Talia's six guards and five friends watched the scene in disbelief. Both Damon and Talia moved at a speed that was difficult to follow.
Everyone from the Dark Howlers pack knew that Damon's physique was not just for show. He could easily overpower every warrior in their pack, like fighting against a child, and that was without using his Alpha aura. On top of sheer power, Damon's fighting skills were impressive, and they feared that Talia might get hurt because this didn't look like a friendly sparring match.
Damon and Talia moved in unison, but the slightest miscalculation would lead to injuries and Talia looked fragile compared to Damon.
Keith gritted his teeth while suppressing his urge to get in there and separate them. He understood that something was wrong with Damon and that Talia was trying to make him better, but did she need to put herself in danger like that? The only things that stopped Keith from interfering were the fact that this was his Alpha who could suppress him with a thought, and also, Talia and Damon were mates. Damn it! Keith really felt useless as Talia's guard. What was the point of being her shield if he needed to watch her fight like this?
"Who knew that our little Talia had this talent?"
Keith's attention was drawn toward Lulu who was on his right. She spoke softly, but he heard her clearly.
"Talia was always impressive.", Keith responded.
"Are you sure it's safe to talk about a mated she-wolf with so much admiration?", Lula asked Keith in a whisper. "And she is mated to our Alpha. Are you tired of living?"
Keith snorted. "There is nothing wrong with my words, Lulu, but I'm not sure about yours."
Lulu frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing.", Keith scoffed. The envy in Lulu's voice was obvious, but he didn't want to argue with her.
Actually, it would be unusual if she-wolves didn't feel a dose of jealousy toward Talia. After all, this was Alpha Damon, the most eligible bachelor in their society, the fiercest Alpha, and with Talia being his fated mate, Damon was officially off the market.
It would be one thing to think of Talia as a weak she-wolf who got lucky, but Talia showed kindness, compassion, and selflessness, she contributed to their military with a mixture of herbs that can diminish their scent, and now she showed fighting skills that were beyond impressive. All this meant that Talia was not just lucky, but Alpha Damon was lucky as well which reduced the chances that he will get bored of Talia and look for another woman. Of course, when mates are fated, the possibility of them getting bored of each other was close to nil, but ignorant she-wolves would always covet what was not theirs in hope that they had a chance.
Keith sucked in a sharp breath when Damon gripped Talia's ankle as she was mid-kick, and he yanked her toward him, but Talia's body bent elegantly, and she landed on her toes to spring up fluidly with her arm extended upward.
Damon grabbed Talia's wrist when her fist was only an inch away from his throat, and everything stilled.
"You taught me that move, Damon.", Talia said breathily. "You said that I shouldn't hesitate to punch you in the throat."
Damon stared at her fist before responding, "That sounds like something I might teach you." His eyes narrowed at Talia. "Did I also teach you to hold back?"
Talia didn't get it. "What?"
Damon was frustrated. Maybe others couldn't follow their movements, but he was certain that she didn't give it her all. Her hits lacked resolve and he was confident that she wouldn't injure him even if he didn't block her.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice that your punches are losing strength just before they land?", Damon asked through his teeth. He was angry now. "Do you think that I need you to go easy on me?"
Talia didn't want to go easy on him, but she couldn't hurt him either. Hurting Damon would mean hurting herself and no matter how much his attitude rubbed her the wrong way, that was still her Damon; a version of him she didn't like, but it was him. It was not his fault that black runes were affecting him.
Seeing that Talia's determination was wavering, Damon tugged her toward him, to the side, and she ended up falling on the grass with Damon on top of her.
Talia wiggled under him, but he was quick to block her legs with his and to hold her arms. Damon effortlessly gripped her wrists with his one hand above her head, and he smirked victoriously.
"Is this what you wanted?", Damon asked when Talia stopped struggling under him. "I admit. Your skills impressed me enough to acknowledge you as mine, for tonight."
Talia looked at him in confusion while wondering what did he mean by that.
Damon's grin widened as he settled between her legs, letting her feel his erection at the cradle of her thighs.
Talia couldn't believe this. "People are watching.", she spoke in an urgent whisper. Their ceremonial garments didn't provide much coverage, and now that he was on top of her, Talia felt exposed.
"Do you think it will be the first time for a woman to give herself to me in front of an audience?" He wanted to say that she was the same as the others, without scruples, only going after him because of his position and money, but the anguish in her eyes pierced deep into his heart and he couldn't say any of those words.
'Let me bite his head off!', Liseli raged in Talia's mind. 'The bastard doesn't deserve you.'
'He doesn't remember me.', Talia responded.
'That doesn't give him the right to be an asshole! Was he acting like this before when Sapa was with him? I will remove the black runes just so that I can teach Sapa a lesson!'
Talia knew that Liseli was right. She didn't like this Damon. She wanted her Damon back. This Damon looked the same and smelled the same, but it was not the same person. Did she lose him forever?
'We are here to save him.', Talia reminded Liseli.
'The stinky boy is making it very difficult for me to want anything good to happen to him!', Liseli growled. 'It's better to be alone than with a mate who is an emotional degenerate!'
'It's not his fault.', Talia tried to reason with Liseli because Liseli's rage was spilling on Talia and Talia knew that if she loses her temper, she and Damon will fight, and she didn't want to fight with him.
Surely, there must be a better way to handle this situation than to knock him out or inject him with the concoction that will make him lose his memory. His head was already messed up and he was confused, and Talia felt that she was the one who can make him remember.
'There was no one to show him the right way.', Talia continued saying to Liseli and to herself. 'Women threw themselves at him, and he thought that was normal. Damon detached himself emotionally as a form of self-defense from people who wanted to take advantage of him…'
