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Leaving or not showing up would be irresponsible. His pack members are expecting him to be there, after all, this is one of the biggest celebrations his pack is hosting. And his allies will want to see him, and his enemies are watching also. Damn it!

He had an option to take Talia with him, but it wouldn\'t be fair to put her on a spot like that without an explanation and he feared that if he tells her what it means to stay by his side in public, she will run away.

\'What am I supposed to do?\', Damon asked his wolf.

\'No matter what you decide on, there will be a price to pay..\'

Damon looked into Talia\'s honeyed eyes that were unspoiled and he decided. No matter what, he was not willing to gamble with Talia\'s safety.

"Talia, just how you need time, I want you to be patient with me."

She didn\'t understand. It was totally out of context. "Patient?"

"There are things I need to tell you. Important things. It\'s a long story, and I regret that I can\'t spend this day with you, but I hope you will be able to have fun. What I\'m trying to say is, don\'t leave with Axel or with anyone else until you hear me out, but the timing is not right so…" He licked his lips nervously. "Give me time, OK?"

Talia had no idea what he wanted to talk about, and she told herself not to overthink it because Damon suffered from severe mood swings and there was a high probability that the timing will never be right. By noon (if not sooner), he will forget that they had this conversation.

"OK. When you want to talk, you know where to find me."

Damon hummed in approval and buried his face into Talia\'s neck, inhaling her sweet citrusy scent of freesia while relishing the delightful sparks that made him feel alive.

"Thank you, Talia…", his breath caressed her skin and Talia\'s heart skipped a beat.

Damon really had so many things to tell her, yet when they were alone, he would fall into a daze caused by her proximity, and everything faded into a blur, leaving only him and Talia in focus like they were the only two people in the world.

Talia let Damon hold her and she exhaled helplessly.

She was with Damon for ten days, yet it felt like ten years or maybe ten eternities, and she vaguely remembered how her life was before he became part of it.

As much as Talia felt joy when Damon was giving her attention, like now, it was that much harder every next time she saw him with Marcy, or Cassie, or Mindy, or whichever woman came after. It didn\'t matter which woman was by his side because Talia was hurt that it was not her.

But now it was just the two of them, and Damon\'s heat was all around her as his delicious scent of the forest and dark chocolate coursed through her system, and she leaned on Damon and soaked in his presence like it\'s her last chance to feel him like this.

…

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Talia walked toward the Darkbourne, happy that she avoided any further drama.

After leaving the study (and Damon\'s embrace), Talia went straight to the kitchen, and she was dejected that Stephanie, Dawn, and Zina finished preparations. Talia really wanted to help, but unexpected things happened.

Dawn and Zina were excited to touch up their makeup before going to serve breakfast in the dining room, but Talia had no intention of showing her face there.

Talia swiftly ate one waffle and was about to leave when Stephanie gave her an insulated bag. "Take this, Talia. I prepared it for you."

"Thank you, Steph…", Talia said, genuinely touched.

Talia\'s original plan was to pack some food and take it with her to the festival, but after not being able to help with breakfast, she was embarrassed to take anything that didn\'t fit into her mouth.

"Do you know where you are going?", Stephanie asked.

"The games will start soon, and I don\'t want to miss it. I hope to see everything."

"Shouldn\'t you go with Maya?", Stephanie asked.

Talia shook her head. "Maya has many duties as a Beta, and I am not a child. Even if she is not busy with guests, I can imagine that she will want to spend time with Caden. I can\'t expect her to hold my hand, so I don\'t get lost."

"Oh, you are not familiar with Darkbourne…", Stephanie said. "Come here…", Stephanie called while getting a notepad and pen.

Stephanie drew a rough sketch of a few streets of Darkbourne with several interest points, including where the fair will be, where the sports fields are, and how to reach there from the packhouse.

"If you walk leisurely, it will take you about twenty minutes to get there… If you are lost, just ask anyone to direct you to the town square with the clocktower, that\'s the center of the fair… anyone can show you which way to take in order to return to the packhouse…"

"Will you come to the fair?", Talia asked.

"Maybe later.", Stephanie responded with a smile, but Talia noticed that Stephanie\'s mood dropped.

Stephanie was hoping that Lisa will come, and she made plans with her daughter, yet Lisa decided to stay in the Lightclaw pack because of her boyfriend, Anthony, and Stephanie was not in a festive mood. How can she be happy when she knows that her daughter is hurting?

Stephanie lost her husband, and she has only Lisa, and as much as she hopes that Lisa will snap out of her infatuation with Anthony, Stephanie can\'t force her.

Knowing that everyone will be at the fair, Stephanie decided to stay in the packhouse where she won\'t need to force a smile. If she changes her mind later, she can always come to the fair, but Stephanie didn\'t want to make any promises, and Talia didn\'t feel like she had the right to insist, so she dropped the topic.

Talia left swiftly, while everyone was busy with breakfast. On her way from the kitchen to the main entry (or main exit, in this case), Talia heard Miss Mindy talking and several other unknown voices and Talia rushed out, happy that no one stopped her.

Talia didn\'t want to risk Alpha Damon asking her to join them at the table, and she didn\'t want to be sad in case he doesn\'t come to look for her either, so she left first.

Anyway, Damon already said that he won\'t be able to spend the day with Talia, and that meant he will be busy with guests. Guests like Miss Mindy and other important people.

Talia was confident that among the guests there were several other females. Will any of them throw herself at Damon? Will she succeed to be Damon\'s Luna? Or maybe his company for tonight?

Talia pushed those thoughts away. What was the point? Even if Damon held Talia\'s hand and brought her to the table to sit by his side, Talia would just be uncomfortable. This was the best possible outcome for everyone.

She reminded herself to focus on things that matter. Tomorrow, she will think about moving out of the packhouse and figuring out her life, but today she will have fun at the festival, and Damon\'s presence (or absence) won\'t make a difference.

Talia had plans and determination to make the most of it.

Only when Talia was walking on the road that lead to Darkbourne, and the packhouse was hidden from sight behind the tall trees, Talia peeked into the insulated bag to see what Stephanie packed for her.

There were two quiches, a bottle of juice, two apples, a granola bar… and a side-pocket had $100, broken down in ten bills, $10 each.

Talia felt her eyes prickling as tears threatened to fall. No one ever took care of her like that, and Talia imagined that if she had a mother, she would wish her to be just like Stephanie.

Talia took a mental note to thank Stephanie properly. Somehow.

The sound of a car coming from behind got Talia\'s attention and she swiftly dashed between bushes that were next to the road. She didn\'t bother to see who was in the car because she was determined to enjoy this sensation of freedom that touched her the moment she stepped outside of the packhouse.

She continued walking several meters away from the road, close enough not to wander, but far enough so that others don\'t spot her.

Talia always liked the forest and she smiled at the rays of sun that peeked through the tree canopies, darting with the breeze that moved the leaves, like a welcoming light show of nature. There were no worries or bullies or anything else that could cause her stress. As a bonus, from the forest, Talia wouldn\'t know with whom Damon is spending his day or night, so she wouldn\'t be sad.

She wondered, why was she cooped in her room all the time, when she could come here?

Talia was walking toward the distant noise of the festival, and she was making plans to return here with a book and read in peace. Tomorrow.

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