Chapter 33 - Isla
THIRTY-THREE
ISLA
Isla folded her coral sundress with trembling fingers and placed it carefully in her open suitcase.
Evelina’s estate had become a sanctuary over the past week, but now it felt like a chrysalis she was ready to shed.
Everything was changing so quickly it made her head spin—completing the mate bond with Damon last night, his proposal to move in together, his dragon mark still tingling on her skin beneath her dress.
A week ago, if someone had told her she’d be moving in with a man she’d just met, she would have laughed and recommended they read fewer romance novels.
Yet here she was, folding clothes with the kind of giddy excitement she’d only read about in books, the mate bond humming contentedly in her chest.
She needed to call Harper. The thought made her stomach clench with a mixture of guilt and anticipation. Her best friend deserved to know what was happening, but how did you explain that you’d found your soulmate in a dragon shifter and were about to uproot your entire life for him?
Isla sank onto the four-poster bed, her phone feeling heavier than it should in her palm. Harper’s contact photo smiled back at her—the two of them grinning over steaming mugs at their bookstore’s grand opening three years ago.
God, was she abandoning everything they’d built together?
The thought made her chest tight with panic.
But then she remembered the way Damon’s eyes had lit up when she’d said yes to moving in with him, and the profound rightness that had settled in her bones when their souls had locked together last night. This wasn’t abandonment—this was growth. Evolution. The next chapter of her story.
Harper answered on the first ring, her familiar voice cutting through Isla’s spiraling thoughts. “I haven’t heard from you in a week. Please tell me you didn’t get married to that tall, dark, and emotionally unavailable guy already?”
Isla opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again. The words seemed too big, too impossible to squeeze through the phone line.
“Isla? Please tell me you did not do anything drastic.”
The concern in Harper’s voice made Isla’s eyes sting. She pressed her back against the headboard, bracing herself for the explosion that was about to come.
“Don’t panic,” Isla began, then immediately winced at her choice of words. “But this place is really full of dragon shifters, and Damon is the Alpha dragon here. I’m his fated mate, like I said before, and we completed the mate bond last night.”
The silence stretched so long Isla wondered if the call had ended. Then Harper’s voice came through in a shriek.
“You did what? He’s a what? Oh my god, Isla, you really stepped into a romance novel, didn’t you?”
“It’s so much more than that.” The words tumbled out in a rush. “The mate bond is so intense and real and profound. Sure, Damon has a century of baggage, but he’s trying to heal. And I want to help him heal and find joy again.”
“Excuse me—a century of baggage?” Harper’s voice climbed another octave. “Isla, how old is this man?”
“Two hundred years old.”
“Oh my god.” Harper’s exhale was audible through the phone. “Isla, how is that going to work? You’re human. Humans live to maybe a hundred if we’re lucky, and we age, and he clearly doesn’t. This is so far beyond comprehension.”
Isla’s dragon mark pulsed with warmth, as if responding to her mate’s proximity somewhere in the estate. The sensation grounded her, reminded her of the rightness she felt in this new world.
“It may not make sense to anyone else, but Damon and what we have and this world make perfect sense to me. I belong here, Harper. I belong with him.”
Another long pause, then a heavy sigh. “I can hear the conviction and happiness in your voice. I can tell you really care about this man. Who am I to judge it or hold you back from your destiny?”
Relief flooded through Isla so quickly she felt lightheaded. “Thank you for your understanding and support. But what are we going to do about the bookstore?”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll figure something out. You can still be co-owner if you want.”
Suddenly, an idea struck Isla with such clarity she nearly dropped the phone.
“Actually, I have a better idea. What if the bookstore here was called Fairy Tales & Tea on the Island? A second location instead of just one bookstore. We could own two, and I could travel back whenever I want to help with the Cape Cod store, and you could travel here to help with this one. We could hire more people to assist us. Everything could work out perfectly!”
The possibilities bloomed in her mind like flowers—expanding their business, spreading the joy of books and reading to new communities, building something beautiful with Harper even from a distance.
“That could actually work,” Harper said, and Isla could hear the smile in her voice. “I’ll start looking into all the logistics.”
“Could you help me with one more favor?” Isla’s voice grew smaller. “Could you arrange movers for my things? I’ll call a realtor first thing tomorrow to put my house on the market.”
“This is really happening, isn’t it?” Harper replied softly.
“Yes.”
“Alright then. I’ll do whatever you need so you can live your happily ever after there with your Prince Charming.”
“Thank you so much—” Isla began, but the sound of footsteps in the hallway made her look up.
Damon’s commanding presence filled the doorway, his green eyes immediately finding hers with that piercing intensity.
“I have to go, but I’ll be in touch soon,” Isla said quickly into the phone before ending the call, her pulse already quickening at the sight of her mate.
Damon stepped into the room with that predatory grace, his gaze sweeping over her packed suitcase before settling on her face again with unmistakable possessiveness.
“Ready to come home with me?” His voice carried that low tone that made something deep in her belly flutter with anticipation.
Home.
Yes, wherever he was felt exactly like home.
“Yes, I’m more than ready,” Isla replied softly.
Damon reached down to grab her suitcase. “So, what was that all about?”
“I just told Harper everything—about us completing the mate bond, about me staying here permanently.” Isla’s words tumbled out in a rush of excitement.
“She’s actually being incredibly supportive, and she wants to help with the bookstore here too.
We’re thinking of making it a second location—Fairy Tales & Tea on the Island. If that’s okay with you?”
Damon stepped closer, the corners of his mouth lifting in that rare, genuine smile that transformed his entire face. “Whatever will make you happy. I want to give you the world.”
The declaration hit her like a physical force, stealing her breath. This powerful man who’d spent a century protecting himself from emotional vulnerability was offering her everything without hesitation.
She rose on her toes and kissed him, pouring all her joy and gratitude into the connection between their lips.
Her heart felt ready to burst with the sheer perfection of it all—an incredible, loving man who saw her as his equal, a supportive best friend who believed in her choices, a business expanding beyond her wildest dreams, and a new home in paradise.
This love story was definitely worth waiting for, she thought as Damon’s arms tightened around her. It’s beyond anything I ever imagined.
When they broke apart, both breathing slightly harder, Damon’s eyes held a contentment she’d never seen before.
“But for right now, we just need to move you into the beach house, figure out this clan mess, and stabilize everything,” he said firmly. “Then we can focus on rebuilding and making this place perfect.”
They left her guest suite together and moved through the estate’s elegant hallways.
“I want to say goodbye to Evelina before we go,” she said, checking the library and sitting room.
Damon paused, his brow furrowing slightly. “She’s probably out talking with the elder clan members, helping to uncover who’s behind the alliance with Veyrik.”