Damon looked at Talia and asked through their mind-link, 'What do you want to do with the rogue? What if he killed our people? Do you want me to handle him?'
Talia was not sure what was the right thing to do. She was aware that her emotions were unstable. So many things happened, and until Varya jumped on Grady, Talia actually wanted to kill him. What was wrong with her? Did the darkness creep into her heart again, or was it the harsh reality?
Whichever it was, Talia knew that if she made a rash decision, she would regret it.
'Let's think about this,' Talia said. 'We can't kill him without evidence, not with Varya being his mate. If he is not one of the bad guys, he will help us out.'
'What if he backstabs us?'
'Then, we will kill him.'
Damon cocked an eyebrow at Talia. He sensed that her hostility was fizzling down, and he was not sure if that was a good thing or not.
Adrenaline helped Talia move after what happened to Lulu, but now that Talia was calming down, Damon was watching her and wondering if she will collapse due to heartache.
Kalina's rant at Varya and her newly-found mate broke the grim atmosphere filled with death that suffocated them, and Talia could breathe easier.
Damon spoke to his Betas, "Caden, can you get some clothes for him? The two of you will escort them to the packhouse and keep an eye on him until Alpha Maddox decides how to handle him."
"What about the self-combusting thing?" Maya asked. She had no problems escorting a rogue, but she was uncomfortable with the idea of him becoming a man-torch and possibly harming people around him.
Talia was thinking about it since she realized that the body paint on rogues was enchanted. "Call Cornelia to check on him. She might be able to remove it. Also, if I'm right that it's due to the paint, a shower might wash it away."
Maya thought about how it made sense, but... wasn't that a too simple solution? Can evil spells be washed away with water?
"Keith and Caleb will take care of Lulu," Damon said to Talia. "We should also go to the packhouse."
Talia really wanted to go to the packhouse, but… "We can't go. We need to help Max and his men find jamming devices. Until Max's warriors can communicate properly, we are all in danger."
Damon agreed with this, but he had a condition, "We are doing it together. No separating."
He was still angry because Talia didn't listen. Why couldn't she stay put in the packhouse?
Sure, she is powerful, and she found these jamming devices, and thanks to a strange twist in events, even Varya found her mate, a rogue that might be a significant asset if he agrees to cooperate. But none of those would be worth a squat if Talia was hurt... or worse. And he knew that the scar of Lulu's death will take forever to heal. His kitten had her brave face on, but Damon could feel she was on the verge of cracking.
"You can't comb this forest on your own," Kalina said. "Tony is with Max. Tell me what you need, and I will send them a message."
"First, inform him about these devices.", Talia said. "They are obstructing the mind-link and Alpha's aura. We found one hidden among the roots of…" Talia's breath hitched at the mental image of her and Lulu bickering about who will flip the switch. It felt like just a minute ago, Lulu was right there, closing her eyes in panic while bracing herself for an explosion that never came.
"It will be alright," Damon spoke softly while pulling Talia into his embrace, guessing that Talia was breaking down again because of Lulu.
She buried her face into his chest. "Does the pain go away?"
"No," he said. "But you learn to accept it as your new normal. Think of your memories as a way of honoring the ones who died."
Damon's heart ached as Talia sobbed into his chest. He told himself that it was all part of the process she had to go through. Bad things happen to good people, and there was nothing they could do about it.
After an unknown measure of time, Talia peeled herself from Damon. She glanced embarrassingly to see that Maya, Caden, Kalina, Varya, and Grady were there, all pretending to not notice her meltdown.
Talia wiped her cheeks with the back of her palm.
She frowned at the wet patch of tears and snot on Damon's t-shirt, and somehow… it reminded her of an evening next to the lake, where she ruined his designer's shirt, and he forced her to touch his chest, and then they watched fireworks. That memory felt like it was from ages ago as so many things have happened since then.
At that time, Talia was shy around Damon, reluctant to get closer, yet now she needed him more than air. He was her home.
"You need another t-shirt," she said.
"I will keep this one. Like this, parts of you will always be with me."
"How about you get another t-shirt, and I stay with you?"
Caden was already passing a t-shirt to Damon, but Damon didn't take it.
Damon was focused on Talia. "Do you promise to not leave my side?"
"Don't make it sound like this separation was my fault," Talia grumbled. "You were the one running out to fight rogues, and you told me to stay inside."
Damon knew that he was at fault here, but… "I did it for your safety."
This reminded Talia of one thing she didn't tell Damon. She was not sure how others will react, so she spoke through their mind-link. 'They were here for me, Damon.'
Damon felt his hair rising. 'What?'
'They didn't know me as Alpha Natalia. They addressed me as your Luna. Someone from the Dark Howlers pack told them that you left for this event with your Luna, and that's how they knew I will be here.'
Damon needed a moment to calm down. 'Kitten. This is important. Why didn't you tell me this right away?'
Talia didn't want to argue. 'If you are like this, next time, I won't tell you.'
Damon couldn't believe this. 'Next time?' But he also knew she was right. 'I'm sorry, kitten. It's just… I am worried about your safety. Next time, we won't separate. If I go hunting rogues, you are coming with me.'
'Alright,' Talia said and continued speaking normally for everyone to hear. "Take the t-shirt Caden is giving you, and we can start searching for those devices. If my hunch is correct, most of them will be close to the packhouse."
Damon frowned in disapproval. "You want us to go through this forest randomly?"
Talia paused. She knew that was not feasible. "We don't need to. We can circle the packhouse and fish out a few devices to show them to Max's warriors. Once they see what those devices look like, they can spread out to search for them. If their mind-link doesn't work, that will mean they are nearby…"
