Kalina nudged Tony's hip with hers and he chuckled while letting go of Talia's hand. "My mate is possessive. She doesn't let me shake hands with other girls."
"That's how it should be.", Damon responded right away. He was one second away from slapping Tony's hand away from Talia's.
Talia and Kalina shook hands and Kalina said, "Please, call me Lina. Can I call you Lia?"
Talia confirmed with a smile. "Sure."
Internally, Talia was screaming. She just got a nickname! Isn't that something that friends do?
Kalina noticed that Talia was looking at her tattoos.
"What do you think? Not really a Luna look, is it?", Kalina spoke with a heavy Eastern European accent.
Damon also noticed Talia's gaze trained on those tattoos and he remembered that Talia was looking at Liam's tattoos in the Shifters nightclub.
Damon wondered, should he get some ink on him? He really wanted Talia to look at him like that.
When his generation was exploring the wild side of life (tattoos included), Damon was juggling between studying, training, and being an Alpha and there was no time for body art.
Unaware of Damon's thoughts on how to make his body more pleasing to her, Talia was contemplating the best way to respond to Kalina's question. She saw several Lunas and all of them were gracious with long flowy hair, shiny nails, and designer dresses, like they came out of a high-end fashion magazine, and this shorthaired girl in jeans and a tank top with tattoos covering her skin was not fitting that image.
"It's unique.", Talia said.
Kalina's eyebrows shoot up. "I like you. You didn't lie. Maybe you can give me some pointers about how things work here because so far everyone I met was either avoiding me or kissing my ass."
Anxiousness swelled within Talia. How is she qualified to give pointers to the future Luna?
Before Talia could respond, Tony spoke, "Lina is from Poland, and this is her first time in the States. We met four days ago. I went to visit my friend, Chad, in Canada, and she was visiting Chad's sister. When Lina entered the room I could swear that all lights went off, leaving only one spotlight directed at her, and the rest is history."
Kalina looked at Tony with a smile that reflected in her eyes. "And to think that I nearly missed him. I was planning a trip with my oldest sister to Spain, but I decided to head to Canada at the last moment."
Tony hummed ambiguously. "The Moon Goddess knows what she is doing."
They were about to kiss, but before that happened, Damon grumbled, "If you start making out, the two of us will go about our business."
Damon was already in a bad mood because this outing cut into his cuddle time with Talia, and he definitely didn't want to watch some other people kissing.
Tony gave Kalina a quick peck on the lips and turned to Damon. "Alright. I don't want to upset you, Alpha Damon. I know your time is precious. How about the two of us chat somewhere else, and leave girls here to bond?"
Talia froze. What bonding?
Oh, right. Kalina wanted Talia to give her some pointers. Talia hoped that Kalina forgot about it.
Kalina will be asking questions, and no matter if she is from Poland or from Mars, if Talia needs to talk about anything other than living in the attic and sneaking through the packhouse, Kalina will figure out that Talia is ignorant.
But she couldn't just bail out either.
Think, Talia. Think!
Kalina wanted someone who will talk openly. Someone who won't suck up to her or shrink because she is the future Luna… Someone knowledgeable… Someone who has seen places… Someone like… Mindy!
Talia looked at Kalina. "I'm not sure if I'm the right person to give advice related to the lifestyle of werewolves because I grew up isolated with my grandparents, but there is one person who fits the bill perfectly." Talia turned to Tony. "Is Mindy from the Blue River pack here?"
Tony's eyes were unfocused for a second before he responded, "Yes. She arrived just a few minutes ago. But… Mindy is high profile. Will she be willing to spend her time with Kalina?"
Tony is the son of the Alpha, but his father didn't give him a chance to stand out. Tony attended schools and mingled with a small circle of friends without being exposed to high-ranking members of other packs. It was how Alpha Magnus kept Tony on a tight leash.
Tony doesn't have many relationships with influential people, and that's why Alpha Magnus asked Damon to talk to Tony, instead of Tony asking himself.
Damon looked at the little woman by his side in awe.
He was ready to oppose Tony's idea of leaving girls on their own, but Talia managed to surprise him again.
Talia could refuse to talk with Kalina; she already mentioned that she grew up with grandparents. Or she could just bluff her way out of it. Instead, Talia admitted her lack of knowledge and found a solution. She really is selfless and caring… a true Luna.
Damon was proud of Talia, and he backed her up with, "My Talia is a good friend with Mindy, she won't refuse."
Talia smiled at Damon's words. He said, 'my Talia'.
Tony's eyes went out of focus again as he mind-linked someone and Damon pulled Talia to the side.
"You don't need to do this, kitten."
Talia knew that he was talking about Talia indulging Kalina's request for a girl chat. But Damon needed to talk to Tony in private, and even though Talia was not sure what advice she can give to Kalina, she was confident that Mindy is very capable.
"Don't worry about me, Damon.", Talia responded. "I can take care of myself. If anything goes wrong, I will leave. If I can't find you, I will go to our room." And there was also the cell phone in which he grumpily entered his number as the first contact.
Why did Damon look anxious? She put her hand over his cheek in an attempt to comfort him. "Didn't you say that I am representing the Dark Howlers pack? How can I shy from this? I will make you proud."
"You have no idea how proud I am to have you by my side.", Damon murmured and leaned for a kiss, pecking her lips once, twice… "You are representing our pack wonderfully." And then his arms wrapped around her, and he gave her a long deep kiss that made her mind spin.
Damon and Tony walked away with Tony saying that Mindy is on her way.
Kalina patted a spot next to her on the semi-circular seating, indicating to Talia to take a seat.
Talia's cheeks were still flushed after kissing Damon. She couldn't believe that Damon's world-dissolving ability was activated, and she completely forgot that they had an audience.
Talia looked at Kalina gingerly and met Kalina's smiling gaze.
"Don't worry, they won't go far.", Kalina said. "It seems you have a hard time staying from your mate, just how I have from mine."
Talia's eyes widened. "Mate? Damon is not…"
"Are you sure?", Kalina interrupted Talia and then shrugged. "You fooled me."
Talia's heart was racing. "What made you think we are… mates?", Talia said this last word with difficulty.
"The way you look at each other. I'm coming from a small pack but during my travels, I saw a number of Alphas and I heard many stories. Alphas don't care about females for more than a night of entertainment. Only when one finds his mate will he show his caring side, and Alpha Damon cares about you." Kalina said matter-of-factly and then she cocked an eyebrow at Talia. "Why do you look confused? Your wolf should tell you if you are his mate or not."
"My wolf… is gone.", Talia said, and when she was Kalina's puzzled expression she quickly explained, "It happened years ago, an accident."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I'm used to it."
"You are very brave.", Kalina said. "The only indispensable person in my life is my wolf. And now Tony also, so that makes them two. But even if you don't have your wolf, Alpha Damon has his. Didn't he tell you?"
Talia started shaking her head and then she froze. He never told her that they are mates, or that they are not, but… what's with all that talk about Mrs. Blake, and Luna, and the only girl on the third floor, and the only girl in his bed… was it all teasing or was there more to it?
Kalina noticed Talia's confused expression and she stifled a giggle.
"Maybe you should ask him."
Ask him? There was no way Talia would ask such a question. She shook those thoughts away. How could someone like her be Damon's mate?
Talia reminded herself to stay present. This was not the time to get lost in daydreaming or self-loathing.
She was sitting in the presence of a future Luna, and this was Talia's chance to leave a good impression, as a representative of the Dark Howlers pack.
