The Alpha's Bride

A phone call interrupted Damon's and Talia's make-out session.

Damon groaned in frustration. Who is calling this early? It's not even time for breakfast!

"Answer it, kitten.", Damon spoke into her lips before giving her another quick kiss.

"Me?", Talia breathed while blinking herself into reality.

"You are my assistant, so…" Damon pointed with his chin toward the phone that was on his desk.

Talia wanted to stand up, but Damon's hold around her waist intensified, silently telling her to get that call from his lap.

She gave up on fighting the stubborn Alpha and reached for the phone. As long as his hands behave, she can talk normally, and to be honest, she liked this proximity.

Her hand halted an inch away from the phone.

"What should I say?"

Damon chuckled. She was adorable."How about… hello, this is Alpha Damon's office."

Talia shot him a glare. Why is he making fun of her? It's her first time answering the phone. Ever!

Actually, only once she spoke on the phone, and that was with Doctor Travis. At that time Talia used Stephanie's phone, and Cassie accused her of stealing and slapped her. Talia didn't want to think about that incident.

She cleared her throat and picked up the call.

"Hello…" Talia squeaked. She exhaled sharply and continued normally. "This is Alpha Damon's office."

"Who are you?", male voice asked in confusion.

"Uhm…", Talia stuttered. Should she say her name? Why would that matter?

"My assistant.", Damon said in a low voice. Even without his Alpha hearing, Damon could hear what the other person was saying because Talia was sitting on his lap.

"I'm Alpha Damon's assistant.", Talia said awkwardly.

"I see…", the man said, his voice much more composed now. "I want to speak with Alpha Damon."

"Ask who is it.", Damon said to Talia.

"Who is this?"

"Alpha Edward."

Talia felt the air in the room suddenly becoming thin as images from her life before coming to the Dark Howlers pack flashed in front of her eyes. She spent nineteen years in the Red Moon pack, and she doesn't remember a single instance of talking to the man everyone addressed as their Alpha, yet now he was right there, on the other side of the line.

What if he recognizes her? What if he already knows? What if he wants to take her away or cause trouble for Damon?

"Alpha Edward?", Talia repeated robotically.

"Yes.", he said sternly. "Alpha Edward. Alpha of the Red Moon pack."

Talia was not sure at what point Damon took the phone away from her.

Damon didn't want to talk to this guy. Why was he calling?

Damon was looking at the phone with a sour expression. He would rather talk to Alpha Edward without Talia overhearing, but she was obviously frightened and if he sent her away, who knows what would she imagine?

Damon pulled Talia to lean on him and he gently rubbed her back while talking to the phone. "Alpha Damon speaking."

"Good morning, Alpha Damon!", Marcy's father greeted cheerfully. "I didn't know you have an assistant."

"I do. She is still new, so forgive her if she offended you in any way."

"If you need an assistant, you should hire someone capable and experienced. My Marcy…"

"Thank you for your concern.", Damon cut him off. He really didn't want to talk about Marcy. "My girl is a fast learner. How can I help you? I assume it's something important since you are calling at this hour."

"I apologize, I didn't realize it's this early. I wanted to remind you that my Marcy will come to visit you one week from now. I hope you will welcome her properly."

Damon groaned in frustration as Talia's insecurities washed over him.

He knew that Talia heard that. How is he going to explain this? Talia was making wonderful progress and if she shuts down again, Damon will blow a fuse.

The truth is that the moment Maya told Damon how Marcy will not come for another nine days (and that was two days ago), Damon pushed the issue of his engagement-to-be (which is not happening) at the back of his mind.

"Marcy will get the welcome she deserves.", Damon said stiffly to Alpha Edward.

…

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...

Damon wanted to end the call with Alpha Edward quickly so that he can reassure Talia everything will be OK.

"Is there anything else?", Damon asked.

"There is one more thing…", Alpha Edward made a dramatic pause. "There are photos of you and another woman circulating."

