Damon put his hand at the back of Talia's neck and pulled her closer to press his lips on her forehead.
"You really are everything I need in my life.", he spoke against her skin. "How I wish that we can leave all this behind and just… be."
Talia's heart expanded at the flood of emotions from Damon. The pure love and admiration were overwhelming, and there was some lust in there as well.
She wished that they had privacy because then she would kiss him thoroughly, and they would make love until they collapse. She craved for that skin-to-skin contact when his presence is all around her and inside as well because only when they were together, she felt complete and no matter how close they were, it was not close enough.
Talia's breathing picked up, reminding her that she was getting aroused and that she was surrounded by werewolves. Ah! What if they smell her? Talia was desperate to change the topic.
"Are we going to just sit and watch?"
Damon cocked an eyebrow at Talia. "Should we be doing more than sitting and watching?"
"Well, this is a training center. How about we spar?"
Damon's lips lifted into a mischievous half-smile. "You want to spar with me? In front of everyone?"
It took a few seconds for Talia to realize he was being naughty.
"I meant… sparing." She put an emphasis on the last word.
"I know you are eager to assess the changes after our marking but..." He leaned closer to speak in a low voice, "I'm not sure if we should engage in such activity here. Think about you charging at me, our bodies clashing, blood pumping, sweat dripping..." Damon chuckled when Talia's cheeks turned crimson as she knew very well that clashing, pumping, and dripping were beyond ambiguous.
"Our sparring sessions should be kept private. Don't you think so?", Damon asked in a singing voice.
Talia stared at the outrageous Alpha who was teasing her, but she couldn't deny that he was right, so she ended up nodding in response.
Damon smiled in approval and leaned to peck her lips. "You will get a good sparring session, kitten. As soon as I'm back from that meeting, I will make sure you sweat completely."
"People are watching.", Talia spoke in an urgent whisper, but she didn't move away.
"Let them watch.", Damon said. "I am done hiding. Aren't you?"
It was not the first time for Damon to kiss Talia in public. But this was in broad daylight, and people were sparring and wearing gym clothes and Damon still managed to make her forget everything and focus only on his presence like they were the only two people in the world.
Sandy nudged Lulu with her elbow to look at Damon and Talia who were lost in their lovey-dovey bubble.
"Aww, they are getting along well. It's obvious that our Alpha is smitten.", Lulu gushed.
"Of course, they will get along well. They are mates.", Sandy responded.
"Do you think they will have pups soon?", Lulu asked with sparkles in her eyes and Sandy was eager to start chatter about guessing when it will happen and how many babies they will have.
"Now that we are Talia's personal guards, we will spend a lot of time with the Alpha couple.", Caleb chimed in. "If their pup is a boy, maybe he will be named after me. Future Alpha Caleb. I like it."
Liam snorted. "Pleeeeease… He will be named after me and I will be godfather Liam. It has a nice ring to it!"
"I will be Uncle Pierce!"
Keith balled his hands into fists as the chatter around him grew.
He was still recovering from the shock of Talia being Damon's mate.
Since Keith met Talia and realized that Damon was possessive of her, Keith consoled himself that if he was patient, Damon will get bored of Talia, just as he did of numerous previous women, and then Keith will get his chance, but now he was out of chances. Mates are forever.
Looking at Talia being happy with another man was painful, but at least she was happy and that should count for something.
Keith listened to Lulu, Sandy, Pierce, Caleb, and Liam chatting about mates and babies, and he wondered if that was truly so magical as they described it. If only being with a mate can invoke deep emotions that would stir his wolf, what was this suffocating longing that was gripping his heart?
The day passed quickly, and before Talia noticed, a glorious sunset marked the time for Damon to leave.
"Be careful", Talia told him as they walked out of the packhouse to see Caden with Maya and four warriors already standing there next to Damon's black armored Lexus SUV.
Damon was going with Caden and four warriors, but the warriors will stay with the plane because only Alpha and Beta can actually enter the location where the Council of Alphas was held.
Damon didn't want to part from Talia, but she couldn't come with him, and she wouldn't be safe staying with the plane, so in addition to Talia having her personal guards, Damon doubled the patrols around the packhouse, fearing that Alpha Edward will try something sinister in Damon's absence. The news about Talia being Damon's mate was not publicized outside the Dark Howlers pack, but Damon knew that Alpha Edward had his sources and with Marcy out of the picture, the old man was furious, and Damon was confident that this ploy with the Council of Alphas was not the only thing Alpha Edward planned as part of his retaliation.
Damon tightened his hold on Talia and gave her a long lingering kiss. "Stay safe, kitten", he murmured against her lips. "Don't worry about me. I will take care of things. I always do."
"Don't do anything rashly.", Talia warned him. "And don't forget that you are not alone. There are people supporting you."
Damon appreciated the pep talk, but what touched him was Talia's sincerity and conviction he could feel. She really meant it.
He hummed in agreement before pecking her lips a few more times and stepping away from her with difficulty.
Damon looked behind Talia to see Keith, Lulu, Sandy, Pierce, Caleb, and Liam standing in attention, and they all understood the silent threat that if anything happens to Talia in his absence, it will be their heads rolling. The six of them got rooms to use while on duty in the packhouse.
Talia didn't notice Damon glaring at her guards because she was looking at Caden with concern. He was the one with the potion.
Like he could feel Talia's gaze, Caden turned to look at her and he gave her a reassuring nod when their eyes met.
Liseli had a theory that the mate bond was amplifying the effect of the potion, or maybe lessening the effect of the black runes, and that was why Damon's memories were intact even though he took the potion nearly twenty-four hours ago. Talia feared that with the distance between them increasing, the black runes might take over again, and then… she didn't want to think about it. Even if he forgets about her again, she will make him remember, because he would do the same for her if the roles were reversed.
"Be a good girl", Damon said to Talia seriously. "I will come back to you tomorrow."
"Not if I find you first.", Talia responded, making Damon's lips lift into a smile as he walked toward the car.
Talia could feel that Damon was suppressing a heap of worries behind that smile, and he was doing it so that she was not troubled. He was worried about the possibility of forgetting about Talia again and acting like an ass who didn't want a mate, and he was worried about what will happen at the Council of Alphas, but he hated the most that they will spend the night apart.
'After this, we won't be apart anymore.', Talia's voice sounded in Damon's mind. 'No meeting will keep me away from you.'
'You have a deal, Mrs. Blake.', Damon responded, and Talia could feel the joy sparking inside him.
The car disappeared behind trees after a turn on the driveway, and Talia called, "Maya! There is something we need to talk about."
