Talia heard Damon calling for her, his voice getting lost in the distance, and she wanted to respond, but she found herself paralyzed, unable to make a sound.
What the hell happened?
She felt weightless, without the ability to sense anything other than the coolness on her chest caused by the pendant that was resting there.
"There are no signs of trackers… What are you doing?", an unknown male voice was heard.
Talia tried to figure out where the voice was coming from, but she couldn't move or feel her body parts. As much as her sight covered, everything was white without a single ripple in space. Was the man talking to her?
"I recorded a message for Natalia.", a female voice responded.
Talia was alerted. Was the woman talking about her?
"Is it still recording?", the male spoke again.
"It will stop in a second. Take this with you and make sure Natalia gets it. Once she is of age, the message will play. It is for her ears only."
"Why does it sound like you are saying goodbye?", the male voice was cracking with concern.
"Not goodbye, Ian.", the female said softly. "Didn't you tell me about different passing of time? By the time we come to get her, she might be a big girl. I don't want her to think that we left her with relatives so that we can enjoy our honeymoon. I would never leave my angel if not for our current situation…"
Talia could hear the grief in the female's voice and her heart cracked.
The silence stretched, disturbed by indistinct rustling, and Talia tried to make sense of what she just heard.
The female mentioned a message for Natalia. Was that her?
The female addressed the male as Ian. Could that be her father, Valerian?
Didn't that mean the female voice belonged to Talia's mother?
Was it possible that these were the last moments Valerian spent with his mate before taking Natalia to the Midnight Guardians pack?
Before Talia could figure out more, she heard the male voice again.
"Look at her sleeping peacefully, unaware of the mess out there."
"Let's hope it stays like that.", the female said.
"I can't leave you behind."
"You must. Trackers didn't find us yet, but they know someone is in the area. You saw what was left of my home. They are vicious, and they won't stop until they get what they want."
"But they want you.", the male said.
"We talked about this. If both of us leave, they will follow us. In our state, we can't move quickly, and they will catch up in no time. Don't worry about me. I am not an easy target. I need you to take our precious one to safety and come back to get me. The two of us can't fight while protecting Natalia and if they get a whiff of her existence, they will want to get their hands on her also. They prefer children because they can be indoctrinated."
"But…"
"There is no time, Ian.", the female interrupted him. "You must hurry."
The man said something, but the words were fading in the white void and no matter how much Talia craved to hear more, there was nothing.
The white light shimmered into shapes, and Talia saw herself back in the master suite in the main house of the Midnight Guardians pack. She was lying on the sofa.
It took her a moment to remember that she was in front of the dresser with Damon combing her hair and then he put a necklace on her and… Talia's vision was blurred from the tears that pooled there. Why was she crying? Was it because she got another glimpse of her parents? Her heart ached to the point of madness. No, this was madness. Why was she so desperate and angry?
Talia blinked to see two blobs moving. With every passing heartbeat, those two blobs started getting features and became two heads with eyes, nose, mouth, and everything a head should have.
"Alpha…", one of them called with a quivering voice. "Can you hear me? Are you in pain?"
"You bitch! If you don't tell me what you did, I will rip your head off!", Damon's ferocious growl filled the room.
"Talia is awake!", Axel shouted desperately, knowing that Damon was not kidding.
Talia turned to see the scene where Yasmin was hiding behind Axel. Keith and Liam were keeping an eye on the healers with fierce expressions like they will end their lives if the poor healers make a wrong move. Isaac was sprawled on the floor with his face bloodied and his arms and legs bent at an unusual angle. In the middle of the room, Damon was holding Sophia by her neck, her legs dangling above the floor. Meg and Kai were kneeling on the floor, both drenched in sweat and unable to move under Damon's pressure.
It was a mess.
Damon's head whipped to meet Talia's eyes, and he released Sophia who plopped on the floor like a ragdoll.
Damon pushed the healers to the side and got on his knees next to the sofa.
"Kitten. Kitten." He was touching her face with the tips of his fingers like he wanted to make sure that was her, and then he pulled her into his embrace.
Talia groaned because he squeezed the air out of her lungs.
She was still coming out of her daze from hearing two voices in the white void, and then she saw the mess in their suite, and now Damon was crushing her against him like he wanted them to become one.
"What happened?", Talia asked.
"Oh, kitten…", Damon's voice was shaky. "I thought I lost you."
When Damon put the necklace on Talia, she lost consciousness. Damon didn't connect Talia's condition with the necklace right away because Talia was holding onto it most of the day, so Damon assumed that it was a spell or some potion that had a delayed effect.
Of course, the first suspects were Sophia and Isaac, and then Axel.
Sapa was anxious as well because the mate bond was weak, so Damon sent Keith and Liam to get Axel and his parents. When they saw that Talia was unconscious, Axel called for healers, Meg, and Kai, and when Damon saw Sophia and Isaac, he gave in to his rage, ready to destroy everything and everyone until he got answers and Talia back.
They were all relieved that this ended without any lives lost.
Axel checked on Yasmin, and he didn't dare check on others, fearing that Damon might explode into a rage again. Axel was glad that Talia was back, and not a moment too soon. If she stayed unconscious any longer, Damon would probably demolish the whole pack.
Axel gestured to healers to take care of Sophia and Isaac.
Seeing Talia's questioning gaze directed at him over Damon's shoulder, Axel explained what happened.
"Damon called us here about an hour ago.", Axel focused on keeping his voice steady and not showing how shaken up he was. He never felt such a strong Alpha aura. Axel has a strong physique and he suspected that some of his bones were cracked. Damon was a beast! "When we came here, Damon started asking questions about the food you ate and if anyone drugged you and when Sophia and Isaac came, he lost it and… well… you see."
