Cassandra's insides shook at the scene in front of her.
She recognized the effects and knew what Talia had just done. Taking away Cassandra's powers was one thing, but Alpha Isaac and Alpha Sophia have the strongest spirits, yet Talia sucked them dry like it's a child's play. Scary.
Cassandra took in a breath before explaining, "The legend talks about a coven of witches. A hundred generations ago, one of our predecessors had a mate there, and that caused us to mix more than just bloodlines. We would go there freely, and they would come here. The legend doesn't say why the passage between our worlds was sealed. This was left behind.", she ended by gesturing toward the scrolls and the leather-bound book.
Talia soaked in every word greedily. "Do you know something about the passage between the worlds?"
Cassandra lowered her head. "No. I am sorry."
Talia's stomach dropped.
Is this really a dead end and there is nothing she could do?
Damon won't recognize her? Sure, maybe the rune wears off in time, but every moment of him looking at her like a stranger was killing her on the inside. Was she supposed to go back home and hope for the best?
A sense of crisis gripped her heart when she remembered what awaits them at home. There were greedy Elders, manipulative Alpha Edward, the danger of war, and… Marcy. Marcy believed that Damon will come to her after three days to make her his Luna and if he doesn't remember Talia… she choked on a sob that burst from her chest.
If Damon ends up marking Marcy, what will that do to their bond? Even without marking, if he gets close to Marcy… she didn't want to think about it. Talia already saw Marcy between Damon's legs with his cock in her mouth, and she saw a video of Damon fondling Marcy. Talia told herself that's in the past and she won't think about it, but if Damon touches Marcy again…
"Hey… hey…", Axel's voice reached Talia. Why was he rubbing her cheeks? Was she crying? It seemed so. "Portal…passage… parents…"
"What?", Talia asked while blinking her tears away. She didn't understand what he was saying.
"I said", Axel spoke to her seriously. "Don't give up hope. If anyone knows about passages and portals that lead in and out of our territory, that would be our parents."
Talia cringed at the words "our parents", but she pushed that away as she looked at Alpha Isaac and Alpha Sophia anxiously.
"Is that true? Do you know about other portals?", she asked with urgency. When the duo didn't respond, Talia lost patience, "TELL ME!"
"Yes. We keep it in the secret compartment. The bookshelf behind my desk has a mechanism…", Alpha Isaac responded against his will. He couldn't believe that Talia used her aura to force him to tell the truth, and her aura was pure and so much stronger than his. He felt ashamed. How come they didn't see how much more powerful she was compared to Alpha Damon?
He cursed himself for neglecting the obvious. He doubted that Damon marked Talia because her neck was clean. However, if she marked him, it would confirm that Talia's wolf was stronger than Damon's.
"I know where the secret compartment is…", Axel was quick to move toward the bookshelf. He rotated a wolf figurine that was on the third level, and there was a click before part of the bookshelf swayed open.
Talia moved after Axel to see him rummaging through parchment papers and old books.
Her heart thundered against her chest. Are they really going to find what's needed and be able to help Damon? She didn't want to get her hopes up only to be disappointed again, but the light of favorable possibility was ignited again, and she was unable to ignore it.
This whole thing was a rollercoaster and Talia had a feeling that they were still climbing before the big fall. She hoped that her heart will be able to keep up and she doesn't fall apart before the ride ends.
Talia didn't want to give up. She couldn't give up. Giving up on Damon was giving up on herself. He helped her out of a predicament so many times, and now it was her turn.
"I can't believe we have all these portals on our territory…", Axel said under his breath while looking at the map he spread on his father's desk. He pointed at one in the far-right corner. "This one leads to the outside world where humans are. I don't know what others are for."
"The legend says that witches are in the South.", Cassandra chimed in.
Axel's hand moved to point at the portal on the bottom of the map. "Then this one must be it." His eyes widened. "It even has a Wicca symbol next to it. That's the one!"
"How far is that?", Talia asked.
"We are here, and that portal is about… Two days walking. One day in wolf form.", Axel said. "My father could get us there within minutes. He can teleport."
"If he has his powers, is there a way to prevent him from fleeing?", Talia asked.
"No. He can move wherever he wants, as long as he knows where he is going.", Axel explained. "That's how we reached you and Damon in the first place. I used GPS positioning to locate your phone, and my father took us there."
"There is a movement spell.", Cassandra said, making both Axel and Talia look her way. "It will take us there in a blink of an eye."
Axel was skeptical, but Talia didn't want to waste time on travel, and she believed that Cassandra was too desperate to get her powers back, so she won't trick her.
"Alright. Get what you need to make it happen.", Talia said.
Axel was alarmed. "You are going, just like that? That portal is sealed, and we have no idea how to open it, or what's on the other side. What if it's dangerous?"
Talia glanced at Alpha Isaac and Alpha Sophia who listened to all this from the side. "Someone will know how to unseal passages. Your ancestors might be cautious, but they were not stupid."
"Assuming that you can get through, it's still dangerous."
"It's a risk I'm willing to take, Axel.", Talia said with finality.
"I'm not saying that you shouldn't go.", Axel said. "But I will go with you."
"No!", Alpha Sophia exclaimed weakly. "You can't. If they find out who you are…"
"Stop it, mother!", Axel snapped. "Can you stop thinking about what's best for the pack, and just do what's right?"
"We don't know why the portal was sealed, but we know there was a reason for it. What if you end up killed?", Alpha Sophia said and then glanced at Talia. "Both of you."
Talia snorted at Alpha Sophia's fake concern for her wellbeing.
