The Alpha's Bride

Talia had a hundred butterflies rampaging in her stomach, making her elated and anxious, and a bit nauseous.

Damon said that she will have responsibilities in the packhouse, and that means he won't send her away. Not soon, at least.

Sure, Damon insinuated (more than once) how Talia should stay in the packhouse long term, but this time he said in front of people that Talia will take care of guests, making it kind of official that she has legitimate duties in the packhouse.

Ah, she will take care of the guests!? What if she messes up?

Amused by the variety of Talia's emotions, Damon gave her shoulder a light squeeze. He knew that she will be amazing.

Talia will be the Luna of the Dark Howlers pack, and the comfort of their guests will be Talia's responsibility, so having a group of friends visit them will be an excellent practice for Talia.

"Everyone is invited except for me", Maddox grumbled.

Talia was surprised that Maddox was looking at her. She glanced nervously at Damon who was busy cutting a sausage, pretending that he didn't hear Maddox, but Talia couldn't ignore him. Maddox was big and scary and staring at her, and based on Damon's lack of interest, Talia assumed that her role as a host started already.

"You are welcome to come, Alpha Maddox.", Talia said. "Would you like me to tell you when Lina and Tony will visit so that you can coordinate?"

Maddox's eyebrows came together into a frown. "Why are you addressing everyone casually and using a title for me? My friends call me Max. I want to hear you say it."

Talia felt a rush of heat invading her cheeks and she inhaled forcibly. Maddox is a big scary Alpha, and he said they are friends.

This was a different level of familiarity compared to last night when he said that she can call him by his name. This was a nickname. It was a big deal. Refusing would be rude.

"OK. Ma…" The last sound was muffled because Damon stuffed a piece of sausage into her mouth.

"Let Lia say my name!", Maddox protested.

"Who allowed you to be so friendly with my woman?", Damon said condescendingly and turned to Talia to put another piece of sausage in her mouth.

Talia looked like a chipmunk with both of her cheeks full.

Maddox was surprised by Damon calling Talia 'my woman' openly. It only reinforced Maddox's hunch that Talia is Damon's mate.

But if they are mates, why didn't Damon announce it?

Maddox remembered his visit at the Dark Howlers pack and how Damon spent most of the day during the festival away from Talia. Mates stick close to each other, especially Alphas.

On the other hand, Maddox never saw Damon being this possessive. He didn't even allow Talia to call him by a nickname!

Maddox decided to push Damon's buttons. "Why can't we be friendly to each other? Lia and I exchanged phone numbers, Lia is calling me by my nickname, and she saw me naked. It doesn't get friendlier than that."

The temperature at the table fell noticeably and Talia panicked. It's not that Maddox lied, but why did he remind Damon of that butt-naked incident?

"I didn't see anything!", Talia mumbled with haste, her mouth still full of sausage, and she snuggled closer to Damon in an attempt to pacify her Devil.

Mindy stifled a laugh at Talia who was chewing so quickly that it looked like a video on fast forward.

"Of course, you didn't see much, Lia. There was nothing to see."

"Hey!", Maddox exclaimed in outrage.

"How can you say that this is nothing?" Maddox gestured toward himself, and Mindy waved at him dismissively.

Maybe Maddox is tall and muscular now, but for Mindy, he will always be her short and skinny ten-years old brother. Maddox had several growth spurts during his teens, and after that, he bulked up. Maddox is only three years older than Mindy, and Mindy got to watch him grow up.

Talia swallowed food from her mouth before cautiously glancing at Damon to see if he forgot about her seeing Maddox naked, and she met his intense stare directed at her face.

Sausage juice was dripping from her lips how she spoke with her full mouth, and Damon's hand landed at the back of Talia's head a second before Damon leaned toward her and licked her clean.

Damon's movements were slow as he meticulously licked every spot, and Talia released a shaky breath as the scent of the forest and the dark chocolate invaded her system and she remembered the magic that tongue can do all over her body, especially between her legs.

