Talia's steps slowed down after an unknown measure of time when she noticed through the gaps in bushes and trees that someone was standing in the distance.
Talia thought it's one of the patrols, and if she avoids them, she might appear suspicious, so she continued moving straight, without altering her path.
A few steps later, Talia confirmed it was four men and she slowed down as she realized that something was off.
The warriors are usually patrolling in wolf form (Damon told her that), and even if they are in human form, they would be dressed in dark gray t-shirts while these guys wore green and brown-ish patterns that provided camouflage in the forest.
Talia bent slightly, hiding behind nearby bushes while focusing on four men who were talking in whispers and looking around nervously.
Her eyes widened when the breeze brought the words, "Avoided… Did you find… We don't have much time..."
Talia's heart thundered. Rogues.
Damon said they would sneak into their territory, but she never imagined that she would actually bump into them. After all, the territory of the Dark Howlers pack is huge, and they have numerous patrols. Isn't she close to the packhouse?
"Who goes there!?", one of the men asked and Talia jerked into a full squat.
Talia held her breath while cursing her luck.
The day started well, but by the looks of it, it won't end on the same note. Even if she escapes the rogues, Damon will give her a hard time.
Talia felt like crying. She just wanted to calm down in the forest. What did she get herself into?
…
Damon was in front of the main training facility for warriors that was nestled in the forest, West from Darkbourne. They just finished with the round of tests for promotions and he was shaking hands with the generals while offering them rare words of praise for their good work.
One general was talking something, but Damon couldn't focus. He felt uneasy, and he knew it was Talia.
Now what?
He remembered that Talia was not happy to work with Rose. Did Rose do or say something to upset Talia?
Damon mind-linked immediately, 'Rose! Is Talia with you?'
'No, Alpha…', Rose responded in a shaky voice, flustered that Alpha mind-linked her directly, and intimidated by his stern tone. 'Talia left us to work a while ago…' Her next words hit a dead end because Damon shut down the mind-link abruptly.
Damon puffed his cheeks and he wondered who could upset Talia. Was it Lisa? He didn't want to jump to conclusions because it could be many things, and there was only one certain way to confirm what's going on. Damon stepped on the side and got his phone to call Talia.
One ring, two… and then the call was answered and Damon heard an unknown male voice, "There you are… Look! I found a little rabbit hiding…"
Damon's stomach dropped, unsure if that wave of fear was from him or Talia.
"Talia! TALIA!", Damon roared into his phone, but there was no response.
He quickly flipped to look at the GPS coordinates and his heart froze painfully when he realized that Talia was in the forest. If the patrol bumped into Talia, and they didn't recognize her, they would report an intruder, and that creepy guy's voice definitely didn't sound like he was up to any good.
Damon threw his phone at Caden who was right next to him. "Talia is in trouble. Send patrols…"
Damon's last word was mixed with a growl as he shifted in his wolf form mid-jump before dashing into the forest, leaving only his tattered clothes behind.
In the forest…
Talia was facing four men who were looking at her with complicated expressions.
"Why are you not shouting for help?", one of the guys asked Talia. It was obvious that he was the leader.
"You can hurt me before anyone comes to the rescue.", Talia responded.
The guy nodded in approval of her words. "Good that you know. Why are you here? How did you find us?" He eyed her white silky shirt and blue pencil skirt that Damon prepared for her to wear that morning. "You don't look like a warrior…", he mumbled.
"I just came for a walk.", Talia said. "You can go on your way, and I will pretend I didn't see anything."
"Yeah right…", the guy from the side said impatiently before turning to the leader. "Why are we talking to her? As much as we know, patrols are already on the way. What if she mind-linked them? We should get rid of her quickly…" He approached her with a big knife in his hand.
The leader extended his hand, blocking the man's path toward Talia. "She didn't alert anyone. Can't you sense that she doesn't have the mind-link?"
The other three guys looked at Talia with renewed interest.
"Are you here on a mission? Who sent you?", the leader asked.
Talia realized that they assumed she is a rogue, here to spy on the Dark Howlers pack. That was something she could work with.
"It's none of your business.", Talia responded. "I didn't ask you why you are here or who sent you, so I expect the same courtesy."
The leader tched. "In our line of work, accidents happen, people disappear… There are four of us, and only one of you. We can do whatever we want, and if anyone finds you later, they will assume it was the Dark Howlers pack."
Talia's heart trembled. "You wouldn't dare."
The leader stepped closer and grabbed Talia's chin. "You will see what I dare soon enough."
Talia gathered whatever courage she had and yanked her head backward, out of his grip. "If you want to do anything, I suggest you hurry before a patrol arrives."
The leader smirked. "I admire your spirit. You should join us."
Talia blinked while her brain scrambled for exit strategies. Damon will be upset if he finds out that she went to the forest on her own and she ended up bumping into rogues, and he will be super-upset if he finds out that she joined them.
"I can't.", Talia said. "If I don't return soon, my cover will be blown."
"Did you come here to meet with someone?", the leader asked suspiciously and before he could say anything else, the man who was on his right exclaimed while holding onto a phone, "Check this!"
The leader glanced at the phone that had a photo of Talia. He smirked. "So… you are the one that got Alpha Damon's attention."
Talia swallowed hard. She thought she was getting away with it, but how does she get out of this pickle? No matter what fighting moves Damon taught her, these are four werewolves, and fighting or running will be in vain.
She realized that this is it. She can go down proudly or crying and there was no use in crying.
Talia lifted her chin. "What about it? Are you jealous that my mission was a success while you are empty-handed?" She overheard bits and pieces of their conversation and confirmed that these rogues didn't get whatever they were looking for.
The leader's face twisted into an ugly grimace. He expected many things but this… he was not sure how to respond and it took him a few seconds to recover.
His demeanor changed as his eyes sparkled with greed. "It seems we struck gold this time. Instead of gathering information, we got Alpha Damon's weakness."
Talia was sure he got it wrong. "What makes you think I'm his weakness? I accompanied him to a few places and that's it."
"Enough talking.", the man barked. "You are coming with us."
He grabbed her hair with one hand, and with another he covered her mouth.
Talia wiggled to get out of his hold and one of the other three men pressed a knife on her throat.
He chuckled when Talia stopped moving.
"The blade is laced with wolfsbane. It won't only cut you, but it will poison you as well. Be a good girl and no one will get hurt."
A small whimper escaped Talia's lips. She was terrified and the stinging ache in her scalp was making her see stars.
"Give me a cloth or something to gag her and tie her up.", the leader said, and the knife moved away from Talia's skin.
Without thinking, Talia opened her mouth as much as possible and she bit the man's hand.
He didn't expect it and Talia used the moment of confusion to punch him in the throat. The moment his hold on her hair loosened, Talia dashed into the bushes as fast as her legs would carry her.
Unfortunately, there were four werewolves hot on her trail and Talia didn't reach far when a man jumped on her, and she ended up tumbling.
When the world stopped spinning, Talia was on her back with a man straddling her. She frantically tried to push him away, when…
'WHACK!'
The man hit Talia with the back of his palm and Talia's left cheek went numb. A second later, she felt a warm thick liquid in her mouth.
"This will teach you to stop running. Bitch.", he squeezed through his teeth.