Damon didn't get it. "Another woman?" Which one? He was with so many of them.

"Yes. A woman with whom you attended the Summer Solstice festival."

Damon glanced at Talia. This was obviously about her. "So?"

Alpha Edward's temper was rising. "Do I need to remind you that my daughter will come to your pack so that you can finalize engagement?"

The hand that rubbed Talia's back stopped moving, and Damon asked icily, "What are you trying to say, Alpha Edward?"

"No one can stop you from seeing any woman you want, but in order to save my daughter's face, you could be more discrete about it. This is advice from a concerned parent."

Damon snorted. "Thank you for calling to give me parental advice. I might not have parents, but I can see the situation clearly. Since we are already talking, I want to use this opportunity to remind you that I am not engaged to your daughter and that we are not even dating, hence, I don't owe her or you anything. If she spread rumors that there is anything going on between us and she is offended by the fact that I'm seeing someone else, that's her problem."

Alpha Edward's insides were boiling from anger. "What do you mean, you don't owe her anything?"

"Exactly what you heard, Alpha Edward. Marcy plans to come here in one week. If she comes, at that time we will discuss how we will proceed from there. Until then, if she thinks that we are in a relationship, I suggest that she joins all other girls who are sharing similar delusions. We might be apart, but I am watching her. A Luna should act like Luna all the time, regardless of her company. I hope you will keep that in mind."

Alpha Edward took a few deep breaths to calm down. He remembered Marcy's words. This is Damon doing his thing before he gets committed to his Luna. Actually, if the Luna in question is not Marcy, Alpha Edward wouldn't care about Damon seeing other women.

'One week. One week.', Alpha Edward chanted silently. He stabilized his mood and asked, "Will you attend the Luna announcing ceremony at the Lightclaw pack in two days?"

"Yes. How about you?"

"Of course.", Alpha Edward said. "I was thinking about bringing Marcy so that you can…"

"Thank you, Alpha Edward.", Damon cut him off. "I have a date."

"What? Who?"

"You will find out in time. I hope you won't embarrass me or my date by causing a scene because the fact is that there is nothing between me and your daughter. If Marcy's only agenda is to be with me, I suggest she sits out this event because I won't be available to entertain her. Is there anything else?"

Alpha Edward ended the call after mumbling a goodbye.

Damon kept the phone on the table and cradled Talia in his arms.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply her citrusy sweet scent of freesia. He needed to calm down, and the fact that Talia was hugging him with her head on his shoulder, helped.

Damon thought about this party as an opportunity for Talia to get a glimpse of the circle, and he totally forgot about Marcy and her greedy father.

With this phone call, Damon realized that Elders will also be present as well as his enemies, and that will be another challenge to face.

But Damon still wanted to go with Talia because no one else will do, and if he goes without Talia, it will cause cracks in their fragile relationship.

Damon's priority above all was to gain Talia's trust, and for that, he needed to show her that he will always be by her side, regardless of the setting. He was ready to fight against anyone who comes for them with bad intentions, but he wanted to know that she won't run away.

Talia was his other half, an essential part of him, and if anyone dared to take her away or harm her, Damon was ready to start a war because nothing made sense without Talia in his life, and only with her he was at peace.

Sooner or later, Talia's existence will be revealed and even though Damon hoped to give her as much time as possible until she finds out they are mates, he knew that the time is running out.

If he can't have Talia as his Luna, he won't need the pack either.

Talia clung onto Damon without a word spoken.

She heard every word from that phone call.

Talia was relieved that this was not about her (other than the mentioning of a mysterious girl from the festival), but the news that the Alpha family from the Red Moon pack will attend the party where she will go with Damon, and Marcy coming here in one week, caused Talia emotional turmoil.

Talia was trying to think about this and calm down, but her mind was a mess and the only things preventing her from getting lost in panic were Damon's firm embrace and his soothing scent of the forest and the dark chocolate.

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