Chapter 291: Different Reaction I
Despite all the warnings I had sent out to Damon — and had gotten Kyle to forward to Damon — he still showed up.
There was no fanfare, no extravagance, and no time wasted. In just a little more than two days, Damon had sped his way over in an armored Rolls Royce, pulling into the gates of the Elrod mansion with more speed than I would’ve liked.
Not many from Thunderstrike knew that he was coming this time, and the car he drove could easily be misrecognized as one from Thorton Elrod’s previous collection of expensive luxury cars. As such, there weren’t many who gave us a second glance.
I watched from the window of the corridor as Damon parked and locked the car, his eyes surveying the expanse of the mansion. As though he could feel my gaze on him, he suddenly looked up, our gazes locking. I wondered if he could see my eyes widening just a small fraction, surprised that he could sense me so quickly.
Then again, from the second he returned to the grounds of Thunderstrike, I could feel him through our bond. With the speed at which he approached Thunderstrike, the bond opened back up to me in a brash explosion rather than a small trickle― I felt all of his worry, fury, and anxiety rush into me like a tidal wave of emotions.
And when our eyes met through the glass window pane, I also felt a sliver of relief.
He was the first to break eye contact, marching straight for the front doors of the mansion. I immediately groaned.
"Alpha Damon is looking for you," Kyle relayed, his hand leaving his temple and slowly returning to his side.
"You don’t say?" I said with a snort, huffing at the strand of hair that had fallen in my face.
"He said to meet in the garden out back."
"Shouldn’t he meet Darach first?" I asked, frowning. "After all, he’s still the alpha of Thunderstrike. It’s only polite."
Kyle only gave me a flat look, not a single word spilled from his lips. Yet, I managed to read his thoughts just fine.
This was Damon we were talking about. Since when did he care for politeness and niceties? It was already a miracle he didn’t immediately bring an army to invade Thunderstrike for this slight.
"Fine," I said, "I’ll head there immediately."
Relief washed ashore Kyle’s face as he nodded, quickly relaying the message to Damon without hesitation. Likewise, I whipped out my phone and scrolled to Darach’s contact, ignoring the bombardment of messages Damon had spammed me with while he was on the road.
’He’s here,’ I typed out before hitting the send button, watching as three little dots quickly showed up on the left side of the screen.
’I know,’ Darach replied. ’We’ll stay clear of your way.’
My eyelids merely ticked at the reply.
Darach had made it very clear that he was less than pleased that Damon — and not Blaise — had shown up. What’s more, if the rebelling faction of Thunderstrike heard of this, it might cause more trouble for us since Damon — and Fangborne, by extension — had no business meddling with what was considered Thunderstrike’s pack matters.
I needed to get Damon out of Thunderstrike as soon as possible. But one thing was for sure...
"I am not coming with you," I said the second I entered the garden, only to see Damon already standing there waiting for me. "You need to go back." r
He turned around as soon as I neared. For a second, I wondered if he hadn’t realized I was approaching until I spoke, but I knew that it shouldn’t be the case. After all, he would’ve sensed I was around probably rooms away― werewolves were always more sensitive to their mate’s scent, after all, especially with such a powerful sense of smell.
When I got closer, I soon realized why he hadn’t turned until I was mere inches apart from him.
His fists were clenched tightly against his sides, his veins popping out so clearly against his skin that I was worried they would burst at any second. With such bloodshot eyes, I wondered when was the last time Damon had actually gotten any proper sleep. He had dark eyebags hanging under his eyes and his skin looked even paler than I remembered it to be.
Instantly, a wave of guilt washed over me.
"Damon―"
"This is all you have to say?" Damon said, cutting me off. "No ’hello’, no ’how are you’, no ’it’s great to see you again’. Are you just so eager to have me chased off? After everything?"
"I was going to―"
"Going to what, Harper?" Damon snapped.
He closed the distance between us and I could feel his body heat radiating off him from our close proximity. His eyes darted from my eyes down to my lips for a split second, but they quickly returned to meet my gaze.
"To apologize," I said, "before I was rudely cut off. Thank you for coming here to see me. But you needn’t worry about me, like I told you over the phone. I have it under control."
Damon pursed his lips, and I could see his jaw flexing as he clenched and unclenched his teeth, seemingly at war with himself over what to say and feel. I couldn’t properly make sense of his emotions through our bond― it was a chaotic mess inside Damon’s head, with endless conflicting feelings.
Finally, his lips parted, gaping like a fish on land, struggling to find the words he needed. He said, "Would your reaction have been different if Blaise was here instead?"
I reeled back in surprise. "What? Why would you ask such a thing?"
This time, his gaze steeled, meeting mine straight without flinching away. On the other hand, I felt the hair at the back of my neck stand, strangely uncomfortable with the way he was staring at me. There was something off about the look in his eyes. It seemed crazed and fervent― haunted.
Damon chose to ignore my question. Instead, he reiterated, "Would you?"
