Damon was driving toward Darkbourne while trying to spot Talia and with every passing minute, his anxiety was increasing. Why did she leave on foot without saying anything?
Earlier that morning, after Talia left the study, Damon finished some work and went to the dining room in time for breakfast. He greeted the guests, but he couldn't eat.
Last night Talia didn't join for dinner, and when he saw her the next time, she was in the Shifters nightclub with two guys sticking to her. This time, Talia didn't join for breakfast, and Damon had a bad feeling about this.
Sure, Damon knew that Talia will probably go to the festival, and he instructed Maya to accompany Talia, but Maya was at the table, munching on quiche, while Talia was unaccounted for.
'Where is Talia?', Damon asked Maya through the mind-link.
'Why should I know?', Maya responded with a question.
'I asked you to take her to the festival..'
'Are you expecting me to skip breakfast and neglect my duties because Talia needs company?'
Damon let out a low growl. 'Maya, did your bravery increase because I didn't punish you for allowing Talia to get drunk last night?'
Maya forgot about that. Damon didn't bring it up and she hoped that he won't, but the reality was different.
'I apologize, Alpha.', Maya responded with haste. 'I spoke with Talia about accompanying her to the festival, but we didn't discuss the details. I was thinking of checking on her after making sure that everything is in order with guests.'
Seeing that Maya was not helpful, Damon stood up and headed to the kitchen, guessing that Talia was there. If this is any other day, Damon would assume that she was in her room, but he already saw Talia, so he knew that she was awake and ready for the day.
In the kitchen, Damon found Stephanie sipping coffee while staring absentmindedly through the window.
"Where is Talia?", Damon asked Stephanie.
"She left for the fair."
Damon frowned. "With whom?"
"On her own."
Damon didn't like this. If she went on her own, that means she was walking. Didn't Axel point out how Talia was in so much pain that she barely walked?
"When did she leave?"
Stephanie was not sure. "A few minutes ago."
Damon rushed to his car and that's how he found himself driving and looking around, hoping to spot Talia.
He wanted to give her a ride to town and warn her to be careful and… he didn't know what else he could say because he really wanted to be with her, but he was torn between his duties and dangers and this feeling of helplessness that mixed with rage and gnawed on his insides.
Damon cursed under his breath. He thought that he was making progress with Talia, yet with every passing day, it felt like she was drifting away. Even now, she went to the kitchen and then left the packhouse, ignoring him completely.
Should he ask Talia to notify him before she leaves the packhouse? If he thought of that just a bit earlier, she would be in the car with him now, instead of who-knows-where.
Damon knew that Talia loves the forest; did she go off-road? He hoped that she will stick close to the road so that he can see her.
Unfortunately, he reached Darkbourne without spotting the girl and his chest tightened.
Damon told himself to calm down. Talia probably took the route through the forest, and he missed her, but that won't change the fact that he was unable to find her, and he feared that one day she will be out of his reach, for real.
Without any bright ideas on how to find Talia, Damon turned the car and drove back to the packhouse where he left guests having breakfast. On this day, Damon needed to play his role of an Alpha no matter how much his soul cried for Talia's proximity.
Actually, for the sake of Talia and her safety, Damon needed to pull himself together and act like everything is fine.
Alpha Maddox warned Damon that there will be many people watching, and if anyone suspects that Talia is the girl Alpha Richard is curious about, she will be in danger. Damn it!
The sports fields were on the opposite side of Darkbourne compared to the packhouse, so Talia got to pass through the busy main street, and she saw the town square that was bustling with activity while everyone was doing final preparations for the festival.
In the center of the town square is a clock tower, decorated with colorful streamers and little triangle-shaped flags, and there is a small fountain and a lot of balloons.
Numerous mobile stalls were lined up to create several passages where one could play games or buy food and various merchandise, and Talia was curious to see what are the offerings.
Talia took a peek to see two teenage girls arranging paper fans and necklaces made out of seashells, another stall offered dreamcatchers of various colors, and the next one had palm-sized stones that had messages written on them.
A bit further away, two bulky guys were pushing a big machine in place that had nets on each side and a basketball hoop at the far end. Talia guessed that this is a game where one needs to throw the ball into the hoop a few times and not miss in order to win a prize.
Talia read about those kinds of games online while doing her research in preparation for the upcoming festival. Exciting!
One stall had plush toys hanging in three rows, and each toy had a small swaying target above it.
Talia's insides fluttered at all the positive energy around her. People were smiling and laughing and singing with the music that blasted from speakers that were attached to roofs of several stalls, and Talia was looking forward to seeing how amazing it will be when the fair actually starts in a few hours.
There were many other stalls that Talia didn't get to check, but she left them for later because she didn't want to be late for the games.
Several streams of people converged into a single street and Talia knew that's the direction of the sports fields. At this rate, she didn't need the map that Stephanie gave her. Talia only needed to follow the crowd.
At the end of the street was a big open area, and vendors offering snacks and various gadgets for cheering were lining the main path on each side.
Talia took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of popcorn that mixed with hotdogs. Mouthwatering.
She glanced at the massive hands made out of sponges, hats with logos of teams that will participate, as well as t-shirts, pom-poms, blowers, and several other things she couldn't recognize.
The bleachers were getting packed with the audience, while some guys in jerseys were running on the big grass-covered field to warm up. There was one other field on the right with a massive bouncy house where kids were screaming excitedly, and on the field behind it, several people were busying themselves on setting up the hot air balloon that will offer rides.
Talia was focused on the central field, where the games will be played. She headed to the side that had a sign 'home team', and she was happy to see a few isolated empty seats in the first few rows. Everyone came in groups, so those few seats were left for loners, like Talia. She didn't mind.
Talia thought that meeting with Keith, Liam, Pierce, Caleb, Lulu, and Sandy will be easy, but now that she saw all the crowd and the commotion where the participants were, Talia realized that there is a chance she won't see them at all other than while they are playing the game. But she didn't allow that to discourage her.
Talia took a seat in the second row and observed all the cheery faces around her.
Even with all the people crowding the seats, she spotted several vendors with trays who were snaking between seats and selling snacks.
It was very lively.
Talia's sight froze on the North side of the field. There was a covered area that towered above the bleachers and Talia didn't need to guess for whom that's reserved. Of course, it was for Alpha Damon and his guests, a VVIP lounge of some sort. The lounge was empty, so Talia guessed that they are yet to arrive.
She forced herself to look away because any thoughts about Damon will come with an unpleasant backlash she didn't want to experience, yet she knew that it's inevitable.
