Talia looked at Damon who was talking with Maddox, Tony, and Cristian in low voices, with their four Betas standing at a respectable distance.
Damon wanted to stay by Talia's side, but Talia told him how that was not a good idea and that he should be with his buddies until Alpha Edward shows his cards.
Talia feared that if they were too close, she might reach to hold Damon's hand or lean on him and that would be a big revelation they were not ready to make yet. She wanted Alpha Edward to believe that she was on her own, isolated, and vulnerable because if he realized that she has the backing, he might retreat for now and hit them later when they are not expecting.
Talia believed that they were at an advantage because their enemies didn't know she was Talia, the mysterious girl from the Summer Solstice festival, the one who went as Damon's date to Kalina's Luna announcement ceremony, Damon's assistant… Damon's mate.
'You believe in me, right?', Talia's voice sounded in Damon's head.
'Kitten, even if you say that the rain is dry, I would support you.'
Talia's lips lifted into a smile. This was not about if she was right or not, but about Damon supporting her unconditionally. Wasn't he the sweetest? And she loved their private mind-link that was like a super-cheat. Talia noticed that when they were using it, Damon's eyes didn't lose focus like when he was mind-linking the pack members, so no one knew they were communicating secretly.
'You are the best mate one could have.'
Damon perked up. 'I am. You better reward me for this.'
'I will. I will do anything.', Talia said and then added in a lower voice. 'And I mean… anything.'
'Damn, kitten! How am I supposed to focus with a raging hard-on?'
"PFT!", Talia burst into giggles, and Meg looked at Talia with concern, wondering if all this pressure was too much for her Alpha.
"Isn't there some time limit?", Talia asked the Guardian who was standing next to the Sphere of Power.
"None that we will enforce.", he responded. "We are here to serve Alphas who are members of the Council and to ensure that all activities here pass in peace."
Talia noticed that he said how they were serving, yet everyone was treating them with respect. That definitely meant something, but she felt that it was not her place to ask about it.
Talia shifted on her feet and looked at the group of people where Alpha Edward was. They were chatting and laughing like they had the whole day available for idling.
"Are you in a hurry, Alpha Talia?", the Guardian asked, noticing her impatience.
Yes! There was the pack run, the full moon, the ritual to dispel the black magic that was plaguing Damon, and it was all scheduled for that evening. The windows showed that outside dawn was replaced by the sunrise, and even though there was a time difference of two hours between this location and the Dark Howlers pack, Talia was worried because they didn't even start yet! But she couldn't say any of that.
"I don't think there is a point in dragging this.", Talia said. "They have no evidence either way, so what's happening are mind games and deals under the table."
The Guardian was unable to hide his surprise.
"Do you think I'm wrong?", she asked.
"No. But I think you are bold to call it out openly." He chuckled. "Alphas are proud, and they prefer when people think of them as the ones in charge. When you say that they are being swayed by someone else it makes them appear…", he paused while picking the right word. "Weak. They will retaliate only because of this insult, to prove you wrong."
It's not that Talia didn't understand but, "If they are against me just because I said the truth, it will prove they are weak. As Alphas, they should know that power is not measured only by one's aura or how strong the punch is. And if they measure their worth by who accumulated more, that makes them open to manipulation which is a weakness by itself."
"Your wisdom is beyond your age Alpha Talia. I hope that years in power won't corrupt you."
Talia was not sure how to respond to this, so she smiled awkwardly.
Eventually, Alphas gathered around Talia.
"How are we going to do this?", Maddox asked. "I assume that most of us don't have so much cash lying around."
The Guardian spoke, "If you allow me to suggest a solution. You can use your tokens to indicate your vote. If you lose, you will be required to pay the winners as soon as you get home, no later than one week from now."
After some murmurs, everyone agreed.
Damon put his token first on the table, on Talia's right. "I believe that Alpha Talia is the real Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack."
Alpha Edward put his token on Talia's left. "I'm not so sure about it."
One by one, tokens were placed.
Alphas Maddox, Tony, and Cristian put their tokens next to Damon's, and on the other side were tokens from Alphas Edward, Richard, Peter, and William.
Alpha Adam was looking at Damon like he was hoping for a sign that he will acknowledge Jade as his Luna, but when Damon ignored him, Alpha Adam put his token next to Alpha Edward's.
Alpha Robert was quick to follow and put his token on the bigger pile, which made Alpha Edward smirk victoriously. He definitely had a majority.
His smile fell when he saw that Alpha Patrick put his token on the other pile, surprising Damon and everyone else present because Alpha Patrick and Alpha Robert were usually sticking together. Alpha Edward wanted to ask Alpha Patrick if he was out of his mind to side with those reckless youngsters, but he gave up on that. It was six vs five, and Alpha Edward was looking forward to the results of the testing.
"This is it.", Alpha Edward said while rubbing his hands and then he waved at Talia to get going with the test.
"What's the rush?", Talia asked while removing her token.
Alpha Edward frowned when Talia put her token on her right, and with that, each side held six tokens. Somehow, it reminded him that if Talia passes this, it will create equilibrium. But he didn't think she can pass. Even if she was the real Alpha, she was young, without any accomplishments. It takes time and effort for people to support her, and she was definitely a greenhorn in this Alpha business so assuming that the sphere will react, Alpha Edward will challenge her on how it was not enough. He didn't care if he was right. As long as he creates disruption, there would be doubts he could use to his advantage.
