Talia stood in front of the door, thinking that Kai will lower the window, and she was surprised when the door opened.
"Come in.", Kai called.
Talia glanced toward Damon to see him standing on the side with Axel and then she got into the car.
Meg was in Kai's lap, limply lying on him, and her chest moved rapidly as she struggled with her shallow breaths. Meg was wearing a short-sleeved, peach-colored dress and her whole body was glowing in an eerie silvery light.
"Meg?", Talia called, unable to hide her surprise. When Meg didn't respond, she asked Kai. "What's going on with her?"
Kai licked his lips nervously, unsure how to respond. He still didn't know why Axel allowed Talia to come and see Meg like this. Isn't this violation of the main rule they follow? Should he just say that he marked Meg and his DNA caused changes in her body that granted her the ability that can crack and smash things? Can he say that to an outsider?
Talia couldn't stop staring at Meg. Kai's mark on Meg's neck was visible, and it resembled two stars next to a moon. His mark and the rest of Meg's body were pulsating in silvery light, every pulse was warm and welcoming, almost like it called to Talia, urging her to get closer.
For some inexplicable reason, Talia knew that whatever was happening to Meg, was because of Kai, and Talia had a feeling that she can help Meg.
Talia raised her hand to touch Meg's bare shoulder.
"Don't…", Kai wanted to say that Talia shouldn't touch Meg. He was safe because they were mates, but there was no way to predict what would happen if someone else touched Meg when she was in this state.
Meg's newly awakened ability was unstable and driven by emotions, and right now, Meg was scared and confused, and that was not good.
Kai found himself unable to speak because he ended up gaping at Talia's eyes that were flickering with silvery light. He knew very well what that light meant, but he had no idea how Talia got it. Was she one of them? Is that why Axel allowed her to come here? But if she was one of them, why was she not in the Midnight Guardians pack?
His eyes moved to Talia's hand that was resting on Meg's shoulder and he could see the light from Meg's body seeping into Talia's palm. What the…?
Talia smiled at the sensation of the rejuvenating energy spreading through her body. It was better than a popsicle on a hot afternoon, and more soothing than chocolate pudding after a savory meal.
At the same exact moment, Talia and Meg inhaled deeply, and a second later they exhaled together.
Talia released Meg's shoulder and her eyes were completely silver now, giving her an otherworldly appearance.
Kai could feel that Meg was stable. She was still leaning on him, but the glow was gone, and she was definitely sleeping peacefully.
Kai wanted to thank Talia, and to ask her many things, but he found himself tongue-tied.
"She will be fine for about two hours. I suggest you wear sunglasses until you learn to control that.", Talia said to Kai whose eyes were also silver.
Talia smiled at Kai's flabbergasted expression, and her eyes flickered back to her usual honeyed color.
Talia had no idea how she did this, she was moving on an instinct. Was her wolf guiding her subconsciously? That was a possibility. In any case, Talia knew that she helped Meg, and she also got answers to some of her questions.
"Just how you have your secrets, I have mine. What happened here, I hope we can keep it between us."
"Of course", Kai responded. He was grateful for whatever Talia did, and if she was right about two hours of Meg being stable, that will give them enough time to be far away from here.
Kai cradled Meg in his arms and watched as Talia walked out of the car. This was unexpected.
"Miss Talia…", Axel called when she closed the door behind her. The fact that Talia was not freaking out only confirmed his assumptions, and now he was 100% confident that Talia was one of them. "What you saw in there… will that make you reconsider to come with us?"
"No.", Talia responded.
Axel frowned when he saw that Talia walked to Damon and they embraced each other.
"Alpha Damon can't keep you safe.", Axel said stubbornly. "You are putting him in danger by being here."
Damon growled lowly and Talia gave his hand a squeeze, indicating that she will take care of this. "I appreciate your concern, Axel, but my place is next to Damon."
"No.", Axel said. "You are important, and your place is in…"
"No?", Talia interrupted him, and her face darkened. "Who are you to tell me where I belong? How can you claim that I'm important when you don't know anything about me? I endured years of hunger and abuse with no one to help me. Why didn't you find me then to tell me that I'm important? Why didn't you come to tell them to stop?"
Axel was utterly confused. "Abused?"
Damon's heart ached at the grief that poured into him from Talia. She was usually a happy person, easily satisfied, but she held a big sorrow deep inside her, and now she allowed it to resurface.
How can he tolerate for Talia to bear it alone? Damon tightened his hold on Talia, hoping that his presence will soothe her, at least a little bit.
"That's enough.", Damon said. "She is not coming with you. Not now, and not ever. Give up on that because Talia is my fated mate." They agreed to keep this only to their closest friends until the big reveal, but Damon saw that Axel was persistent to the point of upsetting Talia. With Axel knowing they are fated mates, he should give up or he will end up going against Damon.
Axel closed his eyes and exhaled helplessly. He hoped that this was not the case. With Damon and Talia being mates, they won't separate willingly, and even if Damon can come to the Midnight Guardians pack, he won't because he is the Alpha of the Dark Howlers pack. This was too much to entangle and they needed to go.
Axel looked at Damon and Talia, and gave them a stiff smile. "Congratulations on finding your Luna, Alpha Damon. Thank you for accommodating our sudden request to leave. Once we deal with our emergency and I discuss this with my seer, I will be in touch, so we can make appropriate arrangements for you to meet." His eyes landed on Talia's clear neck. "Before you proceed with marking, make sure you have at least a few days of privacy in order to get accustomed to changes. It could end badly if outsiders find out that you are one of us."
And with that, Axel turned toward the car, and he went to sit on the front passenger's seat.
Tyler started the engine, and after a quick wave from Tyler and Axel (they couldn't see the back row), the car moved down the driveway and it disappeared among the trees.
"What happened in the car?", Damon asked Talia in a whisper. He was itchy to find out what happened.
"I confirmed that I'm from the Midnight Guardians pack.", Talia responded.
Damon cocked an eyebrow. It was obvious that Axel knew this but… "If that's settled, why is Axel still set for you to meet that seer?"
Talia shrugged. "Who knows? There is probably more to the whole story."
She wanted to know, but she also didn't. Will she ever find out the truth about how she ended up in the Red Moon pack? Or will they only feed her lies? Was there any type of scenario that won't make her angry or sad? It was probably better not to know.
"Let's go and have breakfast.", Talia said. "Our other guests will be here soon, and if we delay any further I might get indigestion."
