Damon's heart was breaking for Talia. It was her first time seeing something like that, and not just seeing but being in the middle of it. He knew that Talia was drowning in guilt that will plague her for years to come.
He was there about a decade ago when people died around him, for him, and there was nothing he could do about it. People told him it was not his fault, and it was their duty, and that didn't lessen the burden he felt. Actually, it made it worse because he thought of himself as a weak link that was causing everyone near him to die. Those were dark times in Damon's life, and he didn't have time to mourn one death before the next one came, and he wondered if people would be better off without him.
But then he had Caden and Stephanie, and they convinced him that pack without him will suffer, and the only way to prevent unnecessary carnage was for Damon to get stronger. And he did.
Over the years, he trained in much more than fighting. Damon hardened his heart and steeled his mind and managed to push through crisis after crisis... but this was Talia, his delicate kitten. She was breaking apart in his arms, and he hated it.
If he had one wish, that would be the power to erase this evening from her memory.
Damon got an idea. What if he uses the memory-erasing potion?
'You shouldn't think that way,' Sapa said. 'Mate is strong. She is kind, which is wonderful, but in our world, that could lead to her death.'
Damon knew all that. Of course, he did. How many times did he tell Talia that people are malicious and that she should be cautious? But he loved that about her. Her nurturing nature allowed her to see the best in people.
Damon wished to be stronger, strong enough for both of them so that he could protect Talia from all the bad in this world. He would face the ugly stuff and let her stay pure and innocent with her untainted heart that was always ready to forgive.
Suddenly, Talia stopped crying, and her head whipped to the right. She narrowed her silvery eyes in that direction as if she could see through the trees and dense foliage.
"What is it?" Damon asked.
Without answering, Talia stood up slowly and started walking in that direction. She stepped over bodies of dead rogues like they were nothing and then continued moving straight. Damon was right behind her, and so were Maya and Caden.
Keith and Caleb stayed next to Lulu's body, per Caden's command.
Talia circled one bush and stopped in front of a body. His presence was so vague that one would think he was not there or was dead, but he was staring at Talia, Damon, Maya, and Caden.
"A live one," Maya said. "Good, we can interrogate him."
"We can't," Talia said dryly. "The moment he tries to divulge anything about this operation, he will burst into flames."
Maya, Caden, and Damon frowned at Talia's words. They had never heard of such a thing as people bursting into flames for snitching.
"Are you sure?" Maya asked.
Talia confirmed with a stiff nod and pointed at the guy who didn't move a muscle. "My guess is that painted outfit on him has some enchantment to conceal their presence and to prevent him from talking. Even when I used my aura to force them into talking, they burst into flames." It was close to the truth, as she couldn't say in front of Maya and Caden that Liseli was forcing her way into their minds.
"So, what do we do?" Caden asked. "We can't interrogate him, and we can't let him go."
"Kill him," Talia said.
"No, wait!" Damon shouted. "Don't dirty your hands, kitten. Let me do it."
Talia looked at Damon, and her eyes stopped flickering in silvery light in a silent agreement. Right, her Damon was here, with his power to make everything better.
The scene of Lulu dying left a gaping hole in Talia's heart, and she wondered if Damon will be able to mend it somehow, or at least make it less painful. Talia wondered if she was too greedy. Should she expect Damon to fix all her problems?
"Let's us take care of this guy," Maya said, indicating that she and Caden will kill the rogue. "We need to take Lulu and get out of here."
The daylight didn't make this forest any less gloomy, and it fully revealed that they were all covered in cuts and bruises, but the biggest drain was on their mind. They all wanted to head back, wash off remnants of this night and maybe wake up to find that it was just a bad dream.
Caden gestured to Maya to step back. "I will do it." He turned to look at the rogue. "You are lucky. I will make this quick."
The rogue couldn't believe this! Why were they casually talking about who will kill him? And what was that nonsense about luck for making it quick? Lucky was being alive, and that was what he wanted!
He cursed his non-existent luck.
He grew up in a human city with his mother, who was a she-wolf. His mother passed last year, and since then, he has been wandering, trying to find out more about his kind because his mother never spoke about werewolves.
Only two months ago, he joined Tristan's group of rogues, and until now, he made a few trips to human town to collect some packages. He was a messenger. For tonight, they told him that he only needed to come here and act as a scout, to navigate people in various directions if anyone stumbles upon him and avoid fighting. It should be an easy thing as he was always a quick runner and good at hiding. After all, he spent his teenage years among humans and they didn't discover that he was different.
After experiencing how werewolves live, he realized it was not so glorious as he hoped it would be. He was planning to head South after getting his reward money. He dreamed of sunny beaches and half-naked babes, and not this who-will-kill-him crap!
They all seemed eager to end him, and he didn't dare cry for mercy. How can he get out of this?
Caden reached for the rogue, who was pushing himself away from Caden, using his arms and legs, and resembling an inverted spider.
"I didn't do anything," he said. "I was told…"
"Do I look like I care?" Caden interrupted him.
"Let him talk," Talia said. "The more he talks, the higher is the probability he will burst into flames and save you the trouble."
The rogue shut his mouth with so much force that his teeth clattered.
After two more attempts for Caden to grab the rogue's neck, Caden lost his patience and grabbed the guy's ankle. He would tackle the rogue, but the guy was naked, and Caden didn't want to engage in more skinship than necessary.
"Stay still, will ya?" Caden said irritably.
The scene would be comical if not for everyone's wretched states and for the fact that they were set on killing the guy.
Damon rolled his eyes. Why was this taking so long? "Move to the side, Caden."
The rogue thought they will spare him, but then Damon released Talia from his hold and moved to stand above him.
"It will be your honor to experience death from Alpha Damon, the Alpha of the Dark Howlers pack. Any last words? You have three seconds. Talia, look away."
The rogue felt like crying. First luck, now honor? This was more like horror!
