The second day with witches passed quickly.
Other than talking with Evanora and Axel about portal use, Talia and Damon strolled through the area, and Damon got to see the Silver Flame fountain in person.
Damon observed the statue that depicted a female and a wolf standing next to each other while reaching up to the skies. The silvery flame danced where the female's hand and wolf's paw connected.
Damon was familiar with the scene because Talia shared her memories with him, and he thought how it was strange since this was obviously his first time here, yet he had a feeling of familiarity, like a déjà vu. It was from the time when he didn't feel the bond, and he left her behind. She came here, desperate to find a cure for his condition, and he just left.
"What's going on?" Talia asked Damon when she noticed that his mood was off.
His smile didn't reach his eyes which were full of sadness. The memory Talia shared with him about this place was with Yasmin and Axel having their ceremony as mates, and Damon had so many regrets about it.
"You've been through so much because of me, without me," he said.
Talia hugged him and buried her face into his chest. She loved that his arms moved around her naturally, but… "You need to stop doing this to yourself, Damon."
Damon tightened his hold on her and buried his face in her hair, but he didn't respond.
Talia thought that she was prone to depression, but the more time she spent with Damon, the more she realized how hard he was on himself.
Part of her was glad that she got to see this vulnerable side of Damon. That was only for her to see, but she also wanted to make it better. She could fight off enemies and punish anyone who talks smack about Damon, but how can she fight his inner demons?
"We are together now, and that's what it counts.", she said.
Damon knew she was right, but he still felt guilty. Will he ever be able to make it up to her? He was determined to spend the rest of his life trying.
He lifted his head to meet her gaze and promised, "I will give you the best Luna ceremony ever."
Talia poked his chest with her index finger. "Who needs a flashy ceremony? Even if you get the most popular band and cover everything in gold and shiny jewels, do you think that will be enough?"
Damon's eyebrows shoot up. She wanted more than that? He was ready! "What will be enough?" He would hear her wishes and give her more than that.
Talia grinned. "A lifetime with you."
Damon looked at her helplessly. He was ready to agree to whatever she wanted, yet she only wanted him.
She was Natalia Moonrider, the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack, with an ancient wolf for her spirit. Many knew her as Talia, her friends called her Lia, but only Damon was aware of how fantastic she was. Talia was his mate, his kitten, his everything. She was modest, and he loved it, but he wanted to dote on her and spoil her rotten because only when she was happy due to something he did, the ghosts from the past would shrink.
"You already have me, kitten. All my days are yours." He licked his lips nervously. "About your Luna ceremony…"
"Don't let us interrupt you," Evanora's melodious voice came from the side.
Talia and Damon both looked in that direction to see Evanora and two more witches approaching them.
"We are here to finalize details related to tonight's ceremonies in the fountain.", Evanora explained. "We thought of waiting for your moment to end, so we don't spoil it, but it didn't seem you will move on anytime soon, and we have time constraints."
"We understand," Talia responded.
Damon wondered if Talia realized that she leaned into him and that her hold on him tightened. It was a silent claim on him, and she did it every time unknown witches were in the visual range.
"What are you planning for?", Talia asked.
"Mated couples will go when the moon is high. We have Amelia's and Cornelia's union to celebrate. As for Yasmin and Axel, we will do their ceremony at dawn. Blessings to new life are the best when done at the moment a new day is born..."
Talia thought how that was fantastic. Everyone gets blessings, but she wanted one also. She waited for Evanora to finish her speech before asking, "About that… Do you think that Damon and I can participate?"
"As a mated couple, do you want to go separately or together with others?", Evanora responded with a question.
Talia was pleasantly surprised that Evanora agreed so easily. "We can? Really?"
Evanora cocked an eyebrow at her. "Without you opening the portal, none of the ceremonies planned for tonight would be possible. Besides, you reignited the flames of our fountain. How can I refuse?"
Talia looked eagerly at Damon. "What do you think?"
Damon looked at the silly woman who reignited his whole life. "Any is fine."
"You heard my mate.", Talia said to Evanora. "Any is fine, so we will leave it up to you."
Seeing that Evanora was in the mood to fulfill requests, Talia asked, "Can we talk about what's needed to create a new portal?"
Evanora's expression stiffened. "Let's talk about it some other day."
Talia took that as a 'no'.
Talia didn't get it. Every talk they had so far was fine, but on a few occasions when Talia mentioned creating a new portal, Evanora would dodge the topic.
Talia made sure they were aware of the convenience to have a portal connecting the Silver Flame Coven with the Dark Howlers pack. Amelia was mated to Liam, and a direct portal would allow Amelia to visit her sisters anytime she wants while avoiding the hassle (and exposure) by going through the portal that connects to the Midnight Guardians pack territory.
Talia wanted to use the favor Evanora owed her so that they create the portal, but how can she bring up that favor if Evanora doesn't want to talk about it at all?
"Mother!" Yasmin called breathily while running toward them.
Evanora's eyes flashed with fierce disapproval. "What's wrong with you!? Why can't you walk slowly? What will happen if you trip? Even if you don't think about yourself, think about your children!"
"Sorry, sorry," Yasmin said with haste.
Two witches shrunk when Evanora snapped, but Yasmin smiled brightly. Yasmin saw this as her mother's concern. Evanora never coddled Yasmin, but Yasmin knew that under that harsh tone, Evanora meant well.
"I heard that you are planning the union ceremonies, and I didn't want to miss it.", Yasmin said.
Evanora gestured toward Talia and Damon. "Talia and her mate want to participate."
"Oh, good!" Yasmin exclaimed. She was a ball of energy. "With that, we will have three couples. Let's make every ceremony unique, just how they are…" It was obvious that Yasmin had something on her mind.
Damon put his arm around Talia's shoulders and pulled slightly so that she would move with him. "Let's go back to our room. We should rest because we have a long night ahead of us."
