Seeing that Yasmin and Cornelia were busy drawing a diagram on a small clearing, Talia asked Axel in a whisper, "About your power… did you get it?"
"I felt it awakening, but I don't know what it is yet.", Axel responded with a sour expression. "Maybe I used it, but I'm not aware of it. Not everyone can do flashy things that glow or explode." He heard stories of how some pack members took months until they figured out what their ability was.
Talia remembered what Axel told her about some useless abilities. "Maybe you can attach and detach your limbs at will."
Axel grimaced. "You are having fun with this, aren't you?"
"A little bit.", Talia admitted.
Axel snorted, but he was not angry. He liked that Talia had this cheeky side and he hoped to see more of it. "I will mind link Kai, Meg, and Tyler to meet us in the study. And I also want to set up rotations of guards around this place…" His eyes lost focus and Talia knew that he was communicating through the mind-link.
After a few chants, Talia, Axel, Yasmin, and Cornelia found themselves in the study of the main building in the Midnight Guardians pack.
Cornelia and Yasmin were curious about everything, and Axel told them to feel free to look around until Tyler, Kai, and Meg arrive.
"Do you want to call home?", Axel asked Talia.
Talia paused. With all the mess happening, she forgot about the possibility of a phone call. Whom should she call? Maya and Caden? What would she say? Would it make any difference?
"No.", Talia said.
"Are you sure?"
Talia confirmed. "With Cornelia's help, I will be there before Damon." She didn't want to waste time explaining things over the phone.
"Do you have a map of the human realm?", Talia asked Axel. "I need you to point at the location of the Dark Howlers pack, and where you came to pick us up when I called."
Axel frowned at this second piece of information. "You are not going to the packhouse?"
"No. Damon will be there and if I appear, it will only cause a commotion."
"Didn't you say that you will reach there before him?", Axel asked.
"I hope I will get there before him, but if he is already there, I need to assess the situation and approach him carefully. I trust his Betas and several other people in the packhouse, however, if Damon catches me talking to them before he remembers me, he might isolate them, and that will backfire."
Talia had two things, a spell that will remove black runes, but that can be used on the night of the full moon, which Talia hoped was still a few days away, yet not too far away. Until then, she can suppress the effect of black runes with a potion, but Talia was confident that Damon wouldn't take the potion willingly. She needed a plan.
"What do you think Damon will do when he sees you?", Axel asked.
Talia pressed her lips into a line at the memory of Damon pushing her away with disgust obvious on his face. "I'm not sure. In the best case, he will kick me out. And in the worst-case… a dungeon?" Or maybe he just snaps her neck.
"Why don't you go as the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack?", Axel suggested. "He won't dare to be hostile."
Talia rejected that idea. "Damon won't shrink in front of authority. He suspected that I did something devious to him, if I show up there as an Alpha, he might see that as a declaration of war. In case things go wrong, I don't want to implicate this pack."
And she didn't want people to know that she was the official Alpha of the Midnight Guardians Pack. Now that Axel found Yasmin, Talia's intention was to make Axel the only Alpha, but with all the things going on, she decided to postpone that talk with Axel for later.
Axel didn't like that Talia was planning to go there as a mate Damon forgot about, but he understood Talia's intention. He would also do everything in his power to keep the pack out of that mess.
If Damon loses his temper, he might imprison Talia and start a war without giving her a chance to fix things. This mental image made Axel's insides churn, but he pushed the discomfort away with the thought that Talia was stronger than he was, and it was obvious that she had a plan.
Axel got a large map that was rolled and standing upright in a corner. "What are we looking for here?"
"Shaman's house." With Mindy and Gideon onboard, Talia can come into the packhouse and stay there without being noticed and take it from there. "He lives in the middle of a forest. However, on our way to the cabin, we passed the intersection that leads there, so if you show me Darkbourne and where you picked me up with your father, I will be able to estimate the location of his home."
"Give me a few hours to introduce Yasmin, and then…"
"No.", Talia interrupted Axel. "I can't wait for that long, and you should stay here."
Axel didn't approve. "You will need help. This is beyond just removing a spell from Damon. The Red Moon pack won't accept this without a fight."
Talia agreed with this, but... "The fight won't come for at least a few days, and that will give you and Yasmin a few months here. You won't leave Yasmin here, and if she bumps into humans right away, it might be too much. Let me handle Damon and I promise to call you if there is trouble with other packs."
Talia saw Axel frowning, and she continued before he could object again, "I'm sure you felt the unease of our people from the moment we stepped into this territory. They believe in us, however, they are also anxious because they lost their Alphas and we left on the same day. Be here and show them that you have your Luna and that they have strong leaders. Tell them about witches and introduce Yasmin to this realm. Besides that, there is also the task of watching over previous Alphas and making sure they don't stir trouble, and you should come up with rules about crossing the portal for witches. I know you wanted us to do this together, and I promise to join you as soon as Damon is free from the effects of black runes. Until then, I know that Meg and Yasmin will get along great."
With every next argument, Axel's motivation to go with Talia deflated. He knew she was right. Even his parents divided work into internal and external, and he thought how that was exactly what he and Talia were doing now.
The noisy trio entered the study together, and they were all delighted to see Talia and Axel in one piece. Meg wanted to ask where did they lose Cassandra and who the two new faces were (one woman almost naked!), but then Axel dropped a bomb how Yasmin is his fated mate, and everyone forgot about the poor Oracle.
Tyler was trying mightily not to stare at Cornelia's exposed breasts, but it was hard.
Talia introduced Cornelia, "In their realm, they have only witches, all females. They believe that clothing blocks their connection with nature, so they are scarcely dressed..."
Tyler swallowed hard. Other than scarcely dressed women, he didn't hear anything else. "When are we going to visit there?"
Talia shook her head at the Gamma. "Axel will tell you more. Cornelia, I need you to take us to the portal that leads to the human realm. Once we pass through it, I will give you another destination."
"You are leaving already?", Meg asked with disapproval obvious in her voice.
"With Damon out there, I can't stay. I will be back as soon as I can..." With Damon. Hopefully.
Meg and Kai wanted to join, but Talia refused them with a promise that she will call if she is in a pinch. She was grateful to see Axel, Yasmin, Kai, Meg, and Tyler eager to help. And Cornelia was there also.
The only one missing to make this scene heartwarming was Damon, and she was determined to get him back.
