Seeing that Damon was looking at her grimly from the door of her room, Talia didn't dare to provoke him.
Talia didn't have the faintest clue what caused his current mood (or what that mood was), but she decided to play it safe, and she lowered her head.
"I apologize, Alpha Damon.", she said in a small voice.
'BAM!'
Talia jolted when the door closed loudly, and she inhaled sharply at the realization that Damon was only half a step away from her.
It took him only a second to cross the distance between them.
Damon grabbed her chin with his index finger and thumb and forced her to lift her head and look at him.
"What did you call me?"
He was leaning above her, and his angry words splashed on her face. Talia blinked rapidly, unsure what he was getting at.
Seeing the horror in her eyes, Damon let go of her chin and put his palm on her cheek.
"I told you to call me by my name. Damon. Just Damon. Say it."
His tone was much gentler, but his gaze was unwavering.
"Damon", Talia said quickly, hoping that this will pacify the unstable scary Alpha.
Damon smiled and his eyes fell on her lips.
He really wanted to kiss her.
But he knew that if he makes his move now, it will look like he is forcing himself on her.
Why can't she have hearts in her eyes like all other women in his proximity? That would make things so much simpler.
Damon took a step back, and then another, and another… and he placed the plate with food on the coffee table.
"Eat, Talia."
Seeing that she didn't move from the bed, Damon cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Should I feed you?"
Within a second, Talia was on the sofa with the plate in her lap.
Damon smiled victoriously and took a seat next to her.
Talia observed the plate. There were roasted potatoes, rice with finely chopped vegetables, chicken drumstick and a thigh, two thin slices of chicken breast with gravy on top, a dinner roll, and a smidge of cranberry sauce. Talia thought that this must be some feast.
Damon propped his chin on his palm and looked at Talia with a smirk.
"If you came down for lunch, you would get to enjoy fresh salad and chocolate pudding for dessert, but you missed those."
"This is more than enough.", Talia responded honestly. "I don't remember if I ever ate something like this in one sitting. Thank you."
Damon's heart cracked. He remembered Talia's appearance when he found her in the attic and he let out a long breath to calm his emotions.
Talia started eating and she was extremely uncomfortable that Damon was watching her every move, but she didn't dare say anything other than, "Aren't you busy?"
Damon nodded. "I am."
"You can go about your business. I will finish the food."
"My business is to wait for you to clean up that plate, and then I will take you shopping."
Talia swallowed hard, unsure if she heard him right. "What?"
"You are refusing to go shopping with Maya, so I will take you."
Talia paled. She rejected Maya so that she doesn't attract attention, but if she goes with Alpha Damon, it will be a hundred times worse.
"I don't have any money.", Talia said weakly and Damon frowned.
"Did I say that you need to pay for anything?"
"There is no need for shopping. These are fine.", Talia said weakly.
Damon hummed ambiguously and his eyes moved over her body, from her head down to her toes. He liked what he saw, she looked good in anything, even though he would prefer her without any clothes.
Talia shrunk under his gaze. Somehow, he made her feel naked. What the hell?
"You have an appointment with the nutritionist tomorrow. It's in the human city. Will you go in that?", Damon asked, and Talia glanced at the white t-shirt on her. It had a rainbow unicorn on it that said, 'Unicorns are awesome'.
"Don't answer that.", Damon said curtly. "I was not asking you to go shopping. I was informing you."
He got his phone and started fiddling with it, and Talia understood that this conversation was over.
Damon was back to his bossy mode. Actually, Damon is always bossy.
But he said that she needs to eat and go shopping, and maybe after that, he will leave her alone.
A black armored Lexus SUV with tinted glass stopped in front of a clothing boutique in Darkbourne.
Talia fidgeted in the front passenger's seat.
She thought that this will be easy, but now that they were here, she was reluctant to get out. There were people on the street, and some of them were already looking at the car, probably recognizing it as Damon's.
Damon glanced at Talia and got out of the car.
