Talia and Lulu moved stealthily through the foliage.
Lulu was keeping her eyes on Talia who moved soundlessly without leaving a trace. It confirmed that when Keith praised Talia how she could compare with their top scouts was not just empty talk.
Lulu wondered what other skills Talia had. Surely, as someone who was the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack, Talia was not a simple person.
Talia raised her hand to get Lulu's attention. They were only about thirty feet away from their targets and Talia was silently chanting how this was the right thing to do.
Sure, insecurities crept into Talia's mind about Lulu, and Talia was determined to confirm beyond doubt if Lulu was a traitor by putting her guard to the test. It was one of those things, keep your friends close and your enemies closer, and so far, Lulu performed well.
Talia noticed that Lulu was looking at her curiously, and this reinforced Talia's concern that communication will be a problem. Lulu said that she will follow Talia's lead, but Talia wished that they worked out a set of hand signals or animal noises before coming here. Just stop and go were easy to do, but what if she wanted to convey more than that?
The only one Talia could mind-link and not cause panic was Meg, but Meg was in the packhouse and couldn't help here. Talia dismissed those thoughts. She focused on the area from where they came, and she could hazily sense Ivy, Lily, and Mila standing at the edge of the forest.
Talia was confused. What happened with her ability to sense her surroundings? Was something obstructing her? Talia remembered the runes Guardians used to suppress one's aura, but that clearly didn't affect her. What was going on? Did rogues work with witches? Or with Guardians?
Should they return and regroup? Regroup, with whom? There was no point in going back. If things turn worse, Talia will use her aura to suppress everyone, and she will apologize to Lulu later.
Talia waved her hand with her palm facing downward, hoping that Lulu will take that as, "Take it slow and be careful", and then she resumed walking toward their targets.
Murmurs got Talia's attention and she perked up her ears. Her hearing was fantastic, but those people were whispering.
"How long do we need to stay here?", one asked.
"Until we get the signal to move."
Talia pressed her lips into a line. Move, where? Were they planning an attack on the packhouse? Or…?
Talia squatted behind a bush when she saw the outlines. They were only a few steps away from their targets and Talia was pleased that they took a scent-concealing concoction before coming to this event.
Talia saw that Lulu's eyes were trained on the people in front of them, and she was in a crouching position, ready to attack.
'Liseli?' Talia called her wolf. 'Are these rogues?'
'Grown males. Four of them. No pack link.' Liseli responded robotically.
Talia's eyebrows nearly reached her hairline. Did Liseli say there were four of them? What the heck was going on here?
Noise from the back startled Talia, and then she heard rustling from the right.
"Ah, it seems the wait is over," one male from the front said.
Talia swallowed hard when she realized that four shadows on the other side of that bush were standing now and facing Talia and Lulu. Based on the noise from rustling, it was easy to confirm they were surrounded. Movements were happening all around them. It was a trap!
'Liseli?'
'I didn't sense them!' Liseli growled, knowing what Talia was about to ask.
'How can they conceal their presence so well?'
'How about we keep one alive and ask?' Liseli responded irritably.
Knowing they were caught, Talia stood up in slow motion.
Talia turned to see that about a dozen people created a circle with Talia and Lulu in the center. There were a few steps between them, but not enough for Talia to think they can escape this without a fight. Can they take on these twelve people? What if there are more of them hiding in the shadows?
Their scents were so faint that if they were not right there, Talia would assume it was something wind brought from the distance.
"Can we talk about this?" Talia asked. "We are guests at the party and we got lost." Will this story work? Probably not, but she wanted to confirm how many rogues they were facing, and she didn't like that they were surrounded by ghosts.
A male from Talia's left chuckled. "I can't believe she was right to say that you will come to us. The location is a bit off, but the rest matches."
Talia thought that she heard something important. "Someone told you we will come here?" Did they even know who they were?
Talia's eyes subconsciously moved to Lulu who was standing on Talia's right and eyeing the people who surrounded them.
'It couldn't be Lulu, right?', Talia thought. Lulu didn't know they were coming here until they were actually on the move, and Lulu was with Talia all the time. Unless Lulu had some device or another way to alert them without being noticed.
The man chuckled. "Aren't you a curious birdie? Relax. We won't harm you."
Yeah, right. Like Talia will believe that. "What do you want?"
"You need to come with us." He said.
"If you think we will come quietly, you are mistaken."
He tched in annoyance. "We need only you. The other one is dispensable. How about you come with us, and we won't harm your mate?"
Talia was totally confused. "My mate?" Were they talking about Damon? But if they knew that Damon was her mate, wasn't she exposed as Alpha Natalia and Luna Talia? "Do you know who I am?"
"Of course," he said with confidence. "You are Luna Talia of the Dark Howlers pack. Now stop with these games. We have your picture, so we know we've got the right person. And it's not a lookalike because we confirmed that Alpha Damon left the Dark Howlers pack with his mate, Luna Talia. Unless you want us to harm your mate, you will come with us."
Talia blinked while processing this information. Was it possible that they didn't know she was Alpha Natalia? Or was this a trap? Talia decided to play along.
"My Damon is the most powerful Alpha. Do you think you can harm him?"
The rogue snorted. "The fact we are here means we are confident. Do you want us to kill your guard as proof we are serious?"
Talia had some doubts about Lulu, but she didn't want Lulu to be killed. Besides, Lulu looked ready to fight, not like she had met her comrades.
Talia had confidence in Damon, but the rogue's words made her unsettled.
'Damon? Damon?' Talia called through their private mind-link and her eyes widened when there was no response.
"How can you…?"
"Enough questions!" The guy snapped at Talia. "Stop stalling for time. You either come with us, or we will make you."
"Where are you taking me?"
"You will see when you get there. Now move!" He reached to grab her arm.
Talia twisted her body, avoiding his hold.
There was a moment of eye contact between Talia and Lulu, the rogues shouted while dashing toward Talia and Lulu, and it was like hell broke loose.
