“Jason’s pretty loyal,” was Sarah’s first words as she shifted on the large boulder she was sitting on. They were by a small stream to the east of the mansion. Beautiful butterflies flew above and below and some perched upon the green grass that surrounded the crystal stream. Furry wild animals strolled pass every now and then, grabbing Sarah’s attention for a brief moment before she refocused on the man before her.
The place was nice. It was sad that she had never been here before, seeing as Damon hardly allowed her feet to touch the surface of the outdoors.
“Is that all you have to say after I told you everything? I’ve never… ever willingly told anyone about my life aside form Jason.” Damon who was standing between her legs, lifted his gaze to her and frowned, hazel eyes giving her a pointed, disapproving look. In his perspective, he had just revealed his wretched past, and that could possibly be a disadvantage at any given moment depending on whom he told it to. But he had chose to tell her anyway and yet, her response was rather limited.
But on another note, why did he even tell her anything of it? This wasn’t something to just tell anyone, this was only for the ears of someone trustable, someone loyal, someone who he was sure would never leave his side. So why did he tell her all of a sudden? It couldn’t be because he trusted her, right? RIGHT?
He was always cautious around any and everyone, which is why he never dared to show much emotions. And still, he managed to show her pretty much every single emotion that could ever paint his face. Then now, he even told her about his past. Why? Could it really be that he thought he could trust her? Could it be that he really thought she was someone like Jason, someone who’d never betray him that is?
Whatever the reason may be, he was sure that he felt as if a heavy weight had just been lifted off his shoulders. His body felt light…. like a weightless feather and his mind felt at ease… like he could see a fly right this moment and allow it to breeze pass without spitting fire at it, just like back then when he was the good guy…. or something close to that.
Even so, if he wasn’t sure before, then he was pretty sure that this mate bond between them wasn’t all that bad… Yes, he was changing. Yes, he felt like a totally different person… but strangely, he felt as if that was okay…. as long as he was the good guy in her presence…. her presence alone.
“Show a little appreciation, will you?” He finally finished after a long pause.
She smiled, “Are you saying that I should be touched by your boundless generosity?”
“Something like that.”
“Well…” Sarah paused in thought. “… all I can say is that you’re a tough guy with a big heart.” She pressed her index finger to the spot behind which his heart resided and laughed when Damon gave her a disapproving look. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I get the tough guy part….” He slapped her finger away and stepped back. His hand that was on her thigh slid down to her knee then pushed her legs together. His good mood had evaporated right upon the comprehension of her sentence. “… but big heart? What the hell?! That’s the most awful thing anyone has ever said to me.”
Sarah giggled at his childish antics. “But I’m not wrong, am I?” She grabbed unto his shoulders, intending to pull him back into the clutches of her legs, but Damon shrugged out of hold and fired a devilish glare that only made her laugh harder. “Stop looking at me with those eyes!” She demanded, pursing her lips together as she tried in vein to stop her laughter from consuming her. “She did you dirty, right? And yet you’re still helping her. Doesn’t that mean you have a good heart?”
“No, it means I have good tolerance and self control. I could kill her any day without batting an eye. And likewise, I could also kill you if you give me a reason to… right now, I think I have more than enough reason to rip your tongue out.”
“And then when you kill both your mates, what happens then?”
He shrugged. “A third chance mate, I guess.” That answer was an obvious jest, yet Sarah didn’t take it that way. Her laughter that seemed to have had no end, died at that particular moment and a frown then covered her features.
“I was hoping you would deny that.” She whispered as she began fiddling her fingers.
Damon looked down at her fingers with furrowed brows. “Deny what exactly?”
She kept silent for a few moments with her lips opening and closing like a fish. She was contemplating on whether to speak or not and that made Damon’s irritation surface. “What should I deny, Sarah?”
She dropped her head and finally allowed the words on her tongue to pass through her lips. “I said both your mates… and you didn’t deny that.” She said hesitantly. “Since she rejected you, isn’t she no longer your mate? Or is there still a bond between you? Is that the reason you’re helping her… because you and Liam can’t bear to see her die?”
She was definitely aware that she probably looked like an absolute idiot when she said that, which is why she couldn’t help but clench her eyes close in embarassment. She had already released her worries into the open, so she couldn’t take the words back, all she could do was feel ashamed for ever mentioning that to him.
“Don’t get things mixed up.” Damon replied with a sigh, “I’m only helping her because I want to kill Maximus.” He paused for a mere second, uncertain whether to speak his mind or not. “I admit that there’s a small side of me that still acknowledges that we were mated but it isn’t bigger than the side that wants her dead.”
Sarah’s eyes widened with surprise but she nodded in understanding nonetheless. “Then if I died, what would you do?”
He shot her a dazzling grin with the purpose of soothing her. “If you don’t want to see the whole world massacred, then I suggest that you stay alive.”
Sarah’s face immediately brightened up as expected, her cheeks filling with red and her lips spreading across her face in glee. “You’re kidding right!?” She laughed, punching his shoulder with her right hand in embarrassment and tucking her hair behind her ear with the other as she tried her best to hide away from any form of eye contact.
“Yeah, I’m kidding.”
Damon watched as Sarah’s smile wavered until it was no more. She slapped his arm as hard as she possibly could and he chuckled. “Honestly, I’m not sure what I’d do.” He finally returned to the spot between her legs and wrapped his arm around her waist. Holding her gaze for a few seconds, he took a deep breath and the aura around him became serious. “You’re pretty much everywhere whenever I think of my future.”
Sarah did what she always did when she was half-embarrassed and half-surprised…. fiddle her fingers like a lost child and blink, then blink and blink again. In the meantime, she tried her best to hold it back, but within seconds, she could help but allow another smile to blossom on her lips. “Are you sure about that?”
“You can’t leave me… not now, not ever and I already told you that I wouldn’t leave you stranded again…. which means neither of us will be leaving each other anytime soon.”
“Are you saying that leaving isn’t an option for me? I don’t get to chose my own future?”
“Yes, that’s exactly it.” He tightened his hold on her waist and hoisted her in the air as if she was a sack of potatoes, his arms flexing nicely in her vision. With a rare soft smile on his face, he brought her feet down to the floor and pecked her lips briefly then pulled back. “Alright. Let’s head back. I have to meet up with Jason. There’s been rogues everywhere, it’s not even safe for you to be out here with just me alone.”
“Okay.” Sarah nodded dumbly. Both her mind and body were utterly mortified by the tingles that was spreading across her plumb lips and all she could do was graze her fingers over the flesh as Damon walked off through the woods with her thrown over his shoulder, one hand by his side and the other beneath her butt.