"How are you doing?", Maya asked Talia when she entered the room.
"I'm fine.", Talia said. She was far from fine, but she didn't want to talk about it.
Ever since Cornelia left, Talia was pacing through the room, torn between the reason that told her to stay put and emotions that were urging her to go to Damon.
Seeing Maya in the room, Talia wanted to ask about the situation with Damon, but she knew already what happened during dinner because she watched them through the security video feed, and Talia couldn't make herself continue watching what was going on in the garden even though cameras had night vision.
If anything happened between Damon and Marcy, before the potion took effect, Talia didn't want to know about it. And what if the dose was not enough for Damon? Or what if it was not effective at all?
Talia knew that Caden was watching Damon from the distance with the task to notify Maya if anything important happened, and if Caden didn't mind-link Maya, things were fine. Or at least not worse. Hopefully.
"Where is Cornelia?", Maya asked.
Talia shrugged. "She said that she will explore the area."
"Is she really a witch?", Maya asked with sparkles in her eyes.
"Do you think that Mindy lied when she said that Cornelia took her voice with a wave of her finger? And didn't you hear that we teleported here from Gideon's house?"
"How did you meet? She doesn't have a wolf, so I assume she is not from the Midnight Guardians pack."
Talia pursed her lips. It's not that she didn't want to tell her, but… "Can we talk about it some other time?"
"Sure. Do you think that Cornelia will be willing to do a demonstration of what she can do?"
"I don't know, Maya. Cornelia is a priestess, not an entertainer."
Maya pouted. "I know, but I still hope to see some of that magic."
"Thank you for being here, Maya."
"It is I who should thank you.", Maya said seriously. "I can only imagine how much it hurts that Damon forgot about you, yet you came here with a plan instead of trashing the place or just leaving him behind to deal with this on his own."
"I had to come."
"No, you didn't. With the mate bond weakened, you could turn your back on all this mess, but you didn't. Damon doesn't remember you which means he is the same Damon he was before he met you and I can tell you that Damon with Talia as his mate is much more pleasant to be around. The whole pack should thank you for this sacrifice."
Talia realized that Maya was right. Actually, if this was Talia from a few weeks ago, she would run and not look back. Talia changed. Thanks to Damon she found strength she never thought she had. Or maybe she just found something worth fighting for.
Talia put her hand over her chest. "I can feel the bond fluctuating as the potion is eroding the dark magic." There was irritation and confusion, and Talia hoped it will continue.
Maya's eyes lost focus for a moment and she smiled a little. "Damon left Marcy in the garden, and he is heading upstairs." She didn't want to mention George. The version where Damon left on his own sounded better. "Will you go and see him?"
Talia's body ached in need to go to Damon and ease his anxiety, yet her insides tightened at the possibility of him pushing her away again. "Not yet. I want to make sure he can feel the bond, or I might make it worse. His guard is down because he doesn't feel threatened. If he sees me with all of you backing me…"
"If the potion doesn't work, that will need to happen, Talia. Right now, he is unstable. We can't let him stay in power and endanger the whole pack. If he goes through with making Marcy his Luna, Alpha Edward won't hesitate in taking advantage of the situation."
Talia inhaled a shaky breath. "What are you saying?"
"I am saying that Caden is his friend, and I am Caden's mate, and we both respect Damon as an Alpha. But we will not allow Damon to ruin this pack just because he can't remember who should be his Luna."
Talia held her breath as Maya's words sank in. They would rebel against Damon. But how can they do that if Damon can suppress them with a thought? "Let's hope it doesn't come to it."
Damon was in his bedroom, the same one he used for the last decade, but it was different.
There was another scent mixed in with his, and he noticed two plush toys on the sofa. One was a small dog, brown in color, and the other one was a black wolf with blue eyes. Damon heard a voice in his head, 'Look, Cinna, this is your brother. He is bigger, so he will be your big brother, Blackie.' And Damon's voice responded, 'Blackie Blake'.
Damon's mind was spinning.
He walked to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. When he lifted his gaze, he saw himself in the mirror. It was a familiar face, but everything about it felt strange.
His gaze moved to the second sink to see another set of toiletries. Female.
Damon rushed to the closet to see female clothes. Did he have a woman in here? The scent was what he was looking for, sweet and citrusy... a few days old.
Part of him was relieved that this was not Marcy's scent, but who was the woman?
An image flashed of a young woman in a revealing red babydoll-style garment. Her face was hazy, but he knew that she was looking at him shyly. 'Is it working?', she asked. 'You asked me if I'm trying to seduce you…'
Damon blinked when the vision disappeared, and he realized he was hard. What the hell? Why did his body respond to that image? She was not tall nor super-curvy, yet he was confident that he has never seen a more attractive woman in his life.
He looked around the closet, trying to see if anything else will trigger more images, and when that didn't happen, Damon walked back to stand in the middle of the bedroom.
And there she was again, right in front of him, and this time he could see her face clearly. She had honeyed eyes and copper-colored hair and he heard himself talking, 'I really want to kiss you, but I fear that you won't like it. I fear that you will reject me. Tell me, kitten, can I kiss you?'
He rubbed his face with force. When on Earth was he the one to ask permission to kiss a girl? Damon was not sure if the memory was real, but he knew that emotions were real. He was really afraid that she will reject him.
"Kitten...", Damon murmured and his eyes fell on the side table where a headband with cat ears was resting and somehow it made him think about an amusement park and sitting with a girl on his lap in the shade of a tree.
'Old guy!', Damon shouted in his mind. 'I need you to wake up and tell me what's the truth!' But his wolf didn't respond. It was like he was not there at all.
Damon turned to look at two plush toys, hoping they will tell him where they came from, but then he heard a female voice, 'We don't need to think about moving. Daddy Damon won't kick us out when he finds his Luna because it seems that's me…' And his heart cracked because he could feel her love and sincerity, and… he fucked up big time.
Damon's head hurt like it was about to split open, and he pressed his palms on his temples firmly when he fell on his knees as images flashed in front of his eyes, always the same girl, blushing, smiling, crying, bruised up, surprised, determined, bashful… and he knew her name, Talia.
Each of those images came with a surge of emotions and tugged on his heart, ripping it into pieces, and he really wanted to touch her and hold her and make things better because he could see her shock and feel her desperation as she called for him after he pushed her away in that cave.
He curled on the floor in the fetal position and chanted, "Talia… Talia…"
'Don't leave me… I promise that you will be my last. No one will come after you… Do you accept me as your mate willingly?… Say that you are mine… Do you trust me?… I would flip the heaven and earth to find you, and I wouldn't stop until I do… I want to love you in every way possible…', those were his words directed at the little woman who looked at him with eyes full of love and hope.
Even when she was scared and insecure, she chose to believe him and he betrayed her trust.
He said that he will protect her forever. She was his most precious person in the world, yet he left her behind in the enemy's territory like she was not important. She told him they were hunted, that it was dangerous, and he left!
He was such an asshole!
Damon had an urge to scream and howl, but he was unable to make a sound. His body refused to move, and then everything turned dark.
