Tatiana's chewing slowed down as she studied Maddox's handsome face, and then a thought hit her.
"You are Mindy's brother."
Maddox cocked an eyebrow. "I am older, so she is my sister."
Tatiana didn't care about that nonsense.
She was trying to match this handsome man with the image Mindy portrayed. Almost female, womanizer, stubborn, overbearing.
How can he be compared to a female? In Tatiana's opinion, Maddox was the manliest man she ever saw, and she saw many.
A womanizer? Tatiana remembered that he was just standing there and staring at her stupidly and she ended up kissing him first. How can that be called a womanizer?
Stubborn? Overbearing? Those also didn't match this man who was smiling silly and feeding her, taking the role of a servant, and not someone who wants to dominate.
After a moment of thought, Tatiana pushed Mindy's words aside.
Surely, as his sister, Mindy had the right to exaggerate and joke about those things.
"Tell me about yourself.", Maddox said.
Tatiana smirked. "Do you normally take half an hour between kissing a woman and asking for her name?"
Maddox froze. What did she say? Did he make the mistake of treating her like other women? It was not on purpose!
"I was stunned by your beauty. Besides, I could swear it was less than a minute.", Maddox said.
Tatiana stifled a laugh. She had no idea how much time it passed, but Maddox's expression was comical.
"Tatiana Wilkov. I am the oldest one among the five sisters of the Wilkov family. Born in Poland, currently living in Italy. I came to visit Kalina, my youngest sister because she found her mate."
"Tatiana…", Maddox murmured. He never heard a prettier name in his name.
"Friends call me Tanya."
"Tanya…", Maddox repeated. This sounded better than Tatiana. Everything about this Goddess was amazing. Even her name.
Maddox didn't want to waste any time exchanging information. He wanted to pounce on Tatiana and mark her and put his babies inside her. It was crazy and unreasonable, but his instincts told him that he needs to impregnate her as soon as possible like there was some time limit.
But he couldn't act on those instincts because he didn't want Tatiana to see him as a horny savage.
He needed to strike a conversation. Something interesting and stimulating. As an Alpha, he had many of those in the past… conversations. He can have one now.
But… what should he say? He really wanted to leave a good impression.
"So, what do you do when you are not visiting your sister and stealing my heart?"
Maddox facepalmed internally. Did those cheesy lines come out of his mouth?
Ah! If he knew that he will meet his Goddess, he would look up some women-wooing tips online!
Tatiana cocked an eyebrow. "I am not stealing anything. I am just taking what's mine."
Maddox stared at Tatiana as the pressure in his groin increased rapidly, and then he shifted to adjust his hard-on. How can a woman arouse him so easily?
Normally, he would be outraged to hear a woman claiming him as hers. He is an Alpha and if there is any claiming happening, he will be the one doing it!
But when those words came out of Tatiana's mouth, the only thing he wanted was to kiss her.
Heaven and earth could flip and if Tatiana said that it was fine, Maddox will agree. It was fine.
He chuckled. "Seriously… what do you do normally?"
"I'm into fashion..."
Mindy, Maya, and Meg discussed things needed for the beach. As an extra touch for celebrating Maddox and Tatiana as mates, the girls decided to add bite-sized snacks, a cake, alcohol, and meat because they will be having a barbecue party in the evening.
Since it was a warm summer day, Maya suggested that they have things prepared by Omegas and brought to them later.
Talia was sitting and observing, and under the table, there was a war. Damon couldn't stop fondling her and he did that with a serious expression like he was interested in the cake flavors.
Talia couldn't believe how mischievous Damon was. The more time they spent together, the more she realized that he is a child who doesn't know when to stop, but this was a big man who can't be put on a timeout.
The only thing she could do was to avoid him.
Talia stood up abruptly and grabbed the list from Maya's hands.
"I will take it to the kitchen and discuss it with Stephanie.", Talia said.
"Now?", Damon asked with a frown.
"They are probably cleaning after breakfast. If I delay, Steph will leave."
Damon pouted. Talia had a point, but he didn't want her to leave. He was really enjoying her proximity. "Let Maya do it."
