"Good evening, everyone!", Damon said cheerfully while walking into the dining room with Talia in his arms.
Talia stopped her futile struggle to get out of his hold. She couldn't believe that Damon was acting like nothing was out of place.
She wanted to smack him or bite him or say something nasty, but she knew it would only make things worse, and probably spur him to do something even more outrageous, like spanking her.
Talia comforted herself that Damon moved his hand from her ass and his hold on her was decent.
"Sorry for being late, we got delayed in the pack hospital.", Damon said while lowering Talia to sit in her chair carefully, like he was handling a delicate porcelain doll.
"Don't worry about it.", Caden responded. "We are glad you could make it. If you stayed overnight, Steph would send you food."
"The food in the pack hospital is not the best.", Stephanie said in her defense. She was ready to send food, thinking that Damon and Talia won't eat well there. Talia doesn't eat much, but Alpha's appetite is something else.
When Damon sat in his spot, Talia nervously glanced at the faces at the table.
Maya and Caden were munching on appetizers, like their eyecatching entrance of Damon carrying Talia was a totally normal thing.
Lisa was fiddling with her phone while pretending not to see Damon and Talia. She was angry that her mother made her work in the kitchen, and compared to that, Talia was being carried like a princess. Where is justice?
Oblivious to Lisa's dejection, Stephanie was looking at Talia with all concern in the world.
"Are you alright, dear?", Stephanie asked Talia. She assumed that Damon was carrying her due to injuries. "We heard that you bumped into rogues in the forest, and you got hurt. Maya said it's not serious, but if it was not serious, why would Damon stay there with you?"
"I'm fine.", Talia responded. "Doctor Travis wanted to ensure all tests were done before he discharged me."
"Good, good…", Stephanie said. "Since everyone is here, we will bring food to the table." She turned to Lisa and gestured toward the kitchen, and Lisa stood up and followed after her mother.
Once Stephanie and Lisa stepped out, Maya spoke to Damon through the mind-link that was open only for Maya, Damon, and Caden.
'Are you well enough to carry Talia around?'
Maya didn't want to risk Lisa or Stephanie overhearing them, and if Stephanie notices that the trio is talking through the mind-link, she will know they are hiding something.
Both Caden and Maya were aware of Damon's state when they left the hospital. Damon contacted Caden to ask for updates, but Caden didn't see him in person, and now that Damon showed up energetic with Talia in his arms, the Beta duo was utterly confused.
'I'm perfectly fine.', Damon said.
'How is that possible?', Caden asked.
'I'm not sure.', Damon responded honestly. 'The mate bond boosted my healing.'
Damon didn't want to say that he suspects Talia healed him. Just how them talking with their wolves was a secret, if Talia can actually heal others or blast them away with a thought, that shouldn't be publicized.
Damon saw that both Maya and Caden looked at him suspiciously, ready to ask more questions, Damon decided to give them something, 'Talia knows we are mates.'
Maya's face lit up. 'Really? When are you going to announce it?' She was mentally planning Talia's Luna ceremony from the moment Talia arrived at the Dark Howlers pack.
'Not yet.', Damon said. 'Talia wants to keep it low-key for now. Don't push it because she needs time to adjust to her status before others start treating her as my Luna. Talia is aware that the two of you know.'
Maya turned to look at Talia with a grin on her face, happy that she doesn't need to pretend to be oblivious in front of Talia anymore.
"Hey!", Talia protested. "It's obvious you are talking about me." She turned to Damon with a pout. "You promised no secrets."
"Sorry. Habit.", Damon said quickly. "Caden and Maya were just saying how they are happy we are fine."
"Riiiiight", Talia drawled while eyeing the trio cautiously, but she was happy. Somehow, sitting next to Damon, with Maya and Caden at the table, was relaxing and the overall atmosphere was welcoming. It was a good feeling, and the fact that Damon held her hand, made it better.
Stephanie and Lisa entered the dining room, and everyone's attention was drawn toward the steaming dishes.
