The WW Magazine had four figures on the front page.
Kalina and Tony were in the center with Alpha Magnus and Luna Alicia on their sides. They were all smiling and looking happy. There were no traces of Kalina's gloom that she showed in private, and Talia knew that she would never get a glimpse of that side of Kalina if they were not friends because in front of strangers Kalina had her practiced smile on.
Talia's heart fluttered as she flipped the pages of the magazine, wondering if she will see Damon's photo there… somewhere. And she was not wrong.
Her mouth hung open when she saw several pages filled with photos of her and Damon. There was one with the two of them at the table chatting, him feeding her… and there was one photo covering an entire page with the two of them dancing and the caption, "Did Alpha Damon find his Luna?"
Talia released a shaky breath when she realized that this turned into a story that was bound to create numerous gossips.
Talia hungrily read the text that was squeezed between the photos.
The article said that she came as Alpha Damon's date and that her name is 'Lia', probably because someone overheard Kalina or Mindy addressing her. The article was mostly speculating about her identity and if Damon will mark her.
There was a special note in bold letters about the absence of a mark on Talia's neck and a photo right next to it had Talia's neck zoomed in with a red arrow pointing there.
Talia absentmindedly touched the base of her neck, on the left side.
She remembered the drunkard at the party saying how Damon was toying with her because she doesn't have Damon's mark. Damon punched the daylights out of that man and then Maddox was left to deal with the aftermath. Talia was not sure what Maddox did with those two unconscious people, but the fact that no one raised a fuss about it, meant that he did a good job.
Talia also remembered that Damon asked her if she would wear his mark. Was he serious?
She was not sure if he was. Maybe at that moment, he thought about it, but now that the mood simmered down… who knows?
'It's better this way', Talia told herself. Things like marking are forever and it shouldn't be done rashly.
Would she think differently if Damon is her mate? Talia didn't have an answer to that question.
What would happen if she agreed? Would he do it? And then what…?
What if Damon's mate showed up after Damon's mark formed on Talia's neck? Which one would be the impostor?
Talia definitely didn't see herself as worthy of Damon's mark.
Actually, she didn't understand why Damon gave her any attention.
Even an Omega like Rose looked more voluptuous and alluring, compared to Talia but then… maybe Damon already sampled Rose and Talia was someone new.
With every passing minute, Talia's heart grew heavier, and she closed the magazine and kept it on Damon's desk.
She realized that her insecurities were chipping away her happiness and she needed to snap out of it.
But the whole study smelled of the forest and the dark chocolate, reminding her of Damon and that he was not there to give her one of his comforting hugs with the power to calm her down. She was alone and it was getting unbearable and Talia walked out into the garden to get some air.
Talia chided herself. Why was she so dependent on Damon and his presence? She met him only a few weeks ago, and even though her life before that was not amazing, she still survived. Surely, there are things she can do without him.
She remembered studying and the book Doctor Travis gave her. She finished reading it and she was due for a checkup, so she gave Doctor Travis a call.
At the pack hospital…
After her checkup was completed, Talia was left with Doctor Travis in his office, to go over her results.
He told her that her overall condition is showing improvements and that she should continue with whatever she is doing.
"I can see that you are taking care of your body", Travis said, and Talia blushed at the thought how Damon is the one doing most of the care of her body, and that extends beyond feeding her. Waaaay beyond just feeding her.
She focused mightily on Travis's words as he spoke about the results of her blood tests.
"If you continue with this progress, soon you can stop with vitamin supplements.", Travis ended on a good note.
Talia was happy to hear the good news, not that she expected anything else because she was eating, exercising, and sleeping, and overall, she felt better.
Since she talked to Damon about her wolf, she wanted to discuss it with Travis… "Doctor Travis, you are aware that my wolf is gone. Right?"
Travis nodded.
"What are the chances that, with my condition improving, she will come back?"
Travis paused. Alpha Damon requested from Travis to not discuss the issue of Talia's wolf with her because it might give her false hopes if her wolf doesn't wake up.
If Alpha Damon told Talia that her wolf might wake up, then Travis can talk about it freely. But what if Talia figured it out on her own?
Travis was in a predicament. Should he obey the order of his Alpha or honor the doctor-patient relationship he has with Talia?
Whichever he chooses, he can't tell Talia that he discussed her medical issue with the Alpha, not without Talia's consent. Ah, he already violated rules as a doctor. Should he add one more violation to that, or try to fix things?
Travis's guilty conscience was eating him from the inside, and he was not willing to add more to it.
"We are in uncharted territory here, Talia.", Travis said honestly. "If we knew why she left you, we might try to fix it, but even that won't guarantee her return."
Travis saw that Talia's mood dropped and he let out a long breath. "I will be honest with you. Your sight and hearing are better than human's, and that tells me your wolf is not gone. But there is no medicine I can give you with a guarantee that she will wake up. The most you can do is take care of your body and hope it will make a difference. Considering that your body is in fairly good shape now, you might want to focus on your mental state. Avoid stressful situations and do things that make you happy. I know that it's impossible to eliminate stress from life, so I will recommend you some breathing exercises…"
Talia was bummed that Doctor Travis didn't have a concrete solution, but she listened carefully about breathing exercises and meditation techniques.
Travis ended with, "I am not an expert in that area so I will send you links. You will need to try things and see what works for you."
"Is there an expert?", Talia asked.
Travis was not sure how to answer this, knowing that it's a tricky area. Everyone in the Dark Howlers pack is aware of the feud between their Alpha and Shaman, and considering that Talia was under Alpha's care, Travis didn't dare say anything rashly.
"You might want to talk to Alpha Damon about visiting Shaman Gideon. He is the most knowledgeable about spiritual things."
Talia didn't understand why she needed to talk to Damon about this. Nevertheless, her mood improved at the mentioning of Gideon. She saw it as another path she could explore. It was better than a dead-end or vague 'take care of yourself and hope for the best'.
If Shaman Gideon can help her, she will be a proper she-wolf, with her wolf.
Before leaving Travis's office, Talia reached into her bag for the book that Travis gave her to read. "I finished with this one and I was wondering if you can give me what comes after this."
"Do you want to read more on this topic, or would you rather expand to something else?", Travis asked.
"I really don't know.", Talia responded honestly. "I am curious about everything so I will be grateful for any recommendation."
