Damon blinked a few times while processing this bomb that George threw at him. James is not Alpha Edward's son? This was huge!
A wave of confusion and sorrow hit him, and Damon had no idea from where it came. It took him a minute to look at Talia. Of course, she would feel sorry for the teenager, even if he was from the family who did her wrong.
"Come here, kitten…", Damon called and extended his hand toward her.
Talia was grateful for the mate bond that told Damon she needed his proximity.
She put her hand into Damon's and allowed him to pull her onto her lap. His arms circled her small frame, and she rested her head on his shoulder to breathe him in.
The fact was that Talia didn't know much about James. He was a boy who would always be either studying or training. From the gossiping Omegas, Talia overheard that James was not attention-grabbing in a good or in a bad way, and Talia thought how that was admirable considering that he was the future Alpha of the Red Moon pack.
Talia knew that Alpha Edward was power-hungry and manipulative, and she couldn't imagine what James' fate will be if Alpha Edward finds out that the boy was not his son. Or did he know already? She was not sure which one would be worse.
"What makes you think that James is not Alpha Edward's son?", Damon asked George.
George pressed his lips into a line at the sight of Damon who was gently caressing Talia's back and talking to him seriously like nothing lovey-dovey was happening.
Ah, he was missing Dawn!
"James has no Alpha aura.", George responded after a brief pause. "Either he is not Alpha Edward's biological son, or he is the biggest loser in the DNA lottery. Based on my research, the dominant gene will be carried to offspring, and it takes several generations to thin them out. There are confirmed cases when the inherited Alpha aura weakens from parents to children, but James has none. On a scale of one to ten with the ten being the strongest Alpha aura, Alpha Edward would be a seven. If James is Alpha Edward's son, anything from eight to six would be considered normal. However, the boy has none, and that would make him the first case that didn't inherit the dominant gene and it went from seven to zero in one generation."
Damon admired the confidence George used while explaining this. George's tone spoke more than the numbers he threw at Damon.
Damon realized that James didn't have it easy. After all, some things can't be hidden as young Alphas can't wait to show off and compare their strength. And there was also a question… "How come Alpha Edward is fine with James having no aura?" Maybe they can give various excuses to random people, but Alpha Edward should know about it.
George's lips lifted into a smug smile. "I told them that there are cases of late bloomers where Alpha aura develops later, and it will manifest itself no later than the eighteenth birthday. Alpha Edward was too lazy to verify, and he was eager to conceal that James doesn't have an aura in order to preserve his image. As for others, they believe that I created a training regime for James that includes him suppressing his aura completely in order to steel his body and mind."
Damon thought how that made sense. Even he had sessions where his trainers requested of him not to use his aura, so it's not unusual. However… "This is good to know, but it won't impact our current situation."
"You won't use it against James?"
Damon shook his head. "Assuming that James is not Alpha Edward's biological son, revealing that will not help us in any way. If James will be useful, we need Alpha Edward to trust him. Waving this in front of James' face might make him think about backup strategies that could include setting us up in order to appease Alpha Edward."
George agreed with this. That's why he covered up for James' deficiency.
After this brief exchange, both George and Damon adjusted assessments of the other one.
Damon's eyes lost focus as he contacted one of the Omegas with instructions to summon James to his study.
"Commander George", the so-far silent Talia called. She wanted to tell him something before James joins them.
"I assume that you being here on your own means that Dawn doesn't know who you really are."
George's silence answered Talia's question.
"Dawn is a good person, and she would do anything for her mate, even forgive lies. But don't let it drag for too long. Dawn forgiving you doesn't mean she won't be hurt because you are concealing things from her."
Damon's ears perked up. Was Talia talking about him and how he concealed the truth about them being mates?
George smiled at Talia's words. He found it fascinating that they were discussing a serious issue that could lead to a war, yet Talia was concerned about her friend. Isn't that what Luna does? Takes care of her people?
"I will tell her as soon as I get a chance.", George assured Talia. "I didn't mean to keep my mate in the dark, but I didn't find the right timing to bring it up."
Talia remembered Meg and thought of another thing. "You marked Dawn, so with your DNA, she will get Alpha's aura. The sooner you tell her, the sooner she can practice to control it."
George pressed his lips into a line. Talia was right. If Dawn gets emotionally compromised and releases her aura uncontrollably, his cover will be blown.
George wondered, how does Talia know about aura and training? He would think that it was from her experience, but she was obviously not marked.
"Keep looking at my mate like that, and our cooperation is over.", Damon growled, startling George out of his thoughts.
"I apologize.", George said quickly. He really didn't mean to stare, but he was looking at Talia's neck and… it just happened.
Talia was uncomfortable. She didn't notice that George was looking at her, but she knew that George wouldn't have inappropriate thoughts considering that he has Dawn. But Damon made it awkward.
"Damon…", Talia said in a low voice and wrapped her arms around Damon's neck. "Didn't we talk about this? You can't be angry at people just because they are looking at me."
"He was looking for too long.", Damon said in his defense.
"I would be arguing forever if I start a quarrel with every woman who looks at you longer than I approve…." Or maybe she would send them to the dungeon, and it would overflow quickly.
