The fight was ferocious, with growls and snarls everywhere.
Talia stood in the middle of it with her expression devoid of emotions, and the only thing preventing her from dissolving into panic was that she needed to keep going for Damon and others who were fighting by her side.
Talia fried and cut three more rogues, and then things turned silent.
Seeing that they ran out of opponents, Damon quickly got by Talia's side and put his hand on her shoulder. That point of contact was her anchor, keeping her from falling apart. She would lean into him for support, but he was naked, and they had an audience.
"Casualties!?" Damon shouted.
"No one died from our side," Keith said. "And I believe we got them all."
"My leg is bleeding," one shaky voice came from the back, and Talia moved that way.
"We can take him to the pack hospital," Damon said while tightening his hold on Talia and preventing her from going there.
Talia put her hand over Damon's. "I want to stop the bleeding."
Damon didn't want her to reveal her abilities more than necessary, but he saw her determination, so he let her have it.
Talia squatted next to the warrior who leaned away from her.
Talia realized he was afraid. Well, the wolf-frying white laser beams from her palms freaked her out as well.
"I won't harm you. I am here to help," she said. "Let me see your wound."
The guy swallowed hard, but he didn't dare to refuse or move when he saw Damon's fierce gaze locked on him.
Talia checked to see from where the blood was flowing, and then she put her hands above that area.
Damon squatted next to Talia, observing in silence as her palms glowed. The wound was closing at speed visible to the naked eye.
"Done," Talia announced. It was a good reminder that her hands were capable of healing.
"Thank you, Luna," the warrior said.
"I only did first aid. You should go to the pack hospital to get it treated further."
"Pablo, go with him!" Keith instructed.
Pablo was a guy who had a cut on his arm, but it was not too bad. However, the two of them could leave together as they were not in a position to fight properly.
Talia turned to see Damon observing her intently.
"How are you doing?" He asked.
"I am… I will be fine." She looked around. "How come we didn't sense them? Even if those devices jammed our perception, didn't Cristian say they have infrared sensors?"
The warrior from the Spring Leaf pack shook his head helplessly. "No alarms sounded in this area."
Keith was inspecting one dead rogue, putting his hand on the body. "Infrared sensors detect heat. These guys are cold."
Talia went there to touch the rogue's shoulder. It was icy.
At a closer look, she saw runes drawn on his body, and she assumed that those were causing their body temperature to drop.
"How did they know they should stay cold?" Talia asked.
Damon rubbed his face with force. "They were ready for this. Cristian said that they set up infrared sensors in the last few days. Someone leaked the information."
The thought of traitors was unsettling.
"Is it possible that they assumed this would happen after the outcome at the Blue River pack?" Talia asked.
Damon was not sure. "If that's the case, they have someone who can see the future."
"Or a good strategist," Talia said, and Damon frowned.
If the rogues had someone like James on their side, that could be disastrous.
Damon tried not to think about it and to focus on the pressing matter. "No matter how they found out, we need to inform others. They could be walking into traps."
If not for Talia and Damon taking out several rogues each with ease, the rest of the group would be in serious trouble.
"Let's find those devices and turn them off, so our pack links work," Damon instructed, and people spread around to inspect the foliage.
It didn't take long to find two devices, and the pack link was established with people from the Blue River pack. Beta Oliver confirmed that everything was quiet there.
The pack link with the warriors from the Dark Howlers pack was spotty, and the ones who were in groups with Cristian and Tony were unreachable. However, they couldn't contact anyone from the Lightclaw pack or from the Spring Leaf pack.
From the information they exchanged, no one else was fighting.
"Let's hope we were the only ones who met rogues," Talia said. "Cristian and Tony probably walked into areas that are being jammed." Talia turned to Damon. "Does any of them know how to find these devices?"
Damon was not sure.
It was one thing to identify that the pack link was not working, but finding these gadgets was a different issue. If Talia didn't figure out a way to find those at the Blue River pack, the casualties would be multiplied.
Sure, they can comb through the foliage to find them, but what if they are up in the trees or buried underground? Will rogues stay still and wait for their devices to be found and disabled?
The biggest problem was that Cristian was confident the infrared sensors would alert him of any dangers, and Tony and Kalina were not experienced in these types of fighting.
"We need to send someone there," Talia said.
Damon's stiff expression told her that he disagreed.
"There are eleven of us," Keith said. "We can send a few people…" His voice trailed when Damon growled.
Talia put her hand on Damon's shoulder. "It's not wise to separate. But we can't ignore the fact that others might be in danger. How about we all move together?"
Damon shook his head. "We need to secure this area." If they left, there would be an opening that rogues could take advantage of.
'Damon,' Talia spoke to him through their mind-link. 'Let's send everyone else, and the two of us will stay here to complete our task. You saw my ability. I will attack from the distance, and you take care of anyone who gets too close.'
Damon puffed his cheeks. He didn't like it, but she was right.
"Keith, take four people and go to meet Alpha Cristian's group. Provide assistance if needed and inform them about what we found. The rest of you, go and meet with Alpha Anthony."
Everyone obeyed Damon's order without objections.
Damon looked in the direction nine warriors moved, hoping he didn't make a mistake. But he had to admit that Talia was like the Goddess of vengeance, slicing through rogues easily. She was fantastic, and if they were not surrounded by rogues, he would make love to her thoroughly right there, in the soft grass under their bare feet.
Talia took Damon's hand into hers. "Come. Let's clear this area, so we can help our friends."
Damon was glad to see Talia taking charge. He guessed that she was running on adrenalin, and she will probably be a mess tomorrow when she remembers what happened, but until then… he will enjoy seeing her kick ass.
Damon and Talia moved stealthily while keeping an eye on their surroundings and talking through their mind-link.
They found a few smaller groups of three-to-four rogues, and they took care of them with ease.
Talia wondered how much more they had left when a sound of fighting got her attention.
'Do you hear that?' Talia asked Damon.
He nodded, and they rushed in that direction.
