"Do you really think that the solution to your problems is controlling everything?", Talia sneered at Alpha Sophia. "Axel is a grown man. He can decide for himself. As for me, life without Damon is not a life worth living. You have a mate, what would you do if one day he is taken away from you? What if he is right by your side, but he treats you like a stranger?" She turned to look at Axel. "I am going. I won't force you to join me, but I need your help to get there."
Axel put his hand on Talia's shoulder and gave her a squeeze before looking at his parents. "I will do whatever I can to fix the wrong you did. Because of you, I lost my childhood with a sister, and she lost her whole family. You can help us willingly, or we will make you, but you won't stand in our way."
The weight on Talia's back lightened somewhat like Axel took a part of it away. Was this support of a big brother? She thought how her life would be different if Axel was by her side while she was growing up. He would chase away the bullies, and she wouldn't go hungry.
Talia used her aura to pressure Alpha Isaac and Alpha Sophia into spilling everything they knew about sealing and unsealing portals and Cassandra took notes fervently.
It was not much, but it gave them something to work with and Talia hoped that Cassandra will prove herself useful.
Cassandra also brought some candles and herbs, and she explained that once she draws the diagram with chalk and places the candles and herbs in the right position, they will be ready to go. She also prepared things for unsealing the portal and herbs that Talia asked her to bring.
Talia selected the herbs she needed and stuffed them into her mouth. Damon said that he loves her scent, but with him not recognizing the bond, it was just a sentiment not worth holding onto. It was safer if she can move without leaving her scent behind.
Axel looked at Talia with a grimace. "I know things are uncertain, but you don't need to poison yourself."
Talia's chewing slowed down and it took her a moment to understand what he was talking about. She swallowed. "This is not poison. It's for concealing one's scent."
Axel moved closer and sniffed the air around Talia.
"Give it a minute to enter my bloodstream.", she said.
A few minutes later, Axel was also chewing on the herbs. "We have no idea if witches have a heightened sense of smell, but if we need to move stealthily, this will help."
Talia thought how that made sense. She separated another batch of herbs and handed it to Cassandra.
Cassandra eyed the plants suspiciously. "Are you expecting me to eat those?"
"You are coming with us.", Talia said to Cassandra. "You will need to tell witches exactly what you did for the ritual." If they don't kill us before that. Talia didn't say this last part aloud because Cassandra was fidgety already.
Cassandra swallowed a mouthful of air and then she put the herbs into her mouth.
Talia prayed that their vague plan will work. They will find witches, get the solution to remove magic from Damon, and return home safely before anything bad happens like Elders running amok or Alpha Edward taking over the Dark Howlers pack in Damon's absence. Was that too much to ask?
"You are leaving us like this?", Alpha Isaac asked Talia in disbelief when he saw that they were about to leave the study.
"Like what?" Talia cocked an eyebrow while wondering what they were up to. "You are not coming with us." She thought for a moment before asking Axel, "Should we imprison them, so they don't cause trouble?"
Axel was not sure how to respond to this. He didn't want to put his parents into a dungeon, but… "Leaving them free is a recipe for disaster. Even without their powers, they have authority over their subordinates, which is pretty much everyone in the pack."
Talia pursed her lips while thinking about how to handle this. "What do you normally do when both Alphas are absent?"
"That doesn't happen, but when one of them is not here, their proxies are in charge."
Talia thought how that made sense. "Betas and Gammas are Kai's and Tyler's parents, right?"
"Right.", Axel confirmed.
"Do you trust them?"
"They are good people but…" Axel shook his head. "They are loyal to our parents."
Talia cringed at the 'OUR parents' part, but she didn't want to correct Axel. It was not important. "What about Kai and Tyler?"
"I trust them with my life."
"Then it's settled.", Talia said with a smile on her face. "You will take over as Alpha and assign Kai and Tyler to take care of the pack until you are back."
"Not possible!", Alpha Isaac hissed. "Axel doesn't have his powers."
Talia realized that the old man has a point. "You need an Alpha with powers. What about Beta or Gamma? Can Tyler be Gamma without powers?"
"Others don't matter, but Alpha must have powers or the pack will be in danger.", Alpha Sophia said with the hope that Talia will give them their powers back.
Talia turned to look at Axel. "Alright. I will be Alpha, and you will be my proxy. How about that?"
"What did you say?", Alpha Sophia asked under her breath.
Talia was losing her patience. She didn't have time to argue. "I am of an Alpha bloodline. You can transfer the position of the Alpha to me, or I will take it myself with an Alpha challenge. You both should know that I can take you down in a duel without lifting a finger. It's your choice if you want to preserve that little dignity you have left. You have one minute to decide."
Talia turned to Axel. "People don't know me, but they see you as their future Alpha. If I name you my proxy, my power will secure the position, and your identity will ensure loyalty. Call Tyler, Kai, and Meg here. We should give them instructions and make all this official before we head out..."
Alpha Isaac and Alpha Sophia nearly passed out from anger. How can Talia talk about it like they were not important?
"Oh, Talia…", Meg got inside the study and threw herself at Talia to give her a hug. "Why are you here? I was hoping you went home by now."
Alpha Isaac and Alpha Sophia frowned at this. Were these youngsters behind Alpha Damon's escape after all?
"It's a long story, Meg.", Talia said while returning the hug. "I lost Damon."
Meg jerked backward and looked at Talia in horror. "Is he… dead?"
"No. But I am to him."
Tyler and Kai huddled close to Meg (Kai much closer than Tyler who was careful not to get too close to Meg), so now all three of them looked at Talia questionably.
"The ritual caused a memory loss and Damon doesn't feel the mate bond. When he woke up, he had no idea who I was, and he thought I did something to him so..." Talia released a shaky breath while remembering Damon pushing her away ruthlessly. "He left."
Meg's lips curved downward. "I'm so sorry, Talia." If that happened to Kai, Meg would be devastated.
