Ancient relics (3)
'BOOOOM!'
A thunderous explosion shook the room, and Talia found herself in Damon's embrace. He shielded her with his body from the debris.
The dust settled, and Talia blinked to see on the side Axel holding Yasmin protectively with his back facing the explosion, just as Damon was holding her. Cassandra, Calla, and Remi were hiding behind the stone table.
Talia's eyes widened when she saw the area where the necklace exploded. Everything in that corner was blasted away, including the walls. There was a gap big enough for a person to pass into the adjacent lab. Three panicked heads were peeking through there to see what caused that explosion.
"It's OK!" Cassandra exclaimed while waving at those three healers to leave. "Just an experiment went out of hand!"
Talia silently thanked the Moon Goddess that no one else was in the lab. If this stunt ended up killing someone, she would blame herself forever.
"Is everyone OK?" Talia asked.
"We are fine," Yasmin responded for her and Axel.
"Ugh," Remi groaned, and they all saw a gush of blood on her left thigh. She didn't avoid a beaker that flew her way and ended up with a nasty cut.
Calla was quick to get there and apply pressure on Remi's wound.
"We need healers!" Calla shouted from anxiety, and then she remembered that she was one. She placed her hands above Remi's wound and chanted magical words to promote healing.
Talia wanted to go there, but Damon's hold on her was solid.
'I can heal her,' Talia said through their mind-link.
'It's not life-threatening,' Damon responded stiffly. 'Let the healers handle it.'
A low growl formed in Damon's chest. "Let's NOT do that again." If he didn't react in time… he didn't want to think about it.
Talia wanted to tell him it was fine. She also heard the buzzing sound and was thinking if a shield was needed, but Liseli was calm, so Talia guessed that nothing wrong would happen.
'Didn't you sense the upcoming explosion?' Talia asked Liseli.
'No,' Liseli said bluntly. 'That necklace looked like it was charging.'
'It was. For an explosion.'
'It didn't look like anything explosive to me.'
Talia didn't want to argue. She needed to pacify her Alpha, who was holding onto her like she was his lifeline.
Talia's heart cracked when she sensed Damon's emotions. He was terrified by the possibility of losing her. She tightened her hold on him.
Talia thought of something else, so she mind-linked Axel, 'Didn't you see the upcoming explosion with your ability?'
'My ability is not working here,' Axel responded. 'I believe that one of the relics is blocking it.'
Talia thought how it made sense. She returned her attention to holding Damon.
Talia scrunched her nose, unsure if the scent of Remi's blood mixed with Damon's or if he was bleeding.
"Are you OK?" Talia asked in a whisper.
"No."
Talia quickly ran her hands over his back to sense if there were any tears or stickiness due to blood. "Are you harmed?"
"My heart nearly broke. Why do you make me worry, kitten?" He spoke into her hair. "What will I do if I lose you? Do you want me to go mad and kill everyone?"
His anxiety was spilling on her, and Talia felt dizzy.
"Damon," Talia called. "Damon!"
He moved to look at her, and she teared up when she saw the panic in his eyes. He was pale like a sheet of paper.
Talia put her palms on his cheeks and started chanting, "I am fine. I am right here. You protected me. Everything is fine." She kissed him on the lips. "See? I'm right here." She kissed him again. "How about we go to our room and rest for a bit? Or would you rather go for a run to let out some steam?"
Damon nodded. He didn't care where they went, as long as it was away from this place. Damon paused when he noticed that Talia's attention was behind him.
Damon turned to see Cassandra clearing the rubble with her bare hands.
"Ha!" Cassandra exclaimed victoriously, and then she returned with the necklace in her hand.
"It didn't blow up?" Yasmin asked. Considering the explosion and the damage, it was unbelievable that the necklace was only dusty.
Cassandra bobbed her head. "Relics are resilient. I tried on them spells, abilities, and physically smashing them. I couldn't make a scratch."
Talia thought how that was interesting. "Does this mean we can use this necklace as a bomb?"
"YOU can use it as a bomb," Cassandra responded to Talia. "But I don't think it would blow if you kept holding onto it."
"What do you mean?" Talia asked.
Cassandra gestured toward twelve crystals on the stone table. "Measurements showed energies converging, but nothing volatile. I believe the explosion happened because it lost contact with you. Of course, that's just a theory. The way to make sure is…"
"NO!" Damon shouted, and everyone (other than Talia) felt his Alpha aura pressing on them.
"Talia is NOT going to do that again!" He kicked the chest with relics to close. "Take this back from where it came from. Or even better, throw it into the ocean. Burry it somewhere no one will find it!"
Talia hugged Damon, knowing that her proximity could calm him down. There was no point in talking when he was having a panic attack.
'Let's talk about it later,' Talia said to Cassandra through the mind link and turned to Damon. "Are we going?"
Damon nodded stiffly, and they walked out.
Damon didn't say a word until they reached their room.
Talia closed the door behind them and turned to face him.
Damon jabbed his hand into his hair angrily.
"Damn it, Talia! When are you going to..." His words were cut off when Talia jumped on him. "What…?"
Her legs tightened around his waist, and she grabbed fistfuls of his hair.
Before he could figure out what was going on, Talia's lips latched on her mark on his neck.
"Damn it…" He spoke breathily. "Kitten… You… Mmm… Fuck…" He had so many things to say, but she executed a lethal move, and he hated and loved how much she could influence him.
His arms snapped around her, and he fell to his knees. Every move of her tongue over the mark sent electric pulses straight to his groin area and numbed everything else.
Talia continued sucking and licking her mark, and her hands moved to undress Damon.
He was stressed. They both were. Instead of a shouting session to release tension, they might as well indulge in carnal pleasures.
Damon wanted to say they needed to talk, but Talia's emotions told him she needed him, and his resolve dissolved faster than cotton candy that fell into the water.
His head dipped to find his mark on her neck, and he kissed her there, her every moan soothed his anxiety, and by the time they were naked, he forgot why his mood was off when they entered their room.
There were no words spoken, nor foreplay, as Damon invaded her insides with urgency, and she welcomed him eagerly, right there on the floor of their bedroom in the Midnight Guardians pack.
