Talia's insides were churning as Ashley and Heather took turns in twisting what happened and making Talia appear like a bitter woman who was overreaching.
It seemed that Damon called them.
Was he curious about what happened?
Did he think that she would enjoy watching this show?
Heather's brows were furrowed into a concerned expression, and she leaned toward Damon, giving him a full view of her ample cleavage. "When Lia said that you belong to her, we had to warn her that she can't recklessly claim our Alpha. And when we pointed out that she is not marked, she started throwing insults at us…"
Caden and Maya exchanged glances and shook their heads. Those two airheads were digging their own graves.
Heather was about to say more, but Ashley gave her hand a squeeze, and Heather realized that Damon's expression darkened.
"Did we do something wrong?", Ashley asked cautiously.
"What you told me is unsettling.", Damon responded. "Regardless of the status, if a random woman stakes her claim on me, she will suffer consequences."
Ashley and Heather had matching smiles that froze as Damon continued talking.
"However, this is a serious accusation and I need to investigate thoroughly. You said that Lia acted out of line, but Doctor Travis told me that the two of you were bullying her."
"That's not what happened.", Ashley was quick to deny it. Even if Travis was present, he didn't hear much.
"Are you saying that he lied?"
Ashley smiled innocently. "I'm not saying that he lied on purpose, but there is a chance he saw it wrongly. Lia bullied us. We were only standing up for ourselves. And for you."
Damon nodded. "I feel that another perspective is missing. Should I look for Lia and see what she has to say?"
Heather gulped audibly. "What would she say? Do you think she will admit to her wrongdoings?"
"Whoever lies to me will suffer consequences." Damon craned his neck and glanced at Talia who was observing everything in silence. "Do you want to enlighten us and say what actually happened?"
Talia stood up and walked toward Damon and when she glanced at Ashley and Heather, those two were so pale that it looked like their souls were about to leave their bodies.
They didn't realize that Talia was here. And Talia being here before them, meant that Damon heard Talia's version of the story first.
Damon was disappointed that Talia stopped moving on the side of his desk, and he extended his hand toward Talia, silently urging her to come closer.
His stomach dropped when she didn't take it.
Damon called these two blondes here so that Talia sees how he will stand up for her. Why was she rejecting him now? He didn't do anything wrong.
After a few endless seconds, Damon retracted his hand. This was the first time that someone left him hanging!
Talia didn't want to look at Damon. She was upset at him and she feared that if she meets his icy-blue eyes, her will might waver, so she focused on Ashley and Heather.
Lies. Malice. Ridicule. Schemes. Beatings. Talia went through it all and she suffered greatly when no one cared to investigate and find the truth. For many years, Talia was a scapegoat for everything that went wrong.
Now things were different, but this incident reminded Talia of the helplessness when she was wronged and powerless, and it made her nauseated. She hated it.
"What do you think you will get by slandering me like that? How can you not care what will happen to me because of your lies? I remember you coming to me with a question about how I managed to hold onto Damon long enough to end up in a magazine? You behaved like you were inviting me to join a club for Damon's hookups when you spoke about his favorite poses and that he loves to take a woman from behind…"
Damon's face fell. His hookups? Favorite poses? Taking a woman from behind? What the hell?
A sense of crisis gripped his heart.
Damon wanted to reach to Maya and Caden to see if they knew something about this, and maybe give him an exit strategy, but those two had their heads lowered and they were snickering silently.
Were they mocking him?
And sure, there it was, Caden spoke to Maya through the mind-link, 'Damon's perfect plan backfired. He wanted to fight for Talia's honor, but by the looks of it, his honor took a hit.'
'You make it sound like he has honor', Maya responded.
'Unless you are helping, I suggest you shut up!', Damon grumbled into the mind-link and both Caden and Maya stiffened.
Damon took a mental note to reprimand them later. How can they enjoy the show when their Alpha was in a pinch?
Things were looking bad and going to worse because Talia was not done.
