"Did we ever confirm who is Lisa's mate?" Caden's question broke the silence.
Maya shook her head. "I will ask Steph."
"Be careful what you say," Damon warned Maya as his insides churned at the possibility of… "We don't know if Steph is the one who leaked information."
"You don't think that she would…"
Damon raised his hand, interrupting Maya. "I don't think anything. But this sounds like Lisa, and she got the information somehow. Only a few people in the pack knew that Talia came with me, so the list of suspects who would put my Luna in danger is not long. And about the potion..." Damon jabbed his hand into his hair. He heard there was a breach in one of their labs, but nothing was missing, so they assumed it was warriors pranking each other. But now it seems rogues stole the formula.
At this point, Damon was fairly certain that Lisa got information from Stephanie. No one else was in contact with Lisa, how much he knew. Stephanie was either part of this, or she disclosed sensitive information without knowing that Lisa would give it to rogues so they could cause this mess.
Going after Lisa was one thing, but how could he go after Stephanie? She had been like his mother for the last decade, and Damon couldn't see himself pointing fingers at the woman who supported him when everyone else was confident he would fail.
Talia looked at Damon, feeling his anger and confusion. She knew that his emotions were amplified by the memory of his parents dying because someone from their inner circle betrayed them.
And this was about him and his people targeting his mate. How could be OK with that?
Maya and Caden were aware that Lisa could do petty things, but betrayal? That was a new low.
Damon punished Lisa lightly for what she did because of their history and because of Stephanie. Instead of appreciating what Damon did, it turned out that Lisa backstabbed him.
This was not just about Lisa being jealous of Talia. It was about endangering others, Damon included. After all, if anything happened to Talia, Damon would be weakened, which meant the whole Dark Howlers pack would be in danger, and that was not a forgivable offense.
Maddox continued interrogating Grady, and Grady told them that he grew up among humans and that he joined Tristan's group only a few months back.
Other than, "I can show you where Tristan's hideouts and package pickup spots are," Grady didn't have anything else that would be usable.
Maddox ran out of questions, so they needed to decide.
"What should we do with him?" Maddox asked Tatiana.
Tatiana looked at Varya standing next to Grady and clinging to his arm, and Tatiana had no idea how to answer this.
Grady was a rogue, a part of the group that caused them so much grief and turned her luxurious wedding into a day for mourning, but there was her younger sister, pleading silently for her mate to be spared.
"We are yet to confirm if what he said was the truth," Tatiana said.
"I believe he spoke truthfully," Talia chimed in. Liseli told her that the guy was not lying. There might be a chance he was concealing things, but whatever he said was the truth.
Maddox frowned at Talia's words. If Grady lied, it would be easy to deal with him. However, if he told the truth, it meant he collaborated, and... what next? Should they just release a rogue? That wouldn't end well.
"How about we take him to the Dark Howlers pack?" Damon asked, surprising everyone. He knew that Talia wouldn't say the guy was truthful without confidence.
"What do you mean?" Varya asked Damon suspiciously.
"So far, your mate showed goodwill. Considering that he was with Tristan only for a short time, and he didn't harm anyone himself, we will give him a chance as long as he agrees to join the Dark Howlers pack."
"Join the pack?" Grady asked, unsure if he was relieved or horrified by this.
Damon confirmed. "You said that you are a scout and quick on your feet. If you join the Dark Howlers pack, we will test your abilities. If you do well, you can become a warrior."
"A warrior?" Grady echoed Damon's last words, unsure if Damon was giving him a way out or tricking him.
Talia looked at Damon questionably, and she asked him through their private mind-link, 'You will take in a rogue?'
Damon didn't think it was a big deal. 'The Dark Howlers pack takes in anyone who needs a place to stay and doesn't mean harm to the pack. I told you that when we met. Didn't I?'
He did, but… 'Why do I have a feeling you have another reason?'
'He saw you using your powers. If he joins our pack, I will have more control over him.'
Talia was still not convinced. 'Isn't he a liability?'
'It is clear that no one wants him dead, and keeping him in the dungeon is not an option either. I will have people assigned to watch over him. Becoming a warrior can be a lengthy training, and we can prolong it until he slips or convinces us in his sincerity.'
Talia realized that Damon's words made sense, and she admired how he could think logically in this situation. He already had a plan, and it turned her on a bit. Smart Damon was sexy. How could she lag behind him?
"My Alpha has spoken," Talia said to Varya and Grady. "If I understood correctly, neither of you lived as part of a pack before. Other than joining the Dark Howlers pack, you will need to learn about the rules we follow and accept guidance from people we assign as your counselors. Based on your abilities and interests, we expect that you will perform specific duties. Since you are a mated couple, you will get a dwelling where you can live together, and you will never go hungry. What do you say? Do you agree to this?"
"We agree!", Varya and Grady said in unison, both relieved that there was a way out for them which didn't include a dungeon or worse.
Talia was already planning to conceal Grady's identity as a rogue. Only a selected few will know in order to avoid any unnecessary complications. And there was also one more benefit.
'We can ask Grady to let us know if he recognizes anyone,' Talia spoke to Damon through their mind link. 'He worked as a messenger for rogues, and I'm sure that he saw some spies.'
Damon nodded in response. He liked that Talia was thinking about how to use this situation to their advantage.
Kalina and Tatiana looked at Talia gratefully. They wanted Varya to be happy with her mate, but they didn't know how to make it happen, considering that Grady was a rogue. However, with Talia keeping an eye on the couple, Tatiana and Kalina were confident that Varya won't be bullied. If it was Talia and Damon, they could do anything.
Sisters were also happy that all five of them would be staying in the US. What luck!
