Note: Pic of Arya is in the comments of chapter 841
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Cristian was on top of the situation.
Patrols from the Spring Leaf pack identified several places where rogues were hiding, and they swiftly formed several groups, each with Alphas present. Their goal was to attack rogues. None of them were willing to wait and see what rogues were up to.
Their mission was to eliminate threats while trying to catch some alive, so they could interrogate them.
Beta Oliver was securing guest houses with warriors from the Blue River pack.
Luna Michelle was not a warrior. After confirming that Ashton was asleep and well guarded, she went to the shelter to assure their people things were under control.
Liam and Amelia were in the group led by Alpha Cristian. Amelia was excited to be part of this. She never saw anything like it.
Pierce and Daria went with Tony and Kalina. They volunteered to join that group because Daria wanted to be with her sister.
The idea to mix up teams came from Alpha Cristian. He thought it would be easier to share updates because each can communicate with members of their own pack.
Damon and Talia moved together with Keith and a group of ten warriors.
'It would be better if it were just the two of us,' Talia spoke to Damon through their private mind-link.
'You want a piece of this?' Damon asked teasingly and flexed his muscles.
He was wearing only shorts, and he knew that Talia enjoyed checking him out. Other warriors were also scarcely dressed, but Talia had eyes only for Damon. Damon approved.
'I don't want a piece. I want all of you,' Talia responded right away. 'I wish it's only the two of us because you are immune to my powers. It will be difficult for me to aim, so I don't harm our people.'
Damon shot a side-glance at Keith. Keith's injuries healed from how Talia blasted him in the cave, and since then, Keith had minimal interaction with Talia, keeping it strictly business-only. Damon guessed that Keith was feeling guilty about what happened when Talia was in heat, and Damon wouldn't mind if Talia blasted Keith again, just in case the measly coach gets any other funny ideas in the future.
Damon was truly torn about Keith. On one side, he was a capable warrior and the most loyal person, the perfect candidate to watch over Talia. And on another side, Keith couldn't conceal his admiration for Talia, admiration that went beyond what a warrior should feel for his Luna. If Damon dismissed Keith, Talia would lose a capable guard, but keeping him didn't sound good either.
'Damon?' Talia's voice sounded in Damon's head, reminding him that they were in the middle of a conversation when he spaced out.
'Yes, yes. Don't worry about harming our people. If you want to blast anyone, let me know, and I will mind-link them. Or… how about they duck when you whistle?'
Talia liked that. 'That sounds great, but I'm not much of a whistler. How about they duck if I shout "duck"?'
After a second, Damon responded, 'Done.'
Talia knew that he had already mind-linked others about this.
'Damon?'
'Yes, kitten?'
'I want us to hurry with my Luna ceremony. I need the pack mind-link, so that I can communicate properly with everyone.'
'Alright. We can do what Max and Tanya did. A private ceremony for the pack, and we can have a big party later.'
A few moments later, Talia called again, 'Damon?'
'Yes?'
'Don't get hurt. If you do, we can't have our ceremony.'
Damon smiled. Her concern was genuine, and he found it cute that Talia was chatty because she was nervous.
'Kitten?'
'Yes?'
'Relax. It will be alright.'
Talia released a long breath. Damon could pick up her anxiousness, and it was affecting him as well. She needed to be his support and not a burden. Talia had to admit that when they were planning for this, the forest was not this dark and not so scary, and she was definitely not this tense.
Talia admired Damon. Whenever it counted, he was composed and focused on what he needed to do, like now.
'You are amazing,' Talia said through their mind-link.
Damon paused and looked at her questionably. 'Where did that come from? I need details!'
Talia was alerted. People behind them also stopped and were looking around, searching for danger, or whatever reason caused Damon to stop.
'I was just saying what was on my mind. Can we move before people get suspicious?'
'I will expect an explanation on that. Later.' He turned to the front and narrowed his eyes. 'Stay behind me, kitten.'
'I don't think it's going to work that way,' Talia protested. If she was behind him, how was she supposed to fight?
'Fine!' Damon snapped. 'How IS it going to work? How are you expecting me to fight the rogues while I worry sick about my mate and my pup?'
'Damon,' Talia called. 'I get it. You are nervous. I am nervous as well. But just as I believe in you, I need you to believe in me.'
Instead of answering, Damon raised his arm, which was a signal to everyone to freeze.
Talia didn't sense anything, but she trusted Damon's instincts.
'Lis?' Talia called her wolf. 'Anything?'
'Something is messing with my perception,' Liseli responded. 'And that means we are close to trouble.'
'Did we walk into it without knowing?'
'I don't think so. The surroundings were clear just a second ago. This is almost like…'
'They were waiting for us,' Talia finished what Liseli was about to say.
Talia focused on her surroundings, and she confirmed that everything was fuzzy. The jamming effect was stronger than the one she sensed in the Blue River pack.
Talia tried a few things to confirm that her Alpha aura was obstructed, but the energy flow was normal, which meant she could use her abilities.
'CRACK!'
A sound of the branch breaking came from the left, and in the next moment, more than twenty rogues jumped from the foliage and went straight for them.
Chaos erupted. Growls and whimpers everywhere.
Talia couldn't see Damon anymore, but a black wolf was there, tearing into any rogue who dared to get close.
Talia's heart was beating wildly, and she could feel her palms brimming with energy just in time when one wolf turned to her.
Talia raised her hands, focusing on causing harm so the rogue couldn't get to her.
A silent beam of light burst from her palms, cutting through the wolf like a hot knife through butter. He didn't have time to make a sound when he fell down a few steps away from Talia with his head split open. The nauseating scent of burned flesh and fur filled the space, and Talia swallowed the bile that rose in her throat.
She couldn't believe she had done that.
Before she could process what happened, a ferocious growl was heard from her left, and she saw a dark brown wolf coming her way. Another beam of light emitted from Talia's palms, and the rogue was cut in half before he realized what was happening.
Damon noticed that his mind-link was not working, and he shifted into human form to shout, "LEAVE NO ONE ALIVE!" And then he turned into a black wolf again. He didn't want to risk any of these rogues fleeing and reporting what Talia could do.
