'Caden!', Maya called through the mind-link when Damon disappeared from her line of sight. 'We have a problem!'
'Now what?', Caden asked anxiously. 'The ceremony is almost done. Don't tell me that you couldn't remove dark magic from Damon.'
'It's the opposite.', Maya said. 'The runes are gone, and Damon now knows how badly he treated Talia. Actually, he added to his endless list of offenses. Talia left, and he went after her. What should we do?'
After a few seconds of cursing, Caden responded, 'You are asking the wrong person. Don't you have a genius there next to you?'
James was looking at his chocolate-skinned Goddess who was collecting energy crystals from the ground that Talia left behind, when he felt hairs rising at the back of his neck. James turned in slow motion to see Maya looking at him with sparkles in her eyes. He had a bad feeling about this.
"What?", James asked.
"We need your brilliance.", Maya responded.
James was on high alert. No one would flatter him like that without reason. He didn't want to meddle with these needy people anymore, and he had a hunch regarding what Maya wanted, but Cornelia was right there, and if he refuses Maya, won't that make him look like a weakling?
James raised his arms, palms toward Maya. "I can give you advice, but I am not a miracle worker. If you need me to turn back time, that's out of the scope of my abilities."
"Well, it's a good thing I don't need you to turn back time.", Maya said. "I need you to save the future. Our whole pack is depending on this but I know you can do it."
James groaned. "Stop buttering me up and get to the point."
Damon walked through the bushes while following the pull of his mate bond. Talia didn't leave a single trace and her scent was impossible to track. She was fantastic.
Damon could track Caleb, Pierce, Liam, and Lulu, but there were no guarantees that they were actually following Talia, so he disregarded their traces.
Talia shut down her emotions, and Damon couldn't sense her current state. Was she upset? That was very likely, and Damon realized that by keeping him out, she was telling him that he was not worthy of sharing her anything, and she was right.
'I can't believe you messed up so badly!', Sapa grumbled in Damon's head. He finally got a chance to be with Liseli, and Damon spoiled it!
'Shut up and help me track mate!', Damon grumbled back. 'And help me figure out how to apologize.'
Sapa snorted. 'Get on your knees and beg. Let her sense how guilty you feel, and the mate bond will do the rest.'
Damon was not sure that will be enough this time. Should he jump into a waterfall again? Or maybe he should find an active volcano.
In truth, Damon didn't understand what the big deal was. It's not like he violated her. It was just a game of dominance he played many times before.
If this was a guy challenging him, Damon would beat the crap out of him. But Talia was a girl, and Damon was not a woman-beater, so he pinned her under him in order to show that he was in charge. But she was his mate he couldn't remember, and things escalated.
Damon released a long breath. Maybe this mate business was too much for a knucklehead like him. Or was this Moon Goddess' idea of a joke?
Since Damon met Talia and brought her home, time after time, he was trying to do the right thing, yet he ended up hurting her. He remembered overhearing when Talia called him a jinx. Was she right about him bringing misfortune? Would she be better off without him? That was a possibility that made his heart ache to the point of insanity because if Talia really leaves him, he will be left with nothing.
Damon's steps halted when he saw two pieces of leather on the ground. "What the…?"
'Mate shifted!', Sapa said excitedly. 'I can meet Liseli!'
Damon sniffed the area carefully to confirm that only Talia's scent was there.
Damon shoved a hand in his hair. Talia shifting into her wolf form was wrong on so many levels!
The first shift is painful, and Damon was supposed to be by Talia's side and hold her and tell her that things will be alright, yet Talia went through that on her own!
Also, her being in wolf form meant that she was faster, and if Liseli was in charge, Damon was in a bigger predicament because the old creature hated him.
'Stop feeling sorry for yourself and either go and get mate, or let me do it!', Sapa shouted. He really wanted to meet Liseli.
Damon thought how that was not a bad idea. If he shows up in front of Liseli, he will get a bashing, but if it's Sapa, there might be a chance for a better outcome. Actually, Damon would take bashing gladly, he would take any punishment, as long as Talia doesn't leave him.
Damon's consciousness shifted as his perspective changed, sharpening his senses and instincts. Sapa dug his paws into the soft grass before the foliage around him turned into a blur as he moved along the invisible path that led him toward the source of his desires.
Damon's paws halted on the hard ground among the twigs as he sensed that Talia was close. Her four guards were in the area as well, but Damon ignored them.
A gentle murmur of water told him that the river was nearby, and the gentle breeze carried with it the sweet citrusy scent of freesia that was so delicate that he would miss it if he didn't know what he was looking for.
Damon's snout peeked from between two bushes, and he paused at the sight of a majestic light gray wolf whose fur shimmered in silver light under the moonlight as it was caressed by the breeze.
'Liseli!', Sapa shouted, only for Damon to hear. 'She is beautiful, isn't she?'
'Yes, she is.', Damon responded.
The light gray wolf was perched on top of the massive rock with her head resting on her paws and staring into the calm surface of the river that rippled to create an illusion of the moon and stars dancing on it.
'Make some noise.', Damon said to Sapa. 'We are down the wind, and we don't want to startle her.'
'She knows we are here.', Sapa responded with confidence.
Damon was not sure how Sapa could be so optimistic, but then… if Talia knew that Damon was approaching her, and she didn't run away, that should be a good thing.
'Slowly…', Damon reminded his wolf who was too excited to see his mate. The last thing Damon wanted was to appear aggressive and spook Talia away. He had already done a lot of damage, and he was determined to approach her slowly and do this right. He had to make it right. Somehow.
