The thought crashed through him with devastating clarity. He’d lashed out at his mate like a wounded animal, used his words as weapons to drive her away before she could get close enough to him. The hurt that had flashed in her hazel eyes when he’d called her a problem would haunt him for eternity.
Through the mate bond, he felt her distress like a physical weight crushing his chest. She was out there in the dark, alone and upset, probably lost on an island she didn’t know. The protective instincts hardwired into his dragon DNA roared to life, overriding every defense mechanism he’d carefully constructed over the past century.
She’s in danger. Your mate is vulnerable and you did this.
The rational part of his mind tried to argue that Everflame Isle was perfectly safe, that nothing would harm her here. Butthe primal part of him—the part that had recognized her as his the moment their hands touched—wouldn’t listen to reason.
Damon launched himself from his chair with such force it toppled backward onto the deck. His powerful legs carried him down the wooden steps three at a time as he followed her vanilla scent that lingered in the salt air, tracking her through the moonlit landscape like the predator he was.
He soon found her running along the main path toward his aunt’s estate, her flowing white skirt catching on the tropical vegetation and her long auburn hair wild from her frantic escape. Even in the pale moonlight, he could see the way her shoulders shook with suppressed sobs.
The sight of his mate so clearly upset because of his own cruelty nearly brought him to his knees.
“Isla, stop.” His deep voice carried easily through the night air, roughened with emotion he couldn’t quite hide.
She didn’t slow down, her sandaled feet moving fast across the uneven ground. If anything, his voice seemed to spur her into a more desperate flight.
Of course she’s running from you. You just told her she was a problem.
Damon’s longer stride caught up to her easily, and when she still refused to acknowledge him, he reached out and gently caught her arm—not hard enough to hurt, just enough to make her stop before she injured herself in the dark.
“Let go of me.” Isla yanked her arm away with surprising strength, whirling to face him with fire blazing in her eyes despite the tears tracking down her cheeks. “I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
The raw pain in her voice hit him like a knife to the heart, and his dragon writhed with the need to comfort her, to pull her close and promise he’d never hurt her again.
“Why are you following me anyway?” she continued, her voice breaking slightly. “You’re the one who told me to leave your house, remember?”
“I’m sorry.” The words came out rough, his usual control shattered by the sight of her distress. “I overreacted. I was… Would you come back to finish dinner?”
“No.” The word was sharp and final. “I just want to go back to Evelina’s.”
His dragon snarled at the rejection, wanting to argue, to demand she listen to his apology. But the human part of him—the part that recognized he’d already done enough damage for one day—forced him to respect her wishes.
“Then I’ll walk you back.”
“I don’t need?—”
“I’m not leaving you alone in the dark.” His tone brooked no argument.
They walked the rest of the way in suffocating silence, the tension between them thick enough to cut. Every step felt like another knife twist in his chest as the mate bond amplified her hurt and rejection. By the time they reached Evelina’s estate, Damon felt like his heart had been ripped out.
“Good night,” he managed, his voice barely a whisper.
Before Isla could respond, the front door swung open and Evelina appeared, her sharp green eyes taking in the scene with maternal intuition that missed nothing.
“What did you do?” she demanded, her voice carrying the kind of disappointed authority that had the power to make him feel like a child despite his centuries.
Isla slipped past them both without a word, disappearing into the house.
“I messed up.” The admission tasted bitter in his mouth. “I told her she was a problem for me and that it wouldn’t work between us.”
Evelina’s eyes flashed with something dangerous. “You better fix this, Damon Veyr. That woman is the best thing that’s happened to you in a century, and if you’re too much of a coward to see it?—”
“I know.” The words came out sharp. “I want to fix it. I need to.”
He ran his hand through his dark hair, the weight of his failure crushing down on him. After a century of keeping everyone at arm’s length to protect them from his failures, he wasn’t sure he even remembered how to be vulnerable.
But he had to try. For Isla. For his clan. For himself.
