ELENA

The shrill sound of the alarm beside the bed jolted me awake, pulling me out of the shallow sleep I had barely managed to get. I groaned, pressing my palm over my face before reaching out blindly to turn it off. The room fell back into silence, but the heavy feeling in my chest didn’t fade.

I already hated every single day I had spent in Dominic’s house, but today, I hated it even more.

My birthday.

I laid there for a moment, staring up at the ceiling, willing myself to shake off ...