"Someone will be here in half an hour," Damon said to Talia while pulling a chair to the middle of the room.
"This is for you, kitten," Damon said softly, and he swatted the invisible dust from the seating cushion before gesturing for Talia to sit. "You should rest."
Talia didn't object. She enjoyed it when Damon went the extra mile to make her comfortable.
Talia's smile faded as she focused on Tristan, who was sprawled on the floor.
Tristan was still reeling from the impact of breaking his bond with Lisa when he felt a pressure on his mind that threatened to squish his brain. The only thing he could see were Talia's silvery eyes staring him down, making him feel like she could see all of his secrets. And she did.
Damon stood next to Talia and looked in Tristan's direction absentmindedly. Talia was right. Tying up loose ends made him feel better. Damon hoped that Talia could get something useful from Tristan as they had so much missing information.
What was the connection between rogues and the Guardians? Who was involved in kidnapping members of the Midnight Guardians pack? Was this connected? Were experiments on people with abilities just a horrid rumor, or was there truth to it?
Lisa was catching up her breath as she pushed herself to a seated position, and Damon threw a side glance her way.
'You should pack your things,' Damon said to Lisa through the pack link.
'I have nothing.'
'You can grab anything worth taking. These guys won't need it. You have ten minutes.'
Without delay, Lisa moved out of the room.
A minute later, Tristan started foaming at his mouth, and Talia slumped in the chair.
"Kitten!" Damon panicked and squatted by her side.
"I'm OK," She assured him.
"How can this be OK? Do you need more energy? Use mine!"
"No, no, it's just…" Talia released a shaky breath and looked at Damon sadly.
Damon could feel hairs rising at the back of his neck as Talia's expression darkened. It was like facing a deadly predator or maybe just royally pissed off Talia.
"Kitten?"
Talia's silvery eyes showed black streaks as she squeezed through her teeth angrily, "If you make me watch as you fuck another woman, I will…"
A series of snaps were heard, and Tristan jolted with each sound, and then his body deflated against the floor as a pool of blood under him expanded.
"I would never," Damon said with all the seriousness in the world. "You know I wouldn't."
Talia's chin shivered, and the black streaks from her eyes disappeared. She leaned her forehead on Damon's shoulder and sobbed quietly as images of Tristan beating Lisa and doing all kinds of atrocities were flashing in her mind.
Damon cursed under his breath. He knew that Talia was about to look into Tristan's memories, and he thought it was a good idea because they would find out what he had been up to, and he totally forgot that rogues were despicable and that Talia would see a lot of bad stuff.
He should have known better.
Damon sat on the ground, further from the blood, and pulled Talia to sit on his lap.
"It's OK, kitten. I've got you." He touched her chin to make her look at him. "Angry, sad, happy, or anything in between, show them all to me. I won't love you less."
Talia knew that he was trying to cheer her up. She put her hand on Damon's cheek. "Thank you for being my mate."
Damon tilted his head and kissed her palm. "Those are my lines."
Janine did her best to diminish her presence. By now, she understood a few things. Those were Alpha Damon and Luna Talia (aka Alpha Natalia). Tristan was dead, and the power couple that appeared with a gust of wind was about to take Lisa away. What about Janine? She hoped that Damon and Talia would forget about her. Should she play dead?
Owen was driving through the traffic of the human city, and Zina was in the front passenger's seat.
Lisa was sitting in the back of the car, clutching a backpack she had taken from the apartment. It had cash, a change of clothes, and some trinkets she thought would be useful to sell.
She also found some photos and notebooks that Tristan kept hidden, and she gave those to Talia and Damon.
Lisa didn't understand why they let Janine go, but it was not her place to pry into those things. She learned that knowing too much can bring more harm than good. Besides, she was focused on getting out of there, and she didn't have the capacity to worry about others.
"How come you picked me up? Did you become a warrior?" Lisa asked Zina. Lisa knew that Zina was working in the kitchen as Stephanie's helper.
"We picked you up because we were shopping nearby," Zina said and looked at Owen dreamily. "I am not a warrior, but my mate is a General." Zina tilted her head so that Lisa could see the mark on her neck.
Owen smiled smugly. He loved when Zina was showing off that he was her mate.
Lisa reached for the left side of her neck. When Tristan accepted Lisa's rejection, it was burning, but Lisa didn't have time to see what was going on there. Was Tristan's mark on her neck gone? Lisa hoped that was the case.
"Is he from another pack?" Lisa asked.
Zina confirmed. "Owen was part of the Red Moon pack."
Lisa heard that the Red Moon pack was gone. "It's surreal to think that such a big pack just disappeared."
"We've got so many new members!" Zina exclaimed. "The packhouse is packed." She giggled at her choice of words. "But that's just temporary while their dwellings are ready. Wherever you look, there is new construction, and we are building a whole new town in our territory. Everyone is excited."
"I heard that Alpha Edward fell in the Alpha challenge," Lisa said.
"Yes. It was intense!"
"You were there?"
"Mhm… Owen and I had front-row seats. George defeated Alpha Edward like it was nothing." Zina turned back to look at Lisa. "George is Dawn's mate. He is the first commander in the Dark Howlers pack, and he is the Alpha of the Frostcrest pack. I couldn't believe when Dawn told me that she and George are second chance mates…" Zina's voice trailed. "Sorry. You probably don't want to hear about mates, considering what you've been through."
"It's OK," Lisa said. "Whatever happened is behind me."
"That's the spirit, Lisa," Zina said. "The shelter in the Blue River pack is a fantastic place. They have all kinds of programs and classes that will help you bounce back. And who knows, maybe you will get a second chance mate. George and Dawn are happy…"
Lisa stared through the window as Zina's voice faded into the distance. What second chance mate? What happy together? Considering her history of men, it would be best if she stayed single forever.
Lisa hoped that she could leave all this behind her. Even before Tristan, she was not happy. She thought Tony was the one, but it all turned out to be a lie. Even her mother ditched her, and her aunt didn't reach out since Lisa left the Lightclaw pack. Maybe starting over was not a bad idea, but this time as a single she-wolf.
Eventually, Zina realized that Lisa was not listening, and she stopped her chatter.
Zina looked at Owen, and she regretted that they had to cut their date short for this. They started with brunch in a human city and then went sightseeing and shopping, and they were about to end the day with dinner and a movie, but then Caden asked if they could drop Lisa at the shelter in the Blue River pack. As a warrior, Owen couldn't refuse, but that didn't mean Zina was not salty about it.
Ever since they recognized each other as mates, Owen and Zina had one obstacle after another, and then disturbances, and so much work, and she was really looking forward to this day off, damn it!
'We will make up for this,' Owen's voice sounded in Zina's head through the pack link. He noticed that she was pouting. 'Beta Caden said we get the next two days off.'
'Will George allow it? With me away, Dawn will need to help more in the kitchen.'
'Beta Caden will deal with George. As soon as we drop Lisa off at the Blue River pack, we are free, and the next few days are ours and ours only. I booked a hotel with full room service, so we won't need to get out.'
He wiggled his eyebrows, and Zina smiled foolishly. Two days stuck in a hotel room with Owen sounded like heaven.
She lowered her seat. 'Wake me up when we arrive at our destination. I want to sleep through this task which is in the way of me enjoying time with my mate.'
Owen stifled a chuckle. His chamomile-infused mate was fantastic, and he would pull the car to the side of the road and jump on her, only if Lisa was not there.
