Damon and Talia summoned Maya, Caden, George, Dawn, Gideon, Mindy, James, and Cornelia into the study.
They all sat on the sofa and sofa chairs, making the whole meeting informal.
Damon was against having Gideon and Mindy there, but Talia wanted her friend present. Mindy was like a source of energy and unusual solutions to common problems. Also, Talia thought that it was time for Damon and Gideon to fix their relationship, and considering what Talia wanted to talk about, Gideon could be helpful.
Talia started with, "Marcy is gone." They saw her leaving in a car through the security video feed. "She is heading to the Blue River pack."
"What?", Mindy asked, visibly surprised by this development.
"Considering her situation, it's not safe for Marcy to be on her own, so we suggested her to go to a shelter."
Mindy needed a moment to process this information. She interacted with Marcy a few times, and she couldn't imagine that the prideful princess of the Red Moon pack would go to a shelter for abused and abandoned willingly. What if Alpha Edward finds out about this and attacks the Blue River pack? But then... Mindy was now with Gideon and with the Dark Howlers pack, and Maddox would help Damon anyway, so... "I will tell Max and our people to expect her, but what if she wants to leave? I'm confident that accommodations there won't compare to what she was used to so far."
Damon shrugged. "Marcy doesn't have a choice because she doesn't have money. She is going under the name Kim Dorsey, and if she knows what's good for her, she won't identify herself as Marcy Redmayne as long as her father is the Alpha. You can tell your people in the shelter to expect her, but don't give her any special treatment."
Mindy nodded in understanding. If Marcy didn't have money, then it was understandable why she agreed to a shelter.
Next, it was George's and James' turn to give updates and to say what's the status with Alpha Edward.
"He said that we can stay here as long as you don't kick us out.", James told Damon. "Of course, he expects us to report to him about your movements."
"Of course.", Damon said. He spread his arms toward George and James. "As a thank you for helping us calm this storm, you earned yourself a stay in our packhouse for as long as you want. Or if you would prefer bigger privacy, there are a few houses nearby you could use."
James' eyes lit up. Privacy with Cornelia. He liked that idea. Ever since the reporter left, James and Cornelia were together and holding hands, and he was happy even though he couldn't wait to get closer to her. He really wanted to kiss her and much more. But there was still work to do, so he couldn't give in to the lovey-dovey mood.
"Stay alert, Alpha Damon.", James warned. "My father won't give up easily."
"We doubled border patrols.", Caden said. "Since Alpha Edward won't make rash movements without support from others, we are keeping an eye on rogues."
James nodded in approval. "It would be good if that reporter comes again in the afternoon to take some shots of me and George training with your warriors. That will prevent my father from spinning our stay here as you keeping us against our will."
"Would he do that?", Maya asked with a frown.
James shrugged. "It's about appearances and gaining support, so yes, he would do that."
They all looked at James with admiration. Compared to everyone there, he was still a kid, yet he thought of everything.
James turned to Cornelia. "Will you come to watch me train?" He grinned when Cornelia responded with a nod. This was his chance to show off.
"I have something else I want to share.", Talia announced. "You already know that Cornelia is a witch and that her Coven is in a different realm, currently accessible through the territory of the Midnight Guardians pack. Cornelia came here to scout our realm and see if it's suitable for witches to integrate into our society. I would love it if we can create an environment where people who are different feel safe to move about. Based on what I've seen, we can count on cooperation from the Midnight Guardians pack and the Blue River pack. Once Tony takes over as the Alpha, the Lightclaw pack will probably join that group. In time, as we spread the awareness and mixed mates are formed, other packs might join as well."
Talia didn't want to bring up the Red Moon pack because that pack will require much more than just leadership change, and James knew that, so he kept quiet.
"Our short-term goal is to educate our pack members about people who are different. The long-term goal is that witches get accepted like equals and are able to move freely, like humans. As our relationships with witches grow, resistance will die on its own."
Gideon shook his head and Talia noticed so she asked, "You think it won't work?"
"Humans are weaker than us.", Gideon pointed out the fact. "Many of our kind think of them as lesser beings and put them in the same category as other animals, so they don't see them as a threat. Witches have powers and I foresee that our people will fear that witches might take over. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it will be a long path where we need to show that witches have no ill intentions."
Talia saw that as a valid point. And there was also the fact that unless they use powers, witches can't be distinguished from humans, so maybe the treatment of humans will deteriorate because werewolves will fear they are witches. It could all escalate into something bad, but Talia believed it will be good.
However, there was one grim thing she needed to share with everyone.
"We found out something disturbing…" And then Talia told them about Marcy disclosing how witches were used for breeding and that Alpha Howard (aka James' grandfather) had something to do with it.
Cornelia was visibly upset. She looked at James and wondered if he knew about it. Was he part of it? Is that why he was reluctant to accept her as his mate?
James didn't know about it. Before meeting Cornelia, James thought that witches were old women with hairy warts on their noses who live in secluded caves, or maybe in houses that were made from candy to lure children and eat them. But no matter what witches looked like, if there was a plot to gain more power, James believed that his family would be part of it.
Seeing that James was silent, Cornelia turned to Talia. "That can't be related to us. Our realm was sealed for centuries."
"Do you know why it was sealed?", Talia asked.
"No. But it was closed from the outside. We assume it was done to trap us."
"Or to protect you." It was James who said this.
