As Talia's public Luna ceremony was approaching, Mindy, Maya, Trisha, Cornelia, Amelia, Kalina, and Michelle were official party organizers for the upcoming party of the century.
Seven females divided work among themselves, determined to make it massive, lavish, and worthy of the strongest Alpha couple that ever existed in the history of werewolves. It was a big deal.
Tatiana didn't allow her growing stomach to make her a spectator. She was THE designer for Talia's wedding gown and her bridesmaids' dresses. To Maddox's irritation, Tatiana's assistant (aka Mario) was supervising outfits the males will wear for the ceremony, which meant that the pesky pink-loving pipsqueak was spending a lot of time with his strawberry-infused Goddess.
Mindy was the overall supervisor of preparations, and other females had their tasks assigned.
Maya was in charge of invitations.
Talia looked at the list of people who RSVP'd and then at the list of people who were yet to respond, and Maya noticed Talia's frown deepening.
"Is something wrong?" Maya asked.
"Olivia," Talia responded. She couldn't find her long-lost friend on the list at all.
Damon told Talia that they located Olivia in the Shadowbite pack and that Maya and Caden would handle it, but Talia didn't hear any updates.
Maya's eyes shifted as she avoided Talia's gaze.
"What's going on?" Talia asked suspiciously.
"Caden and Caleb were not successful in contacting her," Maya said.
"Is she not there? Or is she ill?" Or dead? Talia didn't dare to ask this last question aloud.
Maya puffed her cheeks. "That's the Shadowbite pack. They are not kind to outsiders. If she is a male, things would be different."
Talia cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. "How different?"
"You know how the Red Moon pack was horrible to Omegas?" Maya asked, and when Talia nodded, Maya continued, "Well, the Shadowbite pack is worse. They treat females as trash."
Talia stood up, and Maya grabbed her hand with, "Where are you going?"
"To talk to Damon." She could use their mind link, but Talia wanted to do this face-to-face.
"Can you let it go?" Damon was the one who told Maya not to talk about this with Talia because he didn't want to upset her.
"How can I?" Talia asked and pried her hand out of Maya's hold. "If you found out that your friend was being mistreated, would you let it go?"
"You don't know if she is mistreated," Maya said right away.
"If that's the case, the Shadowbite pack has nothing to fear."
"Are you going to start a war over one female?" Maya asked, and she shrunk when she realized her question hit a nerve.
"Of course not," Talia responded dryly. "How could the life of one female compare to the whole pack?"
"That's not what I meant!" Maya shouted, but it was too late. Talia had already left the room, and Maya had a bad feeling about this.
Maya's eyes lost focus for a moment as she mind-linked Damon. 'Talia is heading your way. She asked about Olivia, and when I didn't tell her, she decided to talk to you.'
Maya could hear Damon groan in frustration, and she was glad he didn't ask more questions.
Talia found Damon on the training grounds, talking to his Generals about the latest changes in training. As of recently, the Dark Howlers pack was something like a training center for warriors of allied packs, and they had units visiting from the Midnight Guardians pack, the Blue River pack, the Spring Leaf pack, and the Lightclaw pack.
Damon turned to see Talia walking toward him with Keith and Arya two steps behind her. Those two were like Talia's shadows. A bit annoying and borderline creepy, but reliable.
"Kitten," Damon greeted her with a smile, and he was glad that she didn't pull back when he kissed her forehead because he could feel her mood that ominously prickled his skin.
The Generals greeted Talia with a bow, and then they made themselves scarce.
"What brings you here?" Damon asked.
"Olivia."
"What about her?"
"Did you know that Shadowbite pack is not allowing…" Talia released a sharp breath. "Of course, you knew. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want you to be upset."
"I am upset already, so out with it."
Damon gave up. "We tried to reach out to them diplomatically, and they shut us out. Her father is now in the Lightclaw pack, and even he said that he didn't talk with Olivia in years."
Talia frowned. "How is that possible?"
"Kitten," Damon said seriously. "When mates recognize each other, the female goes with the male and leaves her old identity behind. They live together, and he will provide for her, but that doesn't guarantee she will be treated as his equal. Right now, Olivia belongs to the Shadowbite pack with her mate, and we have no right to interfere."
Talia understood that, but… "Did Caden see her?"
Damon shook his head. "Even this information was gained after negotiations. They don't care that I'm Alpha Damon and why our warriors went to meet with Olivia."
"They don't care about you?"
Damon looked at Talia helplessly. She was so innocent and unspoiled that he wanted to put her under a glass bell so that nothing would corrupt her. "My word is the law here, but every pack controls their own territory, and if we force our way in, it's considered a declaration of war. Every pack is different, and we shouldn't force on others our definition of what's right."
Talia pursed her lips. She knew that just because they were powerful, that didn't mean they could boss around others. Wouldn't that make them oppressors? They would be worse than Alpha Edward and his cronies.
"I don't care about their pack," Talia said. "I only care about Olivia. She was my only friend while I was in the Red Moon pack, and she made my life there bearable. As a girl hiding in the attic, there was nothing I could do, but now I am Alpha Natalia, your Luna. Surely, I can at least check on my friend."
With this, Damon confirmed that Talia wouldn't let this go. "What's your plan?"
Talia smiled a little. "I want to see her and extend the invitation for her to attend my Luna ceremony. Her mate will also be invited. If she says she doesn't want to come, that's fine."
"What if she wants to come and her Alpha doesn't allow it?"
"That's ridiculous," Talia snapped. "They might be closed off, but he can't tell their people if they can attend a party."
"He can," Damon deadpanned. "Alpha can close the borders and prevent anyone from going in and out, and he doesn't need to provide a reason. His territory, his rules. He could even detain us, and if we don't cooperate, it will be war."
"We can go there without disturbing their borders. No one will know," Talia said while giving Damon a meaningful look, and he knew she was talking about teleporting there.
Damon rubbed his face with force. She could pinpoint Olivia as the destination, but there was no way to know if they would end up in a dense forest, in the middle of the training ground, or in Olivia's bathroom (while she was using it). Damon could see this going wrong in so many ways!
