Lunchtime…
Damon sat at the head of the dining table in the packhouse and looked at the people who were seated there.
Caden, Tony, Paul, Nate, Greg, James.
The seat on his left was empty. That's where Talia was supposed to be. He would hold her hand, cut the food for her, and feed her, but she was not there, and he missed her immensely.
Nothing made sense without Talia. The food didn't taste good, and the colors of the world faded.
Only with Talia's absence, Damon understood how much he was attached to her. In a few short weeks, Talia became an integral part of Damon's life and without her, Damon felt empty.
Yes, Talia told him that she is going to Darkbourne for lunch with girls as part of the plan to isolate Marcy and to make her slip, but Damon was uneasy to have Talia out of his visual range. Doesn't she know that she always gets into trouble and some random guys stick to her?
Damon didn't like it.
"How can George go, and I can't?", Damon grumbled while squeezing Talia against his body in a hug that nearly made her unable to breathe.
"He is going as Marcy's bodyguard."
"I want to guard your body.", Damon said without missing a beat.
Talia shook her head at the clingy Alpha. She was not sure if he was talking about attending lunch, or naughty stuff, but she didn't want to ask for clarification because it was probably both.
"If you are there, Marcy will be at her best behavior. It's just this once. Maya told me that we will make Marcy feel important and if all goes well, we will have lunch tomorrow without Marcy, and we won't need to worry about her ever again."
Seeing that Damon's expression softened a bit, Talia added, "I'm not a pushover. Did you forget that your mate is awesome?"
Damon was not amused by her cheeky tone. He was genuinely worried. "Don't use your power, kitten."
"I won't. Maya, Kalina, and Mindy will be there. Who can bully me with them around?"
And here was Damon, in the packhouse, stuck to have lunch with six guys.
Sausage fest.
Caden was talking about training, and Damon remembered, "James will join you for the training, starting this afternoon."
The teenager in question nearly dropped the fork from his hand. He was eating without a care in the world and scrolling through human entertainment news on his phone with his right hand when Damon dropped this bomb. "I will?"
Damon nodded in confirmation. "I discussed it with Commander George. He will focus on guarding Miss Marcy, so Caden will be in charge of your training going forward. You will start with evaluation, and take it from there…"
This was the only good thing that came from Damon meeting with Marcy and George earlier that day.
Damon liked the idea of George shadowing Marcy everywhere. Like that, there will be no chances for Marcy to catch Damon on his own, and he won't end up in a tricky situation like Marcy falling into his lap accidentally.
And Damon was back to thinking about Talia.
How was she doing?
He could feel some discomfort coming through the mate bond, and he would be surprised if Talia was happy to have lunch with Marcy.
Damon decided to do something that will lift Talia's spirits. He wanted her to know that he was thinking about her.
In a restaurant in Darkbourne…
Maya made a reservation for a table for six, and that table was currently occupied by Talia, Maya, Kalina, Mindy, Marcy, and Nora.
The table next to them had George and five ranked soldiers. Maya called them there on a pretense of securing they are not disturbed, but the truth was that she wanted George to be at the different table. Like that, Marcy will be able to relax more, and hopefully fall into a trap.
The restaurant was full of patrons. It was the peak lunch hours.
Talia was not sure what Maya, Kalina, and Mindy were planning. Before lunch, Talia needed to talk to Damon and to fetch Marcy, so the three girlfriends told Talia that they will come up with a few ploys to trap Marcy and Nora, and that Talia just needs to play along. The only hint Talia got was that they will make Marcy feel special because only an overconfident she-wolf will show her true colors. Unfortunately, Talia had no idea what that meant.
Talia looked at Nora and Marcy and she was not sure what to think about them.
Marcy was Talia's bully, so Talia had to force herself not to show displeasure, but Nora was not giving off better vibes either.
It was obvious that Nora suffered from a case of inflated importance. Her chin was always lifted up, and she spoke loudly, like she wanted to attract attention.
Nora was in her element. After a not-so-stellar welcome, she was having lunch with high-profile individuals, and that was more in line with what she was expecting from this visit.
Nora had a permanent smile on her face because she hoped that other patrons will take photos of them and post them on social media for the world to see.
The only downside was that Nora thought she will have lunch with Alpha Damon, but she couldn't come up with an excuse to bail from this all-girl event. Nora comforted herself with the thought that they will be at the Dark Howlers pack for a while, and she will have plenty of opportunities to see the man in charge of this place. She will probably see him for dinner, or maybe breakfast tomorrow. The man has to eat, and she will be around.
Compared to Nora, Marcy was a mystery. She was smiling stiffly and not talking much.
Of course, Marcy received education on etiquette, and she knew what was appropriate for various settings. She also had a circle of friends and attended many social events and parties.
The current situation kept Marcy on her toes and she repeatedly reminded herself to listen more and talk less.
One of the main obstacles for Marcy to loosen up was George. He was looking at her intently, and she was afraid that if she provokes him, he will catch her on her own again. Will she be able to resist the urge to have sex with him?
Marcy had to acknowledge the attraction that was tangible. She was confused, why couldn't she snap out of it? Didn't she reject George? Sure, he was handsome, but she met many handsome guys and other than Alpha Damon, Marcy didn't find herself wishing to submit to any other man. Except for George.
Another thorn in Marcy' side had Nora's name written on it.
Nora was Marcy's so-called best friend who had no problems spreading her legs for Marcy's future husband and for Marcy's father, and maybe even for her teenage brother, and Marcy was confident that Nora will backstab her without a second thought.
