Talia couldn't believe that Damon was in the mood for joking. Or was that flirting? "Can't you assess the severity of the situation?"
Damon chuckled. "I already told you. No one matters other than you, kitten. The only restriction I have is not to disclose we are mates. Other than that, I can do whatever I want, including sending Marcy and her group of clowns packing. I didn't want them here anyway."
Damon tapped the tip of Talia's nose with his index finger, and he had to remind her, "It was you and your wolf who demanded that I allow them to come here."
Talia lowered her head guiltily. Damon was right.
Damon touched her chin, making her look at him. "Tell me what happened, so that I have context when I kick them out of here. Or should I watch the security footage?"
Talia was confused by Damon's easygoing attitude. She really wanted Marcy to scram, but… "What if Alpha Edward causes trouble?"
"If he causes trouble, we will deal with it. Now it's him, tomorrow will be someone else. There are always people who think that they can take what's mine." Damon leaned to kiss Talia on the lips once, twice… and then he lifted his chin proudly and continued talking.
"What's the point in being the undefeated Alpha who is leading the largest pack in North America if I can't protect my mate? Trust your mate, kitten. I am awesome." He said the last part with a cocky grin.
He pecked her lips a few more times, and then he said in a husky low voice. "So far, I was fighting on my own, and now it's two of us. My Luna is not a pushover, and she is my greatest strength."
Talia smiled foolishly at Damon's words, the light feeling that descended on her made her feel like she was floating among clouds that were pink in color and had Damon's face on them. Was it possible that only a minute ago she was mulling over what happened as her mistake?
Damon took Talia's hand into his. "Come on. Let's find Marcy. You don't need to tell me what happened, because I have a good idea. I don't want to delay this further." His only regret about chasing Marcy away would be that he didn't get a chance to spar with George.
Talia glanced at their connected hands. "Is this OK?"
"Of course, it is, kitten.", Damon assured her. "I agreed to pretend in front of Marcy, but that was before she got you upset. There is no need to conceal we are together."
Damon led the way into the living room, and they found it empty.
"Maybe Marcy went to her room.", Talia guessed. George was also missing.
Damon moved to leave the room, when Talia tugged his hand. She saw a foot sticking out behind the sofa.
Damon followed Talia's gaze and he walked to see who it is.
"When you said that you snapped, I thought it was with words and not like this.", Damon said while gesturing toward Marcy who was on the floor. Her body was curled in a fetal position, but Damon could hear her heartbeats, so he knew she wasn't dead.
"Maybe you should tell me what happened. In details.", Damon said stiffly to Talia while his eyes didn't leave unmoving Marcy.
"She was alive and kicking when I left.", Talia said and realized that her choice of words was wrong. "I mean… I didn't do this."
"Did you pressure her with your aura?", Damon asked. "Weak ones tend to faint if the pressure was too much."
Talia shook her head in small jerky movements, indicating that she didn't.
Damon wanted to tease Talia a bit, but he could feel Talia's anxiety bubbling.
"Don't worry. She is alive.", Damon said and pulled out his phone.
"Who are you calling?"
"I want to see what happened after you left the room."
"You don't believe that it was me who did this. Right?", Talia asked anxiously.
"You said you didn't, and I believe you.", Damon said matter-of-factly.
Talia smiled and huddled close to Damon to see the video that was already playing on his phone.
Damon paused when Talia left the living room and they saw Marcy shouting at George, and George standing and not responding… and then they heard George say, "Marcy Redmayne. I George Shaw, Alpha of the Frostcrest pack, accept your rejection."
Both Talia and Damon stared at Damon's phone without blinking while wondering if they heard what they thought they heard. There was so much information in those few words.
George was an Alpha? Talia never heard of the Frostcrest pack.
Talia didn't get one thing, "What does it mean, he accepted her rejection?"
"Mates…", Damon said. "George accepted Marcy's rejection, which means that she rejected him first. His acceptance severed the bond completely. That's why she is like this."
Talia subconsciously clutched her chest.
They had a hunch that something was going on between George and Marcy, and their theories went from colluders to lovers, but mates…? That was serious.
Talia didn't like Marcy, but out of everyone who came from the Red Moon pack, Talia had a good impression of George, and she was worried about him.
"Does that mean George is like this also?", Talia asked.
"He walked out of the room, so he might not be this bad, but he can't be fairing good either." Damon jabbed his hand into his hair. "Shit! I thought of sending them home, but I can't send them home like THIS!"
Damon's mood dropped when he remembered that some werewolves die from a blow of rejection. The pain is like a soul is being torn into two and not everyone can handle it. Damon listened to Marcy's heartbeats and observed that they were slower than they should be. How will he explain himself if Marcy dies here?
This complicated the already serious situation.
Talia looked at Damon and she could see his eyes losing focus. He was mind-linking someone.
"Travis is on his way.", Damon said when his attention was back on Talia.
It didn't take long for Maya to enter the living room. She saw Damon and Talia holding each other in silence, and she also saw an unmoving body on the floor.
Maya circled around the sofa, and her eyes widened when she realized that was Marcy.
Maya looked at Damon apprehensively. "What did you do?"
Damon frowned. "Why are you assuming that it was me?"
Maya looked at Talia. "Did you forget that we had a plan? Why did you overdo your aura when suppressing her?"
Talia's frown matched Damon's. "It was not me."
Maya looked back at Marcy. "Are you expecting me to believe that she collapsed on her own?"
"It was George.", Talia said. "He broke their mate bond."
Maya blanked out and it took her a few moments to recover. "I think something is wrong with my head because I imagined that you said how George and Marcy are mates."
"WERE mates.", Damon corrected Maya. "The security feed caught George accepting Marcy's rejection."
