Damon could see that Talia was set on visiting her friend. Talia said she wanted to ensure that Olivia was alright, but what if she wasn't? What if Talia sees things that will upset her? And also… "Let's say we go to the Shadowbite pack, and their Alpha welcomes us. He might even allow Olivia to come to your Luna ceremony. What if he punishes her when she returns?"
"Will he do that?"
"It is a possibility." A strong one. Alpha of the Shadowbite pack might be helpless in front of Damon and Talia, but he will unload his pent-up resentment on the Omega in question.
Talia looked at Damon sadly. "I know your words are reasonable, but you are only making me more worried. I understand that Olivia has another life now. My life changed also, but that doesn't mean I will forget about people who were kind to me." Talia released a long breath. "I won't go there without you. But I am asking you to reconsider. I have this nagging feeling that I should see Olivia and that if I don't, I will regret it. Can we just check on her? Please?"
Damon pushed an unruly lock of hair behind Talia's ear. "Was I ever able to say no to you, kitten?"
"You are not going without us," Keith said from the side, and he didn't flinch when he saw that both Damon and Talia were frowning at him. "This is about Luna's safety. After we went there, the Shadowbite pack was alerted of our intention. It would be foolish of them to think we gave up. I am confident that their security is tightened and that they are keeping a close eye on that female."
Arya nodded in agreement with Keith's words, and Damon's frown eased.
"What do you suggest?" Damon asked Keith, who quickly came up with a plan.
"We form a unit and ask witches to teleport us close to their border." He didn't want to leave Talia from his visual range, but he never saw her teleporting more than one extra person, and asking her to take both him and Arya would be a stretch. "We all have scent-concealing herbs and will lay low. The two of you can proceed with your plan, but if anything is amiss, mind-link us, and we will charge in." Keith lifted his chin smugly, obviously proud of his plan.
"A unit?" Talia asked. "That won't be necessary. We will be there only a minute regardless of Olivia's response."
Damon was about to protest when Talia added through their mind-link, only for Damon to hear, 'And let's imagine they spot us and try to capture us. Will you play along with that charade? Having other people around only means we won't be free to use our abilities because we don't want to harm our people.'
Damon smiled a little, 'Since when are you so reckless?'
Talia's smile matched Damon's. 'Since I'm hanging out with you.'
Keith's eyes darted from Talia to Damon, who stood facing each other and smiling and holding hands, and… Keith's expression fell when he realized that the wind picking up was not normal.
"WAIT!" Keith shouted, but the electric tornado lasted only a second before it was over. Damon and Talia vanished.
"FUCK THIS!" Keith shouted in frustration. "I QUIT!"
"What do you mean, you quit?" Arya asked.
"THIS! THIS!" Keith was pointing at the spot where Talia and Damon had been standing a few seconds ago. "How are we supposed to protect her when she goes who-knows-where without us? I would rather babysit a flock of falcons!"
Arya looked at Keith helplessly. She was also vexed that Talia just disappeared on them (literally), but there was nothing they could do about it. And did Keith say he was babysitting Talia? If Damon heard that, Keith would be punished. Talia might be their Luna, but she was also the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack. The rumors were that Talia was the most powerful Alpha in existence. Keith's insinuation that he was babysitting Talia could be interpreted as a claim that he was more powerful than Talia. Blasphemy.
"Trust in our Luna," Arya said. "She is with the Alpha. He will keep her safe."
Keith closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm his emotions. "You are right. While our Alpha and Luna are reckless, how about we go to Darkbourne and grab an ice cream?"
Arya wanted the ice cream, but… "Shouldn't we notify Beta and Gamma about where our Alpha and Luna went? If things escalate, someone will need to do damage control."
~ the Shadowbite pack ~
A gust of wind subsided, and Talia squinted at their surroundings as the dust settled.
They were in the forest, next to a single-story cabin.
'CLACK!'
Talia turned just in time to see heavy shutters closing quickly, and she glanced at Damon.
'A female closed it,' Damon said. 'I didn't see the face, but fingers were thin, and it gave me that feeling.'
Talia didn't doubt Damon. She closed her eyes to sense the surroundings. There was no one in the proximity, but she confirmed there was one person inside the house. Who could it be if not Olivia? Talia was excited.
'KNOCK-KNOCK'
Talia knocked on the window shutters that had closed less than a minute ago.
"Olivia?" Talia called.
No sound was heard, and Talia looked at Damon questionably.
"Maybe we should try the door," he said with a straight face.
Talia circled the cabin while ignoring Damon's chuckles that followed her.
Talia knocked on the door several times, and Damon took a few steps back, thinking that maybe his presence was scaring the female.
Talia knocked a few more times, and she was on the verge just opening the door when it creaked ajar, just enough for an eye to peek through the gap.
"Olivia?" Talia called.
The female frowned. "Who are you?"
"Talia."
After a second of hesitation, the door opened enough to reveal a face.
Talia's brows came together in a frown. Her light brown hair was messy, and she looked like she had lost a considerable amount of weight, but that was definitely Olivia. She was wearing worn-out clothes, a t-shirt and jeans, and she had a tan-colored apron.
Talia's heart tightened when she realized that Olivia was looking at her without signs of recognition.
"Don't you remember me? I was an orphan, staying in the attic of the packhouse of the Red Moon pack. You would bring me food and books and teach me how to read and…"
"Talia."
"Yes. Yes," Talia said enthusiastically.
"Why are you here? Is your mate from this pack?"
"No. Can we talk inside?"
Olivia hesitated, and her eyes widened in shock when Damon stood behind Talia. He didn't want to interrupt, but they couldn't stay outside for long without being noticed. Even if no one was physically there, werewolves have very good vision and can spot them from a distance. There was also a possibility that they triggered some security or were within the range of cameras.
Before Damon could say anything, Olivia bowed her head and pulled her shoulders together to protect her neck.
"He won't harm you," Talia said quickly. "This is my mate, Damon. Can we come in?"
Olivia took a step back, silently giving them an OK to enter, but she didn't raise her head.
