Talia stared at Gideon like he was growing a second head. Did he say that there was nothing wrong with her wolf? And why did he sound so certain about it?
"If my wolf is fine, why can't I sense her?"
Gideon looked at Talia with a complicated gaze. It seemed that she didn't know much about her wolf side. "There are cases where the wolf part will sacrifice itself in order for the human body to survive, and I don't know what happened to you, but I can tell you that your wolf right now is fine. Wolves are spirits that live inside us and bless us with longevity and what humans would call supernatural powers. Think of them like a flame; assuming that your wolf gave her strength so that you get better, it doesn't mean her flame was completely extinguished. That happens every time we heal or perform beyond limits of what our bodies normally could if we were humans." He paused because Talia's confusion was obvious.
Gideon decided to simplify it. "Wolves are more than just part of us; they have their own will. If your wolf doesn't want to be disturbed, she will retract at the back of her mind. There is also a possibility of someone with a stronger presence influencing your wolf, but it's just the two of us here, so that's not the case. Didn't Damon tell you that?"
"He did, but…" Talia paused.
"But?" Gideon urged her to continue.
"Damon said that he can't sense my wolf." And Talia couldn't sense her either.
"The strong ones can avoid detection by the weak ones.", Gideon said mysteriously.
Talia blinked while processing Gideon's words. Did that mean her wolf was stronger than Damon's? And also... "Are you saying that your wolf is stronger than Damon's?"
"No.", Gideon said right away. "But I have my ways that don't rely on strength."
Talia was still not convinced. "If my wolf is fine, why am I weak?"
"How would you define weak?"
"I am not as strong or fast as others."
"Let me guess, you are comparing yourself with Damon." Gideon waved his hand, indicating that she shouldn't answer that. He knew what she was about to say. Why would a she-wolf whose body seems fragile compare herself with one of the strongest Alphas? He really didn't know how youngsters think these days.
"Every wolf is different, Talia. Sure, there are standard ranges that accommodate most of the werewolves, but there are always exceptions. Your strength is not only in how quickly you move or how high you can jump."
Who cared about speed and jumping? Talia really wanted to ask him about abilities like glowing, healing people, stopping water currents, and swatting people away without touching them. But she feared that such questions will reveal more than they should.
Can she trust the Shaman? Damon told her not to trust anyone, and she trusted Damon. Wasn't that contradictory?
She shook her head while thinking that her being Damon's mate didn't make sense, yet here she was, trying to get answers so that she can be by his side.
Gideon saw that Talia was thinking about something intently, and he offered her another piece of his wisdom. "We live in a society where power rules. However, one's worth is not limited to strength and speed. Regardless of what you can do, keep in your mind that it was given to you by the Moon Goddess. Treat it as a gift. It's up to you how you will use it."
When Talia and Gideon returned, the tea was served and Kalina, Tatiana, and Mindy were discussing events from last night.
Mindy was eyeing Damon cautiously while wondering if his fierce reputation matched someone who would give so much freedom to Elders or anyone else. How much she understood, they definitely undermined his authority. Isn't that rebellion? But she didn't want to ask about it. He had his reasons. Maybe.
The talk moved to the pack run.
"I never participated in a pack run. Sounds exciting.", Kalina said and glanced at Tony. "Will we stay long enough to join? Lia could use our support."
Before Tony could respond, Mindy said, "You can't."
Kalina was confused. "What? Why?"
"It's a pack run, only for pack members to establish new or reinforce existing hierarchy.", Mindy explained. She knew this because they have pack runs in the Blue River pack.
Seeing Kalina's confused expression, Mindy continued, "Alpha and Luna lead the pack run with Betas flanking them and others move behind them based on hierarchy. If someone moves ahead of their place, it represents a challenge, and they can fight it out if the other one doesn't yield. There will be hunting also, so members can gain acknowledgment by competing to see who caught more. Outsiders can be there for the ceremony, but they can't participate in the run."
"Oh...", a sound escaped Kalina's lips. She didn't grow up in a pack, so she didn't know this.
Kalina glanced at Talia. "Who will support Lia then?"
Mindy puffed her chest. "I will be there." With Gideon being her mate, it was just a formality for Mindy to join the Dark Howlers pack officially.
Kalina looked at Mindy with concern. "You are not a warrior. Lia will need all the support she can get. You saw those people last night. They were eager to see Talia mess up. I'm sure they will plot against her..."
Talia was sitting on Damon's lap, and she sank into his embrace while trying to tune out the noise.
Her biggest problem was how to shift into her wolf form. If she can't accomplish that, Elders and others with bad intentions will definitely use it against her and Damon. She won't be able to take part in the pack run without shifting, so her priorities were set to getting in touch with her wolf.
Gideon said many things that made sense, yet she needed to figure out how they apply to her. Or do they apply to her?
Was it possible that her wolf was simply not interested in whatever was going on and was snoozing while Talia scrambled to deal with Elders and Marcy and who-knows-who? Or was her wolf concealing her presence with some other purpose?
Talia remembered that her aura came to her aid more than once in the time of need, and that was something that originated from her wolf. At that time, Talia was confident how it was a sign of her wolf getting stronger and allowing Talia to tap into those abilities, but now Talia suspected that her wolf was actually there, listening, watching, and it was her wolf doing things when needed, without exposing she was awake.
When did her wolf wake up? Or what if she was always awake?
Talia was uncomfortable at the thought that her wolf knew Damon was Talia's mate and kept quiet about it. And all the bullying in the Red Moon pack. Was her wolf watching that also?
Talia was not sure what to think about that.
The only thing preventing her from crumbling was Damon's solid hold on her, which told her he was there for her.
