Damon hugged Talia tightly and inhaled her sweet citrusy scent of freesia that made him lightheaded. There was a time when he thought how he might get bored of that scent, or immune to it, but now he knew he was ignorant because the more he inhaled it, the more he craved Talia's proximity.
That's how the mate bond works, it interlinks their souls and destinies until they can't live without each other, and Damon couldn't imagine his life without Talia. If anything happened to her, he would go mad.
They went through a lot together, filling a lifetime of anxiety, yet all those moments put together, good and bad, were just a fraction of his need for Talia.
More than once, Damon wondered what he would do if they could start again. He would be wiser, and more decisive, and pay attention to Cassie, Marcy, and whatever-their-name-was so that he could chase them away before they cause any harm. Unfortunately, there was no such thing as do-overs and he needed to own his mistakes and stay in the present.
Damon was not the one to brood over the unpleasant past, but when it came to Talia, he was all kinds of different.
Now they were in the Blue River pack and Damon was on the edge as if dangers were closing in from all directions... invisible blades were pointing at Talia, ready to pierce her and take her away. He became paranoid. But it was not just paranoia because Alpha Edward was coming and at tonight's Luna ceremony, many other power-hungry werewolves will have their eyes on Talia, and Guardians were watching, and… will he be able to protect her?
"It will be alright", Talia said, and Damon realized that he allowed his anxiety to seep through their mate bond.
"Promise me kitten…", Damon breathed. "Promise you will be safe. Don't do anything reckless."
"I promise", she said right away.
Damon looked at her with a small frown of scrutiny. He didn't believe her. It was too easy. Talia never went against him, but she would find gaps to slip through and find herself in the middle of a dangerous situation.
He realized that it all depended on the definition of what that reckless was, so he decided to formulate it clearly without imposing too many restrictions.
"Promise that you won't use your abilities", Damon said, obviously satisfied with this solution.
"My abilities?"
He confirmed. "No matter what happens, I don't want you to use your abilities. Promise."
"What if rogues attack?"
"I don't give a rat's ass about anyone else. Your safety comes first. I want you to think before you act. We are in the middle of the Blue River pack, and that's Maddox's pack. Do you believe that enemies can waltz in here and cause a commotion?"
"What are you saying?"
"I am saying that if anything out of place happens, it's probably a ploy to test you. You are here as the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack. Other Alphas will show respect when facing you, but what they actually feel is envy and greed. You are the youngest Alpha right now, and your position is proof that you have abilities. For regular werewolves, the mystical qualities of your pack are rumors, however, Alphas know that members of the Midnight Guardians pack have abilities. They will want to find out what your abilities are. Don't fall for it."
"What if they want to harm me?"
"They won't", Damon said with confidence. "You are a precious Alpha female. They will try to test you, manipulate you, charm you, befriend you, use you for their benefit, but no one will be stupid enough to harm you."
Talia lowered her head and instinctively reached to touch the necklace that was around her neck, the only thing she had from her mother. It was silly because she never met her parents, but that necklace was proof they existed, that they were special, and that they cared for her, and Talia hoped that some of their love and wisdom was left in that necklace for her to use.
She knew that Alphas were power-hungry and most of them were ruthless, but the idea of being surrounded by enemies who wanted to do with her who-knows-what was unsettling.
Damon cupped her cheeks with his palms. "Kitten, I need you to trust me on this one. I am here. Your guards and your Betas are here. Let us handle the mess and don't expose your cards."
"You are talking like you know that something bad is coming."
Damon shrugged. "It's you, kitten. You are a magnet for trouble."
Talia frowned. "Does that mean if anything bad happens, it will be because of me?"
"I would never say that."
She exhaled and looked at him guiltily. "I know. I'm sorry. I guess I'm tense and…" She stopped talking when Damon's lips covered hers.
"Let me help you relieve some of that tension", he spoke against her lips and then he kissed her again before slipping lower.
He didn't forget to kiss his mark on her neck and lick it thoroughly until she moaned, and the scent of her arousal filled the room. Next, he peppered kisses on her collarbones, breasts, and abdomen, and then he buried his face between her legs.
Talia struggled to breathe as Damon knew exactly where to run his tongue, how fast, and with how much pressure to make her forget everything outside the confinement of that bed.
Damon and Talia entered the dining room for breakfast to see that Cornelia was already there, chatting with Maya, Caden, Mindy, Gideon, Meg, and Kai.
The moment Cornelia spotted Talia, she gestured that they need to talk, and Talia mouthed, 'after breakfast', to which Cornelia nodded in agreement.
Maddox's Beta Oliver was also in the dining room, sitting at the second table with Talia's guards, Keith, Caleb, Pierce, and Lulu, and two more females. Talia needed a moment to recognize them as Ivy and Lily, sisters from the Lightclaw pack that were now working as Kalina's assistants. With Kalina being the Luna of the Lightclaw pack, her assistants were treated as high-ranking pack members.
Before Damon and Talia could ask about the whereabouts of their hosts, Beta Oliver explained, "Luna Tatiana's and Luna Kalina's sisters arrived, so Alpha Maddox, Luna Tatiana, Alpha Antony, and Luna Kalina went to welcome them and show them to their rooms. They will all join us shortly. Please, help yourself." He gestured toward the food.
Talia was not used to this formal way of talking where titles and full names were used, but she understood that Oliver did it because there were guests present. Using titles was a sign of respect.
Last night, Kalina was super-excited that her sisters will come. She said that it was a long time since all five of them gathered, and their parents will come later that day as well.
Kalina's party at the Lightclaw pack was to announce that Alpha Anthony found his mate (and his future Luna), so Kalina's family didn't come. However, Tanya's ceremony is the real thing, she will become the Luna of the Blue River pack officially, it was a big deal.
