James sat in a chair next to George and did his best to ignore the fact that Talia was sitting on Damon's lap.
He saw Talia wiggling to stand up, but the Alpha held her firmly, and after some struggle, she gave up with a huff and looked at James apologetically.
James realized that despite Alpha Damon having Talia on his lap, the atmosphere was solemn.
"Why are we here?", James asked, unable to hold it in.
Damon responded. "After last night, I expect that your father will retaliate. I believe that all of us in the room want to minimize the damage."
James pursed his lips when he realized that Damon wanted help. James was looking forward to the next few days of playing, but after only one day of fun, he was back in this study and troubled expressions told him that this will take more effort to settle than just sending an email in George's name.
"How about you tell me what's going on?", James asked. "Considering that George is here, and my sister is not, I will need more details if you expect me to cooperate. And we also need to get our stories straight."
Damon glanced at George. "Will you tell him, or should I?"
George waved at Damon to go ahead.
"Your sister was in critical condition, but she is recovering, and we expect that she will wake up today.", Damon said. "You know her best and I expect that you will help me convince her to play along. As to what the play will be, that's why we are here. Each of us has an interest in containing this incident, and…"
"Wait, wait.", James interrupted Damon. "Why was Marcy in critical condition? Did she have an accident?"
"Her mate bond was broken."
James' head was buzzing. A mate bond? When did that happen? Considering that she was fine when they arrived, it means that the rejection happened after they arrived here. And she came to be Alpha Damon's Luna? Did she meet her mate here?
James had so many questions, so he picked one. "Marcy had a mate?"
"Yes.", Damon said and threw a meaningful glance at George.
James' mouth hung open as he turned in slow motion toward George. "You? How? Since when?" Well, that would explain why both of them were mysteriously absent. Wait! If it was George, it meant that Marcy came to the Dark Howlers pack to be Damon's Luna with her mate accompanying her, and both of them knew! James thought that his mind will explode.
But there was a good side to this. George and Marcy were mates, and they kept it a secret. With James knowing this about George, George will definitely not give him such a hard time during training.
Who knows, maybe James can convince George for some 'training' in the human city. James can spend the day in arcades, and George can call that as training to blend in with humans. James liked this.
George didn't want to talk about Marcy, but James was staring at him with a smile that made George's skin crawl and he knew that the teenager was up to something. Talia and Damon were visibly curious also, so George decided to give them a short version.
"A few days after Marcy came from Europe, there was a welcome party. That's where we met, and she rejected me. I accepted her rejection when we arrived here."
James needed a few moments to process this. He was always calm and collected even when his father brutally interrogated spies, but this caught him by surprise.
Damon paused. If Marcy met George shortly after coming from Europe, doesn't that mean she knew George was her mate when Damon was visiting the Red Moon pack? And Marcy came onto him and even sucked him off! Shouldn't her wolf prevent her from getting close to another guy after finding her fated mate?
"So… Dawn is your second chance mate.", James said after some time and George nodded in response.
James reminded himself to focus. Getting lost was not his style. He would always keep his poker face on and think about useless things when he was on his own.
James turned to Damon. "You said that Marcy will wake up today. Can you provide more information?"
Damon confirmed. "She was comatose. Last night doctor confirmed that Marcy showed signs of recovery and if things move at this pace, she will wake up today. You are a smart guy. Can you predict what she will do when she wakes up? Should I lock her up with Nora?"
"Locking her up won't achieve anything.", James said right away. "My father will want to talk to her…" James's voice trailed, and he puffed his cheeks while his mind worked a million thoughts a second. Did Alpha Edward already call Marcy? James will need to check her cell phone. What about Nora? Considering that Nora was his spy, Alpha Edward would probably try to contact her first. But he already told him that Nora was in the dungeon because Marcy wanted it, however, after Alpha Damon announced that Talia is his mate, Alpha Edward will probably doubt that story…
Once he collected his thoughts, James spoke, "Marcy will need our help because she can't tell the truth. If we give her a scenario that benefits her and us, she will play along."
Damon thought how this was too good to be true. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. First of all, Marcy is not very smart. If she is, she wouldn't come from Europe only to be used by my father. Second, to my father, Marcy is a chess piece, and she knows that. She is valuable as long as she can be your Luna. If my father finds out that Marcy concealed the fact that George was her mate, and she came here and ruined her chances of being your Luna, she will lose her value. Trust me, you don't want to know what my father does with people who fail and are no longer useful." James glanced at George. "If I'm right, no one knew that the two of you were mates. Not even Nora who had a task of keeping an eye on Marcy."
Damon's interest in James was rising as the youngster spoke.
"How can you be confident that Nora doesn't know?"
James smiled smugly. "If Nora knew, my father would know. And if my father knew, George wouldn't be allowed to come here."
James looked at Damon thoughtfully. "Why are we here, Alpha Damon? We might be able to influence my father to some degree if he doesn't see it coming, but we can't do miracles. My father will want to talk to Marcy and when he confirms that she failed, hell will break loose. George and I can't help you. If we speak or act in your favor, we will only invoke my father's wrath."
"I'm not expecting miracles.", Damon said. "But if you can postpone Alpha Edward's retaliation, or diminish it to some degree, I will appreciate it. If Alpha Edward challenges me to a duel, I will accept it. However, I fear that it won't be so simple."
