With the interview business over, Damon and Talia hugged each other in front of the main entrance of the packhouse, and they just stood there for some time. Other than the birds chirping, it was a quiet morning.
James and Cornelia went with three teens to the human city. Dawn, George, Mindy, and Gideon were in their rooms. Maya and Caden were handling their tasks away from the packhouse. Talia was not sure if Zina, Rose, and other Omegas were working silently or they left, but it felt like it was just Damon and Talia and no one else in the world.
Damon asked Talia, "What do you want to do now?"
They didn't have any firm plans for the rest of the morning.
Talia wanted to discuss urgent matters and figure out the schedule before they can plan their trip to the Midnight Guardians pack and witches' realm, but before that, she had one thing to handle.
"I want to visit Keith in the hospital.", Talia responded.
Maya checked on Keith, so Talia knew that he was in the pack hospital for observation. Doctor Travis wanted to do extra tests and to ensure that Keith's condition was stable before he releases him.
Travis knew that Keith sustained severe injuries and that Talia healed him, and Travis regretted that he didn't do the tests before and after the healing in order to assess Talia's ability. But Travis couldn't say that aloud because Damon warned them not to mention what happened. He didn't want people to talk about Talia glowing and healing people. That's why Travis hoped to catch some remnants of Talia's energies in Keith or at least something he could work with.
Travis was always interested in modern and traditional medicine, and if he could get a chance to peer into things they call magic, that would be fantastic!
Damon didn't approve of the idea of Talia visiting Keith. Did she need to socialize with a guy who obviously had a crush on her? But Damon knew that the Coach was in the hospital because of him, and that Talia felt responsible. She won't give up on this, and Damon had no intention of giving them privacy. "I will go with you."
Talia was not sure if Damon should go, considering that he was the reason why Keith ended up in the hospital, but they couldn't avoid each other forever either.
"I will pack some fruits, and then we can go."
"Fruits?", Damon asked.
"Isn't that what you take when you visit patients in the hospital?"
Damon frowned. "He gets food there."
Talia couldn't believe how petty Damon was. "We can't go empty-handed."
'Yes, we can!', Damon grumbled in his mind, but he didn't want to argue with Talia on this. He went to the study to handle some emails, and Talia said that she will find him when she prepares a basket with goodies for Keith.
The truth was that Talia had no idea what to pack, but she felt guilty to go empty-handed, so she got her phone and did a search online to see what was appropriate to take when visiting someone in the hospital.
Talia was leaning on the kitchen island and watching a video about apples when Mindy appeared.
Mindy came to grab snacks for her and Gideon. The two of them were enjoying solitude in their room now that the pack run was over.
"What are you watching?", Mindy asked Talia while peering at the latter's phone.
"Ways to cut apples before serving them to a patient.", Talia responded.
"Who is sick?"
Talia realized that Mindy was not there to see what happened, so she gave her a short version: Damon forgot about her (again), he was crude, Keith came to her rescue and ended up hurt by Damon's aura and was now in the hospital.
Mindy made a face. "Alphas can be such cavemen." Her brother was not a violent guy, but something was hardwired in Alpha's mind to trigger unreasonable behavior whenever he felt the challenge. She saw Maddox using excessive force more than once.
"It's all good.", Talia tried to soften up Mindy's fiery temper. "Keith is fine now, and Doctor Travis is holding him back for observation, but since he ended up there because of me, I want to check on him and get him some treats. I hope that Keith won't blame me for this."
Mindy's expression didn't improve. "Keith won't blame you. As your guard, he was doing his duty. But you are making excuses for Damon. Aren't you?"
Talia exhaled helplessly. Mindy got her there. "Damon is a good person. He changed, just how Max changed since he met Tanya."
Mindy frowned at these words. "Max didn't change. He is still the same, with the difference that Tanya gets special treatment while he ignores other women."
Talia didn't want to talk about the behavior of Alphas. Each Alpha has good and bad sides, and they all have in common pride and stubbornness and their own set of values. Alpha is the king in his territory where his word is the law. Everyone is sucking up to them, and in time that twists their way of thinking no matter how righteous they want to be. And here she was again, making up excuses for Damon.
If they discussed that, both Talia and Mindy will only get upset, so Talia decided to change the topic.
"How was the pack run for you?"
"After a rocky start, it was good.", Mindy responded.
Talia's ears perked up. "A rocky start? What did I miss?"
Mindy told Talia about Nina and the bad vibes she felt. "Gideon didn't confirm, but he didn't deny it either. The way she looked at him and called him Gidi, was enough for me to know. He slept with her, and she is not happy that he found his mate." Mindy made a grumpy face. "And who knows how many Ninas are out there."
"Mindy?", Talia called carefully. "Are you and Gideon fine?"
"Yes, yes.", Mindy confirmed right away. "Gideon is great. We are both adjusting to the mate bond and to each other. But to be honest, it's difficult to find the middle ground. Last night, Nina got too close, and Gideon didn't notice, and on the other hand, he is not talking to Cornelia about magic because he doesn't want to spend time with another female and get me worried."
Talia understood that Gideon was keeping his distance from Cornelia because Mindy and the witch had a bad start that included tumbling in the garden. As for the other woman… "Do you think Nina will cause problems?"
Mindy shrugged. "I don't know. After we cleared the air between us, Gideon told her that he doesn't need her, but I'm not sure if she got the message that she needs to scram." Mindy pursed her lips and looked at Talia. "How long can we stay in the packhouse?"
Talia's expression lit up. "You can stay as long as you want. We can make it permanent if it works for you."
Mindy realized that Talia was up to something. "Out with it. I'm having difficulty believing that you are so happy about my company."
