The Alpha's Bride

3"Let's see what the Guardians want, so we can go home.", Talia said to Damon. She was about to move in the direction of the lounge, but then she remembered one thing. "Meg, you can head home now. I will go with Damon and Caden."     1

"How far it is?", Caden asked Meg. "In case there are traps in the area, I can assure you will reach there safely."     

Meg refused. "I can manage."     

Caden didn't like her attitude. "I didn't mean that you can't defend yourself, but what if they catch you by surprise? How far away is it?"     

Meg gave in. "It's about one hour if we shift into wolf form, but...", Meg paused and turned to look at Talia. "Is it OK if he sees where the entrance to our territory is?"     

Talia was not concerned about Caden finding out about the entrance. She was planning to open the traffic between Midnight Guardians and Dark Howlers anyway, so high-ranking members would definitely know the way, but she wanted to head home as soon as possible and two hours Caden would need to go there and return, was a lot of time to waste. On the other hand, the meeting was super short, and safety should come first.     

Talia got an idea, and she asked Meg, "In which direction?"     

Meg knew that Talia was asking about the direction where the portal is, and she gestured to her left.     

Talia closed her eyes and started feeling her surroundings. Five seconds later, Talia was aware of every creature, plant, and rock within miles.     

She opened her eyes with a sigh. "Caden was right. There are people waiting along the road. I guess they assume we will take the car to drive back. Meg, let Caden go with you. I know you are strong, but he is more experienced. Keep each other safe and let me know when you reach home. Tell Axel and Yasmin that we will visit as soon as Damon's condition is stable."     

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Talia and Damon entered the lounge to see four Guardians waiting for them. They were sitting on the largest sofa and talking in low voices, and when they saw Talia and Damon, they all stood up.     

"Alpha Talia", one of the Guardians spoke first, "Our conversation will be of sensitive nature."     

Talia understood that this was about Damon's presence. She gave his hand a squeeze, silently telling him not to let go.     

"What I know, Damon knows.", she said sternly. "If you don't want him to know something, then I shouldn't be here either."     

The Guardian was taken aback. "Do you trust him that much?"     

Talia glanced at Damon and her lips lifted into a smile on their own. "How can I not trust the man who saved my life in more than one way?"     

The four Guardians were visibly surprised, and the one who spoke previously moved to gesture toward the sofa. "Then, please, take a seat. My name is Julian.", he introduced himself and then pointed at others. "Vin, Bone, Dex."     

Talia guessed that those were code names. Other than Julian, neither of them sounded like a proper name, but she didn't want to question it.     

The one named Dex was the Guardian who was explaining to her about the Sphere of Power, so Talia exchanged friendly smiles with him before taking a seat on the sofa with Damon by her side.     

The sofa was big enough to seat ten people. Vin and Bone sat on Talia's and Damon's left and right while leaving a large gap so it was not feeling crowded. Julian and Dex sat on sofa chairs to face the other four.     

"We wanted to talk to you about the way how the Sphere of Power reacted to you.", Julian said. "And we were also wondering if you would do the test again."     

"You want me to do it again?", Talia asked.     

He confirmed. "Dex interrupted you before it was done."     

Talia looked at the Guardian in question. She remembered that he pulled her hand away.     

Dex scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I did that to protect Alpha Talia."     

"To protect me?"     

Julian responded, "If we knew that the Sphere of Power will have such a strong reaction, we wouldn't allow other Alphas to see it."     

Talia didn't get it. "Shouldn't that be a signal for them that I'm strong and they shouldn't mess with me?"     

Julian chuckled. "It seems you don't know much about Alphas."     

Talia was getting irritated. "How about you tell me?"     

"What do you want to know?"     

"Everything. We already established that I'm young and ignorant.", Talia said dryly. "Tell me what you want, but don't play games because we are already dealing with a lot of stuff, and I don't have time for solving puzzles."     

Damon straightened his posture to make himself appear larger. It was non-verbal communication for everyone to know that he was there to protect Talia.     

'I'm here, kitten. You don't need to listen to them if you don't want to.' Damon's voice sounded in her head, making her relax. Somehow, she knew that he would hold the sky for her if it came crashing down on them.     

"Allow me.", Dex said while standing up. "When I said that colors on the sphere represent the type of loyalty, I lied. The sphere reacts to the number of people who will follow you. The intensity of the reaction depends on their faith in you. As for the colors, they represent the Alpha bloodline to whom those people swore loyalty. If I confirmed Alpha Edward's suspicion, it would put a target on you as someone who is coercing his pack members to deflect, and he would search for those pack members to punish them. At first, I feared that Alpha Damon will be upset because so many of his pack members are willing to follow you, but considering how close you are, it makes sense."     

Talia understood all that, other than… "Why do you want me to do it again?"     

"So that you can finish.", Julian responded. "We never saw an Alpha that can invoke so many colors with such intensity. The sphere shows the current state, and it can predict the future. Think of it like showing the fate of our society if you are in charge."     

Talia was not excited about this. "What are you hoping to see? That I will stick to my pack? Or maybe that I will bring calamity?"     

Julian shook his head. "This is just about checking your potential, Alpha Talia. Fate is what should happen, not what will happen. Your influence is impressive, and your potential is limitless. With the right guidance, you could bring the right changes for everyone's benefit."     

Talia didn't care about the peace-bringer nonsense. And in a world where resources are limited, how can everyone have plenty without others suffering? It sounded nice, but Talia doubted it can be achieved even if she had a magic wand. And also... "If what the Sphere shows is not a certain future, why should I do it?"     

Julian raised his hands. "We will not force you, but for someone who can impact so many people without being their Alpha, we would like to invite you to join us."     

Talia didn't get it. "Join you, where?"     

"To be a Guardian.", Julian said.     

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You can see Dex's and Julian's pic in the comments.