The Council of Alphas (ends)
The Council of Alphas (ends)
Talia didn't want to delay their return to the Dark Howlers pack, but she knew that it won't be easy to wiggle out of this, and also, she was curious to find out why the Guardians wanted to meet with her. "Give me a few minutes to say goodbye to my friends."
The man nodded. "Take your time. We will wait for you in the lounge."
The Guardian left and they all saw five Alphas and their Betas standing further down the hallway. Alphas William, Peter, Patrick, Robert, and Adam.
'What do they want?', Talia asked Damon through their mind-link.
Instead of responding, Damon stood in front of Talia protectively and asked, "Can we help you?"
"We were hoping for a word with Alpha Talia.", Alpha William said.
Talia put her hand on Damon's shoulder and stepped next to him. "What is it?"
Alpha William came forward and extended a hand that had his business card in it. "I hope you won't take what happened against us. We admit our mistake in misjudging you as young and inexperienced. We wish to start this again."
Talia understood this as him extending an olive branch. She didn't have any animosity against any of them, and there was no harm in accepting a business card, so she went ahead with it.
"I don't guarantee friendly relations, but we can start with neutral and see how it goes.", Talia said. She would give them her business card in return, but it was on the name Talia Blake, and she didn't want to reveal that piece of information yet. It was OK for others to know that she was friendly with Damon, Tony, Maddox, and Cristian, and even if they knew that she was in a relationship with Damon was fine, but she wanted to keep the information they were mates for after their pack members find out.
Alpha Adam was next to give her his business card, together with some pleasantries. Alphas Robert, Patrick, and Peter were next.
Alpha Edward and Beta Raymond came out of the conference room in time to see Talia and Alpha Peter shaking hands.
"It seems we are missing something interesting here.", Alpha Edward said as he approached the group.
"We are only exchanging a few words before parting ways.", Alpha William said.
Alpha Edward knew it was beyond that. Those five were trying to appear good in Talia's eyes after they submitted to her. This was one more thing Alpha Edward didn't understand, why did they submit? When Talia turned to him, he could feel her confidence and arrogance, but there was no pressure whatsoever. Does that mean they submitted willingly?
Alpha Edward saw that Meg was holding onto several business cards, and he spoke to his Beta, "Raymond, make sure Alpha Talia gets our contact information. We don't want to end up in an emergency where she doesn't know how to reach us."
Alpha Edward extended a hand for a handshake.
Talia put her hand into his, but instead of a handshake, he squeezed her hand and gave it a twist. Before Talia could react, he was kissing the back of her palm.
Damon's growl overlapped with Alpha Edward's, "Alpha Talia, I hope we meet again soon."
Talia wanted to tell Damon to calm down, but Alpha Edward's behavior made her uneasy. When he released her hand, Talia resisted the urge to give her hand a scrub right away. It would be rude, and it's not like the man was contagious. But no matter how polished Alpha Edward looked on the outside, he gave her a slimy feeling she couldn't shake off.
Damon was quick to pull a tissue from his pocket and wipe the back of Talia's palm, where Alpha Edward kissed her.
"Alpha Talia is an Alpha.", Damon grumbled while wiping her hand vigorously. "Treat her as an equal, and not as a maiden that should be courted."
Alpha Edward frowned at Damon's behavior, but he didn't comment.
And with that, Alpha Edward and Beta Raymond left, and the other five Alphas left right after them.
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"We could stick around until you are done with your business. Just in case.", Alpha Cristian said.
Talia was really touched. "No need. If Guardians have any malicious intent, they wouldn't act now when all of you are aware I'm staying behind."
Alpha Cristian thought how it made sense. "Alright then, I will be heading out. Don't forget to send an invitation when the two of you make it official.", Alpha Cristian said to Talia and Damon. After a round of handshakes, Alpha Cristian left with his Beta Imre.
"I assume you will return with Damon.", Tony said to Talia, and when she confirmed, he continued, "I still don't know how to thank you for what you did. If you need anything, anytime, just let me know."
"Thank you, Tony. I hope you can focus on strengthening your position in the pack. After the change in leadership, people will be unsettled and need assurance that you know what you are doing. You and Lina have great ideas. Share them with your people. If you have any questions, you can talk to Max."
Maddox was obviously shocked by this. Did she just volunteer him for a job? "What?"
"Your brother-in-law just became an Alpha, and his father is not available to guide him.", Talia explained.
"And you expect me to do it? What about Damon mentoring him?"
"Of course, Damon will help as well. But your territories are closer and with Lina and Tanya being sisters, it will be more convenient for you to step in, in case of an emergency."
Maddox stared at Talia in disbelief, and she grinned before turning to Tony. "Don't worry. He will do it."
Tony didn't share Talia's enthusiasm. "Are you sure?"
Talia was confident. "Max has an impulse to reject people, but then he will do it anyway because deep down he is a good person everyone admires."
Damon nodded in agreement with Talia's words. "When you remove the curses and insults, what's left is useful to work with."
Maddox knew that Talia's sweet-talking was only to get him to listen, and Damon was probably happy that with this Damon was off the hook for mentoring Tony, but how can he say no when Talia said how he is a good person people admire?
"Don't call me in the middle of the night.", Maddox grumbled at Tony.
Tony nodded in small jerky movements. Absolutely! If a late call needs to be made, it will be from Kalina to Tanya. Tony had no intention of getting on Maddox's bad side.
With all Alphas and Betas leaving the location, only Damon, Talia, Caden, and Meg were left in the hallway.
"I have no intention of leaving your side.", Damon said.
"I was not going to ask you to.", Talia responded and reached to hold Damon's hand.
Damon was quick to lace his fingers with hers and he tightened his hold while asking, "Are you sure this is OK?"
"Guardians don't interfere with packs. Why wouldn't it be OK?", Talia responded. "Besides, now that we achieved our goal of Alpha Edward losing his allies, I don't care if they find out that we are together. It will probably make them fear us more."
Damon approved. "I have no idea how you managed to pull this off, but when we go home, I want to hear details. About everything."
Talia bit her lip guiltily. She knew he didn't approve that he was in the dark about many things. "I didn't mean to hide anything from you, but we were busy, and things happened and…"
"I understand completely.", Damon interrupted her.
Talia blinked. "You do?"
Damon nodded earnestly. "I can see it happening. You accidentally escaped your personal guards and found yourself in the Lightclaw pack right when Axel was there for sightseeing with Meg."
Talia pursed her lips in protest. He got her there. She really had a lot of things to explain. But she knew Damon was not angry; he was just worried because so many things could end badly.
They could count this meeting as a small victory, but in the end, Alpha Edward was still out there as the Alpha of the second-largest pack, and they knew that he won't give up.
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