Talia ran through the hallways with the archives of the Silver Flame Coven as her destination. That was where Damon was with Axel and Keith.
Talia went to the garden for a relaxing chat with Yasmin, but she ended up with another stress and she had difficulty breathing.
She needed Damon. She needed his proximity to confirm that everything was fine.
Talia took a turn and bumped into Damon who was rushing toward her.
"Kitten." By the time he finished the word, his arms were around her already. "What's going on?" He could feel that her emotional state was unstable.
"Oh, Damon", Talia cried while fisting his shirt.
For a fraction of a moment, she was actually thinking about harming Yasmin and Talia was terrified. Since when was she a monster? What if the next time she goes through with it?
That was not her. She didn't want to hurt others, she just wanted to be left alone!
"Let's go home.", she spoke into his chest.
Damon was willing, but he had to ask, "What about investigating what happened to Yasmin's father?" Until a minute ago he was looking at the maps, but then he sensed Talia's discomfort and left Axel and Keith to deal with it.
Talia didn't want to stay here longer than necessary, but she promised. Also, considering the hostility she showed toward Yasmin, helping with this expedition will be a way to apologize.
"Let's go home after that. No matter what happens, there will be no more delays and we will go back. At least to the Midnight Guardians pack."
"Alright." Damon agreed. He wanted to come to these realms because time passed differently and they would have more time for relaxing, but if she was going to get stressed because of various reasons, it would be better to return to the Dark Howlers pack.
Damon held Talia tightly until she stopped trembling, and then he touched her chin to make her look up to him. Her eyes were flickering in silver, which told him that she used her abilities. "Will you tell me what got you upset?"
Talia released a slow breath and nodded. She couldn't make herself talk about it without falling apart, so she decided to show him.
In the next moment, Damon saw a scene of the fountain and pulsating lights, a dark patch in the water, and Talia dispersing it with the beam of light from her hand.
'Yasmin said how that was the spot where you were standing during the ceremony', Talia spoke through their private mind-link because she didn't want to risk someone overhearing them.
'Why was it not reflecting light?', Damon asked.
'It was not accepting magic', Talia explained. 'Witches tried channeling energies there, but it didn't work.'
'But you could do it with ease.', he said with pride in his voice. His kitten was awesome! Was it because they were mates, or because she was so powerful? It didn't matter, she was still awesome.
'Remember that Evanora said how there are different types of magic?', Talia reminded him. 'Evanora said that I'm special. The thing in the fountain makes you special as well.'
'Of course, we are special', Damon said with confidence. 'You have Liseli and I have Sapa.'
Talia shook her head. 'This is different. They want to do tests on us.'
Damon frowned. 'Why did you remove that black patch and expose yourself in front of Yasmin? Who knows who else was watching?'
Talia's chin trembled. She did it for him, yet he was worried about her. He always put her first, no matter what.
Talia knew that she acted on an impulse, but she was thinking about protecting Damon. To her, Damon came first. Always.
'No one was there other than Yasmin. This is about you, Damon. No matter how powerful it is, every magic will disappear when not artificially maintained. The black runes that impacted you last time were feeding of your lifeforce, portals rely on crystals and enchanted items to gather the energy from their surroundings to keep it going. No matter how you created that dark patch in the water, it should have disappeared after the ceremony was over, yet it stayed. I didn't want to give them a chance to test it further so I removed it.'
'Witches could give us answers.'
Talia couldn't believe this. 'Are you serious? Evanora wants to cast spells and make you drink potions! Who knows what she will do?'
Damon rubbed her back to calm her down. 'I am not willing to put myself in that situation. But if I can understand it, I could use it to keep us safe.'
'This could be due to the ceremony, or maybe your ability is awakening.' She raised her head to look at him sadly. 'Or it could be remnants of the dark magic that Cassandra performed. We did the ritual to clear the effects of the dark magic, but there is no guarantee that you don't have some permanent consequences.'
'You think that I can create darkness?' He thought that would be cool. Damon had black hair, Sapa was a black wolf, and somehow, darkness suited him.
'Not to create darkness.' Talia said. 'What if it's an ability to reject magic? If that's the case, do you think that Evanora will let you be? They are already suspecting that we are powerful and dangerous, what will happen if they confirm it? Sure, we are friends now, but what if one day we won't be? Will Evanora allow us to leave with the possibility that one day we will turn hostile?'
Damon stared at Talia and then his lips stretched into a big smile.
'What?', Talia asked. She said so many things, mostly bad ones. Why the heck was he happy?
'You are finally using your head, kitten.', he said. 'I am so glad that you are not trusting Evanora or other witches. I would love it more if you had a little reservation toward Yasmin and Axel as well, but this is a great start.'
Talia exhaled helplessly. She just told him that witches want to do experiments on him, yet he is happy because she was cautious. Silly Alpha.
She wouldn't be so cautious if it was about anyone else. Damon was her first priority, and she couldn't stand anyone who thought about harming him. Damon was her life. He was her everything.
Damon choked on emotions that swelled within him, and he knew they came from Talia. She was so pure and wonderful, and he thought that he might burst from all the love he had for her.
Damon cupped her cheeks and kissed her slowly, tenderly, sweetly, without igniting the wild flames of passion. It was a kiss that allowed him to enjoy the lush softness of her lips. A kiss that whispered of love and everything good that existed in the world. A kiss that silenced the demons and dispelled negativity. A kiss that created a safe personal space, for just the two of them.
Talia fisted his shirt and whimpered into the kiss.
Damon was gentle and firm, every move of his lips told her how much he cherished her, and his solid embrace was confirmation that she can rely on him, and at that moment, that was exactly what she needed.
