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If her guess was wrong, she was ready to go across the hall, into her room.

Damon frowned at the two toys that were on his bed. Blackie was fine, but why the hell was that Keith-related mongrel (aka Cinna) on his bed?

His mind exploded. Does this mean that Talia will sleep in his bed without him pulling any tricks? Well, that\'s progress.

Damon reminded himself not to comment on it. Other than proving to Talia that she is important to him, he also had a mission to make her open up and admit her feelings.

Thanks to the mate bond, Damon knew that Talia was into him. At first, he thought that those are his feelings, but now he was confident that they are Talia\'s emotions. She likes him. She likes him very much. However, due to her insecurities, Talia sees herself as inferior and there was no way that she will act on that attraction. That combined with her inexperience and shyness meant that Damon needed to step up his game, but he was not sure if he can do it without doing too much and too fast and as a result, scaring Talia.

Damon remembered Caden\'s words, Talia can feel the pull of the mate bond. Not strongly like Damon, but she can feel it. And that\'s why she is still in the packhouse. She can\'t leave him. As long as he doesn\'t mess up big time, Talia will stay with him.

Damon noticed that Talia was holding onto the garland made out of flowers and looking around.

"Do you need something?", Damon asked.

"I would like to keep it properly. Sofa is not a good place because the flowers might stain it." She was thinking that if there is no good spot here, she would keep it in her room.

Her eyes stopped on the side table that was next to the open balcony door, and she moved in that direction.

Damon was quick to step on the right, blocking her path.

"Is that the garland you had around your neck while dancing for the Moon Goddess?", Damon asked.

Talia responded with a nod.

"What will you do with it?", Damon continued probing.

"I want to let it dry. The open door will provide necessary airflow so that flowers don\'t go bad. If I apply hairspray on it, it can be preserved for a long time."

"Preserve? Shouldn\'t you give it to a guy you like?"

Talia\'s breath hitched and she quickly lowered her head, fearing that Damon will be able to read in her expression things that should never be revealed.

"Talia?", Damon called.

"Yes?", Talia responded without looking at him. She could see his legs moving closer, stopping only a few inches from her.

Reluctantly, Talia looked up and when she met his piercing gaze, her heart skipped a beat.

Damon smiled a little. "I watched as you danced. It was beautiful. Did you know that was for the Moon Goddess to bless your love life? You are supposed to give that garland to a guy you like, and the Moon Goddess will increase chances that the guy will respond favorably."

Did she know about that? Of course, she did.

But the man in front of her was Damon, Alpha of the Dark Howlers pack, the guy she likes, and there was no way that she will tell him that.

Talia inhaled in slow motion until her lungs were filled to the brim with air before responding, "I don\'t have a guy I like who would return my feelings."

Damon felt like facepalming. What kind of nonsense answer was that?

Damon could feel her emotions through the mate bond, and he knew very well how his proximity impacts her.

"How about you give it to me?"

Talia jolted. "What?"

"You said that you don\'t have a guy to whom you would give the garland, and I didn\'t get any so… how about you give that garland to me?"

Talia swallowed a mouthful of air. "This should be given to a guy I like."

Damon\'s patience was cracking. "Do you have a guy you like more than me?"

She didn\'t want to lie, but how can she tell him the truth? She will only make a fool of herself and probably open up for more heartbreak.

Seeing that Talia had no intention to answer his question, Damon held Talia\'s wrists gently and lifted her hands up, guiding them to place the garland above his head, and then to slide it lower until it was settled around his neck.

"Can I keep it?", Damon asked, and Talia nodded in response, her hands still rested on his shoulders even though he released her wrists.

Damon\'s fingers caressed delicate blooms of the garland, and Talia\'s eyes followed those small movements like she was fearing that she will miss something important if she blinks.

"Thank you. This is my first time to get a garland that was blessed by the Moon Goddess."

Talia didn\'t believe him. "Really?"

Damon confirmed. "This is my first one."

He didn\'t lie. The first few years after he came of age and girls would give him garlands, Damon was a greenhorn Alpha, determined not to tie himself to any woman, so he just rejected them. After that, garlands stopped coming, because no woman was bold enough to attempt where all others failed. In addition to that, Damon was not at the bonfire because he was busy doing things he didn\'t want Talia to find out.

"I experienced many first with you, kitten."

"You did?"

In slow motion, Damon lowered his head and kissed her cheek. It was a gentle long press, without any tongue or moisture. Just softness of lips on skin. And then he kissed her again, this time a bit closer to her lips.

"Thank you for the garland. I will cherish it." He murmured and she felt his lips on her cheek again, before he asked, "Will you help me preserve the flowers?"

"Yes", Talia responded in a whisper.

…

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Damon moved away, and Talia opened her eyes only to see his icy-blue eyes locked on her with intensity that made her dizzy. He was close, very close.

"You gave me these flowers, yet I didn\'t give you anything in return.", Damon said.

"You gave me Blackie.", Talia reminded him. And these kisses and many moments I will cherish forever.

Damon\'s thumb traced her lower lip and he swallowed hard. "That\'s not enough, Talia. Tell me what you want. Anything. I will make it happen."

"You already gave me more than I ever dreamed of.", Talia said honestly.

"Don\'t be silly. You deserve so much more."

He really wanted to kiss her.

"I really want to kiss you, but…" He licked his lips nervously. "I fear that you won\'t like it. I fear that you will reject me. Tell me, kitten… can I kiss you?"

Talia stared at him while wondering if her ears were playing tricks on her.

Did Damon just say what she thought he said?

A kiss?

At that moment, Talia was struck with a realization of how much she hated herself.

She hated the girl who was always running away and hiding. She hated the girl who was observing others from the sidelines and longing for normalcy. She hated the feeling of inferiority and being invisible. Bullies, injustice, hunger, weakness, helplessness… Talia hated it all.

The only thing she wanted was to be happy.

Talia didn\'t believe in happily ever after. The only thing certain in life was that everything will pass, good and bad. It\'s a never-ending cycle and just how she got out of that attic and out of the reach of Anna and Marcy, this happiness will also subside and be replaced with something else.

Talia wondered, is she so afraid of life that she will rather refuse a brief moment of happiness because she doesn\'t want to be sad when it comes to an end?

And there was Damon. An unstable Alpha who somehow got a residence in her heart, asking her if he can kiss her.

Damon is tall and handsome, and his icy-blue eyes were full of emotions and there was some anxiety as well. Was he afraid of rejection? Talia was not sure. But she knew that if he really wanted to kiss her and she passed on this chance, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

Damon watched in silence as Talia closed her eyes while lifting her head toward him, like a sunflower who was searching for the sun.

The whole world stilled.

A million butterflies ran rampant in Damon\'s stomach, and he was not sure if those were his emotions or Talia\'s, but he knew that he was a nervous wreck.

Damn it! He kissed girls a million times before, and now when it counts he was so anxious that he was at risk of passing out.

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