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Marinated steaks were roasting in the oven, and Stephanie put potatoes that Talia peeled into boiling water. Those will become garlic mashed potatoes.

A batch of spiced-up peppers, asparagus, and zucchinis was waiting for the right time to enter the oven.

The gravy was done. Vegetables for the salad were washed and chopped, and they will put the rosemary-infused dressing over the salad before serving.

For dessert, they had store-bought Tiramisu cake which was chilling in the fridge.

It was a full dinner and Talia felt quite accomplished.

The fun part was that while they prepared food, Stephanie was telling all kinds of stories about the Dark Howlers pack and about Alpha Damon.

She told stories about Damon as a mischievous child who would sneak out to play with his friends and avoid practice and homework.

"Damon was a cheeky boy who was good in combat and in academics, but if he invested in those half of the effort he spent in dilly-dallying, everyone would put him in the genius category. Alpha Jacob would punish him for avoiding responsibilities, and Luna Violet always came to calm him down saying how Damon is still a child. And on few occasions when Luna Violet wanted to scold Damon, Alpha Jacob came to the boy\'s rescue…"

Talia understood that Damon grew up with a loving family and his life turned from a carefree childhood into a dangerous reality overnight when his parents perished and the heavy responsibility of leading the pack fell on his shoulders. And it was not just Damon, the whole pack faced dramatic changes when they lost experienced leaders who could keep enemies at bay.

The Dark Howlers pack was never in an open war, but that was thanks to the diplomatic capabilities of Alpha Jacob and Luna Violet. The facts are that werewolves are creatures attracted to power, and it\'s in their nature to crave for more. More territory, more pack members, more resources… it\'s never enough. And when Alpha Jacob and Luna Violet perished, Damon became an Alpha of a pack who had a lot of assets, but Damon was not even eighteen years old, so other Alphas saw him as an easy target.

Stephanie told Talia about attacks from the rogues and other packs who pretended to be rogues, but the Dark Howlers pack stood united, and they came out of that period stronger than ever.

Now, open attacks are rare, but the calm is deceitful because many are working in the shadows, trying to sway Damon on their side, to use him, trick him, force him to obey, and they are not picky about the methods to accomplish their goals.

Talia couldn\'t help but feel sorry for Damon. In a way, he was being bullied just how she was while staying in the attic. Actually, she thought that bullying she had was mild compared to what he is going through.

Stephanie saw that Talia\'s expression became solemn, so she shifted the conversation toward food and cooking.

Since they needed to wait for potatoes to boil, Talia started cleaning the kitchen island.

"Dr. Travis wants to talk to you.", Stephanie said suddenly.

Talia paused. "How do you know?"

"He mind-linked me. Actually, Travis mind-linked Alpha Damon and Alpha Damon mind-linked me."

"Oh…" Talia didn\'t want to bring up the obvious point that she doesn\'t have the mind-link, fearing that Stephanie might remind Alpha Damon of that detail. "How can I reach him?"

"Use my phone…", Stephanie said and got a cellphone from her back pocket. "Here. Since it\'s a talk with a doctor, go and find yourself an empty room."

Talia looked at the phone with a complex expression. She knew what a cellphone is, but werewolves are not really cellphone friendly because they have mind-link, and most of them don\'t venture outside the pack. So, unless one has important connections with other packs or humans, they don\'t have personal phones. There is a number of landlines available for everyone to use.

Stephanie has her phone because that\'s how she communicates with her sister and Lisa.

"How do I use this?"

Talia\'s embarrassment disappeared quickly because Stephanie explained to Talia how to make a call without making it sound awkward.

Talia went into the hallway, and she didn\'t need to search far to find an empty room. It seemed that other than her and Stephanie, no one else was in the packhouse.

Taking the first room on the right, Talia found herself in the living room. She sat on the sofa and made the call.

"Hi, Talia!", Travis greeted her as soon as he picked up the call, and based on his tone, Talia knew that Stephanie told Travis through the mind-link to expect this call.

"Hi, Doctor. You wanted to talk to me?"

"I told you to call me Travis.", he said sternly before continuing in a softer tone, "I want to hear how your appointment with the nutritionist went."

