Kalina waved to get Mindy's attention. "Don't confuse Lia. I met Alpha Damon this afternoon and I don't know how he usually behaves but I know what I saw. He was looking at Talia like she is the only woman in the world. He is head over heels for her."
"Really?", Mindy asked in exaggerated disbelief.
'Really!?', Talia asked in her mind, grateful that Mindy said that aloud because Talia wanted to hear more on that topic.
Kalina nodded earnestly. "I'm confident that he is not playing. To prove my point, Tony asked about Lia's Luna ceremony and Alpha Damon didn't dismiss it."
Mindy glanced at Talia while reassessing her.
She met Talia only a few days ago, but since then, Talia's image morphed from an underage girl forced to work, to an abused young woman, the MVP of the tournament, someone Alpha Damon put under his protection, and it's not only him, but Alpha Maddox and Axel were also unusually attentive toward Talia… and now Talia is Alpha Damon's assistant, and not only his assistant by his love interest as well?
Sure, Damon brought Talia here as his date and they were sharing a room, but in the world of werewolves, indulging in carnal pleasures is quite common. If Talia and Damon are rolling in the sheets, no one would bat an eye at it, Mindy included. But if Alpha Damon is really into Talia, that's different. That makes Talia special.
Mindy's eyes widened as she remembered... "Let me tell you what happened at the recent festival. We were watching the game from the VIP booth and a bunch of soccer players surrounded Talia and were kissing Talia's hand, and Alpha Damon lost it. At that time, I had no idea why he broke the table with snacks but now it makes sense…"
Talia thought that she heard something unbelievable. Damon was jealous during the tournament to the point of making a scene? Because of her?
At the sound of Mindy and Kalina giggling, Talia wished for a power to shrink and turn invisible. Why did those two women band together to tease her?
But Talia didn't sense a single bit of malice, and somehow… she was happy. Was it because she was making friends? Or because they were saying how she is special to Damon?
"I hear that you are Alpha Damon's assistant.", Mindy said at some point and Talia confirmed with a nod.
"Don't let him boss you around too much. You can always come and work for me. I need an assistant."
Talia cocked an eyebrow at Mindy. "You want me to work as your assistant? So that YOU can boss me around?"
Mindy pursed her lips and Kalina burst into giggles.
"She got you there.", Kalina said.
Mindy lifted her chin proudly. "I don't know how my bossiness compares to Alpha Damon's, but I am confident that I'm more fun than he is."
"That totally depends on the type of fun you are talking about.", Kalina chimed in while waggling her eyebrows and Talia felt the urgency to change the topic because her mind was overloaded with images of her sprawled on the sofa in the study with Damon's head between her legs.
Ah, if she gets aroused now those two she-wolves will definitely smell her!
"Did you come on your own or with a date?", Talia asked Mindy, relieved that she stopped the avalanche of improper thoughts that involve a certain Devil.
"Why would I need a date? I don't need a man to define me." Mindy took pride in being single and having her own accomplishments.
"That's what I was saying before I met Tony.", Kalina said. "He doesn't define me. He complements me."
Mindy bobbed her head. "When I find my mate, I will let you know if my opinion changes. Besides, I didn't come here on my own. My brother is here."
"Who is your brother?", Kalina asked.
"Alpha Maddox. The Blue River pack."
Kalina's eyes lit up. "Tony thinks highly of Alpha Maddox, and he was hoping to talk to him tonight."
Mindy didn't think that's a problem. "I can introduce you when we go back. Or do you want us to go now? He should be in his room."
Kalina liked this idea. Meeting someone in private is always better than in the middle of a party where everyone is watching them. Once she meets Alpha Maddox, she can help Tony get closer to him also.
The three of them stood up and walked toward the packhouse while chatting.
Damon was not at ease after leaving Talia with Kalina. Yes, Mindy was set to join them in a bit, but Damon was not sure if that will be a good thing or not.
Mindy is known as a spunky woman who does her own thing, and Damon hoped that Mindy influences Talia positively. Well, so far, Mindy didn't do any offenses and Talia has a good opinion of her, so… Damon told himself that he shouldn't overthink it.
Talia will spend some time with two confident non-Omega females, and he should be supportive.
Damon didn't give importance to the talk with Tony, but he thought that this is a great chance for Talia to make some girlfriends (emphasis on GIRL-friends).
However, with every step that increased the distance between him and Talia, Damon's anxiousness swelled, and he had to take deep breaths and force his legs to move because he was close to snapping and rushing back to where Talia was. Only with Talia in his visual range, in touching distance, Damon can be at peace.
Tony and Damon took seats at one isolated table that was set up for the upcoming party and Damon was glancing in the direction where Talia was. He was frustrated that evergreen foliage was blocking his view.
What if something makes her uncomfortable? What if some guys start buzzing around her? It wouldn't be the first time.
Damon hoped that this talk will end as soon as possible. He didn't notice that he was rapping with his fingers on the table nervously.
Tony assumed that Damon was not eager to talk to him, and he was right in some way, but they were here already, and Tony wanted to clear the air first.
"I want to apologize."
"For?", Damon asked.
"I know that Lisa is like a sister to you, but she is not my mate."
Damon's fingers that rapped against the surface of the table stopped moving. "There is no need to apologize, Tony. You were treating her well while it lasted, and she knew that this is coming. It's hard on me to see her in this state, but I know that in time she will realize you did the right thing and she will get over it."
Actually, Damon didn't care about Lisa's love life, but if he said that outright, it would be letting Tony off the hook, and in this way, Damon appeared magnanimous. It's always good to have someone owe you.
Damon and Lisa grew up in the same packhouse and he treated her as his little sister, but with eight years wide age gap they were not really playmates. Lisa was the daughter of Damon's parents' Betas, they ate in the same dining room, and attended pack events together, but that's it.
Besides, for the last ten years, Lisa is living with her aunt and visiting the Dark Howlers pack only for some school breaks and holidays, so Damon and Lisa are not really close.
There was a time when Damon would hold Lisa's hand when they walked on the streets of Darkbourne, first to support a wobbling toddler, and then out of habit, but that was a long time ago.
Sure, if Lisa is in distress, Damon would help her, but that includes real danger and not her romantic life.
Seeing that Damon was not upset about Lisa, Tony exhaled in relief.
Tony didn't dare to disclose Alpha Magnus's plan which included Tony marking Lisa and making her his Luna with the hope to establish a better relationship with the Dark Howlers pack. Of course, this was in the case that Tony didn't find his fated mate within the time that Tony's father found acceptable.
"I didn't get a chance to talk to Lisa after...", Tony's voice trailed, but Damon understood.
"It's probably better that you stay away from now. Let her cool off."
Damon didn't see Lisa, but he heard from Stephanie that Lisa is hysteric.
Damon knows a thing or two about dealing with unhinged women who got ditched.
In Damon's opinion, there should be an isolated island for those women; a self-sufficient island with a tall fence, surrounded by an endless ocean full of sharks and mythical monsters so that none of those women can escape. Other than Cassie, Damon could think of at least a dozen more names to send to that place.
With the topic of Lisa out of the way, Tony could relax. "Thank you for introducing Mindy to Kalina. This is Kalina's second day here and she has trouble making friends."
"If you want to thank someone, thank Talia. Mindy and I are not close."
"Talia.", Tony repeated. "She looks like a nice girl.", Tony said cautiously while gauging Damon's reaction.
"She is special.", Damon responded mysteriously without any intention to elaborate on it.
Damon decided to stir the topic away from Talia, "Did you bring me here to talk about my love life or…?"
