Alpha Richard raised his arms toward Damon, palms up. "This is a grand event for the Lightclaw pack and we shouldn't cause a bigger commotion here. How do you suggest we resolve this?"
Damon shook his head. "Do you expect me to resolve your problems? You said that it's your fault for not teaching Cassie properly, so I want to hear, how will you fix it? If you don't have a plan, this behavior will repeat. I don't need to remind you that this is Cassie's second time to assault one of my people, right in front of me."
Alpha Richard exhaled in frustration. It was obvious that Damon was aiming for something. "What do you suggest?"
"Do you agree that Cassie should be punished?", Damon wanted to confirm.
Alpha Richard nodded curtly. "Of course. Such behavior needs to be disciplined. Since Cassie's offenses are against you, I want you to decide how she should be punished." So that we can be done with this.
Alpha Richard was convinced that Damon won't do anything extreme in front of him and with all the audience watching.
Damon thought for a moment before turning to Talia. "What do you think?"
Talia was caught unprepared. Why was he asking her that? So many people were observing the scene with interest!
But Damon's gaze directed at Talia was filled with determination and confidence and she realized that Damon was giving her a chance to vent her frustration. This was his way of telling her that he's got her back and that no one is allowed to bully her. She liked that.
Talia glanced at Cassie who was staring back at her with so much malice that if a look could kill, Talia would be sliced into a million pieces.
Talia thought that if not for Cassie's father being an Alpha, Cassie wouldn't be more than a rowdy nobody who is trying to make herself look better by bullying others.
This whole spectacle was only because of Cassie's background.
If Cassie was an Omega, or if Talia was without Damon's protection, no one would bat an eye at the unfolding scene no matter what happened, yet now they were all silently watching, waiting.
It was the injustice of little people bearing the weight of other people's grudges, and Talia got an idea for an appropriate punishment for Cassie.
If they could remove Cassie's special identity, that would be perfect.
"She is acting like a criminal and she should be treated as such.", Talia said and turned to Damon. "What do you do with violent people who exhibit a pattern of attacking others without being provoked?"
Damon nodded faintly. "Dungeon it is."
Cassie's eyes bulged out in shock, and she wanted to protest but the words failed her. Is she really going to the dungeon? Surely, Damon was joking. Right? RIGHT!?
"Alpha Magnus…", Damon called. "Can you arrange for Miss Cassie to be escorted into your dungeon? Since this incident happened on your territory, we will meet after the party to determine the duration of her imprisonment."
Alpha Magnus glanced nervously at Alpha Richard, but the latter already said that Cassie should be punished based on how Damon decides so he waved at his warriors who were waiting nearby. "Take her away…"
When Cassie realized that it's happening, any leftover traces of refined Miss were gone. She screamed profanities and trashed while calling her father and Damon, but there was nothing she could do against strong warriors who dragged her away with ease.
With that, many of the spectators returned to the party.
"Alpha Damon…", Alpha Richard called in a shaky voice. Cassie going to the dungeon was a big shame for the Steelbite pack because all this happened right under his nose. He had to try something. But… what can he do?
"Yes?", Damon asked.
"Cassie is just a silly girl."
"A girl.", Damon repeated. "I don't separate people on young or old, male or female, and I don't care about rankings."
Alpha Richard frowned. "You treat everyone equally?"
"No. In my eyes, there is Talia and then there is everyone else.", Damon responded with a smirk. "So if you were wondering who the girl from the festival was, here she is. And her name is Talia. If you want to know anything else about her, feel free to ask her directly. There was no need to hire mercenaries."
Damon narrowed his eyes at Alpha Richard who was now drenched in sweat.
Alpha Richard knew that some of the guys on his payroll were captured at the Summer Solstice festival, but he didn't expect that Damon will call him out just like that. Spies are everywhere, and sometimes they get captured. It's not a big deal. But looking at Damon up close while barely breathing due to Damon's suffocating aura, Alpha Richard realized that this is a big deal.
"You see, Alpha Richard", Damon's voice went down by an octave. "In their desire to find out more about the girl who was with me, those thugs nearly ruined the festival my pack members painstakingly prepared. We had a lot of guests. If anyone got injured, I would need to bear the responsibility, and if that happened, it would take much more than putting Cassie in the dungeon to pacify me. I hope that you and your daughter learned a lesson. Stay away from me and my people, and stay away from Talia, unless you are willing to risk a war."
Damon clicked his tongue. "If you want to go there, I will accept your challenge for the duel. There is no need to involve our warriors. Don't you agree?"
Alpha Richard gulped audibly.
"Good.", Damon said. "Now, unless you have anything else, I believe we are done here."
Alpha Richard lowered his head and slowly moved backward a few steps, before turning and leaving the hallway, in the opposite direction from where the party was held. He was never so humiliated, but there was nothing he could do other than put his tail between his legs and retreat. For now.
"I apologize for the inconvenience", Damon said to Alpha Magnus and Luna Alicia who both responded how it's not a problem, and then they left.
Damon glanced at the back and nodded at Maddox, silently thanking him for being there. He knew that Maddox was waiting to see if Damon will need assistance. The two of them supported each other more than once.
With that, only Damon and Talia were left in the hallway (and a few non-important Omegas who were performing their duties).
"Are you OK, kitten?", Damon asked Talia.
Talia smiled foolishly at Damon while his words echoed in her mind, 'In my eyes, there is Talia and then there is everyone else'.
Doesn't that mean she is special? More special than anyone else?
Damon was still looking at her expectantly, and she got on her toes and kissed him on the lips, right there, in the hallway.
"Does this mean we are ditching the party and going back to our room?", Damon asked when Talia inched away.
Talia released a long breath. Right. The party. How could she forget about the party?
She giggled. "Not a chance. We traveled here and got all dressed up for the party. This kiss was just a thank you for making sure that Cassie doesn't go unpunished."
Damon's lips lifted into a smirk. "Alright. If I get a kiss is for sending someone into the dungeon… what do I get for a severed limb? Snapping a neck?"
Talia rolled her eyes at the cheeky Alpha. Did he think that his reward will increase if he increases the punishments? And he didn't really think about mutilating (and killing) for real. Right?
Talia didn't want to go there. She was already getting goosebumps.
"Let's go to the party. We will really be late at this rate. Kalina said that Luna Alicia got some smoked sausages from Poland for this occasion, and if we don't eat those, we will be sorry…"
'If any of you dares to approach Alpha Damon and provoke him, I will kick you out of the pack!', Alpha Edward's angry voice sounded in the minds of Marcy, Nora, and Luna Layla.
'What happened?', Luna Layla asked. She was with Marcy and Nora, chatting with some other ladies in the garden.
'Cassie from the Lightclaw pack just earned herself time in the dungeon because she crossed Alpha Damon, and they barely avoided a war.', Alpha Edward responded. 'He is not in a good mood, so stay away from him. Remember that we are here for the new Luna. Focus on that and keep everything else for later.'
Luna Layla had a concerned expression, Marcy was indifferent, and Nora paled.
"What's up with you?", Marcy asked Nora. "Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"
Nora plastered a fake smile. "I know Cassie and I am shocked to hear that she is in the dungeon."
Nora was glad that security spoke to her before she returned to the room, so Marcy was oblivious about what happened. When Nora entered the room, she greeted Marcy without revealing that she went to Alpha Damon's room and that she saw Damon's date in a bathrobe (aka Talia).
The security warned Nora not to go into the residential area of the packhouse unless she is invited, and based on how calm everyone around her was, that didn't reach Alpha Edward.
