James spoke to Talia. "We can turn this to our advantage. By providing him with selected information before letting him go, and making it look natural, the Guardians will believe whatever we serve them. The most effective is if we mix in deception with the truth."
Every time James spoke, Talia was more impressed. How come Alpha Edward was not aware of James' brilliance that was right under his nose? Out of all the mistakes Alpha Edward committed, Talia was confident that neglecting James was the worst one.
"I can plant a tracking spell on him", Cornelia volunteered. "They know how to get here, so it will be fair for us to know where they are hiding." Cornelia heard about the Guardians from James. They were without designated territory, but they definitely had a base where they gathered.
"Thank you, Cornelia", Talia said, and she really meant it.
"No need to thank me", Cornelia responded sternly. "This male came here, and he is a threat to all of us. It wouldn't be right if I just sit on the side while my mate participates actively."
James looked at Cornelia with hearts in his eyes. She said that they are mates for so many ears to hear! His chocolate-colored Goddess was fantastic, and they will get to work together, and his eyes fell on his mark on her neck, and he was getting hard again.
Talia was happy that James and Cornelia offered their assistance with handling the Guardian. She wanted to talk about this more, but her energy levels were low, and she desperately needed rest.
"We will wait for results after assessing his condition.", Talia said and turned to Meg. "Can you get a few healers to work on this? Make sure they are not alone with the Guardian. He might be faking weakness."
Meg confirmed and Talia spoke to Axel, "Someone should talk to Sophia and Isaac and find out how much they know about this."
Axel was aware that Talia was giving him another chance to deal with his parents. He wanted to say how Sophia and Isaac had nothing to do with this, and he really wished that everything was a big misunderstanding and that they can be a happy family, Talia included, but he also knew that those were dreams that will never come true.
The facts were that Sophia and Isaac acted against Talia and Damon, and it was their luck that they were not in the dungeon or executed for what they did. Axel was not sure to what degree Damon will pursue what happened, but he knew that Damon could start a war at any moment, and the consequences would be catastrophic. The only reason why the Midnight Guardians pack was not wiped off and put under the control of the Dark Howlers pack was because Talia was Damon's mate.
"I suggest that Beta Meg and Gamma Sandy talk with ex-Alphas.", Axel said and when everyone looked at him questionably, he explained, "Meg and Sandy are new to the pack, and they are not hostile nor loyal toward them. I believe that Meg and Sandy will be able to talk to ex-Alphas without bias. Without their abilities, my parents are just like regular werewolves, so they won't be a threat to ranked members."
With this, Axel distanced himself from his parents and people won't think that they got an easy way out because of Axel.
"Keith should join them as well", Damon said. "He is familiar with interrogation techniques."
Keith agreed right away, happy that he got something to do. So far, his duties were to hold a candle for Talia and Damon, to avoid nearly-naked horny witches, and to be painfully aware of how single he was while the woman he had feelings for was with her mate.
Axel cringed at the thought of his parents being interrogated like hostile individuals, but he didn't say anything. If they actually dared to work against Talia, that would be against the Midnight Guardians pack also, and that would classify them as traitors. Axel wouldn't have the heart to make such a judgment, so letting others handle it would be the best.
Seeing that no one objected to Keith joining Meg and Sandy, and that they addressed major points, Damon stood up with Talia in his arms. "I will take Talia to rest. Don't disturb us unless there is an emergency."
"I will send you some food.", Yasmin said.
Damon approved. "Leave it at the door."
Damon didn't release Talia from his arms until they reached their bedroom and he put her to lay on the bed. He loved that her little hand was clutching his shirt, unwilling to let go.
Damon laid next to Talia and wrapped his arms around her.
He was aware that Talia was resisting succumbing to sleep, and he was proud that she managed to attend that meeting, give updates, and issue orders like the true Alpha she is.
"How is Liseli?", Damon asked.
"She is resting. Vincent was rejecting our attempts to get into his mind, and that drained her."
Damon hated that Talia did all the work and he got to sit on the side, and Sapa echoed those sentiments. The two of them came to an agreement to get stronger so that their beautiful mates don't need to work this hard.
"You should also rest", Damon said while running his fingers through Talia's hair, knowing that she loved those small tugs on her scalp which helped her relax.
"I don't know if I can rest after harming a person on purpose, for no good reason.", Talia said.
Damon could feel her conflicting emotions and he didn't want her to feel bad because of what she did.
"He came here with an intention to harm you and your pack. His presence alone is proof of his malicious intentions, and you had every right to act against him."
"What if he became a vegetable?"
"That would be proof of your strength and his weakness."
"He didn't think I could do it."
"And that would be a part of his weakness as well. If he dared to come here and snoop around, he was supposed to know what he was getting himself into. He was arrogant for underestimating you and that's not your fault. Now, if you are not going to rest, instead of beating yourself over doing what you needed to do, how about you tell me what else you found out about the Guardians?"
"How do you know there is more?", Talia asked.
Damon smirked smugly. "How can I not know my mate? Those little breaks between topics told me that you were filtering out what to say."
Talia had to admit that Damon was right. She didn't want to keep secrets from people who were in the study, but some parts just didn't make sense. Sharing those bits would spark unnecessary discussions as they tried to piece them together, and she wanted to avoid coming to the wrong conclusions. However, Damon was different. She wanted him to know everything, fragments included.
Talia snuggled closer into Damon. His proximity was providing comfort and charging her with the positivity she desperately needed, and she started talking...
