"We are not sure why Alpha Edward is so eager for Penelope to attend James' birthday party.", Damon said to George. "However, other than being easy on the eyes, and having Alpha for her father, she doesn't have much going for her. As you said, James is too young to choose his mate, and it doesn't make sense to ask them to date for two years. On the other side, Alpha Edward doesn't know about Dawn being your mate, which makes us believe that he will match you with Penelope. But even if our guess is false, you should keep an eye on Penelope because she will be there, and she will come with an agenda." Damon's brows came together. "And I don't need to remind you to keep Dawn safe."
George rubbed his forehead with force.
George was planning to bring Dawn with him to the Red Moon pack and conceal her existence from Alpha Edward. Estelle and other people who are close to George would know that Dawn is his mate, but he didn't want her to draw attention to herself.
The thing was that if Alpha Edward hears that George found his mate, even if George tells him that Dawn is insignificant Omega, she came from the Dark Howlers pack and the old guy might want to meet with her. George wanted to avoid that.
Asking Dawn to keep a low profile would be inconvenient, but only temporary until George finds the right time to issue an Alpha challenge to Alpha Edward. Per George's plans, it shouldn't be more than two-three months until everything is ready, but if Alpha Edward starts pushing women into George's lap, and George refuses them, Alpha Edward will figure out that something was off.
Ah, this was a problem!
There was an option for George to say how he was not interested in other women because he found his mate, but Alpha Edward was known to be sick and greedy; what if he tries to harm Dawn or eliminate her in order to make George available? Or what if Alpha Edward finds out that Dawn is an Alpha female and tries to take her for himself?
George was not sure what to do. It would be safer if Dawn stays in the Dark Howlers pack, but no matter what the best choice was, the mate bond urged them to stay close, and if they separate, both of them will suffer.
"Don't make any decisions without talking to Dawn. She is smart and strong, and most of all, she is your mate. It happened for a reason.", Caden said.
George nodded gratefully, and then he asked, "Is there something else, or can we join the girls?"
Caden took the folder with information on Penelope Faith. "You can get a copy of this if you want." And then he gestured toward the bar, indicating that George can join his mate.
George downed his drink and turned to his right. "Will you…" His question was cut short when he realized that Damon was not there. Where did he go?
Caden chuckled. "Damon left a while ago."
Actually, Damon left after delivering the threat about how George needs to keep Dawn safe. Those words reminded Damon that he needed to keep Talia safe, and he couldn't stay away from her anymore.
At the bar, Dawn and Zina were chattering with Talia's five guards excitedly. Their new statuses made them all feel important.
Talia was sipping her drink while thinking how this was different. Wherever she looked, Talia met gazes directed at her that were full of curiosity; some held admiration, some were happy, but none were mocking or malicious. Talia concluded how that was because now they knew she was Damon's fated mate and their relationship was serious.
Well, at least no woman will dare to come and talk to Talia like she was Damon's temporary entertainment.
Talia was concerned about she-wolves that were coveting Damon. Will they give up, or become craftier in getting close to him? Whichever it was, Talia hoped that they won't try anything funny because she didn't want to send any more women into the dungeon.
At the thought of the dungeon and women, Talia remembered Nora. George and James were not interested to discuss Nora's situation, as none of them liked her, and Talia feared that they will head to the Red Moon pack and leave Nora behind. She didn't want to keep Nora in the dungeon forever and letting her out didn't sound good either. The right thing would be to send her to the Red Moon pack, but the transportation seemed to be a problem. Talia shook those thoughts away. Surely, Damon will come up with something and they will get rid of Nora.
Talia glanced toward the VVIP booth, and she wondered what Damon, George, and Caden were talking about. It took a while. Talia measured her time at the bar as: four shots, one cocktail, and one beer.
She wanted to check on him. Should she go there?
Talia remembered one thing. Their mind-link! 'Are you done with your secretive thing?'
'Almost', Damon responded. 'Are you missing me?'
'Immensely.'
"Good thing that I'm close." His breath splashed on her ear.
Talia's eyes sprang open and then she jerked to face him. She was lost in her thoughts, and she missed that the chatter around her quieted down.
Maya, Dawn, Zina, Lulu, Liam, Pierce, and Caleb saw Damon approaching, but none warned Talia. They were all watching them with amused smiles on their faces, obviously entertained by seeing Damon cheekily sneaking on Talia, and Talia couldn't blame them. It was a rare sight for Damon to be so playful in public, and Talia was happy to know how that was because of her.
"Hey, handsome, are you here to buy me a drink?", Talia asked Damon.
Damon chuckled. "It will be my honor to treat such a beautiful lady."
Talia cocked an eyebrow at him. "Oh?"
Damon nodded earnestly. "I feared that the hottest female in the nightclub will reject me, but it seems I passed her test because she called me handsome."
Talia burst into giggles at Damon's shameless flirting, and she snorted a bit while inhaling. Was she drunk? Yup, she was.
Maya announced that she will join Caden. He mind-linked her so she knew that he was waiting for her in the VVIP booth.
Dawn was quick to follow Maya. She wanted to go to George.
Halfway to her destination, Dawn stopped abruptly when someone grabbed her wrist.
"What the…?" Her frown immediately turned into a bright smile when she noticed that the hold was charged with sparks. It was George.
Dawn's smile fell when she realized that his emotions were unstable.
"What happened?", Dawn asked.
George wrapped her in his embrace and buried his face in the crook of her neck.
"Dance with me", he said, and they started swaying on the tune of their own.
Dawn realized that George's mood was probably due to something that Damon and Caden told him, but this was not the time to ask questions.
She hugged him tightly with, "No matter what's coming, we will deal with it together."
George's heart jolted. Those were the words he hoped to hear.
"I am lucky to have you.", he said.
Dawn smiled dreamily. She was the lucky one. Her mate was better than she ever imagined him to be.
Dawn was on cloud nine, she was dancing with George. There were no fancy moves involved, but it was their first dance, and that made it special.