Talia clutched the seatbelt and closed her eyes. Maybe he will do the shopping himself and leave her in the car?
The door on her side opened, crushing her dreams of staying hidden.
"Do you need help unbuckling?", Damon asked, and Talia scrambled to undo the buckle when he started leaning over her.
Seeing that she can't stay in the car, Talia wanted to dash into the boutique, but Damon was in her way, with his hand extended, palm up, to help her out of the car.
Talia released a slow breath and put her hand into his.
She lowered her head while following Damon into the boutique, and the only good thing was that he released her hand the moment her feet touched the ground.
Talia could feel numerous gazes on her, and if Damon forced handholding, it would be too much.
'Ding-Dong!'
An electric chime sounded when the door of a clothing boutique opened.
Damon held the door for Talia who entered gingerly.
"Do you want to pick clothes for yourself, or should I?", Damon asked Talia.
Talia looked around the store. Other than two saleswomen who beamed at them, there were several customers who stopped whatever they were doing.
Damon coming to this place was a big deal and Talia tried to ignore people who scrutinized her.
There were so many things! Walls were lined with shelves that had garments folded, dresses and suits hung on racks, there were several mannequins with the latest fashion trends. And this was her first time in a store!
Damon saw Talia shrinking and he got his answer.
Unfortunately, he had no idea about women's clothing.
Yes, he knew about the famous designer labels because some of his dates couldn't stop talking about it, and even though he was not interested in those, a surprised shout, "You just tore my Gucci dress!", kind of stuck into his head.
Damon is not a patient man, and that applies to undressing his bedmates.
He looked at two eager saleswomen who stood behind the small counter with hearts in their eyes.
Normally, they would greet the customers, but this was Alpha, and they waited for permission to speak.
"Isi, Bryn…" He gestured toward Talia. "This is Talia, she is new. Talia needs to go to human's town for a doctor's appointment. Can you get her something appropriate?"
The two young women smiled widely.
"Leave it to us, Alpha!", they said in unison.
Isi and Bryn circled Talia once with thoughtful expressions and then started picking garments.
Bryn's left hand held several hangers, and with her right hand, she grabbed Talia's arm. "Come to the back. That's where dressing rooms are. You need to try these."
Isi gestured toward the chairs that were on the side. "Take a seat, Alpha, this might take a while."
Damon gave a stiff nod and paused. "Find her something for the fair as well. At least a few outfits. Shoes and underwear included."
"Yes, Alpha!" Isi grabbed several more things and walked to the back of the store with her hands full.
Damon sat on the chair and looked in the direction of the dressing rooms. He was hoping that Talia will pick her clothes and maybe ask him what he thinks, and then he would tell her to try it on and she would pose for him… but now they were in Darkbourne, and the reality was that such behavior would attract attention and people will start talking about him and Talia.
Damon decided to sit this one out and to let two saleswomen handle this. As long as Talia gets several sets that fit her well, he will consider this outing as a success, and he will take Talia for a more personal shopping experience later. Maybe in the human town.
Talia observed a big dressing room that was surrounded with mirrors. She estimated that at least six people can come here and change clothes at the same time, and there would still be extra space. The store looked much smaller from the outside.
Isi and Bryn were enthusiastic. They didn't ask Talia about her circumstances. It's not uncommon for them to accept refugees, and Talia's fading bruises told them that she didn't have an easy time.
Other than their Alpha personally bringing Talia shopping, nothing was too strange.
They all know about Damon's reputation with women, and he never treated his hookups poorly. Sure, they didn't hear that he took them shopping, but fancy meals and exclusive locations were included, so buying clothes was not over the top.
Isi and Bryn were itchy to ask Talia questions, but they feared that it might reach Damon's ears and they might get punished.
The duo concluded that Talia is a refugee or a hookup, and one doesn't exclude the other. They knew that it's not appropriate to talk about those, but that doesn't mean that they will not gossip later after Alpha Damon leaves.