Talia couldn't believe this! She was getting aroused right there in front of everyone!

"Damon! People are watching!", Talia whispered with urgency.

Damon smacked his lips like he tasted the best delicacy ever.

"You had something there.", Damon said coolly.

He knew very well that Talia struggled to suppress the desire for her tongue to meet his. And she wanted more than just the tongue. She wanted him. All of him.

Damon was counting minutes until they head home. He will clear his calendar for the afternoon and take his time sampling Talia. He shifted a bit to adjust his hard-on.

Talia's stomach sunk when she realized that the banter between Mindy and Maddox subsided and even though no one was looking their way, she could guess that everyone saw Damon licking her.

And it was not just four people at their table, many others saw that, Marcy included. After all, their table hosted prominent figures and the main person of the event (aka Kalina), and it was expected that most of the people would keep their eyes on them.

Talia glanced at Damon, and she couldn't believe that he continued eating like nothing happened. Shameless.

Damon put his hand over Talia's and gave her a squeeze, and then he offered a forkful of scrambled eggs which she readily accepted.

Under Damon's cool fa?ade, Talia could see a glint of mischief in his eyes, and she didn't dislike it. She was happy. Just how he was.

…

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Damon fed Talia and himself, emptying his plate first, and then Talia's.

There were only a few bites left when someone cleared his throat from the side to get their attention.

"Alpha Damon…", Alpha Richard called. "I was wondering if you can spare some time."

Damon cocked an eyebrow. "For?" He was obviously not willing.

"Cassie. You said that you will talk with Alpha Magnus about the duration of her stay here."

Damon paused. Does Alpha Richard want to talk about Cassie? Why should Damon discuss the duration of her stay at the Lightclaw pack?

It took Damon a few exceedingly long seconds to remember that he slapped Cassie before sending her to the dungeon.

He forgot about her.

"Is this about Cassie attacking you last night?", Mindy asked to Alpha Richard's obvious displeasure.

Even if people knew about the incident, Alpha Richard was hoping that they won't talk about it. At least not in front of him.

Damon frowned while wondering why was Mindy so nosy, but he still answered. "Yes."

"How are you going to punish her?"

"Punish her?", Damon repeated questionably. Cassie was in the dungeon, everyone knew that, but it was obvious that Mindy had something else on her mind.

Mindy glanced at Talia and then returned her gaze to Damon. "Don't tell me that you will just let her go after one night in the dungeon. You know Cassie's temper. What would happen to Lia if you didn't intervene?"

Damon didn't want to deal with Cassie now, or ever. But Mindy had a point.

He turned to Talia. "You were the target of Cassie's attack. You decide on her punishment."

Talia was not sure how this ended up with everyone looking at her, but here she was… with all eyes on her and she needed to make an important decision.

How should Cassie be punished?

For Talia, this was not just a small incident in the hallway from last night.

Cassie was the person who immediately assumed that a girl in the kitchen was stealing food, and that a girl with a cell phone stole it, and that a girl deserves slapping if she didn't admit a crime she never committed. Cassie was bossy with Omegas while claiming the position of the future Luna that never belonged to her, and Talia was confident that there was much more.

It's not that Talia wanted to avenge everyone who got bullied by Cassie, but Cassie showed narcissistic behavior that can't be cured no matter what punishment is delivered.

However, it wouldn't be fine just to let her go either.

In Talia's opinion, people will not understand others unless they walk in someone else's shoes. Talia couldn't make Cassie wear shabby clothes and be abused by random people, but she wanted Cassie to feel the burn of her actions if she was on the receiving end.

"I want to know what she would do to me if you didn't stop her.", Talia said to Damon.

Damon's brows came together in a deep frown. He obviously disapproved of this idea.

Talia gave him a reassuring smile. "I won't do anything recklessly. Will you help me?"

How can Damon say no to that?

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