Talia ran until she reached the shore of the lake that was South of Darkbourne.
Normally, the sandy beach would have people, even during winter, but now it was silent because the whole territory was on alert, and people stayed in their homes and shelters.
Talia paused when she saw a female sitting on the sand and staring at the lake. It was Stephanie. Or was it?
'Lis?'
'That's a she-wolf,' Liseli responded.
Well, at least it was not a Guardian, Talia thought. But it didn't make it better. Talia hoped that it was a Guardian in disguise, or that Stephanie was brainwashed or blackmailed, or something... anything other than Damon's mother figure being responsible for his disappearance.
Talia waved at Liam, Keith, and Arya to stay behind. She was aware those three were following her, and she didn't mind as long as they didn't try to stop her.
"Is something wrong with your mind link?" Talia asked when she approached Stephanie.
"No," Stephanie responded without looking back. "I just felt like some alone time. Is anything the matter?"
Talia's brows came together. Stephanie was too relaxed for someone who did a bad thing and was caught.
"Do you know that the whole pack is on alert?" Talia asked.
Stephanie turned to look at Talia. "That would explain the absence of people."
"Steph?" Talia called. "You can talk to me. Tell me what's going on."
"What do you think is going on?"
Talia decided to stop beating around the bush. "Damon is missing, and I think you had something to do with it."
Stephanie blinked. "I had everything to do with it."
Talia's stomach dropped. "What did you do?"
"Just a medicine to knock him out."
"Why? Don't you love Damon?"
Stephanie shook her head. "They won't harm him."
"They? You mean the Guardians?"
"Yes," Stephanie confirmed.
"I thought you loved this pack."
"I do. I did it for the pack."
Talia couldn't believe this. "You betrayed Damon for the pack?"
"I didn't betray him. I did what was best for the pack. He will agree with me when this is over."
"What?"
"They don't want Damon. They want you."
Well, Talia knew that, but how could Stephanie know unless she was colluding with the Guardians? "Do you think Damon will forgive you?"
"It doesn't matter if he forgives me. Once you settle your emotions, you will also do what's best for the pack."
"And what is that?"
"Go to them."
Talia wondered if her ears malfunctioned. "Why should I do that?"
"Because you are our Luna, and a Luna does what's best for the pack. With every passing minute, the number of casualties will increase. They won't hesitate to kill many to get what they want. If you are too stubborn, they might harm Damon, but that will be on you."
Talia shook her head in disbelief. "You seem to know a lot about them."
"Maybe I do."
Talia felt her hair rising at one possibility... "Are you the one who betrayed Damon's parents?"
"Not betrayed. The Guardians wanted only Violet. She was thinking about it, going to them, so they don't decimate the pack. However, when it came to it, she hesitated. The Luna of the Dark Howlers pack said she couldn't leave Jacob and Damon, and she would rather kill herself than go to the Guardians willingly, and that's NOT how a Luna acts. If she was willing to throw her life away, she might as well do it for the benefit of the pack. Don't you think so?"
Talia needed a moment to process this information. "Luna Violet decided to stay away from the Guardians, and you betrayed her?"
Stephanie made a face. "Here you go again with that word, betrayal. I always put the needs of the pack first. I gave my everything for this pack. My conscience is clear."
"Is it?"
Stephanie confirmed. "We all live for the pack and die for the pack, yet Violet thought she was more important than the lives of many. At that time, I spoke with Gil, and he disagreed with working against his Luna, saying that Jacob would never agree to it. I asked him, what if he needed to pick between his Alpha and Luna? What if he needed to pick between his pack and his Luna? Only then he understood where I was going with this. It was reasonable for Violet to do this for the pack, but she refused. I told the Guardians which way they would go, that Gil would be driving, and that he would help them take Violet with the condition for Jacob to be unharmed."
Stephanie paused and shook her head. "Jacob was stupid to fight them. You can't win against the Guardians. I felt the moment Gil died, and he told me that Jacob had killed him. They were surrounded by the Guardians, and instead of letting Violet go, Jacob killed Gil. I heard that Jacob and Violet fought, and it only caused for all three of them to perish."
With every next word from Stephanie, Talia's brows came closer together. "Wasn't Violet your friend?"
Stephanie sneered. "She was selfish. If she cooperated, Gil would be alive, and so would Jacob, and Damon wouldn't grow up without his parents."
Stephanie gave Talia a meaningful look. "It was a complete failure, but the Guardians left us alone. As soon as they get their hands on you, the attacks will stop."
Talia's body turned numb. Was this the sweet and caring Stephanie who welcomed her to the packhouse a few months ago? Stephanie gave Talia Lisa's old clothes, helped her settle in the new environment, taught her how to cook, and packed food and money for Talia to have during the Summer Solstice festival.
"Don't blame me, Talia. It's the Guardians who want you, and they won't stop until they get you. You have the power to prevent unnecessary deaths of our people. Do you think warriors will keep fighting when they find out that this is all because of you? Even if they don't turn against Damon, the survivors will carry resentment that will fester over time. Do you think your life is worth more than hundreds of warriors who are now fighting at the border? If you don't want to go to the Guardians, the only choice is death, but you should kill yourself in front of them so they know it's over…"
Talia's shoulders fell. Surely, Stephanie's betrayal of Damon was heavy, but somehow… her words made sense.
Stephanie's words jarred Talia's heart to open a flood of insecurities.
The small and timid girl who was hiding in the attic wasn't worthy of anyone sacrificing themselves for her, and making that girl into a Luna didn't change that fact. Wasn't every life equal? She was the Luna, her duty was to protect the pack, yet now they were dying for her.
Keith's blood boiled. There was some distance between Stephanie, Talia, and Talia's three guards, but they could hear each other well.
Images of Gregory trying to get his hands on Talia flashed in Keith's mind, and he saw red.
"You bitch!" Keith shouted while rushing toward Stephanie.
Arya was right after Keith, and Liam's eyes were out of focus as he was telling Caden, Maya, and James what was going on here.
