In a guest bedroom on the second floor of the packhouse…
Cornelia stood next to the window and looked outside while Talia spoke about the current situation to Maya, Caden, Dawn, George, and Zina.
Mindy and Gideon were also there, listening to the same story and hoping to hear more compared to what Talia told them the first time.
Maya was upset to hear about this development, but she was a bit excited to be in the same room with a witch. "What kind of magic can she do?", Maya asked Talia while gesturing toward Cornelia.
"I'm sure you can ask about it later.", Caden said.
"Just don't get on her bad side or she will jinx you.", Mindy grumbled.
"Cornelia is not violent.", Talia said. "Cornelia is my friend, here to help, and she jinxed you because you attacked her."
Maya wanted to ask more about that incident, but Caden was now talking.
"I spoke with Damon, and I could see that he was confused. He didn't remember why he left the packhouse, why we had the party with Elders, or why Marcy is here. When I mentioned the pack run, he looked at me like I was talking in a foreign language. It seems that his memories of Talia are gone."
"I am so sorry, Talia…", Dawn said with a shaky voice, on the verge of crying. Dawn couldn't imagine how she would feel if one day George just didn't recognize her. She remembered how cold he was when he arrived; that was while his bond with Marcy was still there. Dawn's heart ached at the thought that he might ignore her like that again.
"Don't be sappy.", Zina said to Dawn. "Talia called us here because she has a plan. Right?"
"Right.", Talia said. "Thanks to Cornelia, I have a potion that will suppress the dark magic and help Damon remember. The potion is temporary, but it should last until the night of the full moon when I can perform the ritual that will purify him completely."
"How will we get him to drink it? Mix it in the water?", Dawn asked.
Talia scrunched her nose. "I'm not sure. It doesn't smell much, but it's green in color."
Dawn grimaced. "Green? How big is the dose to make it effective?"
"One big gulp will do.", Talia responded.
Zina got an idea. "Leave it to me. For dinner, I will make steak, Damon's favorite. I will mix the potion in his serving of herbal sauce. No matter how it tastes, basil and garlic will cover it up."
"I will help.", Dawn volunteered.
Talia looked at the people in the room and she was about to thank them when she saw that Caden's expression changed.
"Did something happen?", Talia asked anxiously.
"Damon asked for Marcy to be brought to the packhouse for dinner.", Caden said and turned to Maya. "He also said to prepare a room on the second floor for her."
Maya couldn't stand the idea of Marcy in the packhouse. It was just like Cassie, but this was worse because Talia was here, and Damon couldn't remember her, and Marcy's crazy obsession with being Damon's Luna overshadowed even the nastiest things that Cassie did. "I refuse. Marcy can't…"
"No.", Talia interrupted Maya. "Damon shouldn't suspect that something is off."
"I agree with Talia.", Caden said. "Damon was always cautious and he is not stupid. He might not remember Talia, but he knew from day one that Marcy was part of Alpha Edward's scheme. Damon wouldn't make Marcy his Luna even without Talia in the picture. That didn't change."
"Maybe he wouldn't make her his Luna. But what if he…", Maya gagged. "With… Marcy…"
"If you refuse to set up the room, he will start doubting you and find someone else to do it.", Talia said sadly.
"Why is Marcy here?", Mindy snapped. "Can't we send her home? Or lock her in the dungeon?"
"No.", Talia responded. "She is part of the bigger plan. Until she fulfills her role, we can't touch her."
Talia didn't like it, but Talia knew that the final part was for Marcy to make a public statement about how she is leaving the Red Moon pack and giving up on being Damon's Luna voluntarily. James got it all figured out. This should relieve the pressure Alpha Edward can exert on Damon and hopefully avoid open war.
Mindy frowned in disapproval. Why did it sound like Marcy was important? What bigger plan? But before she could say anything, George spoke.
"I will make sure Marcy and Damon don't get too close." George turned to look at Dawn. "I know that Talia is your friend, and if she is sad, you will be sad as well. I don't need to get close to Marcy in order to remind her of my existence, and I won't let her touch you. Maybe Damon doesn't remember that Marcy came here to be his Luna while having a mate, but she does."
"We also won't make it easy for her.", Caden assured Talia. "And we should get James on board, or at least warn him about what's going on here."
"No need.", George said. "James is smarter than all of us put together. The moment he sees Marcy in the packhouse, he will figure out that something is off. Besides, this is about getting Damon to remember Talia. Once we accomplish that, everything will go back to normal."
Talia was happy to see her friends gathered and willing to help.
They discussed several strategies for making Marcy's life difficult and not allowing Damon to do anything rashly, and then the people left the room one by one, each with a task.
Dawn and Zina went to start dinner preparations, Stephanie was on her way to the packhouse, and she had no objections to switching the dinner menu to steak instead of meatloaf.
Maya was in charge of getting a room for Marcy, and Caden and George went to keep an eye on Damon.
"We will be in the room next door.", Mindy told Talia and she and Gideon left.
Cornelia waited for the door to close before speaking to Talia, "You don't trust them."
"What makes you think so?"
Cornelia smirked. "You told them that your mate doesn't remember you, but you didn't tell them that his spirit is weakened. The potion will suppress the rune for memory, but it will have limited effect on freeing his spirit from the shackles of black runes."
"There is no benefit if they know that his power is diminished. In two days, after the main spell is completed, Damon will return to normal. Some things should stay only between mates.", Talia said. Like glowing magic and talking wolves. "Why are you smiling?"
Cornelia shrugged. "Nothing. I just find you interesting. Your mate doesn't remember you, yet you still treat him with care. Don't you feel the urgency to get things back in order? You are above all these people, yet you speak to them as equal. Why don't you use your ranking?"
"I don't need subordinates. If our plan fails, we will end up in a lot of trouble, and I don't want them to think they were forced to follow orders.", Talia said. "Damon is smart and strong, but the most dangerous are his instincts." And there was a chance that he got a power or two because Talia marked him. "If we take the risk to attack him and push the potion down his throat, he will fight back and probably call for reinforcements. Under his aura, Maya, Caden, Marcy, and Gideon will submit. Our chances for a sneak attack are close to zero. We need to approach him with caution." And she didn't want to risk hurting him.
"You don't act like a werewolf."
"I didn't grow up as one."
Cornelia smirked. "As I said, you are interesting."
Talia had a feeling that Cornelia's words had an underlying meaning, but she didn't have the brain capacity to think about it.
She was in the packhouse, and so was Damon. The mate bond urged Talia to get to Damon, but she suppressed it because if she gave in to her instincts, it would only make things worse.
