Talia and Damon left Keith's hospital room and headed back to the packhouse.
"I thought you were not happy with Keith being my guard.", Talia said.
She got that part right. Damon was not happy because Keith's feelings for Talia were obvious. However, in the moment of crisis, Keith prioritized Talia's safety and that was the thing that mattered the most: keeping Talia safe.
"I can't blame him for the way he worships you.", Damon said. "You are beautiful and kind and sexy, and every guy will fall for you. But no matter how Keith feels, I know that he won't do anything against your will, and I also know that you have eyes only for me, kitten. If I deny you the best guard because of my jealousy, it will show my insecurities and I am anything other than insecure about the two of us."
Talia's eyes widened in disbelief. Was this her possessive Alpha who blows a fuse if a guy looks at her?
"You should have asked me.", Talia said. "If they get hurt…"
"Then, don't put them in danger.", Damon cut her off. "Your guards should stick around when I'm not available, and I can assure you that I will never leave you in the middle of the enemy's territory. As long as you don't do anything reckless, your guards will be safe and so will you."
Talia had to admit that he was right. Every time she was in danger, it was because she left on her own.
Talia wondered if she could be so magnanimous. If a woman who was openly admiring Damon wanted to be close to him, would Talia allow it? Talia was not sure. But then… almost every woman was openly admiring Damon, and Talia was definitely NOT OK with that. However, that was probably because he already slept with all of them.
"Kitten? Did my words upset you?"
Talia blinked. What words? How did she end up thinking about women Damon had sex with? Damn it, her mood was ruined just like that!
"Let's not talk about it.", Talia said. They were close to the packhouse now, and Talia wanted some time to clear her head. "I will check on lunch preparations."
Damon had a feeling that this was Talia's way of avoiding him. "Are you sure? Why don't you tell me what's going on?" He didn't want to allow a small doubt to grow into something bigger. Considering that Talia was prone to overthinking things, that was highly likely. And also, Damon heard Liseli speak about how there was lingering dark magic amplifying Talia's negativity and now he was nervous.
"It's not important.", Talia responded. It really wasn't, because she was psyching herself out. "Last night you announced to the pack that I'm your Luna. As your Luna, I need to take care of the guests and that includes checking they have food to eat. How about I see what's going on in the kitchen, and then I will find you with a snack?" She knew that Damon got work piled up, so he will definitely go to the study to work.
"Only if the snack is you.", Damon responded, making Talia burst into giggles.
Damon's happy mood dropped when he saw the pile of paperwork waiting for him on his desk.
What he wanted to do was snuggle with Talia, but someone had to do this, and he wondered if Talia's approach was better. Should he open up to more people helping him with work?
But who was trustworthy, capable, and knowledgeable to help him deal with matters related to managing the pack?
If he could have a guy like James to be his Gamma, Damon was confident that James would handle most of the work without needing Damon's input.
The boy was scary smart, and Damon would love to poach him, but James was like a hot potato and if Alpha Edward suspects that Damon has his eyes on James, it would attract another heap of troubles.
Besides, James was still a boy and Damon knew very well how hectic things become when one steps too soon into adulthood. Damon wouldn't do that to James or to any other kid.
'Damon?', Caden's voice sounded in Damon's head through their pack mind-link.
'Yes?'
'I tried contacting you earlier, but you were not available.'
Damon closed off the mind-link while he was in the hospital because he didn't want to be disturbed.
'What is it?'
'It's Jade.', Caden said, and Damon didn't need more explanations.
Jade is a successful model, the daughter of Beta from the Silverfur pack. Alpha Adam was trying to set up Damon with Jade and to establish a connection with the Dark Howlers pack through marriage because Alpha Adam didn't have daughters. There was also a point of Jade and Damon going on a date once that ended with a steamy night, but Jade was cool about it and didn't try to latch onto him, so Damon didn't think about her as a potential danger.
'What about her?', Damon asked.
'She is here.'
Damon looked around his study like he expected the woman to pop out from a corner or from behind a sofa, but she was nowhere to be found. 'Here? Where?'
'On her way to the packhouse.', Caden clarified. 'She entered our territory about half an hour ago, saying that she wants to talk to you.'
Damon groaned. Didn't they have a rule that outsiders can't enter without permission? But then they relaxed that rule since they merged borders with the Spring Leaf and the Blue River packs.
Damon wondered what Jade wanted. They were clear with Alpha Adam and his Beta that Jade was NOT a candidate to be Damon's Luna, and the woman herself said more than once how she was not interested in that position because she wanted to pursue her modeling career.
Among all women that were buzzing around Damon, he had a feeling that Jade was the most levelheaded. Probably because she had her goals that didn't include being someone's wife.
'Don't worry about her.', Damon said. 'She can find me in the study.'
With that, Damon was back to looking at the documents in front of him. He needed to deal with as many as possible before his kitten comes with a snack.
Damon lost track of time when his focus was broken by a knock on the door.
"Come in!", he called, and the door opened to show a tall blonde. It was Jade.
"Good morning, Alpha Damon!", she greeted him cheerfully as she made her way toward his desk in long steady steps with a small sway in her hips that was catwalk-worthy.
"Jade. To what do I owe this pleasure?", Damon asked.
"I called and I left you voicemails, but you didn't respond.", she said.
Damon was not aware of that, but it wouldn't be strange if he dismissed them as not important. "I am busy."
Jade reached his desk and her eyes glanced over the documents. "I can see that. You are a busy man."
Jade put her hands on his desk and leaned over it, her shirt falling to give him a good eyeful of her cleavage and the white lace of her bra. She saw him glancing there, shorter than she thought he will, but he still did it, so she smiled.
"I wonder if you thought about my proposition. We can scratch each other's back."
Damon was not sure what proposition she was talking about. He opened his mouth to respond but his throat was painfully constricted, and he glanced at the open door behind Jade to see Talia there with a tray in her hands.
Why did this scene look so familiar?
'CLANG!'
The tray, plates, and utensils fell on the floor loudly, and the food scattered as Talia dropped the tray out of her hands with force. It was obvious she did it on purpose.
Talia's glare spoke volumes and Damon tried to reach her through the mind-link, but she closed it off.
"Alpha Damon", Jade called while eyeing Talia. "It seems that your Omegas need to be educated on how to behave in front of high-ranking members. As your partner, I can help you with that." She pointed at the mess at Talia's feet. "You need to clean that up and you will pay for wasted food and anything that was broken."
