"Alpha Damon, don't you think you went too far?", Alpha Richard asked while gesturing at Cassie's swollen face.
Damon gave Talia a reassuring smile and his arm snaked around her waist to pull her against him firmly before he turned to respond to Alpha Richard.
"Too far? Less than a week ago, your daughter rampaged in my packhouse, and she was labeled as hostile. I warned you that if she gets close to me without authorization, she will be treated as an enemy, and you said that you will make sure she understands what she did wrong. It seems that letting her go with a warning was not effective because here she is today, attacking again. How would you deal with an aggressive individual who is a repeat offender?"
Alpha Richard cursed internally. He was unable to come up with a proper response because everything Damon said was right.
The increasing audience was unsettling and they all knew that Damon banned Cassie from entering the Dark Howlers pack one week ago. No one here saw how Cassie ended up with that swollen cheek, but it will be difficult to make a case for Cassie's innocence considering her previous offenses. Damn it!
Alpha Richard would love to drag Cassie away and forget about this, or at least to buy some time and discuss with his advisors how to handle this issue, but with all the people watching, if he retreats now, he will lose face. As an Alpha, he can't stand down and he needs to protect what's his, even if that's a troublemaking daughter like Cassie.
In front of others, he needs to defend her, and he will deal with her later. In private.
"Cassie is not just anyone.", Alpha Richard said to Damon. "She is my daughter. Hitting her is the same as hitting me or my pack."
"Really? I didn't see it from that perspective. It seems that I still have things to learn from my seniors.", Damon said thoughtfully.
Alpha Richard smirked victoriously. Didn't Damon admit that he was in the wrong? Was it that easy? His smirk froze when Damon continued.
"Are you saying that Cassie represents you and the Steelbite pack? Are her attacks the same as yours? Should I see her action as your pack attacking mine? Is this declaration of war, Alpha Richard?"
Alpha Richard stood rooted in the spot while Damon's words echoed in his head. How did things escalate to this point? Did Damon say… war?
Just the thought of a war against the Dark Howlers pack made Alpha Richard weak in the knees.
Wars can be fought amongst warriors, but he would be an idiot to start something like that because, for every warrior from the Steelbite pack, Damon has at least ten of his. The Dark Howlers pack is the biggest pack in North America and their military forces are proportionate to the size of the pack.
The other way for packs to settle disputes (wars included) is when two Alphas duel. In that case, the winner takes all, including the life of the loser, and Alpha Richard knew that it would be suicidal to challenge Damon to a fight.
Cassie opened her mouth to speak, but she swallowed her words when her father squeezed her arm harshly.
'Didn't you make enough damage?', Alpha Richard spoke to Cassie through their mind-link.
'But daddy…', Cassie whined. 'She hit me first. That's the woman from the photo. She was with Damon at the Summer Solstice festival, and she was in the packhouse when I visited.'
Alpha Richard thought that this might be interesting, and he wanted to confirm, 'Is she the one that got you banned from the Dark Howlers pack?'
Cassie threw a glance at Talia while wondering if Talia is the Omega who was stealing food and spoke on the cell phone in the living room… the one that Cassie slapped. They looked alike, but the clothing, hairstyle, and makeup were completely different, and this woman (aka Talia) didn't seem like Omega. If she is, she wouldn't be able to stand tall next to Damon when everyone else is sweating with a submissive posture. Even Alpha Richard had difficulty resisting Damon's aura, and Damon didn't even exert his full power.
'I'm not sure. I don't think so…', Cassie responded.
'Waste!', Alpha Richard hissed. 'Keep your mouth shut. If I hear another word from you, you will be grounded for life!'
An Omega brought another icepack and Alpha Richard snatched it and passed it to Cassie. If Damon took it to soothe another Talia's invisible wound, it would be too much.
Alpha Richard pushed thoughts about Talia to the side. It didn't matter if Talia is the girl from the rumors or not, because he had more pressing matters to deal with. Damon accused him of starting a war and if he doesn't find a way to extricate himself from this situation, it will be a disaster.
Yes, many of the Alphas from the audience wish to topple Damon but none of them will dare to act on it openly. Alpha Richard found himself under the limelight now and he was aware that he is on his own. No one will help him.
Besides, assuming that Talia is the mysterious girl Damon was hiding, by appearing here, she is not hidden anymore, and any advantage Alpha Richard could have by finding details about Talia's and Damon's relationship is useless.
"Alpha Damon…", Alpha Richard called. "Let's not allow our emotions to pull us into something we can't take back. This was a misunderstanding between two women, there is no need to drag our packs into war over it."
"Misunderstanding?", Damon grumbled, and his eyes swept over the audience. Other than Omegas, he spotted the worried faces of hosts, Alpha Magnus and Luna Alicia, and curious faces of Alpha Edward, Alpha Maddox, and many others.
"Alpha Richard…", Damon called. "As an Alpha, you should know that in these events, we represent our packs. Cassie attacking my date is the same as you attacking me and my pack."
Alpha Richard swallowed a mouthful of air. "This is all my fault for not teaching my daughter well."
Damon cocked his eyebrow questionably. "So, it's your fault? Do you want to take punishment in her stead?"
"Punishment?", Alpha Richard repeated. "Can't you overlook this? This was just a squabble between two women."
"No, Alpha Richard. This was NOT a squabble between two women, because my woman didn't participate in it. Your daughter was the instigator, the attacker, and she even hurt my date…", Damon took Talia's hand together with the icepack she was holding, indicating that she was injured. "You are an Alpha for much longer than I am and I'm confident that you know how to look at the whole picture. By attacking me, Cassie disrespected me and you as well. She made a fuss at this grand event hosted by the Lightclaw pack, which is obvious proof that she doesn't put them into her eyes. Does Cassie think she is above everyone present here?"
"Are you neglecting that you hit me?", Cassie asked in a shaky voice while pressing the icepack on her cheek.
"I hit you?", Damon asked Cassie like he heard about it the first time. "How much I remember, you were the one running this way and I raised my hand defensively. You walked into it. I would never hit a woman."
Talia looked at Damon and if not for the audience, she would laugh at his outrageous whitewashing.
She realized that Damon has an uncanny ability to twist things to fit his narrative and he was doing it with a straight face. This was another side of Damon she got to observe.
Even Alpha Richard who clearly saw Damon slapping Cassie couldn't find words to refute what Damon said.
Alpha Richard cursed Cassie silently. If she listened to him, none of this would happen! If not for the audience, he would give her a good slapping himself.
