Breakfast was served in the garden.
The morning sun was not too hot, and the breeze was providing a pleasant cooling effect. The atmosphere was enhanced by the song of birds that were hiding in the trees and the good mood of people who were seated at tables.
Talia decided to sit with Mindy, Maya, and Kalina, she didn't see them since dinner.
Damon was not pleased when Talia urged him to sit with Tony and Caden.
"We are hosts…", Talia reminded him, and Damon grumbled something she didn't understand.
Damon pulled a chair for Talia to sit and went to the table where breakfast items were arranged in a buffet style.
Only after making sure that Talia had a plate full of food in front of her as well as a glass of orange juice, Damon went to sit with the guys.
Paul, Nate, and Greg were seated at another table.
"Did you hear that howl this morning? It was before six o'clock.", Talia said to her girlfriends. "Do you know who it was?" Damon was sleeping like a log, and he didn't hear anything.
"It was my sister.", Kalina said, making Mindy, Maya, and Talia look at her.
"Are you sure? It sounded like a call for hunt.", Maya said.
Kalina nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure. That was Tanya."
"Well, at least you know that she was having a good time.", Mindy said cheekily. "I told you that my brother will take good care of her."
Maya chimed in, "Was he taking care of her, or did Tanya take care of Max?"
After a moment of silence, Maya, Mindy, Talia, and Kalina burst into giggles.
When they settled down, Maya spoke to Talia, "I heard that Nora is in the dungeon. Care to share what happened?"
Talia looked at the other faces at the table and she saw that Kalina and Mindy were also curious. Talia gave them the short version of Nora coming to Damon's study and throwing herself at him. She skipped the part of Damon knocking Nora out, it was not necessary.
"Oh, it seems that tonight's party will go smoothly.", Mindy commented. "With Marcy and Nora out of the way, there is no one to stir the pot."
Talia was not so sure. "Let's hope so."
There were more than fifty people on the guestlist, but other than Elder Charlie and Elder Samson, Talia didn't know anyone else who will come. They also invited Shaman Gideon, but he didn't respond to the invitation so they were not sure if he will show up. That left a lot of unknown faces, and Talia couldn't predict how they will react when Damon introduces her.
What if they hope for someone with a good background to be Damon's mate? What if they expect someone like… Marcy?
Damon offered Talia an option of introducing her as just Talia, and if anyone asks, they would say that she is his assistant. By dinner time, Talia will get a chance to mingle with the guests casually, and after that, they can reveal they are mates, once Talia was comfortable. But how comfortable can she get during two-to-three hours? She was nervous.
Talia had no idea how things will play out, but the good part was that her friends were here. She knew that Mindy, Kalina, and Maya won't let her suffer a loss.
The chatter stopped when Maddox and Tatiana made appearances.
Maddox's arm was around Tatiana's waist, holding her against him possessively and Tatiana's hair was flipped to the right to showcase Maddox's mark that was forming on the left side of her neck.
"What did we miss?", Maddox asked no one in particular.
Kalina bolted to her feet and ran there to give her sister a hug.
"Come and join us at the table. So many things happened, and I want to hear how are you doing…", Kalina chirped and dragged Tatiana while ignoring Maddox's grumbles of protest.
Damon waved at Maddox to come. "Get a plate of food for Tanya, and then you can join us." It's not that Maddox wouldn't join them on their own, but there was a danger of Maddox making a scene because Kalina took his mate away.
Damon knew very well that Maddox's urge to feed Tatiana was at its peak. The only question was if Maddox will let her eat on her own or if he will insist on feeding her.
It was apparent that Maddox didn't want to separate from Tatiana, even for that little space that was required in order for them to sit at separate tables.
Maddox felt joy radiating from Tatiana and he watched as she craned her neck to show his mark to Kalina, Talia, Maya, and Mindy. That helped him settle his emotions a bit.
Maddox nodded stiffly at Damon and made his way to the table that was set up with breakfast items.
Damon didn't understand why Maddox and Tatiana left their room. They already delivered them food, more than once. But then Damon picked up through the mind-link that Rose was on her way to change bedsheets and give fresh towels, which explained why the newly mated couple was out in the open.
Damon wanted to take advantage of this situation to share some details with Maddox and Tony (Caden knew everything already), and to tell them that there will be a party tonight they should attend.
"Why don't you sit with guys at the table?", Mindy asked Maddox when he brought two plates, both heaping with food. He placed one plate in front of Tatiana, and the other one next to her. It was obvious that Maddox wanted to sit with the women at the table.
Maddox frowned at Mindy in disapproval. Why was she chasing him away?
His hostility dissipated when Tatiana put her hand over his while saying sweetly, "Maxy, baby, how about you eat with guys? I give you half an hour and then we go back upstairs."
Maddox's eyebrows shoot up in agreement. Half an hour. He can do that. Maybe.
He leaned to kiss Tatiana on the lips once, twice, every kiss mixed his flavor of coffee with hers of strawberries… and then he said, "Make sure you finish that. You will need the energy."
'PAK!'
Tatiana slapped his ass and she shook her hand that was throbbing. How can a man be so hard?
Maddox grinned cockily. "Save that for the upstairs, doll."
He gave her another quick kiss before walking away with his plate of food.
Tatiana watched Maddox's tall and muscular frame as he moved, and she couldn't stop herself from imagining his body without any clothes. Her eyes fell on his firm ass that stretched his shorts, and she bit her lower lip while graphic images of her spanking Max flashed in her mind. Or will he spank her again? Both options were hot, so they will definitely do both.
Everything he did felt right. It was like he knew exactly where, how hard, how long, and in what way to touch her. The last two days passed in a daze, and she was not sure if they really happened or if she imagined it all.
