The thought sent ice through his veins. He couldn't let that happen. Not when Lila was finally healing. Not when he'd finally found the other half of his soul.
Dorian headed for the door, his jaw set with grim determination. He had to reach Harper before fear convinced her to run from the best thing that had ever happened to either of them.
The mate bond pulled him forward like a compass pointing home, and for once, Dorian didn't fight it.
Dorian's bare feet moved silently down the corridor, each step driven by desperation that clawed at his chest like a living thing. The mate bond stretched taut between him and Harper's closed door, pulsing with her distress in waves that made his wolf pace more. He could hear everything—the sharp zip of her suitcase, the rustle of clothes being hastily shoved inside, and worst of all, the broken sounds of her crying that tore through him like claws.
She's actually leaving.
Eighteen years of controlling every variable, of protecting everyone under his care, and he was about to lose the most important person in his world because he couldn't control himself for one night.
Dorian raised his fist and knocked on the guest room door, the sound echoing through the estate.
"Harper." His voice came out rough with emotion. "Open the door. I can explain everything."
The crying stopped abruptly, replaced by a silence so thick he could taste her fear in the air. When she finally spoke, her voice was muffled and thick with tears.
"I don't want to talk right now, Dorian. I just need to leave before I make everything worse than it already is."
The defeat in her tone nearly brought him to his knees. This woman who'd faced down two hostile wolves, who'd challenged his authority with calm confidence, who'd brought his traumatized sister back from the edge. Now she sounded broken, and he'd done that to her.
"Please, Harper. Just open the door." He pressed his forehead against the wood, his voice dropping to something raw and pleading. "I need to explain everything. Lila is really upset, but she doesn't want you to leave. She's not mad at you—she's mad at me. Just open the door, Harper. Please."
Silence stretched between them like a chasm. Dorian counted his heartbeats, each one hammering against his ribs as he waited. His wolf growled at the barrier between them, demanding he break down the door and claim what was his.
This is it. She's not going to?—
The door opened slowly, revealing Harper in yesterday's clothes, her hair still wild and her green eyes red-rimmed from crying. She looked fragile and fierce all at once, like she was holding herself together through pure will. Every protective instinct Dorian possessed demanded he pull her into his arms and promise her that everything would be okay.
Instead, he forced himself to remain perfectly still, giving her the space she clearly needed.
"You have exactly three minutes to say what you need to say," Harper said, her voice surprisingly steady despite the tears still clinging to her lashes. "Then I'm calling Gerri to take me back to Oregon."
Three minutes to save his world. Three minutes to explain eighteen years of loneliness and the miracle of finding his other half. Three minutes to convince the most important person in his life that she belonged here, with him, forever.
Dorian took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving hers.
"The truth is, Harper, that you're my fated mate." The words came out in a rush, like a dam breaking. "I've known since the moment you stepped foot on my front porch. When we shook hands, our mate bond activated, and I've been trying to deny it because I knew you were here for Lila. I didn't want to jeopardize that—I couldn't stand in the way of Lila's healing and you doing your job effectively."
Harper's breath hitched, her eyes widening with something between shock and recognition.
"But the mate bond isn't something that can be denied easily," Dorian continued, his voice gaining strength. "It's been killing me slowly to deny that my wolf—that I—need you so much. I've denied myself for eighteen years, denied my needs for so long, but with you..." He ran a hand through his dark hair, the gesture revealing the vulnerability he'd hidden from everyone else. "I just can't anymore. After last night, after what we shared, I want to stop pretending. I want to stop running. I want you in my life, Harper, whatever it takes, whatever I need to do to make this right. I will do it."
His voice dropped to a whisper that carried the weight of every lonely night, every burden he'd carried alone.
"Please don't leave. Don't leave Lila—she needs you right now."
Harper stared at him for long moments, fresh tears welling in her eyes as she processed his confession. The mate bond hummed between them, no longer hidden but laid bare like an open wound. When the tears began falling down her cheeks, Dorian couldn't stop himself from reaching out, his thumb gently brushing away the moisture with a tenderness that surprised them both. And thankfully, she didn't pull away.
Harper looked at him, her voice barely audible. "I don't know what to do, Dorian. I crossed a professional boundary I've nevercrossed, and I cannot be Lila's counselor anymore. I just can't—it would jeopardize everything I've worked for. I can't just throw my career away for some mate bond, even if it's the first thing in my life that's made me feel safe."
The admission hit him like a blow. She felt safe with him—the one thing he'd wanted to give her more than anything else. But she was also terrified of losing herself in the process.
"Okay then." Dorian took a step back, giving her more space even though every instinct screamed against it. "Then don't be Lila's counselor. You can stay here and help her as a friend, as a mentor. No job, no obligation. Just please consider it."
He backed up further, his hands raised in surrender. "It would mean the world to me if you would stay and help Lila, but I understand if you can't."
Another step back, putting physical distance between them even as the mate bond stretched like a rubber band ready to snap.