Talia took a moment to pick her words. "The information Dr. Jones provided was generic and I decided to look up relevant information online and try it out on my own. Alpha Damon approved."

"I see…", Travis said thoughtfully. "I would like to be part of that process, if you don\'t mind."

Talia had no objections. Travis left a good impression on her, and she wanted to find an excuse to get in touch with him and maybe find the right timing to ask him about working in the pack hospital, just in case if she decides to stay in the Dark Howlers pack.

"I would like that."

"Great!", Travis exclaimed. "I want to hear your plan and give you some inputs. I\'m confident that the information you find will be good for humans, but werewolves need more meat in our diet. How about you come to the pack hospital tomorrow morning…", he paused while looking at his schedule. "Ten o\'clock?"

"I can do that."

"OK. I got you in for an appointment. We can also do a round of bloodwork and take your weight. After that, we can meet weekly to track your progress. Are you taking the vitamins?", he had to ask.

Werewolves are known as stubborn creatures, and they don\'t take medicines or see a doctor unless they are at the death\'s door.

Talia was touched by the care Travis showed. "Yes."

"Good, good. If you are skipping on the vitamins, the results of the blood test will expose you. So, I will see you tomorrow. Don\'t forget and don\'t try to wiggle out of it."

Talia stifled a laugh. "I won\'t forget, Travis. I will see you at ten o\'clock."

"I would never guess that an Omega would relax in the living room and set up a date."

Cassie\'s voice from the door made Talia freeze and she cursed her luck.

Cassie was passing by, and she heard Talia speak in a cheery voice, "Sounds good… I can do that… Yes… I won\'t forget, Travis. I will see you at ten o\'clock."

Of course, Cassie assumed that Talia was talking with her lover. Is that any of Cassie\'s business? No. But the fact that a scrawny girl in shabby clothes was relaxing on the sofa and acting like she owns the place, rubbed Cassie the wrong way.

"Why are you still sitting there? Don\'t you know about hierarchy and manners? Get up!", Cassie hissed, and Talia stood up in slow motion.

Talia hated the way Cassie treated her, but she was Damon\'s important guest, and Talia didn\'t want to cause trouble.

If she talks back to Cassie, there is a high chance that things will escalate, and Talia was confident that there was no way for her to come unscathed out of that conflict.

The best thing to do was leave because it\'s useless to try reasoning with crazy people.

Talia lowered her head, hoping that Cassie won\'t recognize her from their previous confrontation in the kitchen, or as the one who was in the car with Damon that morning. Luckily, at that time, Cassie paid more attention to Talia\'s clothing than to Talia.

"I apologize if I offended you. If you excuse me, I need to help with dinner."

At the mentioning of dinner, Cassie narrowed her eyes. "You are the Omega who I caught stealing food."

Talia gritted her teeth. Why didn\'t she come up with some other excuse? And she was NOT stealing food, but talking to Cassie seemed like talking to a wall.

Talia ignored Cassie\'s comment and moved toward the door, but Cassie was quick to block Talia\'s exit path.

"Why are you eager to leave? Did you steal something else?", Cassie\'s eyes fell on the cell phone in Talia\'s hand and Talia swiftly hid it behind her back.

Talia noticed Cassie\'s expression changing when she saw Stephanie\'s phone, and Talia panicked. What if Cassie takes it or damages it? How will Talia explain that to Stephanie?

Cassie interpreted Talia\'s silence as admittance and she extended her hand, palm up.

"Give me that phone.", Cassie demanded.

Talia was not willing. "I didn\'t steal it."

Cassie sneered. "I see you can talk back. Is it because Alpha Damon is not here to see who you truly are? You pretend to be obedient and play victim so that Beta can save your sorry ass. Well, I won\'t fall for your tricks, and no one will save you now. You stole it and now you are lying. How could a lowly Omega have a phone like that? That\'s an expensive model. Give it to me now and I will tell Alpha Damon to lower your punishment."

Talia couldn\'t believe this. Punishment? Why did Cassie say that with a smile, like she is doing a favor for Talia?

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