"You said Damon is keeping me hidden like a pet and that his interest in me will wane the moment he finds another woman who tickles his libido because I'm no different than the two of you or any other woman he used for one time fun…"
Damon felt that the room was spinning. Why did those two disclose that he bedded them and insinuate that Talia is no more than a hookup?
Wait! Damon didn't remember getting handsy with Ashley or Heather, but considering his past, that was not unusual. There were too many to remember.
Ah, this was a disaster!
No wonder Talia needed time to cool down yesterday. And no wonder she didn't take his hand now.
She probably saw him as dirty.
Talia was like a perfect Goddess who shone brightly, and next to her, Damon felt like the lowest scum of Earth.
Damon needed to salvage this situation and he needed to make it fast because Talia's temper was flaring and as much as he enjoyed seeing her put people in their place, he had a feeling that soon Talia's fury will be directed at him.
He waited for Talia to pause to catch her breath and then he intervened.
"So, you lied to your Alpha?", Damon asked Ashley and Heather who were already drenched in sweat because Talia's aura weighted on them, making it difficult to breathe.
Damon could feel the pressure Talia exerted and he wondered if that was her maximum, or if she was still unlocking her potential. In either case, she was magnificent. He reminded himself to stay focused.
"Answer me!", Damon used an Alpha command and both Ashley and Heather nodded with pained expressions on their faces.
In front of an Alpha command that directly impacts the werewolf's mind, one had to submit and respond truthfully, unless he had the strength to resist. It was obvious that neither Ashley nor Heather had the capacity to resist Damon's command.
"You will be sent to the dungeon until we decide on the right punishment.", Damon said.
"Dungeon?", Ashley asked breathily. "We were just talking. I request that Elders investigate and decide if any punishment is needed."
"Elders don't have jurisdiction when the crime was done against members of the Alpha family.", Damon said sternly. "Slandering your Luna falls into that category."
Both Ashley and Heather looked at Damon and then at Talia in disbelief.
Without giving Talia chance to react, Damon pulled her to sit on his lap, and his arms locked around her waist firmly as he spoke to Heather and Ashley, "You heard me right. This is Talia. My fated mate. Your future Luna, who will decide on your punishment, when she feels like it. Until then, use your time in the dungeon to think about what you did and how your actions would impact the person you slandered if she was anyone other than Talia."
Damon glanced at Caden and Maya. "Take them away."
"Let's go…", Caden said sternly, and Ashley and Heather stood up robotically and walked out, dragging their feet with dreadful expressions like they were only seconds from parting with their souls.
When the door closed, Damon cupped Talia's cheek with his palm and made her turn to look at him.
"I'm sorry, kitten. These things shouldn't happen. Once we announce you as the Luna of the Dark Howlers pack, no one will dare to provoke you like this."
Talia was not sure if Damon will really make this whole Talia-as-the-Luna show public, but even if he does that, it won't erase his past as a man-whore.
Ashley and Heather came forward and spoke openly, and if they thought of Talia as Damon's Luna, they probably wouldn't do that, but it wouldn't change what Damon did with them.
"I know that it's normal for an Alpha to sleep around, but…" Talia's heart was heavy, and she couldn't put her thoughts into words.
No matter how disgusted she was at the thought of Damon being intimate with other women, when he was this close, holding her, the only thing she could see was him and everything else faded into insignificance. And how can she be angry at him for things he did before they met?
Damon's heart cracked as Talia's emotions poured into him, and he tightened his hold on Talia, fearing that she will leave him.
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't.", Talia interrupted him. "If you are truly sorry, don't let it happen again."
Damon smiled a little when he realized that Talia used the same words he said to her more than once.
Talia balled her hand into a fist and gave him a weak punch in the chest.
"You big dummy.", Talia said with a pout. "You said that I will be your last. As long as that promise stands, we will be fine."
"That promise will stand forever.", Damon said. He made a cross over his chest with his index finger, where his heart is, indicating his sincerity.
Talia leaned on Damon, and he cradled her in his arms, and they sat like that in silence for a long time.
