After visiting Lulu's father, Talia's mood was low. She was emotional and on the verge of crying, and Damon insisted they go to the lake.
If they were alone, she would dissolve into crying again. Talia started the day with crying after listening to her mother's message, and then the waterworks continued when they visited Page.
That much crying can't be good for anyone, and Damon was desperate to distract Talia.
It was a warm, sunny afternoon, and the beach was packed. People played volleyball and badminton, relaxed in the sun, and many heads bobbed in the water. Laughter and cheers were heard from every direction, and the mood was uplifting.
Maya and Caden coordinated to free up a section for the newcomers that included towels, a shade below the canopy, and fruits and drinks as refreshments.
Damon was pleased to see a smile on Talia's face.
Talia was amused while listening to Maya's narration of how she needed to explain swimsuits to newcomers. In the Midnight Guardians pack, everyone is a werewolf, and they have no problem with nudity. Newcomers didn't understand why they needed to cover up certain parts of their bodies and how that was related to humans.
Talia's mood improved when three more members of the Midnight Guardians pack found their mates on the beach.
Amelia and Liam were right there to take three couples to the packhouse where Amelia set up a teleporting diagram. Amelia, Liam, Keith, and Caleb escorted newly mated couples to the Midnight Guardians pack and then returned to the Dark Howlers pack to see if more mated couples needed moving.
One male from the Midnight Guardians pack found his mate earlier that day in Darkbourne. With these three latest couples, eleven out of twenty people who came from the Midnight Guardians pack found their mates.
"Maybe I should listen to Maya's advice and ask Axel to send us more people," Talia mused. "I was hoping they will find their mates soon, but this is super-fast."
Damon was happy to see that she was thinking about something other than Lulu.
"Maybe we should bring some witches here as well," Damon suggested.
Talia didn't think it was a good idea. "Evanora didn't seem happy when Amelia left with Liam. I don't want her to hate us. We can bring some people with us when we go to visit next time."
Damon liked that idea, but… "The more people we take there, the more will know where the portal is." They can't go knocking out and blindfolding everyone. It was not practical. "We need to make people in this realm aware of witches and abilities and get them to accept it as normal. That won't happen if we only have people going there."
Talia and Damon talked about this before. It was a long-term plan of assimilating witches into society, and it would take years, decades maybe. However, now that the danger of Guardians was looming above them, they needed to speed up the process.
Talia wanted to say something else, but she didn't want to risk others overhearing them, so she continued talking to Damon through their mind-link, 'We should also discuss with Max, Tony, and Cristian how to alert our people about Guardians. If our people are unaware of dangers, they will walk right into them.'
Damon agreed on how that must be done. 'I will contact them to schedule a meeting. We should also find a way to invite George and James.'
Talia agreed. George was an Alpha, and James was the smartest guy around. 'Cornelia comes here every day. We can use that to send information on Guardians to James. That will give him time to brainstorm ideas before we meet. Or if he cannot attend the meeting, he can give his inputs beforehand.'
'I love how your mind works, kitten.'
Damon leaned to kiss her cheek, and then he started feeding her strawberries that Maya had placed nearby.
Talia looked at Damon helplessly. He looked at her with sparkles in his eyes like no worries in the world. She wished that she could disconnect like that.
Talia moved closer to Damon and leaned on him. Sparks of their bond prickled her skin wherever they touched, calming her anxiety; the sweet strawberries and Damon's undivided attention helped.
Talia looked around to see the crowd relaxing on the beach. She felt a sense of pride at the sight of many smiles. Those people were enjoying their carefree time because their leaders ensured their safety.
Talia hoped they will be able to repel the dangers and allow their people to keep smiling.
It was late afternoon when Damon and Talia returned to their room.
Talia paused when she saw a deep blue dress on the mannequin in the middle of the bedroom. It was a skater dress with a plunging V-neck neckline. The skirt ended at the knee level and it would be sport-ish if not for the silky material that made it elegant.
Talia looked below the dress to see matching shoes.
"Are we going somewhere?" Talia asked Damon.
Damon smiled mysteriously. "We have a reservation for dinner for two at the Medallion." He winked. "Get ready, or we might be late."
Talia's eyes widened. She heard that the Medallion was the fanciest restaurant in the human town. Maya was complaining about how Caden needed to book their anniversary dinner months in advance.
"What are we celebrating?" Talia asked.
"Do I need a reason to treat my mate well?" Damon moved toward Talia in slow, steady steps, and he stopped when their bodies nearly touched. "You are the most precious person in my life, Talia Blake. I don't need a special occasion to celebrate because every day with you is my best day ever."
Since finding out about her identity as Alpha Natalia Moonrider, Talia loved it when Damon called her Talia Blake. It told her that he didn't care about her status or background.
Talia's chin shivered. There were days when she wondered if she would ever find her mate, and she hoped that he would be proud to have her in his life, and here was Damon, the most exquisite male specimen, saying that every day with her was his best ever. Can he be any sweeter?
"Hey, hey…" Damon said while cupping her cheeks. His expression showed panic. "I wanted to put a smile on your face and not make you cry." The day started with crying, and it seemed that Talia didn't completely bounce back. Talia was emotional, and if she was not crying, tears were waiting to spill again.
Talia sniffled and gave him an ugly smile. "I am happy, Damon. I really am. Can we go for dinner with all the things going on?"
He gave her a smacking kiss on the lips. "If you are happy, show me you are happy. Guests from the Midnight Guardians pack have company, the world won't collapse tonight, and I need you to shower and get ready." Normally, Damon would join her in the shower, but then the shower would take a while, and they would be late. "Zina will be here in fifteen minutes to fix your hair."
Talia blinked. "Zina will do my hair? It sounds fancy."
"Mhm," Damon confirmed with a hum. "She will do your hair while I shower." He held onto her shoulders and turned her to face the bathroom door. "Go, go, go!"