"I made something light when I heard you will be coming from the pack hospital…", Stephanie said while placing a bowl with chicken gnocchi soup close to Talia. The soup was paired well with freshly baked breadsticks, and it all smelled divine. Talia's stomach rumbled.
Lisa was not happy to be the one serving food, but she didn't dare to make a scene. She already argued with her mother several times, and she understood the stances of Maya and Caden from when they warned her to treat Talia with respect, and now that Damon was here, pouring soup in Talia's bowl, Lisa knew that if she raises a fuss, it will backfire big time.
Two trips later, all the food was on the table and Lisa finally got to sit and help herself.
Stephanie is an amazing cook, and everything looked, smelled, and tasted great, but Lisa couldn't enjoy her mother's cooking. How can she enjoy it when Damon was feeding Talia? And he was even blowing gently every time to disperse the steam so that Talia doesn't burn her mouth. Needless to say, Tony never did anything like that for Lisa.
Maya and Caden observed the situation during dinner. It was obvious that Damon and Talia were smitten with each other and not paying attention to anyone else, and the Beta couple knew that it would get much worse after Damon marks Talia.
The mark will give a boost to their mate bond and they will completely be consumed with each other, and that will last for some time until they get used to their new normal.
Seeing how much Damon was hovering around Talia, Maya could imagine that after marking, the couple won't come out of the bedroom for a week, or a month... maybe longer.
When they were close to finishing their meal, Caden asked Damon in an official tone, "Alpha, can we have a minute in the study before you retreat for the night?"
Damon was not happy to part from Talia, but based on Caden's demeanor, he guessed it was important.
"Can I join?", Talia asked. She didn't want to part from Damon.
While working as Damon's assistant, Talia already knew many important things related to the Dark Howlers pack, and she didn't think it will be a problem.
Before Damon could answer, Lisa spoke, "Beta wants to talk to the Alpha. What makes you think you are qualified?"
"Lisa!", Stephanie snapped.
Everyone looked at Lisa in disbelief and Lisa realized that she blurted out her thoughts. Luckily, she didn't say all of it.
Damon's inquisitive stare made Lisa break into a cold sweat.
It took Lisa a moment to force a smile and say, "Why are you looking at me like I said something strange? When ranking members discuss pack matters, others can't join. I was informing Talia about the rules since it's obvious that she isn't familiar with them."
"It's not up to you to determine if Talia can join Alpha or not. This is not the Lightclaw pack, Lisa. We have different rules.", Maya said and turned to Talia. "While guys are talking, I would like to have a chat with you, Talia. In private. If that's OK."
Talia glanced at Damon, silently asking him what to do, and he responded with a shrug and, "It's up to you. Nothing is off-limits for you."
Talia had a feeling that Maya's invitation for a talk was just an excuse to provide privacy to Damon and Caden, and she didn't want to push for it. Besides, Damon promised that if it's related to her, he won't keep secrets.
"I will see what Maya wants, and meet you in our bedroom later.", Talia responded to Damon.
Damon didn't object. He took a note that Talia said OUR bedroom. It sounded perfect.
"It will save us time. When I get back, I will tell you how my talk with Caden went…"
Lisa made a face like she swallowed a fly. She was just pointing out Talia's lack of qualifications, yet Damon said the opposite. How can nothing be off-limits for Talia? She is just an Omega, a wolf-less she-wolf.
Lisa is Beta's daughter, her wolf is healthy, yet Tony never included her in anything pack related. How can Lisa accept this? Why was Talia getting special treatment from everyone while Lisa was being neglected?
As a child, Lisa was the princess of the Dark Howlers pack. Later, Lisa became Tony's girlfriend, the princess of the Lightclaw pack. Throughout her life, everyone treated her with respect and was eager to please her, yet now she was nobody who works in the kitchen and is serving food.
Lisa felt like trashing the whole place while screaming her lungs out, but she used the last bits of her control to swallow her grievances and not allow them to come to the surface.
