Marcy's survival instincts warned her to step away when hair at the back of her neck rose as Talia's face hardened.
"You want to take what doesn't belong to you, Marcy.", Talia spoke in a dangerously low tone and Marcy felt it was difficult to breathe. "I suggest you rethink your priorities and what you want to do because your life will depend on it. Literally."
Marcy swayed when the pressure from all sides increased, and she grabbed the kitchen counter behind her to stabilize herself. Marcy wondered if Talia was crazy. If anything happened to Marcy, Damon would definitely punish the culprits. Wasn't Talia aware of that?
"You... stop...", Marcy spoke with difficulty.
Talia sneered. "You want me to stop? Make me. Shouldn't Damon's Luna be capable of stopping a nobody like me? Look at yourself."
"You can't... Damon..."
"It's ALPHA Damon to you!" Talia was shaking from anger.
How dares this pampered princess say Damon's name like they were familiar? Marcy didn't know anything about Damon. She saw him as a powerful Alpha because her daddy told her that she needs to be Luna. What kind of a Luna will Marcy be? Like her mother? The Dark Howlers pack will be ruined! And Marcy had no idea how caring and cheeky Damon can be or how much Damon's smile made Talia's heart sing. Damon and Talia were one in body and soul even if his mind couldn't remember her, and Liseli had no intention of giving up on Sapa either!
Marcy's face was pale as a sheet of paper, and she was losing consciousness due to pain that assaulted every cell in her body. Talia suppressed her before, but this was much worse.
"Talia…", Dawn called from the door in a strained voice. Zina was behind Dawn in the hallway, on all four, on the floor. "Didn't you say… we need her…"
George's mark gave Dawn a power boost, but in front of Talia's wrath, it was not much.
At the image of her two friends suffering even though her fury was directed at Marcy, Talia took a deep breath and suppressed her aura.
"Sorry, Dawn. Marcy expressed her desire to take what's mine and I lost it. Is Zina OK?"
"I will be fine!", Zina squeaked from the hallway.
"Good.", Talia said and turned to continue putting food into two plates, ignoring Marcy who was scrambling out of the kitchen, nearly crawling while pushing herself with her arms and legs.
Marcy forgot why she came to the kitchen, but she knew that she needed to get away from there. What the hell was wrong with Talia? From where did all that power come from? And how dare those two Omegas (aka Dawn and Zina) ignore the fact that Talia was hostile? Did they forget that Marcy is their future Luna?
Marcy gritted her teeth while cursing Talia silently. 'As soon as Damon makes me his Luna, I will show them who is the boss here!'
The only thing Marcy needed to decide was if it will be a dungeon or hard labor, or just to kick them out of the pack while blacklisting them so that no other pack will dare to take them in.
Marcy decided to drag herself to her room. She was drenched in sweat and shaky. She needed rest and a shower. Once she cozies up to Damon, Talia and everyone else who looks down on Marcy will get what they deserve.
Marcy entered the dining room to see Maya, Caden, Gideon, Mindy, and George already seated. No one acknowledged her presence, but she didn't let that bother her because of how much she saw, no one knew about pleasantries in this pack. She will teach them basic manners when she becomes their Luna.
Marcy decided to focus on the positives. At least that crazy assistant was not there. Marcy had lingering fear from her previous encounter with Talia and she hoped that Damon will come before Talia.
She thought about where to sit since there were no plates set up, only napkins and utensils were arranged in glasses that were grouped in the middle of the table.
Caden was sitting at one end of the table, so Marcy could guess that Damon will sit opposite Caden. She decided to take a seat on the left from where Damon will be, mostly because that spot gave her the largest distance from George.
Marcy was re-folding the napkin in front of her to keep busy while silently counting seconds until Damon arrives and hopefully make this less awkward. She was happy that she didn't need to wait long.
Damon paused at the door and glanced over the faces of the people present before he moved to his usual seat.
Maya and Caden were expected, but then he saw George, Gideon, Mindy, and on his left was Marcy.
Damon didn't remember mending his relationship with Gideon but it probably happened because there was no other explanation as to why the Shaman was sitting there. Why was Mindy here? Didn't Caden say that the group from the Blue River pack left? And why was Mindy so close to the old guy? Was that a mark on her neck? Did Maddox know about it?
Damon was exasperated. Just how big were his memory gaps?
But Gideon and Mindy aside, Damon didn't like Marcy sitting there; that was the place his future Luna should hold. He shook off the unease. It's just a seat and he shouldn't overthink it.
"Will James be joining us?", Damon asked. He knew there should be one more person, but he didn't want to bother with Nora.
"James is in town with his friends. They are having dinner out and will be back late.", Caden responded.
"Friends?", Marcy asked, unsure if she heard Caden right. Since when did James have time for friends? He was always either training or studying.
"He met three teens from the Dark Howlers pack, and they hit it off well.", Caden said. "They are all exceptional talents, and we have warriors shadowing them to make sure they don't end up in trouble. After hard training, one should enjoy relaxing."
Marcy responded with a stiff smile. She thought that James didn't come to visit her because he was busy training, and now that she heard he was having fun while she was stuck in that house, Marcy didn't like it.
Dawn, Zina, and Stephanie entered with the cart that had plates where food was already arranged, and Zina was quick to snatch the plate closest to her and take it to Damon.
Zina released the breath she was holding when Damon didn't comment on the extra sauce on his plate. It seemed he was hungry because he immediately got busy with food, without waiting for others to be served. Well, Damon never cared much about protocol when eating.
Dawn helped with putting food on the table, and then she grabbed the last two plates, one for George and one for herself before she sat at the table with him.
Marcy was still shaken after her previous encounter with Talia, and she relaxed a bit when she confirmed that Talia won't join them. Did Damon discard that damned assistant already? Or maybe he found out about what happened and Talia got punished. Ha! Suits her well!
But Marcy had another problem at the sight of Dawn... "Do Omegas get to eat at the table with the Alpha?"
