Talia paused at the sight of one wounded wolf who was surrounded by five rogues.
Two unmoving rogues on the ground had their necks torn.
Talia didn't recognize the wolf they came to rescue, but Damon said it smelled of the Spring Leaf pack as he shifted into his wolf and joined the fray.
Talia's heart was beating wildly. The injured wolf was visibly wobbly, and the ones circling it only waited for a chance to deliver the fatal attack. This didn't look good.
With Damon's appearance, four rogues turned to him, but one was still eyeing the chance to attack the wounded wolf, who seemed to be at the end of its rope.
Talia wanted to get the baddies and save the ally, but she could not do so in one swift swoop. The injured wolf was too close, and Talia could harm it from that distance. Her anxiety rose when she saw that Damon, tired from running and fighting, was now facing four enemies.
Talia steeled her resolve and got closer to the fight, and her hands shimmered in silvery light, ready to strike.
Talia circled the group until she got close to one of the rogues focused on Damon, and then she rushed toward the rogue with her palms forward.
Rogue's yelp was cut short when light from Talia's hands pierced his back and came out on the other end.
Everyone froze.
After a moment of stillness, rogues attacked like someone flipped a crazy switch.
Damon told her that most of the rogues don't have good fighting skills, but their recklessness and ferociousness are making them dangerous enemies, and this was the perfect example of what he meant by it.
Talia's palms flared, and Damon's fangs tore into flesh. They were attacking while avoiding deadly attacks, and a minute later, it was over.
When Damon confirmed that the rogues were down, he shifted into his human form and dashed toward Talia.
"Kitten, are you alright?" Damon asked while inspecting her visually.
Talia looked at her bloodied hands. "It's not mine." When two rogues attacked her at the same time, Talia didn't have time to avoid them, and they were too close, so their blood splattered on her. The scent of blood and burned flesh was nauseating.
Talia raised her gaze to see Damon. He didn't look much better, and some of those were definitely injuries. "What about you?"
Damon shook his head. "I'm fine. Just a few scratches."
Talia's eyes moved to find the wounded wolf, and her throat constricted when she saw it lying on the grass with hind legs twitching.
Talia swiftly kneeled next to it and her hands lit up to deliver healing rays.
With a whimper, the wolf started changing shape, transforming into a human.
Talia stared at the familiar face. It was mangled and bloodied, but she recognized the person. Arya.
Arya coughed weakly. "My unit… they attacked us… I came to lead rogues away… you need to help them…"
"Don't move," Damon said sternly to Arya while pressing on her shoulder. Why did she try to get up? Her body was wracked with deep bites and scratches everywhere, and she had an open fracture on her left forearm. "You can't help anyone." And if her unit was fighting nearby, that was over.
Talia's mind stuttered. There was so much blood.
'Lis? Why is this not working?', Talia asked.
'It's working, but her injuries are grave.'
Images of Lulu dying flashed in Talia's mind, and her eyes filled with tears.
'Help me, Lis. We can't let another one die.'
Liseli was not moved. 'She looked down on us.'
'But she is a good person. Didn't you hear that she was worried about her people?'
Liseli grumbled in displeasure, but then Talia felt her output increasing.
'This is as much as we can go without endangering your pup,' Liseli warned Talia.
'I thought my baby is fine if I use my powers.'
'If you use them, yes. But not if you run empty.'
A whimper was heard from behind Talia, but she had no capacity to turn and see what was going on.
'Damon?' Talia called through their mind link.
'It's Keith,' Damon responded. 'He delivered the message and then rushed back to find us.'
'Is he hurt?' Talia asked. Why else would he whimper?
'Not that I can see…'
Talia felt a presence on her left and she knew it was Keith. He was on his knees, right next to Talia, reaching to push Arya's hair off her face.
Arya opened her eyes and stared at Keith in a moment of clarity, and then her eyes lost focus.
"No… no…" Keith said under his breath. "Save her, Talia. You must save her." He pleaded.
Talia glanced at Keith to see that his eyes were full of tears, and his desperation hit her hard.
"I'm not sure how much I can do, Keith," Talia said honestly. "She needs medical help. Let me try closing this wound on her abdomen, and then you can take her to the hospital."
Keith didn't move, and Damon's temper flared.
'SLAP!'
A fierce sting lit up Keith's left cheek, and pain radiated to startle him out of his daze.
"Your Luna gave you an order," Damon growled. "You want this female saved? You need to work for it. Take her to the pack hospital, and don't you dare blame Talia if you lose your mate."
Keith stared at Damon. A mate?
Was that what his wolf was telling him?
Keith was running to meet with Damon and Talia, and the sweet scent of cantaloupe reached him before he saw Damon and Talia on the ground, next to a wounded female.
Keith's wolf was howling in his mind, scratching to get out, and Keith didn't understand what was going on, but he could feel the pull to get closer to the female.
A mate. He found his mate!
But why did it look like he would lose her before they even exchanged names? It shouldn't be like this!
"Keith!" Talia exclaimed, making Keith snap to look at her. She knew that when mates meet, the couple in question is dazed to the point of turning stupid, but this was not the time to get lost in emotions.
"Take her to the pack hospital, now. This is as much as I can do. She needs a doctor."
Talia moved to the side, and Keith scooped Arya into his arms carefully while trying not to disturb her wounds, and the lack of her reaction tore his heart into pieces.
"Feel the sparks, Keith," Talia said. "As long as you feel the sparks, there will be hope. Hurry!"
Talia watched after Keith until he was lost among the foliage, and Talia plopped toward Damon, who was quick to catch her.
"You did amazing, kitten," Damon spoke into her hair.
"What if she doesn't make it?"
"You can't blame yourself for that."
"Keith will be devastated."
"Try not to think about it." Or Keith. "You did as much as you could, and that's what counts."
Talia felt comfortable in Damon's embrace. "Do we have time for rest?"
"We can take a minute. There is one more area we need to check, and then we can rest."
"Damon?"
"Hmm?"
"Don't you think that this is strange?"
"What?"
"Rogues. Just as it was in the Blue River pack, if they attacked together, they could cause damage. The perfect timing would be to attack during the party, yet they didn't. It all looked like a diversion."
Damon agreed with this. It looked like a diversion, but a diversion for what?
