Damon thought for a moment before explaining his idea related to figuring out what happened to Talia's parents.
"We will start by investigating shady organizations that were active two decades ago. Your father was the future Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack who found his mate, and that means he awakened his ability. In addition to that, Sophia described him as a formidable warrior with a solid head on his shoulders. If someone could harm him, his mate, and their guards, they were not random rogues, and I would assume that it took more than a few people to scare him into leaving you in the Midnight Guardians pack. The more people were involved, the bigger will be the chances of us finding something."
Damon saw that Talia's face was full of anticipation, so he added, "Max's shelters are accepting all kinds of people, and there is a good chance someone knows something. Also, Cristian has his connections in the black market."
Talia understood that Damon used this while investigating the death of his parents. But Talia had her own sources that could prove valuable. "We can also ask witches to help. Maybe they have a crystal ball or some spell that can give us hints." And while at it, they can ask witches to help find clues about who was behind the death of Alpha Jacob and Luna Violet.
Damon smiled when he felt that Talia's mood had improved. She needed a goal to focus on so that the darkness won't consume her again.
"I don't want to raise your hopes, kitten, but without seeing a body, we can't be sure they are dead."
Talia blinked. "Do you think my parents are alive?"
Damon pressed his lips on her forehead. "I promise that I won't stop searching until I find out what happened."
Talia could feel his sincerity, and she knew that this was close to his heart. His parents died, and he never found the culprits, and now he wanted to help Talia find closure. She was determined to help him in return.
Talia didn't dare to hope her parents were alive, but she wished to find answers to why her father was set on hiding her, who her mother was, and how she died.
"Thank you, Damon." She really meant it.
Axel, Sophia, and Isaac returned to the study with the necklace, and Talia stared at the delicate piece of jewelry, barely hearing Axel as he was telling her that he will prepare documents related to Valerian Moonrider and their grandparents, so that she can learn about her heritage.
The necklace had a simple silver chain with a pendant that resembled a shiny flower with a pearly-white drop below it. The flower was made out of crystal-clear diamonds that formed six petals with a yellow diamond in the middle. At the bottom of the flower was a tear-shaped white pearl.
Talia craved to find out more about her father, and she hoped to find some information about her mother. Somehow, she knew they loved each other. Would they be a happy family?
Talia wished to experience a reality where her parents were alive and well, and she grew up with them. Her father would be the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack, her mother would be the Luna, and Talia would be the pack princess. Would she have siblings? Would her mother hold her hand while running through the forest? Would her father put her to sit on his shoulders? Would she crawl into their bed in the morning on weekends? Would they make crowns of flowers for each other and attend fairs together? She could see her father throwing rings on moving pins and winning the biggest teddy bear for her that was nearly as big as she was, but Talia would carry it proudly while walking through the crowd with her parents holding each other behind her. Oh, how glorious that would be!
Damon was pleased that Talia didn't shut him down completely and the myriad of emotions pouring into him through their mate bond told him that Talia was sorting her thoughts. He hoped that his presence would give her comfort, and he reached to wipe the lone tear that escaped her eye.
Talia blinked herself into reality to find herself in a silent study with Damon, Axel, Sophia, and Isaac, all four looking at her.
Talia clutched the necklace in her palm and cleared her throat. "Right. Let's discuss the next point. The Guardians."
Sophia was visibly alerted. "What about them?"
"I want to hear everything you know about them. And I mean, everything.", Talia demanded.
To Talia's disappointment, Sophia and Isaac didn't know much about the Guardians other than how they were mysterious and that one shouldn't offend them. That was general knowledge every werewolf knew. As Alphas, they were familiar with the protocols of how to contact the Guardians in the case the Council of Alpha needed to be assembled, and that was it.
Sophia defended her ignorance with the lack of historical documentation and the story of how her brother got all the teachings while she was still young.
Talia wondered if Maddox and Cristian would have more information on the Guardians. What about James?
Axel confirmed that the archives of the Midnight Guardians pack were a mess. Their ancestors didn't bother writing down stuff as most of the things were on a need-to-know basis. It was common that the current Alpha would talk to his parents (or grandparents) when he needed information on something that happened before his time, similarly to how Axel and Talia were now asking Sophia and Isaac for information. Unfortunately, Sophia and Isaac were not useful.
Axel said how he was spending his free time reading and sorting out stuff, but it was a slow process.
Talia told Axel that he should involve Betas and Gammas in those efforts. Also, Tyler is good with technology, and he should make electronic copies of everything.
Sophia and Isaac disagreed, with an argument how it would increase the possibility of information leaks. Their enemies can get their hands on delicate secrets, and if their pack members find out about the dangers, they might start to panic.
Talia disapproved of Sophia's approach to keeping pack members safe. How Talia saw this, they were all grownups, able to decide for themselves. But unless they knew exactly what was on the other side of the portal, they were just blindly walking into danger. It was obvious that unmated members craved to find their other half, and if they knew that someone out there will hunt them, they would organize themselves to minimize risks.
"You think that it's better to lull them in a fake sense of security?" Talia asked Sophia. "Now I understand why pack members who escaped never come back. They believed you were obstructing them from finding their mates, and by the time they realized what was out there, it was too late. Your so-called protection was endangering everyone."
Sophia lowered her head at that point. Not because she didn't have anything to say, but because Talia used her aura to keep the ex-Alpha quiet. Talia was unwilling to hear any more nonsense.
Just as they didn't have much information on the Guardians, Sophia and Isaac were not useful when they talked about portals either, so Talia dismissed them as free to return to their quarters.
