Talia stared at two men who stood above her and Damon.
Liseli told her that Axel won't harm her, but what about Alpha Isaac?
The man's gaze made Talia uncomfortable at first, but then he was completely focused on Damon, his brows slightly pinched and Talia would give anything for a mind-reading ability.
She was painfully aware that Axel and Alpha Isaac they were here, in the middle of a forest… no witnesses. If they wanted to harm her or Damon, Talia couldn't stop them. It was too late to backtrack out of this, so she decided to roll with it.
"How do we do this?", she asked.
Alpha Isaac moved closer and squatted next to Damon.
Talia tensed but didn't interfere because the man was visually inspecting Damon's face without reaching to touch him.
She reminded herself that they came to help.
"Axel tells me you have powers.", Alpha Isaac said without looking at Talia. "What are they?"
Alarm bells rang in Talia's head, and she glanced at Axel who looked at her with curiosity. She concluded that Kai was true to his words and didn't tell him what happened in the car. But then… maybe he did, and Axel knew, and Alpha Isaac knew as well, and this was just a test.
How can she respond to the question about her powers when she was not aware of what she can do? Should she tell them that she was still figuring out that part, but so far she managed to swat away people without touching them, stop the water currents, energize Marcy's spirit to the point of bringing her out of the coma, and heal Damon and herself?
'Don't reveal more than necessary', Liseli spoke into Talia's mind. 'Little steps. Don't trust them until you know their motives.'
Talia was glad that Liseli was there to give her this advice. It made sense.
"Healing.", Talia responded. It sounded safest. She didn't want to appear as a threat.
Alpha Isaac's brows came together in a frown, and he turned his head to look at her.
Talia couldn't read his expression. Did he just confirm that she lied? Her heart thundered against her chest, and she hoped that he can't hear it.
"Healing…", he repeated and gestured at Damon. "Why didn't you heal him?"
"I can heal wounds of the flesh. I tried with Damon before calling Axel, it didn't work.", Talia responded, relieved that her voice stayed steady.
Alpha Isaac regarded her for a long second and then he lifted his arm to his face.
Talia's eyes widened when he bit his forearm harshly.
"Show me.", he said, and Talia stared at his bloodied forearm. What the hell?
She couldn't believe this. Did he bite off part of his flesh? What if she was lying? Even with his werewolf-enhanced healing, it was extreme.
But Talia understood that this was a test.
'Liseli, I will need your help with this. Just enough power to heal him, but not too much', Talia thought and put her palm to hover an inch above Alpha Isaac's wound.
Talia's palm radiated with heat, and then it cooled as the silvery light spread downwards and Alpha Isaac's wound healed at the speed visible to the naked eye.
Alpha Isaac's attention moved from his wound to Talia and his lips pressed into a line as he saw her eyes flickering in silvery light.
Axel observed all this without a word and when Talia retracted her hand from Alpha Isaac's arm that had no remnants of the wound, she glanced at Axel to see him smiling at her.
She didn't know why, but Axel's expression warmed her heart. It was like he was silently telling her that she did good, encouraging her to keep going.
But she couldn't be happy. Not with Damon lying on the ground, and Alpha Isaac testing her like he didn't trust her motives.
"Is that enough, or do I need to pass another test?", Talia asked Alpha Isaac and before he responded, she turned to Axel, "Damon is not well, and that's why I called you here. Can you help him? Will you help him? If it's a no, then please help me carry him into the cabin, and you can leave. I will figure out something."
Alpha Isaac looked at her with a scowl. "And what will you do?"
Talia was not sure what she could do. "I would call Damon's Betas and the pack doctor, and…"
"No!"
Alpha Isaac snapped before Talia could say that she would call Gideon also.
"No one should know about this.", he squeezed through his teeth with eyes flashing in a warning.
Talia's expression steeled with resolve. "Then you better help me. Or leave. At this rate, you are not helping."
Alpha Isaac narrowed his eyes at her. "You obviously don't understand the dangers if people see him like this."
"I do. I heard it all before.", Talia barked back. She was irked that he would think about hiding the magic-wielding secret like it was more important than helping Damon. Was his life in danger? Talia prayed silently that it was not, but he was not fairing well either.
Alpha Isaac and Talia were engaged in a silent staring contest, neither willing to back down, and Talia felt the air changing. Was he using his Alpha aura to surpass her? She had no intention of shrinking.
"M-hm…", Axel cleared his throat. "We came here to help, Talia."
"But?", Talia asked stiffly without looking away from Alpha Isaac.
"As you heard, we need to take him with us."
Talia turned to look at Axel. "Then, why are we still here and your father is inspecting me like I'm an impostor?"
Axel shot a glare at his father, but then he responded to Talia. "I told you before. Not everyone is welcome to our territory. He was just making sure that you are one of us."
Talia swallowed a mouthful of air when she remembered that conversation. Axel also told her that once one is in the territory of the Midnight Guardians pack, he can't leave. Was she going willingly to a place where they will imprison them?
Damon groaned and Talia's heart leaped in hope that he was waking up, but then it cracked when she saw beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He was not getting better.
Talia put her hand on his cheek and prayed silently that she was not making a mistake.
"Will I be able to stay with him?", she asked in a whisper.
"Of course.", Axel responded. "We will never keep you away from your mate."
Talia's head whipped to look at Axel. "Never?"
"We respect the mate bond above everything else.", Axel said solemnly.
She wanted to ask how does the respect of the mate bond stack against them keeping their secret about magical powers, but this was not the time to stir that topic.
Talia gave a small nod and turned to look at Damon. He needed help, and as long as the two of them can stay together… they will figure out the rest. Somehow.
