Damon thought about how to respond to Keith's question. Were the guards even needed?
Part of Damon hoped that Talia had a matchmaking ability. Then, Keith will find his mate in the Midnight Guardians pack or among witches, and the wretched Coach will stay there and be out of Damon's hair forever. Ah, but then he will lose a Lieutenant and a guy who would put his life on the line to protect Talia and… Damon struggled to keep his jealous beast in check.
Damon reminded himself that this was business where he was an Alpha talking to his Lieutenant, and not a husband who was looking at his love rival. Love rival? How can a puny Coach be a rival to an Alpha? Keith had no chance. This thought made Damon happy and his lips stretched into a smile that sent shivers down Keith's spine and he fought mightily against his instinct to flee.
"This trip will be for you to learn about the environment where Talia is, and about the people she is working with. Unless something unexpected happens", like me forgetting about my mate, "I will be with Talia most of the time. If we are lucky, your time away will be like a vacation, but that usually doesn't happen, and Talia tends to attract trouble. Think of it as a long mission where you will need to stay alert."
Keith decided to leave Lulu out of this, and maybe someone else so that she doesn't suspect she was singled out. By the time they return, Lulu will cool off and things will get back in place.
"Should I ask other guards to take the blood oath?", Keith asked. Secretly, he was hoping they will say it was mandatory, and that Lulu will refuse. Then, he will have a reason to dismiss Lulu without making it like it was his call.
"No.", Talia responded. "You don't need to do it either. However, it's a way to show sincerity. I don't wish my guards to put their lives on the line for me because one life is not more worthy than another. I hope that we can all work together to keep each other safe."
Damon smiled at Talia's words. He knew that she didn't approve of the blood oath, but she still took Damon's words into consideration how refusing Keith's request will hurt his pride.
His kitten was learning and growing, and he loved that he got to see it happening right in front of him.
…
Keith left the packhouse and headed to the training center after mind-linking Sandy, Lulu, Liam, Pierce, and Caleb to meet with him there.
Keith heard a lot of information, and he needed to share some of it with other guards, like that they have a mission tomorrow. Which one of them should go?
Keith realized that Damon and Talia told him all that because they trusted him.
His stomach tightened. Was he worthy of that trust?
Would Talia be so friendly with him if she knew that he had an ulterior motive?
Keith had no intention of acting on his feelings. Trying anything romantic with Talia would be suicidal because Talia would reject him, possibly hate him, and Damon would definitely kill him.
But if not for those feelings, would Keith be so eager to protect Talia? Probably not.
Keith was fascinated to hear how Talia, witches, and members of the Midnight Guardians pack have mystical powers. It was also frightening to some degree. As a warrior of the Dark Howlers pack, Keith relied on his speed, strength, and skills to survive, and if someone could strip all that away with a single chant, it would turn him into a weak human. It was scary.
And it's not that there were only spells that could do all kinds of things (like sealing his wolf, what dark magic did to Damon so he forgot about Talia and he couldn't recognize her as his mate), but there were also items that could cancel the magic. And who knows what else was out there?
This meeting with Damon and Talia opened the door to many uncertainties and Keith was not sure how to deal with them.
Lulu and Sandy arrived last at Keith's office at the training center to see that Keith, Liam, Pierce, and Caleb were already there.
"What's up, boss?", Sandy asked Keith cheerfully while closing the door behind them.
As warriors, Keith was their superior, but outside work, they were friends.
"We have a mission starting tomorrow.", Keith said. "Alpha and Luna are heading out, and we will escort them."
"Where and for how long?", Lulu asked.
Keith paused to observe Lulu. She was wearing casual clothes, and her expression was calm. If he was not there last night, Keith wouldn't know that they had an argument where Lulu said mean things about Talia before storming topless out of Keith's hospital room.
Maybe she really said those in a fit of rage and didn't mean it, Keith thought. Was he overthinking it?
"Only the ones who are going on this mission will hear details.", Keith responded.
"That means, not everyone will go.", Pierce voiced his thoughts. "How many of us will go?"
"It depends.", Keith said. "I plan to take a blood oath tonight where I will pledge my loyalty to Alpha and Luna and state that I will not act with ill intentions against them. Will any of you join me?"
Keith looked at five faces that were frozen while processing this information. Blood oath was a big deal.
Lulu was the first one to react as her brows came together to form a frown. "You are asking us like we have a choice."
"You have a choice.", Keith said.
"Yeah, right.", Lulu said sarcastically. "Refusal to take this oath means that we are planning on betraying Alpha, Luna, and our pack. You say it's a choice, and I say it's forced because the other option is to declare ourselves as traitors. Don't you think that's insulting?"
"I will do it.", Sandy said before Keith could respond to Lulu.
"Me too.", Liam was next.
"Same here.", Pierce said, and Caleb nodded in agreement.
Lulu looked at them in disbelief. "How can you agree so easily?"
Sandy didn't think it was a big deal. "The Dark Howlers pack is my home. My friends and family are here. As a warrior, it's my duty to protect them and to put my life on the line when needed. A blood oath where I pledge not to have malicious intentions toward Alpha and Luna won't change how I lived so far."
"Do you plan to betray our Alpha?", Keith asked Lulu. He was pleased that others agreed easily.
"This is not about betraying him.", Lulu said. "This is about you forcing me. I am not concerned about acting against our pack because that's not going to happen. However, should I put my life at the mercy of Alpha's mood swings?"
Sandy stifled a giggle. "Come on, Lulu. Why are you so dramatic? Did you forget that Alpha CAN end us in a second if he wants to? This is just us showing good faith."
Keith didn't want this to escalate. He gestured toward the door. "Lulu, you can leave. Think about it until our next mission."
