Damon and Talia were nearly done with the food when Talia asked, "When will Caden come back?"
Damon frowned. "Are you missing him?"
Talia couldn't believe how possessive he was.
Was he serious?
"Not me. Maya. Didn't you notice that she was down because she is missing Caden?"
Of course, he noticed. That was Maya's punishment for acting against her Alpha and endangering her Luna! Damon didn't want to say this at loud, fearing that Talia won't approve.
"Are you feeling sorry for her?"
"Yes.", Talia responded right away. "Can Caden return? Instead of him spending a week away from Maya, maybe he and Maya can make a series of small trips together so that they handle that business and take care of their duties as Betas."
Damon cocked an eyebrow at Talia. It's not that she was only feeling sorry for Maya, but she found a solution to make everyone happy.
All those were traits of a Luna. A very good Luna. His Luna.
Damon smiled. "You were thinking about this."
Talia didn't deny it. "I noticed that Maya was sad before we left, and today she was worse. I know that I would be missing you if…"
Talia stopped talking when she saw Damon looking at her with sparkles in his eyes and an irresistible grin which she wished to wipe off.
"You would miss me?", Damon asked with glee in his voice, urging her to say more. He really wanted to hear more about it.
An intense heat invaded Talia's cheeks, and she knew that she was blushing fiercely.
Why was he asking that so openly? And why did she blurt out whatever was on her mind?
But he asked her a question and he was eagerly waiting for her answer, so she gave him one.
"Yes."
A warm and fuzzy feeling filled Damon's chest and he was drowning in the ocean of emotions, unsure if those were his or Talia's.
He scooped Talia in his arms, all with the bedsheet she was wrapped in, and he placed her to sit on his lap.
Damon hummed in satisfaction when Talia relaxed against him. He remembered the time when she would be stiff in his embrace. Those days were long gone as Talia didn't deny that she enjoys Damon's proximity.
"Don't worry, kitten.", he murmured close to her ear. "We will never be apart. I won't allow it to happen."
Talia looked into his icy-blue eyes that stirred with passion and… she believed him.
Never apart from Damon. She wanted to pinch herself and confirm that she was not dreaming.
The attraction sizzled between them. The pull was impossible to resist, and she didn't want to resist her urge to kiss him.
Regardless of what tomorrow may bring, right now she was in Damon's embrace, and he looked at her like she was the only woman in the world, and she liked it very much.
The kiss quickly turned hungry and both of them were on fire.
More than Talia's hunger for food, she was craving for Damon and his addictive flavor of the dark chocolate, and his scent of the forest, and his firm hold, and the warmth of his body, and the texture of his skin, and his power, and that friction which makes her touch heaven.
Damon wanted them to finish food first, but the scent of Talia's arousal hit him hard, so he pushed the tray on the side haphazardly and removed the bedsheet she was wrapped in without breaking the kissing frenzy.
As they moved, plates and utensils clattered on the floor, and leftovers messed up the carpet while some walnuts rolled under the bed, but none of them had the presence of mind to care about it.
Talia's eyes fluttered open, and she squinted at the sunlight that hurt her eyes.
Talia and Damon were indulging in each other until late, and it was wonderful, but she overslept.
At the thought of Damon, Talia turned to her right and frowned when she saw crumpled bedsheets. She put her hand there to feel that it's cold. He was gone for a while. A note on Damon's pillow confirmed that he was not nearby, and she wondered if he went to work without her, but… he promised to wake her up.
Talia jolted out of her drowsiness when she heard movement in the bedroom.
"Why are you here?", Talia asked while tightening the bedsheet around her bare body.
A familiar figure looked at her innocently. "I came to get the laundry."
Talia observed the woman who wore skimpy shorts which revealed her long and toned legs, and a t-shirt that was at least two sizes smaller than it should be, making her ample bosom nearly spill out through the low V-neck opening.
The Omega was glancing at the note that Damon left behind, and Talia quickly snatched it.
Talia didn't like that this woman came here while Talia was in the room. Talia spent years watching Omegas in the Red Moon pack, and she knew very well that Omegas would double-check that the room was empty before coming to perform their duties. If their senses were not sharp enough, they would mind-link someone to confirm that the room occupant is somewhere else, and even then they would knock, and considering that Talia didn't hear any knocking and that the Omega was inside the room… this was definitely on purpose.
"Rose, right?", Talia asked and when the woman nodded, Talia continued, "Do you always come at this time?"
"No.", Rose responded honestly. "I confirmed that Alpha Damon is not in the packhouse before coming here. I didn't know that someone else is in his room. I will get the laundry and be out in a minute. I apologize for disturbing you."
Talia could tell that the apology was not sincere, and she guessed that Rose came to confirm who the girl in Alpha's room is.
Talia's impulse was to tell Rose to scram, but she was already here, and they had laundry from their trip, and Talia didn't want to cause problems, so she swallowed her grievances.
Rose returned with a hamper in tow and glanced at the tray, plates, utensils, and the food-mess on the carpet. "I will clean this in a bit."
"No.", Talia snapped. "You can come in one hour."
All that mess was there since last night. One more hour won't make a difference.
Rose gave Talia a stiff smile. "Of course. In one hour."
Talia didn't like that Rose was snooping around while pretending to be ignorant. It reminded Talia of gossipy Omegas at the Red Moon pack, the malicious ones who would come to make fun of Talia and beat her… like Anna and her henchmen.
Yes, Zina and Dawn were gossipy also, but those two spoke with Talia openly, and they didn't feign politeness while harboring too much curiosity in their gazes.
Talia watched Rose leaving the room and only when the door closed did Talia plop back in the pillow.
She guessed that there were rumors circulating about her, as the girl who is staying on the third floor of the packhouse, and this encounter confirmed it.
Should she tell Damon about this? What should she say? That an Omega came to get the laundry? If she says that, Damon will think that she is petty and that being with him got into her head.
Talia uncrumpled the note to read:
[I hope to return before you wake up, but in case that doesn't happen…
I need to take care of something personally.]
Talia pressed her lips into a line while wondering what happened that Damon needed to handle personally, but the message was vague and Rose told her that Damon is not in the packhouse, so there was not much to go with.
She was grateful that he left her a note.
Talia hugged his pillow and breathed in the lingering scent of the forest and the dark chocolate. It was nice but knowing that Damon was not nearby made her restless.
Didn't he promise last night that they won't separate? Talia shook those thoughts away. She shouldn't be that clingy. Damon was definitely somewhere in the pack territory, tending to some important matter only Alpha can handle, and he will be back soon.
It's unreasonable to expect they will always be connected at the hips, no matter how good that feels.
Without Damon around, it was awfully quiet, and Talia decided to start her day with a shower.
With or without Damon, there was plenty for Talia to do.
After showering, Talia dressed up and headed for the kitchen. It was empty, so she made herself a sandwich and headed into the study.
She didn't want to risk bumping into any other Omega and no one other than Damon would dare to enter the study, so having her sandwich there assured that no one will disturb her.
While chewing her sandwich absentmindedly, Talia checked emails and sorted them out for Damon.
Once that was done, she went through Damon's regular mail.
Under a dozen envelopes, a magazine peeked, and Talia's eyes widened when she saw it was an exclusive edition of WW Magazine that covered the event at the Lightclaw pack where Kalina was introduced as the future Luna.
