Chapter 29: Jaxon's Discovery
The rest of the school day passes in a haze of shared glances and electric awareness that makes every ordinary moment feel charged with extraordinary possibility. Lily finds herself completely unable to concentrate on anything except the memory of Damon's lips against hers and the way his silver eyes had looked at her when she whispered those three life-changing words.
Even in separate classes, she can feel his presence like warmth from a distant fire, her entire nervous system still humming with the aftereffects of their passionate kiss in the library. Every time their eyes meet across crowded hallways or through classroom windows, the connection sparks with the same intensity that made their first touch feel like lightning.
Damon seems equally affected, his usual careful composure replaced by something softer and more vulnerable. When they pass each other between classes, his gaze lingers on her face with the kind of wonder that suggests he's still processing what happened between them, still marveling at her acceptance of whatever darkness he believes he carries.
Their shared secret creates an invisible bubble around them that makes the rest of the world feel secondary, less important than the bond they've finally acknowledged. But as the final bell rings and students begin their usual exodus toward dormitories and after-school activities, reality intrudes on their private paradise.
"Lily!" Selena's voice cuts through the crowd with the determined tone of someone who has been trying to get her friend's attention for several minutes. "We need to talk. Now."
Lily turns reluctantly from where she's been saying goodbye to Damon near his locker, her heart sinking as she recognizes the expression on Selena's face. Her best friend looks like someone preparing for an intervention, her hazel eyes carrying the kind of concerned determination that usually precedes uncomfortable conversations.
"Can it wait until tomorrow?" Lily asks hopefully, glancing back at Damon with longing that's probably visible to anyone paying attention. "I was hoping to spend some time with—"
"No, it can't wait," Selena interrupts firmly, grabbing Lily's arm with gentle but insistent pressure. "Trust me when I say this is important. We have something we need to work on together, and it can't be put off any longer."
The urgency in her friend's voice makes Lily's stomach clench with anxiety, though she can't imagine what could be so pressing that it requires immediate attention. Still, Selena has been her closest friend for three years, and their friendship deserves the same consideration she's been giving to her romantic feelings.
"Okay," Lily agrees reluctantly, though every fiber of her being protests the idea of leaving Damon when all she wants is to continue exploring the new dimension their relationship has entered. "But this better be really important."
She turns back to Damon, who has been watching their exchange with the kind of patient understanding that makes her love him even more. "I have to go," she says softly, her voice carrying genuine regret. "Selena says we have something urgent to work on."
"Of course," Damon replies, his accent making the simple words sound like music. "I'll see you tomorrow."
The promise in his voice makes her heart flutter with anticipation for whatever conversations and moments await them, but also carries undertones that suggest he's still struggling with the implications of her love confession and their passionate kiss.
As Selena pulls her away toward whatever urgent discussion requires immediate privacy, Lily looks back over her shoulder to catch one last glimpse of Damon. He watches them go with an expression that combines longing and something that might be relief, as if part of him welcomes the interruption that gives him time to process the emotional earthquake that has reshaped their relationship.
Once they're out of sight, Damon finally allows himself to breathe properly for the first time since Lily whispered those three words that changed everything. Her declaration of love still echoes through his consciousness like a song he can't stop hearing, beautiful and terrifying in equal measure.
He makes his way toward the boys' dormitory with slower steps than usual, his mind reeling with the implications of what happened between them. Every rational thought tells him that accepting her love is the cruelest thing he could do to someone so innocent and pure. Yet the memory of her lips against his makes every argument for staying away feel hollow and meaningless.
What he doesn't notice is the figure following him at a careful distance, using crowds of departing students as cover while maintaining visual contact with predatory patience. Jaxon Reed has perfected the art of surveillance over the past several days, his jealousy and suspicion driving him to learn skills he never thought he'd need.
Damon reaches the edge of campus, where tree-lined pathways lead toward the residential buildings, when something makes him stop abruptly. His enhanced vampire senses pick up sounds that no human ear could detect—the screech of brakes, the crunch of metal against metal, and most disturbing of all, the scent of blood carried on the evening breeze.
A car accident, somewhere close enough that his supernatural hearing can capture every terrible detail. And from the sounds reaching him, people are hurt badly enough that human emergency responders might not arrive in time to prevent tragedy.
Every instinct inherited from his royal vampire bloodline screams at him to ignore the situation, to continue toward his dormitory and maintain the careful facade that keeps him hidden among humans. But stronger than those ancient protocols is the newer voice that sounds remarkably like Lily's—the part of him that has been awakened by her love and wants to be worthy of the faith she's placed in him.
Without conscious thought, Damon changes direction and moves toward the source of the accident with vampire speed that transforms him into a blur of motion barely visible to human perception. Trees and buildings flash past as he covers ground that would take normal humans several minutes to traverse, his supernatural abilities carrying him toward whatever crisis demands intervention.
Behind him, Jaxon follows at a human pace that keeps him just close enough to witness what happens next. When Damon suddenly disappears from normal sight, moving faster than physics should allow, Jaxon's mind struggles to process what he's just observed.
The accident scene that greets Damon is worse than his enhanced senses had suggested. A delivery truck has collided with a small sedan at the intersection two blocks from campus, the impact severe enough to trap the sedan's driver beneath twisted metal while the truck driver lies unconscious against his steering wheel.
Normal humans would require crowbars and emergency equipment to extract the trapped victims, but Damon's vampire strength makes him a one-man rescue operation. He approaches the crumpled sedan and simply tears the door from its hinges with his bare hands, the metal shrieking in protest before giving way to supernatural force.
The trapped driver—a middle-aged woman whose leg is pinned beneath the dashboard—stares up at him with shock and pain that makes his protective instincts flare even brighter. "Don't worry," he tells her gently, his voice carrying the kind of calm authority that comes from centuries of experience with crisis situations. "I'm going to get you out of here."
With careful precision that belies his incredible strength, Damon lifts the crumpled dashboard just enough to free her trapped leg, then carefully extracts her from the wreckage with movements so gentle that she barely feels the transition from trapped victim to safety.
He's in the process of checking the truck driver for injuries when sirens begin wailing in the distance, indicating that normal emergency responders are finally approaching. But he's already done what needed to be done, using supernatural abilities to prevent two deaths that would have occurred if he'd followed vampire protocol and remained uninvolved.
What he doesn't realize is that his entire rescue operation has been witnessed by pale blue eyes that watch from the shadow of nearby trees with growing horror and terrible understanding.
Jaxon Reed stands frozen behind an oak tree, his mind struggling to process what he's just observed. No human being moves that fast. No normal person possesses the strength to tear car doors off their hinges like paper. And no seventeen-year-old boy should be able to lift automotive parts that weigh hundreds of pounds with casual ease.
As Damon disappears back into the trees before emergency vehicles arrive, Jaxon remains hidden in his observation post, his hands shaking with adrenaline and the kind of fear that comes from realizing the world is far more dangerous than he ever imagined.
Whatever Damon Vale really is, he's definitely not human.
And if Lily is falling in love with something supernatural, she needs protection whether she wants it or not.