'CADEN!'
Caden was startled to hear Damon's angry voice through the mind-link. 'Yes?'
'Talia is in heat.'
Caden was confused. Wasn't Damon with Varya? Right at that moment, the door opened, and only Varya appeared.
'What? Really? Where are you?'
'I am running to get her. She is… with Keith.'
Caden groaned. They all knew that Keith had an unhealthy infatuation with his Luna. 'Do you think he will…?'
'Don't you dare say that!' Damon cut him off.
'Sure, sure.' Caden quickly said. 'What can I do?' He assumed that there must be a reason why Damon was mind-linking him when he was in a rush to reach Talia.
'I spoke with Varya, and she agreed to cooperate. Make sure she doesn't backtrack again. Talk to Caleb and see what happened exactly for Keith to end up alone with Talia.'
'What about Talia? Can I help there?'
'Tell Max I'm on the run and that patrols should stay out of my way. If anyone dares to stop me, I won't show mercy.'
'Got it. Anything else?'
'Ask Max if there is a place I can take Talia. It needs to have water and...'
'Privacy.' Caden ended for Damon. 'I'm on it.' Caden turned to Maya. "You need to take over for a bit. Damon and Varya worked things out, so get the ball rolling."
"Where are you going?" Maya asked when she saw that Caden was already opening the door to leave.
"I need to find Max." Caden said, and added through their mind-link, 'Talia is in heat.'
Maya's mouth formed an 'O' shape. That should be a good thing, but why was Caden not happy about it?
Talia was drifting in and out of her mental haze.
The arousal was causing her body to cry for a release, and she clung to the muscular body by her side, but somehow… it didn't feel right.
Was that Damon? Who else could it be? But the landscape his muscles created felt different.
Her mind was so muddled that she was unable to reach out to him through the mind-link.
She looked up to see Damon, but then his scent was off, making her wonder if that was really him or if she just wanted it to be him.
Talia turned to the only person she could think of, and she focused mightily on the conversation.
'Liseli? Liseli!'
'What?' Liseli responded after some time.
'Can you feel Sapa?'
'No. Why would I feel him in this situation?'
'What do you mean?'
'We are not peepers. Unless you didn't notice your state, you are in heat. Sapa and I never look. And that reminds me that I should retract at the back of your mind also so that you can have your privacy. Enjoy!'
'No! Wait!'
'What now?' Liseli grumbled.
'Can you confirm if that is Damon?'
'Who else would it be?'
'I don't know, Lis, but… somehow… it doesn't feel right.'
'Of course, it will feel different. Heat is messing with your perception.'
Talia suspected that something else was off. 'What about your perception?'
Liseli giggled. 'Busted! You see… heat is impacting me more than you. So, my senses are not worth mentioning.'
'But Lis… there must be a way to confirm if that is Damon.'
'You are barely conscious. What do you think I can do?'
'Can we do something together?'
Liseli groaned. All this was mentally exhausting, and she would be already jumping on the male who was holding them, but Talia was in charge when they were in the human body, diminishing Liseli's control.
Liseli's mind was a mess, and the only thing she could think of was… 'Your power.'
'What about it?'
'If you suspect that's not Damon, blast him.'
'What will that achieve?'
'You can't hurt your mate. If the man holding you is Damon, it will go right through him, and if it's not…'
'I might kill him.'
'Even in this state, I can confirm that he is carrying us somewhere. If that's not mate, he deserves to die. Or would you rather allow a man who is not Damon to touch you? Just as our senses are messed up, he is impacted by your heat, and he won't be able to resist unless he has a mate bond to protect him. I am fairly positive that he is unmated because I am absolutely positive that the thing pressing on your waist is not a banana.'
Talia paused. She was unsure who that was, but other than Damon, two more faces popped into her mind. One was Gregory, the man who was talking to her before her heat, and the second one was Keith. The idea of being intimate with any of them was nauseating, but killing…? And what if that was Keith?
Damon was running through the foliage like the wind.
If any patrol spotted him and wanted to stop him, he was out of sight by the time they realized that the black blur was a wolf.
Caden reported that they found Caleb and other guards in a daze in the area where Talia should be.
Caleb said there was an intruder, a Guardian; Talia and the Guardian spoke, and then Keith jumped the guy before taking Talia away. It was not much, but Caden informed Maddox and Tony, and they were all spread in search of that Guardian who left only some blood splatters behind.
Damon left to Caden to deal with handling Gregory, and he focused on following after Keith and Talia.
Damon was losing his mind at the thought of what might happen. Why was Keith not responding to Damon's summons? And Talia was unreachable also!
With Talia in heat, she will be delirious. What if she is aroused to the point of not caring who will provide relief? What if Keith can't stop himself? What if Keith doesn't want to stop himself?
Damon would rip Keith into pieces if he dared to do something unsightly to Talia, but what would be the point of killing him if the damage was already done?
Oh, God! What if Talia ended up with Keith's child!?
'Stop it!' Sapa growled at Damon. 'I can't focus on finding mate!'
'Sorry.' Damon couldn't help it. 'If he dares to touch her…'
'We will kill him together, and we will take our time while doing so,' Sapa said. 'But don't get riled up before you know what's happening. There is a reason why the Moon Goddess made you mates. I finally got Liseli, and I refuse to believe she was mine only so another wolf can touch her!'
'But what if…?' Damon couldn't finish.
'What if!?' Sapa snapped. 'What if that boy takes advantage of the situation? What if mate ends up carrying his pup? Will you discard her? Will you kill him? You are the one who put him as her head guard even though you knew he has feelings for YOUR mate. Even if she doesn't end up pregnant, the fact that another man touched her will create a rift between you. She won't be with him because he is not her mate, and she won't be with you because of the guilt. She will live with eternal shame and anguish, and maybe even sever the mate bond in order to let you free, and it will be all your fault! It's your duty to protect your mate! If anything happens to her, you have no right to blame anyone else!'
Damon felt like someone poured a bucket of cold ice on him, one that was so icy that was preventing him from breathing.
Sapa felt guilty for unloading his anger on Damon, but this was not the time for losing focus.
'Boy!' Sapa shouted. 'Keep yourself together! Our mate needs us. You can freak out later.'
Damon was startled when Sapa stopped suddenly.
'What's going on?' Damon asked. He couldn't pick up anything. Actually, that was the problem.
'I can't sense, mate.' Sapa said.
Damon felt his world collapsing. What did that mean now?
Sapa lifted his head and sniffed the air. Among the scents of the forest, there was a faint citrusy scent of freesia, and Sapa dashed in the direction where Talia's scent led.
Damon's insides tightened. Sapa didn't say anything, but the scent of Talia's arousal was obvious. It was happening, Talia was in heat, and Damon was not by her side. Damn it!
Damon was unsure when they reached the opening to a cave, and he was confident that Talia's scent was coming from there.
'Wait!' Damon shouted at Sapa. He was not sure if he wanted to go in there. If he sees Talia and Keith entangled, it will kill him.
'Did you come here to chicken out?' Sapa barked and walked into the cave.
