The first sunrays of the day peeked over the mountains in the distance, creating a beautiful scenery outside, but Damon's full focus was on the little woman who was sleeping in his arms.
Talia didn't want to sleep, but after their third lovemaking session, her eyes closed, and she succumbed to the exhaustion that accumulated over the last few days, with her arms wrapped around his body tightly.
Damon was tired as hell, but he feared that if he falls asleep, the dark magic might stir when he was unaware, and he will forget about Talia again. He didn't want that to happen. Forgetting Talia was forgetting who he was, and before yesterday, Damon didn't understand how much she changed him.
From the moment he identified Talia as his mate, Damon's world flipped upside down, and he didn't want to go back to that empty existence that he tried to fill with training, work, and random women, only to be empty again at the start of the next day. The only way for him to feel at peace was with Talia by his side, and he didn't want to lose this.
'Damon?', Caden's voice sounded in his head.
'Yes?'
'Sorry if I woke you up…'
'I'm awake.', Damon interrupted Caden. 'Tel me.'
'Are you yourself?'
Damon made a face. He didn't like that Caden was questioning him, but then… he had a reason to do so. 'Yes. I know who I am and who Talia is, but I might forget about you if you don't get to the point of why you are disturbing me this early.'
'It's Marcy. What should we do with her?'
Damon didn't want to deal with Marcy, and he hoped that this was the last day of Marcy in their lives. 'Nothing changes. We will proceed per James' plan. Ask Marcy to contact her father before breakfast with the latest updates from her side. If she asks what's the rush, tell her that we have a lot of things planned for today. Talk to her with respect, like she might be your Luna; that will get her excited. When she joins us for breakfast, we will tell her the truth.'
'Alright.', Caden responded with relief obvious in his voice. 'Anything else?'
'No. Don't bother me until breakfast.', Damon grumbled and closed off the mind-link.
With that, Damon's attention was back to Talia.
She was so fragile, yet so strong, beautiful in every way possible.
Damon's neck was stinging because his feisty kitten marked him again! He never heard about mates marking each other more than once, but then… he never heard about mates who have ancient spirits for their wolves that were separated by the Moon Goddess herself.
Everything about Talia was out of the ordinary, and Damon enjoyed every minute of it. As long as she was by his side, Damon's world was a happy place.
Damon smiled dreamily at the memory of him marking Talia for the second time in the throes of passion. He didn't think of doing it, but something inside him stirred and urged him to do it again, and he did.
Damon tilted his head in an attempt to see Talia's sleepy expression and his eyes lit up at the sight of redness on Talia's neck. It was not big, and it was barely visible, but he hoped it will not heal and stay there forever because that right there was where he marked her last night!
"Mmm…", Talia mumbled unintelligibly and tightened her arms around Damon.
Damon was quick to press his lips to the top of Talia's head. "Shh… sleep, kitten. It's still early. I'm here, watching over you."
Talia smiled before her eyes opened to meet Damon's icy-blue orbs that were full of emotions and definitely not icy.
"Good morning, my love.", Talia said dreamily.
Damon stared at her, unaware that he was holding his breath. Talia rarely called him anything other than his name, and this time she called him her love, and he wanted to remember this moment.
Talia put her hand on his cheek. His emotions told her he was fine, and that their bond was stronger than ever, but his frozen expression didn't seem right and considering that on the previous day he didn't know who she was, she was worried. "Are you OK?"
Damon smiled at her foolishly. "Never better."
Damon's arms tightened around Talia, and he curled to envelop her body with his while burying his face in the crook of her neck. "I want us to stay like this forever.", he mumbled.
Talia giggled with relief when she confirmed his clinginess as a sign that her Damon was right there, holding her against him like he will never let go.
"Just like this?", Talia asked and shifted a bit so that their bodies fit better against each other.
"Mhm…", Damon hummed in approval.
"Oh, I thought you would prefer something like this…", Talia said playfully and then graphic images of her and Damon flashed in his mind.
Damon chuckled lowly. "That will work as well, Mrs. Blake."
Talia lifted her head to look at him. "You know, when you called me Mrs. Blake the first time, I didn't get it. And then I thought you were teasing me."
"And now?"
"Now even if you don't mean it, I have no intention of letting you go. You are mine."
Her possessiveness turned him on. Did she know how sexy she was when her eyes flashed with determination? And she was determined to keep him for herself. That was the most potent aphrodisiac ever!
"I am yours. I always was.", Damon said with all the seriousness in the world while pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "Even when I was not aware of your existence, I was searching for you…", Damon's voice trailed when he realized that Talia was glowing.
And it was not only Talia, he was glowing as well.
Damon lifted his hand to observe as it was enveloped in silvery light.
"What is this?", he asked breathily.
Talia slid her hand into Damon's, and the glow started pulsating in the rhythm of their matching heartbeats.
"This is what happens when we are together as one.", Talia said. "It's a manifestation of our strength and powers. I assume you still need to figure out what powers you got after I marked you, and there is a chance it won't happen until we dispel the dark magic, and you get Sapa back. However, I can tell you that since our marking, my strength and speed increased. I might be able to take you on."
Damon smiled mischievously. "We should spar so you can prove it."
Talia's cheeks heated. She knew very well that their sparring sessions had a tendency of turning hot and steamy. She was nearly out of exercising clothes because Damon would rip them into shreds and the fact that he was projecting into her mind images of Talia on all four on top of the exercising mat with Damon behind her was making her heart race. Damn! That was hot!
