A month had passed…
New buildings in the Dark Howlers pack territory were being completed one by one, and newcomers from the Red Moon pack were not newcomers anymore. They were leaving the packhouse and other temporary accommodations as they moved into their new homes, and they all had jobs.
It was an adjustment compared to what they had in the Red Moon pack, but it was not hard to make changes when it was an upgrade.
Some even expressed a desire to open their own businesses with storefronts in Darkbourne.
Damon converted one receiving room on the first floor of the packhouse into an office. It was used exclusively for paperwork related to new buildings, businesses, supplies, and other things related to the recent influx of pack members.
Talia loved to go through the documents, fascinated with all this behind-the-scenes work necessary to make the pack function.
Talia was surprised that Chef Page submitted a request to open a ramen restaurant in Darkbourne. The request itself was not surprising. However, she saw that besides listing his adopted daughter, Jane, as a co-owner and part-time employee, there was one more name on the document, Clarissa.
"Who is Clarissa?" Talia asked James, whose head was barely visible from behind the documents on his desk.
James glanced at the paper in Talia's hand. "She is an Omega who came from the Red Moon pack."
Maya bobbed her head and smiled slyly at Talia. "Yes, yes. It's exactly what you think it is. Malia strikes again!"
"No way!" Talia said in disbelief.
"Yes, way!" Maya responded. "Chef Page found his second chance mate. You should see how adorable they are, always trying to hold hands and touch each other. And they are both so caring toward Jane. If I didn't know better, I would think that Jane is their biological daughter."
"Aww…" Talia's chin was shaking. After hearing how Lulu's mother abandoned them and then Lulu died, Talia wished for Chef Page to be happy. Talia thought that Chef Page bonding with Jane and adopting her were good things, but him finding his second chance mate went beyond Talia's wildest dreams.
"Enough!" Damon grumbled while waving at Maya to go away. He grabbed the document from Talia's hand and put it in front of James. "Expedite this, so it's done as soon as possible."
James cocked an eyebrow at Damon. "It's done. The only thing missing is your signature."
Damon's expression stiffened, and he grabbed a pen that Maya was holding so he could sign it. "There. Done. It's approved."
Talia looked at Damon dreamily. "We should go to their grand opening. I would love to eat ramen."
"Which one? Pork? Chicken?" Damon asked.
Talia licked her lips. "I like their combo that has a bit of everything."
"Let me ask Chef Page to make you ramen and send it here," Damon said without missing a beat.
Talia gaped at him. She didn't mean right now!
But Damon's eyes had already lost focus, and she knew there was no point in arguing.
With Omegas from the Red Moon pack accepting the Dark Howlers pack as their new home, the word spread that Alpha Damon was not Black Demon and that living conditions for Omegas were favorable. Due to this, several additional groups of Omegas decided to join the Dark Howlers pack from the crowded shelters in the Blue River pack.
The pack was growing in numbers, and the borders between the allied packs were fading with each passing day. Damon, Talia, Maddox, Cristian, and Tony collaborated to protect their borders.
The previous packhouse of the Red Moon pack was within the territory of the Lightclaw pack, and Tony was the Alpha in charge of protecting its neutrality.
Ex-Luna Layla accepted Talia's offer, and she was staying in that packhouse with her fated mate, Chester, and a handful of Omegas. Layla reached out to James, inviting him for a visit because his father wanted to meet him in person. James said he was not ready for that step, and they left it at that.
James was now the youngest high-ranking member ever, the first one to assume a position of a Gamma before reaching adulthood. James was pleased with the respect he was getting and happy that Erik, Petra, and Zack were still hanging out with him like equals. James couldn't wait to end his daily duties, so he could join Cornelia for cuddles, snuggles, and sex.
The Gamma couple was staying in a suite on the second floor of the packhouse in the Dark Howlers pack, and they were planning to transform an adjacent room into a nursery.
Damon and Talia made several visits to the Midnight Guardians pack to verify things were going well and to give Axel a break from Alpha duties so he could be with his mate and kids.
Per Valerian's request, Axel didn't reveal to his parents that Valerian was alive and recovering in the Dark Howlers pack.
Axel was keeping an eye on Sophia and Isaac as he suspected that they aided in kidnapping Yasmin and the twins and delivering them to the Guardians. However, the ex-Alpha couple denied any involvement, and Talia refused to deal with them, saying that they were Axel's problem. She didn't want to interact with Sophia and Isaac.
Before the fight with the Guardians, Cornelia and Amelia were close to figuring out how to open the portal. When Edgar (aka the portal expert) joined them, they successfully connected the Silver Flame Coven in the witches' realm to the castle that belonged to the Guardians, now officially named the Silver Flame Castle.
Evanora and Edgar spent most of their time in the Silver Flame Castle, and they made a few short trips for Evanora to experience life in human cities.
Declyn and a few other Guardians were around, mostly observing the changes without interfering. Since Axel and Evanora didn't find conclusive proof that the Guardians were involved in experimenting with people with abilities, Talia suspected that the lingering Guardians hid the evidence. However, without proof, Talia didn't want to spill more blood, and Evanora agreed that witches would be keeping an eye on them.
About fifty witches from the Silver Flame Coven volunteered to stay in the Silver Flame Castle and participate in restoring the balance to nature.
Everyone was busy.
Damon and Talia spent most of their free time bonding and planning for their baby's arrival. Damon's old room was devoid of furniture, with a fresh coat of pale green paint, and they were discussing ideas on how to decorate the nursery. Talia's stomach was showing a bit, and Damon was super excited.
Damon used to run his hand through her hair a lot, but now his hands would often find their way to her stomach and stay there. Talia thought how he was adorable.
Every few days, Damon and Talia went on a rogue-hunting mission while using Janine.
Talia would focus on Janine as a destination and teleport there with Damon. As expected, they would end up in another lair full of rogues, and Damon and Talia would take them out with ease while "accidentally" allowing Janine to escape.
Janine was not capable of surviving on her own, and during her time with Tristan, she learned of many locations where rogues were hiding. Talia could extract that information from Janine's mind, but there was no guarantee that rogues would be present in that hideout, so they let Janine lead them there.
That was Talia's idea, and Damon loved seeing this devious side of his kitten.
