"I'm Daria", she squeaked, sounding more like a five years-old girl than a grown female. She quickly cleared her throat and repeated, "Daria. Daria Wilkow." This time, her voice was normal.
Pierce smiled at the silly woman who was a nervous wreck. Didn't she know how perfect she was? He swallowed food from his mouth before saying, "Pierce."
Pierce licked his lips slowly, somehow managing to smear the cream cheese further, and then he asked Daria, "Are you hungry?"
He tilted his head toward the table with food, hoping that she will say she was horny and not hungry, and they can get down to the important parts of mating and marking.
"Yeah. I am…", Daria breathed and got on her toes at the same time her arms snaked around his neck to pull him down.
Pierce thought that his gorgeous mate will kiss him, but she ended up licking him around his lips. It would be gross, but she smelled of fresh pastries and wherever she touched him was electric.
Daria licked Pierce's face clean from cream cheese and crumbs, and then she smacked her lips. "I had enough food. Unless you have something more important to do, I want you. Now."
Pierce swallowed hard while wondering if he should pinch himself to make sure he was not dreaming. He heard stories about how mates were made for each other, and now he confirmed it was true because just as he was horny, his mate wanted him as well. Things didn't get better than that!
He was sure that his jeans will explode how much his erection was stretching them. Damn, she was hot!
No one said a word when Daria grabbed Pierce's t-shirt, right in the middle of his chest area, and walked out of the dining room with Pierce following obediently.
"Hahaha! Mama and Papa will go crazy when they hear about Ria!", Kalina laughed loudly while clapping, pulling everyone out of their stupor, and then she turned to Talia. "Lia, that's your guard. Is he a good man?"
Talia nodded with a big smile on her face. "He is."
Tatiana bobbed her head happily. "I guess we can cancel her return flight to Germany." Tatiana was elated that another of her sisters will stay nearby.
Tatiana was in the final stages of moving her "Dama T" fashion business. Maddox secured her a fantastic office space that was in a human city, close to the territory of the Blue River pack. He got her a whole building that included private offices, shared and collaborative areas, storage spaces for fabrics and garments, and even a store that looked like a series of VIP lounges where customers can see catalogs and have private shows of the latest collections. The whole building featured high-tech cabling and security, and every room had controlled temperature and humidity.
Tatiana was impressed. Her mate thought of everything. Once the move of "Dama T" completes, Tatiana won't have a reason to go to Europe, so she was very happy that one more of her sisters will stay in the continental US.
"Talia, you are awesome!" Maya exclaimed.
"Oh, yes.", Mindy was quick to join. "We need to document this and use it to feature our mate-matching business."
"Don't make decisions related to my Alpha without involving me", Meg protested.
Talia wanted to tell them to stop that nonsense because she had nothing to do with Pierce and Daria being mates, but she didn't want to argue with them. It was useless anyway.
With the latest news being Daria and Pierce being mates, Tatiana introduced her newly-arrived sisters.
"These are Lidia and Varya", she said, and then she called out the names of everyone who was in the dining room before they continued eating.
After breakfast, Cornelia went to the study with Damon and Talia.
Cornelia wanted to talk only to Talia, but Damon insisted on tagging along, so here they were.
"I told you that I want to be treated as a member of your party", Cornelia said.
Talia had to voice her concerns. "You are aware that James and Alpha Edward will be here."
Cornelia made a face. "Yes, I am. The old bastard is setting up my mate with some sluts."
Talia's heart was beating wildly as she realized that Cornelia was about to do something reckless. She was aware of Cornelia's situation and if that was her and Damon, Talia would burn everything. However, that would be an emotionally driven action, and not a wise one.
She had to ask, "What will you do?"
"I will prevent that from happening.", Cornelia said with confidence.
"How?"
"To be honest…" Cornelia paused. "I'm not sure." Was choking Alpha Edward to death an option?
"Don't be impulsive", Damon said.
Cornelia snapped to look at him. "Would you be able to sit and watch as other men are swarming your mate?" Seeing Damon's expression darkening, Cornelia smirked. "I thought so. If you don't plan to help, then let me deal with my problem."
"We want to help, we really do", Talia was quick to say. "But we can't create a commotion at an event that will be full of Alphas and high-ranking members."
"If things go as planned, there won't be any commotion", Cornelia said.
Talia's face lit up. "So, you have a plan!"
"I have almost a plan", Cornelia admitted. "How things turn out will depend on Alpha Edward and how persistent those women are to get their hands on James. However, no matter what happens, I need to attend the event as someone important, important enough that I can interfere."
"A member of my party is not important", Talia said sourly. If it was a Beta or someone high-ranking, it would be different, but how can Cornelia impersonate a high-ranking she-wolf when it was obvious that she didn't have a wolf?
Cornelia knew that it was a long shot filled with dangers and uncertainties, but how could she stay on the side when James was facing an evening where other women will try to get their hands on him?
Cornelia knew enough about Alpha Edward to be able to predict two likely outcomes. One was that Alpha Edward successfully pressures James into being close to another woman. Even if James doesn't get touchy-feely with that woman, just him being friendly with a female who was flirty would break Cornelia's heart, and then Cornelia will break something... or someone. The second possible outcome was for James to resist his father, which will make Alpha Edward punish him. Again, it was not a scenario Cornelia would approve of.
'What do you think?', Talia asked Damon through their mind-link.
'I don't like it', Damon responded honestly. 'Cornelia is a loose cannon, unfamiliar with werewolves and our ways. Considering that Alpha Edward has plans with James that include other women, Cornelia will explode.'
That was exactly what Talia was thinking, but how can she deny helping Cornelia when it was a matter of mates? If Damon was in trouble and her friends refused to help, Talia would be devastated.
'You want to help her', Damon's voice sounded in Talia's head.
'Of course, I do', Talia confirmed. 'If that old guy is scheming against fated mates, I will help her get rid of him and hide the evidence.' Those were Talia's honest sentiments, but as an Alpha responsible for a pack, she also knew that she needed to exercise caution. Going wild based on emotions was not a good thing.
