Talia was silent, so Maya continued her explanation.
"Normally a council of Elders would handle most of the pack management. And in the pack as large as this one, Alpha would have his Beta and Gamma and other people who are in charge of specific matters, while Luna will have her helpers. As the future Luna, you should surround yourself with people you trust because they will know not only about the pack but about you as well. In case you are not available, someone will act in your place. It will be better if that is a person you picked than someone random who is power-hungry and potentially dangerous to you, Alpha, and the pack."
Talia thought how that made sense. Since she started working by Damon's side, Talia got to know some details about other packs, and she knew that many Alphas and Lunas have dozens of people who are close to them and help with managing their packs.
She personally saw how in the Red Moon pack, Alpha Edward had many people dealing with various aspects of the pack, even though only Beta was allowed to reside in the packhouse.
Talia didn't know the details, but she was aware that in the Red Moon pack there are three commanders who are above Generals, and as someone who values military strength, those commanders have their own villas as a sign of status and they report to Alpha Edward directly.
Talia knew that she will become Luna and she should have assistants, but who could that be?
Talia had only a few people who are close to her, and all of them she met in the last few weeks. Mindy and Kalina definitely can't take the roles as Talia's helpers, so she thought that Maya and Stephanie will be there, but it seemed that they won't be available either.
There was also Olivia, but Talia didn't see her in two years and Olivia went to live with her mate so… she is not a candidate.
Seeing Talia's dejected expression, Maya patted her hand. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere, and I will help you until you find someone else."
Talia puffed her cheeks. "It sounds overwhelming."
"It's a lot of work, but if you break it into pieces and tackle one thing at a time, it's manageable. Normally, Alpha will take care of security and warriors, while Luna will handle things related to the packhouse and pack members."
"Like housing.", Talia said.
"Like housing.", Maya repeated in confirmation. "Regardless of how other packs divide work, you will do whatever works for you. Every pack is different, and so is every Alpha and Luna pair. I'm sure that Alpha Damon will talk about all that as you get closer to your Luna ceremony."
Talia responded with a stiff smile while screaming internally. Luna ceremony. WAAAH!
Stress was eating her up from the inside already, but Talia took a deep breath and told herself to take this one thing at a time. Guests are coming, and she will deal with that first, and leave everything else for later because if she starts thinking about those things now, her brain will implode.
"Are you OK?"
Maya asked and Talia realized that her fa?ade cracked. She probably looked horrible.
Unsure how to answer, Talia's attention was drawn toward the computer screen that showed various folders.
In order to divert the topic, Talia pointed at one folder. "What is this?"
Maya's eyebrows came together. It was the folder named, 'Evidence'.
Before Maya responded, Talia double-clicked to open and see contents.
It was Talia's turn for her eyebrows to come together when she saw numerous folders, each labeled by a female name.
Abbie-SWP. Adalyn-APP. Alison-KP. Amanda-MP. Amanda-RTP. Amber-HLP...
The list of names seemed endless.
Maya wondered if she should stop Talia from scrolling further, but Damon clearly said that nothing is off-limits for Talia, so Maya let it be.
Talia paused briefly when she saw a folder named, Cassie-SBP, but then she continued until saw a folder named, Marcy-RMP.
That name gave Talia goosebumps, and if Cassie-SBP coincided with 'Cassie – the SteelBite pack', the Marcy-RMP was definitely reminding Talia of, 'Marcy – the Red Moon Pack'.
Talia clicked to open the folder and other than a few text files and emails, there was a video file with a timestamp only a few weeks old. Was that video taken when Damon visited the Red Moon pack?
Talia never paid attention to dates. Every day was like any other. However, she knew the date when she visited Doctor Travis the first time because it was on the after-visit summary he gave her, and based on that, Talia calculated that the video was taken on the second day of Damon's visit to the Red Moon pack.
Driven by her curiosity, Talia opened the video file and her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw a naked female standing straight while kicking her panties away. Marcy.
"What are you doing?", Marcy asked the person who was recording her.
"Memories of our first time, baby. Turn around. Let me see you…"
Talia's stomach dropped when she recognized the voice. Damon.
And what stung even more were words, 'turn around, let me see you'.
That was not the first time Talia heard them. Damon used the same words the previous night when he saw Talia wearing sexy lingerie in the closet.
Talia wanted to stop the video because her soul screamed in agony, but she just sat there frozen.
Talia's vision blurred from tears when she heard Damon's voice, "Spread your legs. More. Good. Perk up that ass…"
Anger and anguish clenched Talia's fragile heart, and she didn't realize at what point her insides started burning.
Caden and Damon were on their way to the training ground.
They were walking because their destination was only a few minutes away from the packhouse through the forest, and they won't save any time if they use the car.
"It seems things between you and Talia are fine now.", Caden voiced his observation.
"Definitely!", Damon exclaimed with glee. "I feared her reaction when she finds out we are mates, but she took it better than I expected."
"Did you talk about the Luna ceremony?"
Damon shook his head. "Not yet. She asked for time, but I have a feeling that in a few days we will talk about it…"
Damon wondered if he should get Talia a ring. He read online how that's a symbol of commitment. Werewolves don't wear rings or bracelets because they come off or break when they shift, but Talia doesn't have a wolf so she can't shift. When Talia's wolf awakens, she can wear the ring around her neck, on a necklace that Damon is yet to purchase. It will be perfect.
At the same time, Caden's and Damon's steps halted, and they frowned.
Damon could feel the ache and he knew it came from Talia.
Pain. Grief. Embarrassment. Rage.
In an instant, Damon was livid. Was Lisa causing trouble again? But… didn't he leave Talia with Maya?
Damon looked at Caden only to see the latter clutching his chest and paling like he can't breathe.
'What's going on!?', Damon asked through the mind-link that was open for Maya and Caden, while rushing back to the packhouse.
'You should probably stay away for now.', Maya responded in a strained voice. She was on the verge of losing her consciousness because Talia's aura was suffocating her, and Maya didn't have the strength to increase the distance between her and Talia.
The hell Damon will stay away when he could clearly feel that Talia was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
'Where are you!?', Damon roared into the mind-link.
'Study.', Maya responded before adding with difficulty, 'Alpha, Talia found a video you took of Marcy.'
Damon didn't get it. What video? But there was no time to think about it. Talia was in trouble, and he was already running up the driveway and entering the packhouse.
Damon stormed into the study, and he found Talia and Maya sitting at his desk.
Nothing would look out of place if not for Maya's face that was pale as a sheet of paper, and she was drenched in sweat with her back curving down. She was not bowing in submission. It looked more like she wanted to kiss the floor, but her sitting position prevented her from doing so.
Talia's expression was unreadable, but Damon's survival instincts kicked into overdrive, telling him that he was facing grave danger with every wave of Talia's aura that washed on him.
"What's going on here?", Damon asked while trying to read the situation.
Talia's eyes moved to look at him, and Damon paused when he saw specs of silver flashing in her honeyed eyes that were full of unshed tears.
"Maya, leave us…", Damon said, and Maya stumbled off the chair, using her arms and legs to cross those endless several steps of distance and reach the exit.
Damon closed the door behind Maya and turned to Talia.
"Kitten, what's going on?"
His steps toward Talia halted when he faced her icy expression. That was not Talia he knew.
Talia's mouth opened and it took her a second to make a sound, "I don't know what bad karma this girl accumulated to have you as her mate." Her voice was strained as she struggled to speak.
Damon was taken aback.
He could feel his wolf trying to stir from his slumber and Damon's heart thundered wildly in his chest when he realized…
"You are Talia's wolf."
