The nagging feeling that had been plaguing her intensified. “Maybe you should call Mikal.”
Damon ran his hand through his dark hair, his jaw tightening. “I don’t know. If Kaelith is handling everything, I don’t want to interfere. But you’re right—I should at least confront him myself.”
“Let’s get to the beach house first,” Isla suggested, her instincts screaming that something wasn’t right. “No sense going to his place where he might cause problems. We don’t want to walk into another ambush.”
“Smart thinking.” Damon’s approval warmed her even as anxiety continued to build in her chest.
They left the estate and began the mile-long walk to his secluded beach house. The afternoon sun painted the island in golden hues, palm trees swaying in the ocean breeze, but Isla couldn’t shake the growing sense of unease crawling up her spine. She’d only been here a week, didn’t know all the players or the century of complex dynamics, but something felt fundamentally wrong.
The beach house appeared through the tropical foliage like something from a dream—weathered wood and glass that caught the sunlight, positioned perfectly to capture both sunrise and sunset. Under normal circumstances, she would have been enchanted by its rustic elegance.
Damon set her suitcase down in the main living area and immediately pulled out his phone. “I’m putting it on speaker so you can hear everything.”
The gesture of inclusion made her heart squeeze with affection even as tension coiled tighter in her stomach.
Mikal answered on the second ring, his voice warm. “Damon! Good to hear from you. How are you feeling after the attack?”
“How could you do this to me?” Damon’s voice turned cold and authoritative. “How could you form an alliance with Veyrik and recruit younger dragons to go against me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mikal’s confusion sounded genuine, almost hurt. “I would never betray you—you’re my Alpha. I’ve been loyal to you for a century. I completely understand why you ruled from a distance. Sure, I’m glad you’re stepping up now and being more present, but I never held that against you.”
Damon’s eyes flickered with uncertainty. “Kaelith said you were behind it.”
Mikal’s laugh held no humor. “I don’t know why he would say something so ridiculous?—”
Suddenly, the front door opened. Kaelith stood in the doorway, but his usual easy smile was nowhere to be found. His bright blue eyes held a cold calculation that made Isla’s blood freeze.
“I have to go,” Damon said quickly, ending the call. He turned to his second-in-command with visible confusion. “I thought you were coming by tomorrow to discuss the investigation.”
Kaelith’s expression remained eerily flat. “Sorry, Damon, but plans changed.”
“What do you mean?” Damon’s voice carried the edge of an Alpha sensing danger.
Before Isla could react, Kaelith lunged toward her with inhuman speed. She tried to dodge, but his hand clamped around her wrist like a steel manacle.
“I didn’t want it to come to this,” Kaelith said, his voice devoid of the warmth she’d grown accustomed to, “but you left me no choice.”
Damon launched himself forward, but Kaelith was already dragging Isla toward the door with supernatural strength and speed. She fought against his grip, but her human strength was pathetically inadequate against a dragon shifter’s power.
“Kaelith, stop!” she screamed, but he hauled her outside and threw her into the back of a black SUV that had appeared as if from nowhere.
The vehicle sped away from the beach house before Damon could reach them. Through the rear window, Isla caught a glimpse of her mate’s face twisted with fury and anguish, his green eyes blazing with dragon fire.
She turned to face Kaelith, her heart hammering. “How could you betray your best friend? Someone who trusted you with his life?”
Kaelith’s laugh was bitter, nothing like the easy humor she’d known. “After a century of resentment, you’d be surprised what actions people will take to make things better. Damon left me no choice.”
“He was changing!” Desperation made her voice crack. “He is trying!”
“Yeah, after you showed up.” Kaelith’s blue eyes glittered with malice. “But it’s too little, too late.”
“No, it’s not! You guys can still work this out!” She grabbed his arm, trying to reach whatever friendship had once existed between him and Damon.
A cold voice from the passenger seat cut through her pleas. “Kaelith already vowed his allegiance to me. There’s no going back on that.”
Isla’s blood turned to ice water as she looked at the passenger for the first time. The man was imposing even seated, with jet-black hair streaked with silver and ice-blue eyes that held no warmth whatsoever. This had to be Veyrik—the rival Alpha who’d been circling Damon’s territory like a predator.
This betrayal hit her like a punch to her sternum. Damon had been betrayed by his uncle a century ago, someone he’d trusted completely. Now history was repeating itself with devastating precision—his best friend and second-in-command had turned against him too.
