Later that afternoon…
After a brief meeting, Caden, Maya, Mindy, James, and Cornelia left the study, leaving Damon and Talia behind.
Talia was looking at her notes, and she circled the point about the upcoming Talia's Luna ceremony.
Mindy was advocating that they should make it like a human wedding where Talia and Damon will dress up elegantly and exchange vows in a lavish ceremony where they promise to be faithful and support each other forever.
Damon agreed about the lavish part. Only the best for his kitten. He said that he would leave it to the females to arrange, and he would give them his black card to pay for everything.
Mindy's eyes sparkled in a way that made Talia uncomfortable, and Talia took a mental note to discuss budget restrictions with Damon. She didn't want to risk Mindy driving them into poverty.
Talia had an idea what to expect because she attended Tatiana's party, and she hoped the evening wouldn't end with a fiasco of rogues attacking.
Mindy immediately said that the garden would need to be landscaped differently, and Maya suggested that they could have the ceremony by the lake. With canopies, flowers, balloons, and fairy lights, it will look fantastic, and it will provide space for everyone to attend. Cornelia said that witches could enhance the whole event with magic.
Talia wondered if Valerian would escort her down the aisle.
Talia thought how that was romantic, but Talia knew several ongoing issues could potentially taint the event.
With people leaving the study, Talia decided to discuss the topics that had been avoided so far.
"Damon," Talia called. "When will you visit Stephanie?"
Talia previously shared mind-images of her most recent conversation with Stephanie, so Damon was aware that Stephanie helped Guardians get their hands on him and that she was involved in the death of his parents.
It was difficult for Damon to face the truth, so he avoided meeting with Stephanie face-to-face. What were the potential outcomes? Would she cry, beg for mercy, or come up with a believable excuse? Nothing would change the fact that she betrayed him.
Just thinking about the gravity of Stephanie's actions made Damon's hands tremble, and he didn't trust himself to keep his cool.
Stephanie was one of the few people he trusted after his parents perished, and it was all a lie. Worse than a lie. She was there, comforting him, telling him how what happened was unfortunate, yet she was behind it.
"Do you think I'm a coward?" Damon asked.
"Considering the situation, I can't blame you for avoiding this matter. Do you want me to punish her?"
Damon refused. He didn't want Talia to deal with his problems. He needed to buckle up and deal with Stephanie, but it was hard. How long could he postpone this?
"Damon?" Talia called. "How about we do something else instead?"
"What?"
Talia walked to Damon and extended her hand to him, palm up.
Damon put his hand into Talia's and stood up to follow after her. He would ask her if she was game for some sexy time, but her serious expression told him it was something else.
"Where are we going?" Damon asked when they stepped out of the packhouse into the garden.
"We need to tie up loose ends, Damon," Talia said.
Damon's insides tightened when Talia stopped on a clearing at the far end of the garden. She faced him and extended her hands, and he knew she was about to teleport. Where to? He was afraid to ask.
Valerian saw Damon and Talia walking through the garden with serious expressions, and he didn't want to get their attention. He observed as they stood facing each other and holding hands, Talia's hair turning silver, just as her mother had. There was a wind with blue electric bolts coiling around Damon and Talia, and then they were gone.
In an apartment in the human city…
Tristan was sitting at the table with three other males. They were all rogues, playing poker and smoking cigars.
Tristan took a bottle of whiskey to refill his glass and frowned when he realized it was empty.
"Janine!" He shouted. "Get me another bottle!"
A head full of blonde hair peeked through the door. "That was the last one."
Tristan frowned. "Go and buy more."
Janine made a face. "Why don't you ask the new girl?"
Tristan's frown deepened. "Because I'm asking you. And her name is Lisa."
Janine quickly backtracked to show an innocent expression. "But she is getting ready to get groceries. I can ask her to add drinks to the list."
Seeing that Tristan didn't respond, she quickly went back down the hallway.
Janine balled her hands into fists. She hated Lisa because now she needed to share Tristan's attention.
Tristan's personality was unstable, and sometimes he would entertain Janine, but most of the time, he would focus only on Lisa, making Janine wait for another mood swing. It was exhausting. The only thing that gave Janine hope Tristan still cared about her was that Tristan didn't allow other guys to touch her.
Janine found Lisa in one of the bedrooms, setting up the bed.
"Tristan wants you to go shopping," Janine said icily.
Lisa rolled her eyes. Why don't they leave her alone? She tried escaping twice, and both times she was caught and ended up with a beating. They held her always inside, and when Tristan left, someone would keep an eye on her. Somehow, Tristan knew when Lisa wanted to escape his grasp, and she didn't dare act rashly.
If not for the stupid mate bond, she would hate Tristan forever! And she did, but whenever he came close, smiled, and touched her while whispering sweet nothings, Lisa would melt away like an enamored teenage idiot. Lisa knew that it was just the bond. She knew that Tristan was despicable, and he didn't deserve her, but she was too weak to fight the bond on her own.
Lisa was aware that she needed help. Unfortunately, Stephanie blocked her completely, and Lisa was not strong enough to reach out to Damon or anyone else from the Dark Howlers pack. Lisa suspected Tristan had some way of blocking the pack link, but she knew that if she snooped around, it would only earn her more beating.
Lisa was stuck, but not an idiot. She knew the only way to survive was to wait for the right chance. Until then, she needed to listen to Tristan, and she tried to stay out of others' way, but Janine was shamelessly throwing herself at Tristan even after finding out that Lisa was his mate.
To Lisa's horror, Tristan would give in to Janine occasionally, causing Lisa inexplicable pain. Nothing was worse than feeling the betrayal of the mate bond, but Tristan didn't seem to care much. His wolf was feral. There were days when he would treat Lisa well, and days when he would ignore her, and then there were days when Lisa wished to be dead.
But no matter how Tristan treated Lisa, she had a belly full of grievances when it came to Janine.
"Does Tristan want me to go shopping? Or you?" Lisa asked while patting the comforter to smoothen out the creases.
"Does it matter?"
Lisa turned to look at Janine. "Oh, it does. Because one is my mate, and the other is a flea sticking to my mate. Guess which one I will obey."
Janine's eyes flashed in outrage. She hated when Lisa reminded her that Tristan had a mate, and it was not Janine.
"Do you dare to disobey him?"
"I would never disobey my mate," Lisa said. "But I do not need to listen to someone who is below me."
Janine's face turned ugly, and she raised her arm to strike Lisa when a gust of wind exploded in the room.
