While Talia was walking down the hallway with guests from the Red Moon pack behind her, and Dawn and Zina trailing them with a suitcase each, Talia was gesturing toward the points of interest while talking, "That way is the garden… that's the living room… dining room…"
Talia didn't meet George while staying at the Red Moon pack, but she was familiar with the other three. Being now in the company of James, Nora, and Marcy was unsettling and Talia was grateful that they didn't recognize her as the girl from the attic.
Well, in just a few short weeks, Talia gained some weight. She was not wearing shabby oversized clothes, and her skin and hair were shiny and healthy. It was a big change.
Once they reached the hallway where rooms were, Talia halted her steps.
"The next four rooms on the right are yours. You are welcome to rest and freshen up. Bathrooms are the last door to the left." Talia opened the first door and gestured toward the gadget that was attached to the wall. "Each room has an intercom that connects to the kitchen. Someone will be there from six o'clock in the morning until midnight, and you can use the intercom to ask if you need something. You will find the wi-fi password, schedule for meals, and other basic information in the top drawer of the desk."
"I would like to see Alpha Damon.", Marcy said.
"Alpha Damon is aware of your arrival, and he will let you know when he is available.", Talia responded.
Marcy nodded stiffly and took the suitcase out of Zina's hand before making her way into the last room out of four.
George needed to contact Alpha Edward first, and he told Talia, "Let me know when Alpha Damon is available. Until we decide on the security detail, I will be escorting Miss Marcy." With that, George moved to stand in front of the door of the room that was next to Marcy's.
James was eager to sightsee Darkbourne, but he kept that to himself because George was right there, and James didn't want George to report to Alpha Edward how James was slacking.
"I will freshen up and then I would like to look around. When will the food be served?", James ended with a question.
"We have refreshments set up in the garden. If that doesn't work, you can ask the kitchen to prepare something for you. Lunch will be ready at noon.", Talia responded. She remembered that James came here to train, so she added, "Beta Caden is currently training with future Alpha Anthony and his group. They will be at the training grounds until lunchtime. If you wish to join them, we will get someone to escort you there."
James thought for a moment before responding, "I will go to the garden first." He had no intention of going to train if he could wiggle out of it. With that, James went to the first room while pulling his suitcase behind him.
Nora was standing at the open door of her room and looking inside with a frown. It was a room with one bed, a dresser, an armoire, a sofa, a desk, and a chair. It was all clean and smelled fresh, but…
"The bathroom is down the hallway?", Nora asked with disapproval obvious in her voice.
"Yes.", Talia responded. "You will find toiletries, towels, and bathrobes. If you need anything else, let us know."
Nora was not happy that she needed to share a bathroom. And there was another problem. "Why are our rooms on the first floor?"
Everyone knew that in the society of werewolves, the higher one's ranking is, the higher up the building they get to stay. Yes, their accommodation was in the packhouse, but why on the first floor? Wasn't Marcy set to be the Luna? Maybe they couldn't stay on the third floor, but the second floor was definitely appropriate.
"We have other guests staying currently with us.", Talia said. "The request from Alpha Edward was to keep you close, and this was the only area where we could accommodate you in adjacent rooms. I assure you that you won't lack anything."
Nora was about to argue, when George spoke, "Thank you for making these arrangements, Miss Talia. We appreciate it."
Nora frowned at George. Why was he still lingering? And why did he butt in? Didn't he realize that them being on the first floor was a sign of disrespect?
Talia thought that George is a nice person. James seemed absentminded, Marcy and Nora were definitely on Talia's list of unpleasant people, so George was the best of the four. She liked him already.
"If there is nothing else, I will leave you to your business. You are free to join us in the garden when you are done or to roam the area. Just let us know if you are planning to leave the packhouse so that we can alert the security and find someone to escort you if needed.", Talia said and turned to George. "I will tell Alpha Damon that you and Miss Marcy want to meet with him before lunch."
"What about me?", Nora blurted out.
"You will see him during lunch. Probably.", Talia responded robotically. Why did Nora think she was invited?
George thanked Talia, and Talia walked away with Dawn and Zina in tow.
When they turned the corner, Talia released the breath she was holding, and she looked up into a corner where a small camera was standing. She knew that Damon was watching, and she hoped that he approved of her performance.
Dawn and Zina were chirping how handsome Commander George is, and they went to the kitchen to join Ivy, Lily, and Stephanie. They had a lot of preparations for lunch, and they wanted to be available in case Commander George uses the intercom to ask for something. Anything.
In the study…
Damon was proud to see how Talia handled the situation. In his opinion, those four characters from the Red Moon pack were not worthy of Talia being their host.
Damon really wished that Talia walked out there and introduced herself as his Luna and he would stand by her side with his chin lifted high, but that will need to wait a bit. If all goes well, in a few days, they can do that.
Damon cringed while thinking that Marcy wanted to meet with him. He knew it was coming, but now that it was here, Damon wished to lock himself into the study and not come out until Marcy leaves. Maybe Talia can tell them that he is sick with something highly contagious, and he can't see them… forever.
'Coward', Damon's wolf spoke into his head.
Damon rolled his eyes. 'How come you speak only when you get to pour salt on my wounds?'
'I am here to remind you how an Alpha should behave. Avoiding responsibility is not a trait of an Alpha.'
Damon knew that his wolf was right, but he also knew that neither of them had an idea how to deal with Marcy.
Damon's wolf grumbled, 'She wants to be your Luna, and you don't. Why are you complicating things?'
'I can't just chase her away.', Damon responded.
'You were supposed to think about that before you started your womanizing. To you, it was a game of slapping their faces, and look who is getting slapped now! You are a prisoner in your own house, unable to be with your mate…'
'ENOUGH!', Damon snapped.
'Don't show that attitude toward me, boy.', Damon's wolf said condescendingly. 'You know I am right. I told you that you were playing with fire, but you wouldn't listen.'
'I am aware of the mistakes I made and rubbing it in is not helping. I would appreciate your advice on how to tackle the current issues and if you don't have any, then don't make it worse.', Damon grumbled. 'Stop acting like this doesn't involve you because if Talia's wolf gets angered, both of us will suffer. And no matter how we handle this situation with Marcy, as soon as Alpha Edward finds out that his plan didn't work, he will be angered. We need to find a way to minimize damage. I don't want Talia to be in the middle of this. She already has a lot of issues to deal with.'
