Chapter 176 - Coincidence?

How could Dawn miss him? This was the second time she had seen him over here. Why was he there? There was absolutely no logic as to why he would be there around them. She clenched her jaw in stunned surprise and stared at him until he vanished on the horizon. A dread crept up her body. If she would tell him about Daryn, it could go two ways. He may think of it as a coincidence, which would leave her tense. Or if he suspected, he may go out to find out more, and that would mean hampering their honeymoon. She had promised to herself that she would make it his best vacation ever. She dismissed the notion. 

Dawn walked back hurriedly to the villa and into the bedroom. Taking the phone out of her purse, the first thing she did was to call Cole. 

"How are you?" she asked, as soon as he picked up the call. 

"I am great sis!" He was jubilant. "Did you check your social media account for the last two days." 

She had a frown on her face. "Why would I do that?" Besides she didn't have time from the Alpha who was devouring her day and night. 

"Check it," he said and went into a laughing fit.

"Grrr! It better be good, else I am going to kill you for wasting my time on it. I had promised myself to stay away from news of any kind." 

"Oh! And do check the newspapers or the latest magazines. You are everywhere." 

This was one thing she hated the most – invasion of privacy. Right from the beginning she had this issue. Even during the times when she was playing around the circuit, she had used her father's influence to not let the paparazzi harass her. Dawn gritted her teeth and slammed the phone shut. However, as soon as her anger ebbed, she slid the screen to her Facebook and within the next ten minutes, her expressions changed from fear to anger to shock and then utter… shock. What Neal did was simply awesome, but what Lily did was loathsome. "I can't wait to bring you down Lily Wyatt!" she grunted. She tossed her phone in her bag after switching it off and then went under the covers. Her hand flew to her eyes as she remembered her mother and father. She didn't know when but her eyes became heavy with sleep, yet sleep eluded her. Was there a connection between Azura's appearance and the social media scandal?

As if he had heard her anxious thoughts, moments later, Daryn entered the bedroom, took off his shirt and went to sleep beside his mate. He pulled her closer to his chest and draped his arm across her. Next he put his leg above her hip.

His weight was comforting. With heat radiating off him, Dawn closed her eyes. 

"You have nightmares darling?" he asked with his brows knitted. 

"Papa would have taken care of it," she murmured sleepily. 

"Sleep baby," he cradled her feeling the same fear that she felt. He would ask her what it was that troubled her once she had rested well. 

However, for the next two he kept waiting as to what was it that made her miserable, but she never came out with it. He had let his mental shield down and encouraged her to lower her shields so that he could read her mind, but she was always cautious. 

"I have planned a bike trip for both of us today to show the island," said Daryn while having breakfast. "It has some beautiful scenery." He was sporting worn-out designer shorts and wasn't wearing a shirt. 

The two caretakers who were almost invisible and Dawn was sure they were ghosts at work, hadn't shown themselves. "You have a motorbike here?" she raised an eyebrow. It would be fun riding the dirt road. 

"Nope! We will be riding on bicycles!" he replied with an infectious grin. He wanted to show her the salt lake that was nestled amongst the palm trees on the east side of the island. "Get ready fast." 

Dawn smiled. She was happy to do something else besides having sex. Quickly she finished her breakfast and ran upstairs to change. She dressed in shorts, a sports bra and running shoes. Pulling her hair up in a ponytail, she applied a lot of sunscreen and then headed downstairs. 

He raised his eyebrows. 

"What?" she asked. 

"Why is everything green?" What he meant was why wasn't her body covered more. 

"I love green. It matches my irises," she gave him a cheeky answer and walked past him. 

"You should have worn more," he said. "Your skin would scrape if you fall down." This woman would be the death of him.

"Hell Daryn! I am an immortal. Remember? I heal easily." 

He cupped her hip and said, "Then be ready to see my island babe. It is breathtaking!" 

She gazed at him with a half-smile. 

"You have an impressive pace," said Daryn as they paddled around. They had covered almost one-fourth of the island, stopping only once because Dawn had found a large turtle who was trapped in the beach. She helped it to go back to the waters and then resumed. "There's a lovely salt lake down there," he said pointing to a direction. "We need to park our bicycles here and walk there. The forest is too dense for cycling." 

"Sure enough!" she said and sprinted ahead of him. 

Daryn raised his eyebrows when he caught a glimpse of her hips, showing her cut. His breath hitched. He followed her. 

When they reached the place, Dawn was mesmerized. Not more than an acre long, the lake was so tranquil, nestled amongst the palm grove as he had mentioned. She looked to her right and found a small inlet of water from the sea that fed the lake. 

"Care for a swim?" he asked as he kicked his shoes open and then leapt to dive in the lake. He splashed a lot of water at her. "Come in!" he goaded her. 

In the past two days, she had contemplated repeatedly whether she should mention Azura's sudden appearance to Daryn or not, but somehow she managed not to. She wanted that man out of her mind desperately. 

When Daryn was splashing water to her, she giggled, forgetting everything about Azura. This was her life, and she deserved it. She was going to make her man happy.

She kicked her shoes away and was ready to dive in the pool when once again on the horizon, she saw a speedboat and Azura. He was looking in her direction intensely. And she could see his face through the water droplets that fell around her. Within a few seconds he was gone. 

Her stomach roiled with unknown fear. Instead of diving, she vomited. She knelt on the sand. 

Daryn swam out of the lake immediately. "Dawn!" he rushed to her. After pulling her ponytail to the side, he caressed her back until she emptied her breakfast on the ground. She heaved weakly. Daryn picked her up in his arms and instantly ran to the villa – this time he ran like the werewolf he was. The bicycles could come later. "Be okay, love," he kept repeating. 

Once in the villa, he laid her on the couch and brought water. Her lips were parched. She drank it and wiped her face with her hand. Her face was pale. 

"I saw Azura again," she said in a gravelly voice. 

Daryn's temper rose to the level that his beast wanted to break free.