'POW!'
A solid punch landed on Gregory's face, who was too stunned to react.
Gregory stumbled backward, and the snow didn't do much to soften his fall. He held his throbbing cheek.
Gregory had never felt so vulnerable before, and if not for his extraordinary physique, he was confident that Damon's punch would cripple him. What the hell was going on?
"HAHAHAHA!"
Damon laughed crazily, drunk on the energies that coursed through this system.
"You said I can't put a scratch on you. Did I prove you wrong, or should I punch you again?"
Talia wanted to go to Damon, but Declyn was quick to block her path.
"If you go there, you will be hurt," he said.
Talia raised his gaze to meet Declyn's eyes. "Keep standing between my mate and me, and I will make sure you regret it."
Declyn swallowed hard as he stared into Talia's silvery eyes, whose sharpness told him she meant business. He gave a small nod before moving to the side.
Gregory couldn't believe what was happening. The surge of dark energy took away all his strength, and he felt the moment when it seeped into Damon. What the hell was that? Was it possible that Damon had the ability to cancel the Guardians' powers? "How…?"
Damon sneered. He was about to punch Gregory again when he felt a familiar presence approaching him rapidly from his left.
Damon turned just in time to catch Talia as she jumped on him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and her legs dangled in the air.
"I was so worried," Talia whined while clinging onto Damon, and she took a deep breath to fill her lungs with the scent of the forest and the dark chocolate. Her favorites.
Damon held Talia tightly on him. "So was I. Did they hurt you?"
Talia shook her head. "I just got here. Dex was kind enough to bring me to you. What about you?"
"I'm fine," Damon said.
"How did you know that was not me?"
"She flinched. My kitten was never afraid of me."
Talia stifled a laugh as her tense nerves loosened. Everything was better when she was with Damon.
Talia moved to look at Damon, and she paused at the sight of his usually icy blue eyes that were completely black now.
"Are you OK?" She asked.
Damon smiled. "I am now."
'Is that your ability?' Talia asked through their mind link.
'I think so.'
'What is it?'
'Ass-whooping Guardians.'
Talia stifled a giggle. Damon was cheeky, and she loved it. She loved him.
The scent, the sparks of their bond, the connection. It was all there. It didn't matter where they were. As long as they were together, they were happy.
"I missed you," Damon spoke into her lips.
"I missed you more," Talia responded and closed the minuscule distance between them to savor the touch of his lips on hers. She really missed him, and she needed to feel him everywhere so that her body knew things were back how they should be.
"Ugh," Gregory groaned while getting up, and Talia and Damon turned to look at him.
Talia stood next to Damon, and they held hands with their fingers interlaced.
She raised her chin while talking to Gregory, "You were testing my mate by making him think some other female was me? What were you trying to accomplish?"
Gregory's eyes moved from Talia to Damon. She was surrounded by silvery light, and Damon had a layer of darkness around him. Her eyes glowed in silvery light, and his were completely black. They were opposites, and Gregory would admire the sight or maybe fear them if not for the fact that his plan failed.
"He killed the female without hesitation. Didn't you see that?" Gregory spoke to Talia. "Are you not bothered by it?"
"He killed her after confirming that was not me. Tricking an Alpha is treason and is punishable by death."
Gregory frowned at Talia. "How can you be OK with him killing like that? She was tied to the tree, unable to defend herself!"
"Even if she were armed and free to move, it wouldn't change the outcome," Talia responded.
"As a Luna, you should be compassionate. Will you be so indifferent when you find out that the female in question was Yasmin from the Midnight Guardians pack?"
Talia frowned. What game was he playing? "There is no way Yasmin would die so easily."
Damon turned to look at Talia. "They have Yasmin?"
Talia confirmed. "Yasmin and the twins. They disappeared from the Midnight Guardians pack. We have no evidence it was the Guardians, but no one else could pull it off."
Damon gave Talia's hand a squeeze. "Don't worry, kitten, we will find them."
Gregory snorted. "Do you think I will make it easy for you?"
Damon extended his hand toward Gregory, and a wisp of darkness shot at the unsuspecting Guardian.
Gregory groaned and clutched his chest, where the darkness disappeared. It hurt like hell. Gregory had no idea what Damon did or how he did it, but he realized that fighting against Damon would be a mistake.
"Declyn!" Gregory shouted. "Help! Call others!" Seeing that Declyn didn't move, Gregory's eyes flashed in outrage. "Declyn! Are you rebelling?"
"This is not my fight," Declyn said. "From the beginning, I told you that I don't approve and that it will backfire."
"You are one of us! It's your duty to work for the benefit of our kind!"
"Says who? You? Who made you the boss of everything?" Declyn asked.
Gregory was considered a leader of the Guardians, but only because no one else bothered to fight for that title. And it didn't mean anything other than staying in the castle.
Gregory frowned at Declyn. "I know you don't approve of what I did to Vincent, but it was necessary."
Declyn's expression stiffened. "You were aware that his condition would deteriorate, yet you still went ahead to extract his memories. You expect me to listen to you? Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think that any of us is stupid? Look around. Julian, Bone, Marco, Ahmet, do you see any of them here? They all left because none wants to end up like Vin."
Gregory couldn't believe this. "You can't do this."
"I'm not doing anything," Declyn responded. "You can't treat us as pawns and expect us to follow your orders."
Gregory's face darkened. He wanted to squeeze the life out of Declyn, but he was feeling so weak that he couldn't form a fist. And why were his powers not working? He knew it was related to Damon, but he didn't know when Damon's power would wear off, and then Gregory would show them who was in charge. He only needed to delay and recover.
'Do you believe Guardians rebelled against Gregory?' Damon asked Talia through their mind link.
'No,' Talia responded. Trusting Declyn would allow him to backstab them. Declyn didn't commit any offense that she knew about, but he didn't go out of his way to help them either. 'It would be convenient if only Gregory was the bad guy and all Guardians turned against him. It sounds too good to be true.'
Damon approved. His kitten was cautious. 'If it sounds too good, it probably is.'
'Let's see how much Dex will cooperate,' Talia suggested.
'Or lead us into a trap,' Damon said.
