Talia was curious about the faintly visible threads between her and members of the Midnight Guardians pack. She realized that they allowed her to sense the emotions of the pack.
Damon told her that he could feel when the Dark Howlers pack was happy or in distress in general, with the difference that he didn't mention any connections which could be seen with the naked eye.
Talia wondered if those threads were visible because of some ability she awakened or maybe because of the energies that were gathering there.
The positivity was tangible, and Talia knew that her pack members believed she could make their hopes and dreams come true. They believed in her, and that motivated her to keep pushing forward.
Was this the feeling of Alpha's strength amplified by the support of their people?
Will the threads be there regardless of the distance between the two?
Those threads would be handy to see in case one of her pack members was missing. She could be like a shepherd, searching for the lost lambs (aka werewolves). Can she use those to track her father? Assuming he was alive, of course.
She turned to look at Damon and noticed that there was nothing between them.
'If the white threads are manifestations of abilities to share emotions and communicate through the mind link, how come there is no connection between Damon and me?' Talia asked Liseli.
Liseli was not sure how to respond to that. 'I can feel the mate bond between you. Maybe you need to bite him again.'
Talia had no objections. Marking Damon again meant more sex, and every time they marked each other, the orgasm was mind-blowing.
Damon met Talia's gaze, and his eyebrows rose in slow motion questionably. He had no idea that Talia was thinking about jumping on him.
'Damon?' Talia called through their private mind-link. 'Do you see anything different?'
'Like what?' he asked.
'Never mind', Talia responded. If he could see the strings or anything else that normally wouldn't be there, he would definitely mention it.
Talia remembered how at the Council of Alphas, only she could see the runes that the Guardians summoned while blocking the Alpha aura. Was this one more thing that only people sensitive to energies could pick up?
Talia glanced at Yasmin and Cornelia, wondering if they could see the phenomenon, but both Yasmin and Cornelia were looking around and smiling, definitely not showing any signs of seeing silvery threads.
Talia decided to focus on the present. So many things were happening, and she looked like a distracted schoolgirl without reflecting the image of a confident Alpha she should be.
Tyler and Sandy were now at the altar, where the fire was sizzling. It was time for Sandy to change packs officially.
Normally, a person would leave a pack when they were unhappy with it. It was more than just leaving a pack; it was leaving home while cutting ties with family and accepting another one. People would also switch packs when they found mates in a different pack, but that was usually not done with both Alphas present, so Sandy was awkward about the situation. Why did it feel like she was doing something bad?
Sandy glanced at Damon apprehensively, and she was glad that he didn't frown at her. Actually, Damon was smiling a little. Was he glad that she was leaving the Dark Howlers pack?
Tyler gave Sandy's hand a squeeze, and she shook unnecessary thoughts away. All this was happening because she had found her mate, and she wanted to be with him. Damon's support was welcomed, but in the end, it didn't matter how he felt about it because it was her decision.
Sandy took a deep breath and said, "I, Sandy of the Dark Howlers pack, denounce my pack, the Dark Howlers pack."
Sandy felt a pang in her chest, and Damon grimaced as he felt the same. It was a long time since someone left his pack, so this caught him unprepared.
Talia actually saw the dark string between Damon and Sandy breaking, and then it disappeared completely.
Sandy cut her palm with a ceremonial knife, and Tyler frowned like he was the one being cut. Healer Calla collected a few drops of Sandy's blood in the previously prepared container that was white and curved, like a palm-sized bowl made out of a bone.
Calla asked Sandy, "Will you accept the Midnight Guardians pack as your own?"
"I am willing.", Sandy responded.
"I, Natalia Moonrider, accept you as the member of the Midnight Guardians pack.", Talia said proudly.
It was Talia's first time accepting someone in the pack, so this was a big deal.
Yasmin was there as Axel's Luna, but Yasmin didn't have the pack-joining ceremony, and now that she was pregnant, they didn't want to risk any disturbances until the children were born.
Calla murmured unintelligible chants while tipping the white container to pour Sandy's blood into the fire. The moment the flames licked the crimson liquid, Talia saw a thin thread darting from Sandy's chest to latch onto Talia's.
'Why is it gray?' Talia asked Liseli. All other threads were white, except for this one.
Liseli groaned in frustration. How was she supposed to know? But she had some theories. 'Maybe Sandy's loyalty is still with the Dark Howlers pack.'
Talia didn't think it made sense. Didn't Guardians say how different colors on the sphere represented members of other packs that were loyal to Talia because her hand was touching the object? But then… maybe these strings and strings on the sphere were different.
Talia wished to meet with the Guardians, especially with the one named Dex, who said that he was studying the sphere. She wanted to get answers to all these questions that were piling up. Would they be willing to discuss openly topics related to the sphere and magical powers?
There was also the point of her father. If the Guardians had so much influence, maybe they had clues about Valerian Moonrider.
'Kitten?'
Damon's voice sounded in Talia's mind, pulling her out of her thoughts.
Seeing her confused expression, Damon reminded her, 'Sandy is waiting for you to welcome her to your pack.'
Talia smiled awkwardly when she saw Tyler and Sandy looking at her expectantly. She had such a bad timing with spacing out!
Did they do all the steps for Sandy to join and be the Gamma? It looked like it.
"Welcome to the Midnight Guardians pack, Gamma Sandy.", Talia said, and the crowd cheered.
Tyler pulled Sandy into his arms and stared into her blue-green eyes that smiled at him.
"Welcome home, Sasa", Tyler said, and then he gave her a toe-curling kiss.
Tyler loved kissing Sandy. She was his zesty mate, and she was his to kiss and hug and feed and have sex with. Tyler had no intention of slacking off in any of those.
'What were you thinking about?', Damon asked Talia when the healers started the ceremony with healer Remi presiding over it.
Talia knew that Damon noticed she was distracted. She had no idea how to explain what she was seeing, but then she remembered that she didn't need to use words.
'Watch this', Talia said, and Damon's eyebrows shot up when she sent him mental images of what she was seeing. 'These are connections between the pack members and me.'
Damon wondered if that was possible because of Talia's unique identity. His mate was awesome
