The first time you saw him after your turning, something inside you stirred—something just out of reach.

Damon leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed, smirking like nothing had changed. But everything had. You could feel it in the way your body responded to the world now, in the way the hunger curled in your stomach like an old friend. And yet, it wasn’t just the vampirism making your head spin. It was him.

Flashes of something—his voice, rough with emotion. His hand lingering against your cheek. The way he had looked at you, like you were the only thing in the world that mattered.

“I love you.”

The words hit you like a punch to the gut, but they weren’t spoken aloud. They echoed inside your mind, a ghost of a memory slipping through the cracks.

He raised an eyebrow, his smirk faltering just slightly. “What’s that look for?”

You took a step closer, eyes searching his face. You didn’t know why, but you could feel it—something was missing. Something important.

And deep down, you knew he had taken it from you.