It didn't take long for Dawn and Zina to leave the kitchen under various excuses. Stephanie shook her head at two silly women while wondering, what's with the secrecy? It was obvious that two Omegas left the kitchen in order to talk to Talia.
Stephanie was right. Dawn and Zina went to meet with Rose, and they asked her to send a text to Talia.
"Call Talia to come here.", Dawn said. "Tell her that she needs to check something in the rooms you prepared for the guests from the Red Moon pack."
Rose shook her head in disapproval, but she still sent a text to Talia after Dawn and Zina assured her that they will take care of the rest and that Talia won't be angry about this small deception.
A few minutes later…
Rose stood like a statue and stared at the open door.
Dawn and Zina nearly had a heart attack when they saw Alpha Damon entering the room. Why was he there?
Damon wore shorts and a wrinkled t-shirt, and his hair was messy. It was obvious that he got out of the bed and put on whatever clothes he found lying around.
Damon's eyes settled on Rose. "What do you need me to check?"
Rose felt like crying. Talking with Talia was one thing, but Alpha Damon was intimidating, and it didn't seem he was in a good mood. Oh, God! She allowed those two misfortune-bringers to use her phone and she ended up waking up Alpha!
Unsure how to answer, Rose robotically pointed toward Dawn and Zina whose eyes were open so wide that they formed nearly full circles.
Damon rubbed his forehead impatiently. "Will someone tell me why I am here?"
Dawn, Zina, and Rose also wanted to know why Alpha Damon was there. Did Rose send a message to the wrong number?
"We wanted to talk to Talia.", Dawn responded in a small voice.
"She is asleep. Tell me what needs to be done.", Damon said stiffly.
While they mingled with guests, Talia was holding on, but after dinner when it was just the two of them, Talia's anxiousness was swelling with every passing minute. His kitten was nervous about Marcy coming, and they ended up talking and cuddling long into the night, and of course, they indulged in carnal pleasures a few times.
When Damon saw the text from Rose, he decided to head down and check out the situation without waking up Talia so that she can rest as much as possible. And he was in a hurry to finish whatever was needed and return to bed before Talia realizes he was gone.
Dawn and Zina exchanged concerned gazes. Their future suddenly became dark and uncertain.
'TALK TO ME!'
Dawn and Zina jolted when Damon's stern voice sounded through the mind-link for them to hear.
It's not that they had a choice. He was their Alpha. If Damon wanted to force them, he could use his Alpha command. But even without that, Talia was their friend, and his mate, and they knew that Damon would think about what was best for Talia.
Damon frowned when he saw that Dawn and Zina turned toward each other, and they did rock-paper-scissors hand movements. He couldn't believe that they just played a game to decide which one of them will answer.
Zina lost the game and she steeled herself before answering. 'It was like this, Alpha… On our way here, we bumped into Ester and…'
Damon's expression was unreadable as he listened to Zina recollecting their talk with Ester.
"Anything else?", Damon asked when Zina finished.
"No. That's it, Alpha.", Zina responded.
"Thank you for telling me this.", Damon said, and then he turned around and left.
Dawn and Zina were flabbergasted. This was the first time for them to hear Alpha Damon saying thank you. He would usually issue orders and at most hum in acknowledgment, but this… this was a real 'thank you'. They were excited.
"What did you tell him?", Rose asked in a half-whisper. She was not sure how far Damon went, or how good the Alpha's hearing is.
Dawn lifted her chin proudly. "This is something between us and Alpha Damon. Now if you excuse us, we need to prepare breakfast."
Rose frowned at Dawn and Zina. Why did they exclude her?
Without her cell phone, Alpha Damon wouldn't be here and Dawn and Zina wouldn't have this chance to boast!
After hearing what Zina said, Damon went straight to the study.
He knew that Lisa was talking trash after she was chased out of the bar where she tried to approach Maddox, but the fact that she was saying things out of spite didn't mean those were lies. Sure, it was exaggerated and spiced up with malice, but the core information was correct.
Maya and Caden joined Damon in the study. The Beta duo assumed that this was about Marcy, and they were surprised to hear that Lisa was causing issues.
Caden pointed out the biggest issue. "How does she know that Talia is from the Red Moon pack? I didn't tell anyone."
"Me neither.", Maya chimed in, and they didn't need to check to confirm that Damon didn't talk about Talia's background. "Other than the three of us, only Talia knew the truth. Did she tell Lisa?"
Damon was not sure, but with Caden and Maya confirming that they keep their mouths shut, it was obvious that the information leaked from Talia.
Damon decided to talk about this with Talia once he figures out how to bring up this topic without freaking her out. "That's not important now."
Maya agreed. "Lisa found out from somewhere and she is flapping her mouth. We warned her to behave, but it's obvious that's not effective."
Damon rubbed his forehead with force. "If I banish Lisa or send her to the dungeon, I will alienate Steph. I can't do that to her. She has only us. And Lisa."
"But we need to do something.", Caden said sternly. "It is only a matter of time before Alpha Edward finds out that the mystery woman by your side came from his pack. He will start digging and he won't stop until he finds something. Right now, Talia is vulnerable."
Damon looked at Maya. "How soon can we arrange that party where Talia will be introduced to the Elders?" And it was not just Elders, but to everyone who was someone in the Dark Howlers pack. Once they announce Talia as Damon's fated mate, the whole pack will stand to protect her, and they need to make those steps before Alpha Edward finds out about Talia.
Maya puffed her cheeks while thinking about what all is needed for the party. "If we stick to basics, we could pull it off tomorrow evening."
"Let's do that.", Damon said. "Prepare a list of guests and get Kalina and Mindy to help." He knew that Meg and Tatiana were busy with their mates and won't be available for some time.
"You need to deal with Marcy before that.", Caden reminded Damon. "If you don't, people will assume that the party is for Marcy's sake."
Damon pinched the roof of his nose. Marcy was coming and he still didn't have a plan to deal with her. What a bother.
"What will you do with Lisa?", Maya asked.
Damon shrugged and looked at Maya and Caden helplessly. "I'm open to hearing your ideas."
Maya's face lit up as she thought of something. "We can't imprison her, but we can send her to the dungeon."
Maya's words confused both Damon and Caden, and after a few moments of silence, Damon got it.
"Maya, that's brilliant!"
"It is?", Caden asked.
"It is.", Maya said smugly. Caden wanted to know more, but Maya mysteriously said that he will see, and Damon was already mind-linking someone.
When Damon confirmed how that was all, Maya stood up with, "I will work with ladies to prepare for the party. Plan for tomorrow evening. We will let you know if we need your help…"
Maya was brimming with excitement. They will introduce Talia to the pack, and that meant Talia's Luna ceremony was just around the corner! Their pack will get a Luna. Finally!
