"At least she didn't turn you into a toad.", Talia said to Mindy who was pouting on the side.
After some convincing, Cornelia removed the mum spell, allowing Mindy to talk, and Cornelia accepted to wear Talia's t-shirt after hearing why Mindy attacked her with, "I thought you said that males are possessive."
"It goes both ways, Priestess Cornelia.", Gideon said.
After Gideon found out that Cornelia is a Priestess among witches, Gideon had to act with respect. Actually, he was super curious to find out everything about Cornelia and the Coven from where she was coming, but he knew that would only piss off Mindy, so he kept those questions for later.
Gideon made tea for everyone and gestured that they sit at the dining table. Mindy was unwilling to sit with Cornelia, but she also didn't want to let the witch close to Gideon. In a show of ownership, Mindy sat on Gideon's lap and leaned on Gideon while glaring in silent warnings at Cornelia.
Cornelia didn't like Mindy's attitude which reminded her of a child who was pouting.
Talia couldn't think in such a stiff atmosphere. She needed her allies working together and not going at each other's throats.
"Cornelia, Mindy attacked you because she saw you as being too friendly with her mate. Their mate bond is fresh, and they are still sensitive about others approaching them.", Talia said, and she turned to Mindy. "Mindy, Cornelia is a witch. Where she comes from, they don't cover their bodies because they want to feel the energies of nature without the obstruction of clothing. Her intention was not to seduce Gideon."
Talia's eyes were moving from Mindy to Cornelia as she continued, "Can the two of you accept that what happened was a misunderstanding and we can move on without me fearing you will start a fight?"
"There will be no fighting.", Cornelia said. "If I feel any malicious intent, I will seal much more than her voice."
Mindy glared at Cornelia. "Sure, no fighting. As long as she stays away from my mate and doesn't cast any spells on me again or on my mate. He is mine."
Gideon's chest swelled when he saw how possessive Mindy was. He approved, and the way Mindy's cheeks flushed when he squeezed her hip told him that she got the message. He will reward her for this, later.
"I assume you are here with Priestess Cornelia for a reason.", Gideon said to Talia.
"Yes. Damon and I went through marking and…"
"Where is your mark?", Mindy interrupted Talia whose neck was obviously clean.
Talia decided to omit non-important parts. "I marked him."
Mindy gaped at Talia, and she turned to look at Gideon who didn't seem to be surprised. "You knew about this?"
"I had a feeling that Talia's wolf is more powerful than Damon's.", Gideon said and cocked an eyebrow at Talia. "But you are stronger than the last time we met. Much stronger."
Talia really didn't want to go into details. "Can we focus on why we are here?"
"Please, do.", Mindy said and motioned with her fingers like she was zipping her mouth closed. She will press Talia for more information later.
"I marked Damon, and after that, he was not waking up in the morning, and he had a fever, and I panicked. Axel told me about an incident in their pack when something went wrong during marking, so I called him. I thought he will give me advice on what to do, but he was nearby and came in person. That's how Damon and I ended up in the Midnight Guardians pack. Unfortunately, Alpha Sophia and Alpha Isaac thought that Damon was getting too powerful, and their Oracle used dark magic to suppress his power. Axel, Kai, Meg, and Tyler helped me get Damon out of there, but not before he was affected.", Talia said in one breath. She practiced this trimmed-down version of the story and she feared that if they interrupt her, she will mess it up.
Talia took a deep breath and said, "When Damon woke up, he seemed fine except for the fact that he couldn't remember me and he left."
Mindy and Gideon stared at Talia. She just said how two Alphas acted with malicious intent against their Alpha. That's war. And then she said how Damon had memory loss!
"Where is Alpha Damon now? Can he remember you?", Mindy asked.
"I believe he is on his way here. As for remembering me... No. That's why Cornelia is here with me. She will help me dispel the dark magic, but the ritual can be performed on the night of the full moon. Until then, I have a potion that will suppress the effect of the dark magic, but I need your help to alert others and trick Damon to take the potion. Can you get me into the packhouse? I'm sure that Maya will help."
"What about Alpha Sophia and Alpha Isaac?", Gideon asked grimly. He couldn't believe that they made a hostile move against Damon and allowed him to leave. As Alphas, the duo definitely knew that their actions will start a war.
"They are not important.", Talia said. "Axel is there handling the situation. But we need to help Damon. When is the full moon?"
"Two days.", Mindy responded.
Talia did mental calculations and her eyes widened. That was one day less than she thought she had!
"Is Damon back already?", Talia asked.
"We don't have insight into what's going on in the packhouse.", Gideon said.
"Screw the protocol!", Mindy squeezed through her teeth, redirecting her previous anger from Cornelia toward Damon. "Let's go there! We will beat up Damon until he remembers what's important. How can he forget his mate? And when we are done with him, we will skin alive those shitty Alphas who made Talia suffer like this!"
Talia was glad that Mindy was so fired up, and she expected this from her firecracker friend, but… "Acting rashly won't help. We need to get into the packhouse without alerting Damon that something is wrong."
"That's easy.", Mindy said impatiently. "In two days is the pack run. We will ask for rooms in the packhouse with an explanation that it will be more convenient to get things ready for the ceremony when we are there."
Talia liked this idea. She turned to Gideon. "You can mind-link Maya about this. Tell her that I'm back, but not to tell anyone about it, and… ask if Damon is already there. Also, if any of the guests are still present."
Gideon's eyes lost focus, and Mindy asked Talia, "What will you do when you reach the packhouse?"
"I want to know who all is there and who can help us."
Gideon's attention was back on Talia, "Maya is preparing two rooms. One for me and Mindy and the second one for my cousin.", Gideon said, and glanced at Mindy to gauge her reaction. "Maya asked who Cornelia is and I couldn't exactly say that she is a witch."
