed her number and waited for the line to pick up, my wolf sighing with satisfaction when her silky voice filled my ear. “Dominic?”

“Hello, trouble,” I greeted her. “What are you up to?”

“Just trying to catch up on the summit plans,” she explained. “Is everything okay? You’re early.”

“Everything is just fine. I decided to take the night off, so you should too,” I ordered warmly.

“But I have so much left to do,” Ella objected, sounding uncertain.

“It wasn’t a suggestion, little wolf,” I chuckled darkly. “I’m making an executive decision that we both need a break.”

“But—”

“No buts, this is happening,” I commanded, leaving no room for argument. “Have you eaten dinner?”

“Yes,” Ella answered, sounding only slightly sullen.

“Did you have dessert?” I followed up, wishing she would turn on her damn camera so I could see her.

“No…though the chef did make an especially delicious-looking cake today,” she revealed, obvious longing in her voice.

“Okay, then you call down to the kitchens and have someone bring you an extra-large slice. Then draw yourself a bath, turn on your video, and you and I are going to talk about absolutely anything but work. Sound like a plan?” I inquired.

“That depends,” Ella replied slyly. “Are you actually asking, or is this another order?”

“What do you think?” I laughed, missing her so much my chest hurt.

“I think you’re a bossy tyrant,” she answered tartly. “But I miss you, so I’ll be good just this once.”

Fifteen minutes later, her camera clicked on, and I was granted the sight of my glorious, naked mate in a steaming bubble bath, a huge slab of chocolate cake resting on the edge of the tub. I scoured her beautiful face, frowning at the dark circles looming against her pale skin. Ella looked as though she’d been running herself ragged—worse, she looked drawn and anxious. In that instant, I knew that this was more than stress or exhaustion, and I was furious with myself for not doing this sooner.

“Alright, baby. Time to come clean,” my wolf’s instincts were screaming that something was very wrong here. “What’s really going on with you?”

Ella flushed and averted her eyes, a clear sign of deceit. “This is all just harder than I expected,” she said quietly. “Not that I expected any of it, really. I just miss you, and working with the refugees is so wonderful—it feels so right, but it’s hard. It’s really hard.”

I tsked gently, hating the fact that she was on a screen and not in front of me. “I believe it. But we both know that’s not all,” I pressed, and part of me imagined I could feel her tension even at this great distance. Ella set her jaw, and I could tell she was determined to stay silent. “Come on, talk to me, mate. Let me help.” She shook her head. “I’m fine. Just tired and wishing you were here.” I let a heavy silence hang between us, and when I didn’t say anything, she peeked up at me from beneath her lashes. “Why? Did someone say something?”

My wolf sat up at attention. “Why? What would they have said?” I growled forebodingly.

Ella squirmed beneath the bubbles, and I increased the force of my growl, trying to send all my power and dominance through the phone. I wasn’t sure it would work, but Ella shuddered instinctively. She was still fighting me, but I didn’t let up, and eventually she broke. “I lied to you!” she finally burst out, tears flooding her eyes.

“What about?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even.

“I haven’t been missing our dream dates because I’m tired,” she sniffled. “I’ve been having really bad nightmares ever since I remembered my wolf being bound. I don’t even have a chance to try to go to you because the moment I close my eyes the bad dreams come, and then I spend half the night trying to avoid going back to sleep, but I never succeed, and then it just happens all over again.”

Her voice was shaky and her lips quivered dangerously. “And I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry, and I made Philippe promise not to tell either—so of course he’s pissed at me. And your recording helps, but it’s not the same as having you here…and the worst part of all is that every time it happens it upsets the baby, and I don’t know how to make it stop!”

As usual, my wolf went to pieces at the sound of her tears, and I couldn’t even bring myself to be angry about the secret. “Sweetheart, it’s okay,” I crooned, and my arms reached for her even though I knew she wasn’t really there. A purr arose in my chest as she buried her face in her hands and began to sob. “Ella, I’m not mad. Please don’t cry,” I begged. “We’ll figure this out. We’ll make it stop. If I have to follow you into your dreams and drag you back to safety, I will.”

She lifted her head meekly. “Is that even possible?”

“Nothing is impossible when it comes to us, baby,” I promised. “Not even the Goddess will keep me from you now that I know—mark my words. When you go to bed tonight, I’ll be waiting, and wherever your dreams take you, I’ll come. I promise I’ll find you—no matter what.”

The edits primarily focus on consistent punctuation (dashes, commas, quotation marks), sentence structure, and minor word choices for clarity and flow. The use of excessive exclamation points was also reduced. The censored words were left as is, as they were already partially censored in the original text.