"Didn't you say I am the host? As a host, I will handle this."
Damon was out of arguments. "Come back quickly."
Talia leaned and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Shouldn't you head to the training grounds with the guys? After I discuss this with Stephanie, we will go shopping."
Damon's brows furrowed. Talia was right.
And just like that, Talia avoided Damon's fondling under the table.
She didn't want to separate from him, and she wouldn't mind him touching her if they were alone. However, privacy was not an option because they had guests, and she wanted some girl-time also. In addition to that, he had things to do, and at least one of them needed to act like a grownup.
Talia was walking down the hallway, with the door of the kitchen getting closer with her every step when…
"Ahh!"
Talia screamed when someone tugged her from behind and she ended up in the side room.
'BANG!'
The door closed behind Talia and she blinked at the person whose eyes lost focus for a moment.
"Dawn, what are you doing?", Talia protested.
Dawn smirked. "You will see in a minute."
There was no need for a minute because only a few seconds later, the door opened, and Zina entered.
Zina and Dawn stood side-by-side, facing Talia and blocking the door, both with their arms crossed over their chest.
"You are avoiding us for so long. It's time to talk.", Zina said with a mischievous grin.
Talia bit her lip guiltily. Ever since she went to the Lightclaw pack with Damon, she knew that Dawn and Zina were bubbling with questions, and she made sure they were never alone so that two nosy women can't ask tricky questions. And now they kidnapped and are holding her hostage in this room.
Talia was not sure if she should laugh or cry, but she knew that Dawn and Zina were determined and there was only one way out.
"What do you want to know?", Talia asked.
Zina rolled her eyes. "Don't play stupid. You know what we want to know. What's going on between you and Alpha?"
Talia hesitated. Should she tell them? They will find out anyway, the only question was when and from whom. But, what if they hate her? Will they look at her differently? What if they think she is not worthy of being Damon's mate, his Luna?
Talia loved that Zina and Dawn spoke to her openly about everything, from how to make French toast to sleeping with guys. What if they stop talking to her?
"Well?" Dawn's question got Talia's attention. "Will you tell us, or will you leave us guessing?"
Zina frowned a bit. "I thought we were friends but seeing that you were avoiding us and now you won't talk… maybe I was wrong."
Talia steeled her resolve.
"We are mates.", she said.
Dawn and Zina had matching confusing expressions.
"What did you say?", Dawn asked.
"We are mates.", Talia repeated.
When Dawn and Zina stood there without moving, Talia nodded to confirm they heard her right. Both times.
"Wow!", Zina said under her breath. "Mates, eh? Why didn't you tell us? I mean… we were cooking and messing around and…"
"I didn't know.", Talia said in her defense. "My wolf was hurt and whenever Damon told me that I'm special, I thought that he was teasing me. And before you ask, we didn't announce it because there are many things we need to figure out, and we will reveal it when we are ready. At this point, Maya and Caden know about it." Talia gave a short version, and she was relieved to see Zina and Dawn nod in understanding.
"That's amazing!", Dawn said eventually. "Will you let us be your bridesmaids?"
Talia's brows came together in confusion. "What's a bridesmaid?"
Zina responded, "Those are women who get nice dresses and help the bride get ready for her wedding, and they are part of the wedding party. It's a human custom, and it became popular with us recently."
Talia looked at Zina and Dawn helplessly. "We didn't talk about that, but if I need bridesmaids, I will definitely count on you."
"Yaaay!", Zina and Dawn exclaimed in unison, and both rushed at Talia to give her a hug.
Talia hugged Zina with her left arm and Dawn with her right one, happy that those two were still acting freely with her and they didn't mention Talia's non-existent background.
"Imagine, we will be bridesmaids at the Alpha's wedding!", Dawn said excitedly. "The WW Magazine will be there and many guests. We will definitely find our mates there."
Talia's heart cracked at the thought that neither Dawn nor Zina have their mates, yet they were truly happy for her.
She never wanted a big party, but because of Dawn and Zina… "I will tell Damon to invite everyone. I'm sure you will find your mates."
"Hehehe…", Zina giggled foolishly. "It's good to be chummy with the Luna."
