Damon's accusing eyes were on Axel, and Axel was unsure if he wanted to open the door.
Those ambiguous words came from Talia and Yasmin, who were in the suite alone, and nothing good would come from opening the door.
If there were no witnesses, Axel would return to the lounge and pretend he didn't hear anything, but how can he do that when Damon was right there?
Axel knew that Yasmin and Talia were getting along well, but were they getting THAT well?
Damon's blood was boiling. What was Talia doing? Did that wretched witch cast a spell on Talia to seduce her? Damon feared that Keith or some other bastard would get his hands on Talia, but did he lose Talia to a scrawny girl like Yasmin? No, no… he didn't lose Talia. The mate bond was stronger than ever. Everything was fine unless… was he supposed to share Talia with Yasmin?
No one, NO ONE, gets to touch Talia other than Damon!
Damon saw red.
Seeing that Axel was frozen on the spot, Damon's temper exploded.
"Move!" Damon growled at Axel.
"Wait! Let's think about this. What if…"
Axel didn't get a chance to finish that as Damon shoved him to the side.
Damon exhaled sharply and gripped the doorknob before opening the door in one swift move.
Talia's head whipped toward the door to see Damon standing there with his face red from anger and Axel peering inside from Damon's right.
'I told you I would be back in a bit. We are almost done here,' Talia spoke to Damon through their mind-link because she didn't want to disturb Yasmin, who was concentrating on channeling energies.
Damon was not sure how to respond to this. Should he admit that he imagined Talia and Yasmin on the bed, naked with their limbs entangled? Now that he saw them sitting on the floor, facing each other and glowing, he felt silly.
'I was missing you,' Damon said. It was the truth. He missed seeing her every second because he feared that she might disappear without any warning.
Talia could feel his sorrow and insecurities, and she realized that she had neglected her mate.
They had a stressful day that started with an explosion, and then Talia teleported unexpectedly, and so many other mentally straining things happened. Damon was tense, on the verge of snapping, and she left him to deal with it on his own.
Talia knew that Damon was not weak. He was the strongest person she ever knew, and he loved her immensely. But that love made him vulnerable, and she promised silently to protect him with all she had and not make him suffer.
No matter how powerful Talia was, Damon was worried about her, and that made her his weakness.
"Continue like that, Yasmin. You are doing great," Talia gave final encouragement before getting up and walking to Damon.
She hugged him and pushed him from the doorframe into the hallway.
"I am sorry, Damon. I won't leave you like this again," Talia spoke into his chest.
She glanced at Axel. "Go in and give her company. Try not to disturb her as she is concentrating on channeling energies."
Axel nodded in understanding and scooted sideways to get into the room.
Now that Talia had left Yasmin's side, Yasmin was not glowing anymore, but the energy pulsating around her was causing refraction, like an invisible layer that distorted vision.
Axel turned toward the door to see that Talia and Damon were not there anymore. He closed the door carefully, and then he sat on the ground opposite Yasmin, and he stared at his mate. Her eyes were closed, and she was smiling. He could feel that she was happy. She was beautiful.
Talia wanted to give her full attention to Damon, but she needed to deal with one matter first.
Talia went with Amelia and Cornelia to the lab where the ancient relics were without releasing Damon's hand.
They found that Cassandra was still there. She was arranging items Talia tested previously in various containers and labeling them.
"Oh, I thought we were done for today," Cassandra said when she saw Talia at the door.
"You should take a break for dinner," Talia said.
"I will, once I finish these."
Talia shook her head at Cassandra. It was obvious that the Oracle was obsessed with her research.
"These are relics," Talia said to Cornelia and Amelia. "You saw magical items in your Coven, right?"
Cornelia and Amelia confirmed.
"The thing with these is that we are not sure how to use them. They respond to my energy." Talia took one relic. It was a brooch she tested earlier.
She put the brooch next to the metallic spoon to demonstrate that nothing had happened.
"Once I charge it, it turns into a magnet."
Talia's palm glowed in silvery light that the brooch absorbed. A second later, Talia put the brooch on the stone table, and the metallic spoon flew toward the brooch until it was stuck to it.
"The effect lasts about ten seconds after I stop charging it," Talia explained.
"What do you expect us to do?" Cornelia asked.
Talia gestured toward the chest that still had numerous shiny things inside. "I don't think these are made for me to use, but Cassandra and her team could not activate them. Cassandra believes that they require some conditions to work. Can the two of you investigate what type of energy will activate them?"
Amelia's eyes lit up, but Cornelia was not enthusiastic.
"This might take a long time," Cornelia grumbled.
Talia understood Cornelia's concern. The witch was eager to return to the human realm and reunite with James. Doing research like this might take months, or longer.
"At this time, I am hoping you will check them out briefly and see if you can feel anything," Talia explained. "If you are interested in taking on this project, we can bring a number of these items with us. You can test them in the Dark Howlers pack when you take a break from your current research."
Cornelia relaxed at this, joining Amelia in digging through the chest with items.
Feeling that Damon's tension was increasing again, Talia turned to Cassandra. "Do you mind telling Amelia and Cornelia what we did today? It might give them some ideas on how to approach this."
Cassandra had no objections. Witches were known to operate magical objects, and Cassandra hoped she could learn something useful.
Talia gave Damon's hand a squeeze. 'How about a run to release tension?'
Damon's eyes flashed in approval. He was delighted that Talia didn't want to meddle with those damned relics again.
Two wolves ran through the forest, one black and the other light gray, nearly white.
Talia jumped on a tall rock and stood on it victoriously.
Damon's steps halted at the base of the rock, and he stared at her. The breeze ruffled her fur to ripple under the moonlight in silvery light.
Talia turned to look at him.
'Why are you standing there? Join me,' she spoke to Damon through their mind-link.
'You are beautiful,' he said breathily.
Talia giggled, but the sound that came from her wolf form was more like a whine. 'If I had non-hairy cheeks, you would see me blushing.'
'I am serious.' He tilted his head. 'Why do I have a feeling that your fur is whiter?'
Talia turned to look at herself. 'Whiter?'
'I could swear it was darker when we had our first pack run.'
Talia didn't see the difference. 'Does it matter?'
'No. Regardless of what color your fur is, I adore you because I fell in love with your soul.'
Talia leaped off the rock, and she rubbed her head on his neck. 'You are a sweet talker, Damon Blake.'
'I am only speaking my mind.'
Talia touched his nose with hers, and then she gave him a lick, knowing that always flusters him.
Before Damon could react, she was running away from him with, 'Catch me if you can!'
Damon was up for the challenge.
Damon was right behind Talia, nipping at her tail whenever it got in his range, and she would squeal and giggle while changing her direction and spurring him to run faster.
It seemed they were running randomly, and Damon paused when he saw the familiar entrance of a cave where Talia had disappeared.
Damon walked slowly inside after Talia, and he shifted into his human form when he saw her sitting on the cot, stark naked... just how he liked her.
"Did you lure me here to seduce me, Mrs. Blake?" Damon asked while stalking toward her.
Talia bit her lower lip while her eyes roamed his naked form hungrily. "I thought we might create some happy memories while we are here, Mr. Blake."
Damon released a deep growl while lowering himself on the cot above Talia. Happy memories it is!
