Talia barely heard anything of Jade's haughty words as her icy gaze was directed at Damon who was staring at her with shock and fear evident on his face.
Why did he look like a child who was caught stealing candy? Was he surprised that Talia saw him like that? How far would he allow Jade to go if Talia didn't show up? WHEN WILL HE LEARN!?
The rage within Talia was rising exponentially. Bloodlust. Urge to break and smash and tear until nothing was left. Talia never felt anything like it and it scared her as she felt like a vicious beast was about to devour her.
Should she fight against the violence, or should she allow herself to be consumed by it?
Everything seemed like it moved in slow motion; Damon got on his feet, and she saw him opening his mouth, but the only thing Talia heard was buzzing.
Talia didn't care about Damon's words or Jade's confused expression. She didn't want to be there. She didn't want to see Damon or Jade and she definitely didn't want her rage to explode and to hurt her most precious person.
With that, Talia turned on her heel and dashed into the hallway.
"Shit!", Damon cursed, and he rushed after Talia.
He didn't expect that Jade will get so close and act provocatively, and he definitely didn't think that she will treat Talia like an Omega. What's up with these high-ranking bitches looking down on everyone!? He would give Jade a beating, but his first priority was to pacify Talia who was definitely furious, and something seemed off with her.
"Kitten!", Damon shouted after Talia who was already halfway down the staircase. "Wait!"
Talia's steps froze. "Why? So that I see another woman seducing you?"
Talia recoiled when Damon's hand touched her shoulder. "DON'T TOUCH ME!", Talia shouted. "DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH ME!"
Damon raised his arms, palms toward Talia, silently telling her to calm down.
"Jade just arrived in the study, less than a minute before you. She only said, hi." And there was a whole desk between them! Wasn't Talia's reaction exaggerated?
Talia sneered. "Sure, she just arrived and immediately offered to scratch your back. Is that protocol common for all Alphas or only you get frisky first and talk later? Why do I have a feeling that your itch is somewhere else?"
"Kitten, no…" Damon abruptly stopped talking when Talia's eyes started glowing in silver. She was definitely angry. "Can we talk about this?"
Talia's nostrils flared, and she didn't need to look behind Damon to know that Jade was standing at the door of the study and watching them. The way how Jade didn't cover in fear spoke volumes and Talia could see that Jade behaved as if she belonged there, in that study, with Damon, and Jade acted like Talia was an outsider. All that pointed to only one possibility…
"Did you fuck her?", Talia asked through her teeth.
Damon's expression froze for a moment and Talia closed her eyes.
"I can't believe this.", Talia said under her breath, and her fury turned into dejection as her heart broke into a million pieces. Will she ever get over this? Will she always be surrounded by women Damon slept with? Was there a woman he DIDN'T sleep with?
Talia gasped for air. There was not enough of it.
Damon panicked when he saw streaks of black in Talia's silvery eyes.
"Kitten… Kitten…"
Talia could hear Damon calling for her, and somehow she knew that his arms were around her, even though she couldn't feel them.
"Don't give in to the darkness", he said, and the rest was choppy as Talia was losing consciousness. "I'm right here… You are my only one… Please… You need to fight this…"
Talia's eyes fluttered open to see blurry faces. She blinked to get them in focus and inhaled a scent of lavender, basil, mint, and chamomile that was wafting from the nearby burner. It was a calming mix of herbs and Talia guessed that Shaman was nearby.
First, Talia recognized Mindy, and then Dawn and Zina.
Talia was lying on the sofa in the living room.
Talia looked around to see Gideon, George, and Damon standing a bit further, and in the furthest chair was a head of blonde hair; it was the woman from the study that Damon called Jade.
"Are you back with us?", Mindy asked with concern obvious in her voice when she noticed Talia moving. "Stay down. Doctor Travis and Cornelia are on their way."
"Kitten?" This was Damon and he was already kneeling by the sofa where Talia was and holding her hand.
Talia's eyes didn't settle on him as she looked at Jade. "Why is she here?"
Everyone turned to look at Jade.
Talia lost consciousness on the staircase, and Damon carried her to the living room while mind-linking Mindy, Dawn, and Zina who came quickly with Gideon and George, and they called Travis and also James to come back with Cornelia as soon as possible… and Jade just sat there in the chair, with no one paying attention to her.
"Don't worry about her, kitten.", Damon said with haste. "She is nobody. How are you feeling?" Talia looked normal, but Damon was worried about the dark specks in Talia's eyes from before.
Talia was not willing to let it go. "If she is a nobody, why is she here?"
Jade shuffled in her seat. By now, she realized that Talia was someone important. Why else would all these people make a fuss around her? But, how important could Talia be?
"I came to visit Alpha Damon.", Jade responded. "Nothing more."
Talia pushed herself into a seated position while eyeing Jade suspiciously. "Really? Alpha Damon just said that you are a nobody. Are you close enough for social visits or are you a nobody? Which one is it?"
"She is…"
"Did I ask you?", Talia snapped at Damon whose mouth closed so quickly that his teeth clattered.
Jade confirmed that her deduction was right. Talia was important. Why else would Damon allow Talia to cut him off like that?
Alphas cared about their position and pride, and unless Talia was equal to Damon or above him, he wouldn't submit so easily. But how could Talia be above Damon? Damon was the most powerful Alpha of their generation!
Jade's heart tightened. Was the rumor true? Did Damon find his mate? Was this the girl?
Jade had difficulty accepting the current situation, however, Jade knew that she needed to figure out who this mysterious woman was.
Jade stood up from the chair and introduced herself, "I am Jade from the Silverfur pack. My father is Beta Milo."
Talia eyed the woman in front of her. Jade was nearly as tall as Damon with a slender body and super-long legs whose elegant shape was shown through the skinny jeans she was wearing. Jade's blonde hair was shining as it came out of a shampoo commercial, she had almond-shaped hazel eyes, a straight nose, perfect lips… really a model-worthy appearance.
"Beta's daughter?", Talia asked. "Are you here on a pack-related errand?"
"No. As I said, I came to visit Alpha Damon."
"Why?", Talia kept on pressing.
Jade's eyes moved nervously over people in the room and then she looked at Damon whose expression was unreadable.
"It's OK.", Talia said. She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. "Damon doesn't have secrets in front of us. You can tell us."
Jade licked her lips nervously. "I came to visit…"
"WHY?", Talia shouted making Jade and everyone else twitch.
"Tell her.", Damon urged Jade. He feared that Talia's condition will worsen and she will pass out again. He looked at the door impatiently. Where are that doctor and the witch?
Jade swallowed a mouthful of air. "Alpha Damon and I had a deal to pretend to date. My father is forcing me to marry, and Alpha Damon is facing similar pressure, so we can help each other…"
"LIES!", Talia roared, and her voice boomed to shake the windows. "TELL ME! WHY ARE YOU HERE!?"
Note: You can find Jade's pic in the comments.
