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A list of four names was waiting on his desk and just as Caden said, they were upset that Damon left the meeting without explanation.

Four phone calls didn't take long because Damon had a story ready.

Damon explained that he had to leave abruptly because there was an urgent situation, and the fact that they caught spies only supported Damon's case.

After Damon promised to share relevant information from reports, all Alphas were pacified. Actually, they ended up thanking him for handling the situation efficiently.

Their pack members were at that festival as well as delegations from other packs, and if things escalated, everyone would be in danger.

Damon was pleased with this outcome. It was the almost-truth, and he didn't need to mention Talia.

The more he downplayed the importance of Alpha Richard's query to find out information about the girl with copper-colored hair that was close to Damon, the more it looked like Alpha Richard is shooting in the dark.

Damon knew that Talia was in the kitchen, and he wanted to eat with her, but he remembered one small detail, so he headed for the dining room first. There, he saw that Caden and Maya were at the table with Axel, Maddox, and Mindy. Mindy was sitting on the left side of where Damon was supposed to sit (aka Talia's spot).

Damon approached Mindy and leaned to speak only for her to hear. "I will appreciate it if you move to some other seat."

There were twelve chairs at the table in total, so she had many other choices.

Mindy blinked at Damon. "Good morning, Alpha Damon. Do you mind explaining why? I already got myself coffee."

"Because that seat belongs to someone."

Mindy didn't believe him. Since they arrived, she was sitting there for every meal, and no one said anything. "Belongs to someone? To whom?"

"You will find out in a minute. Now please… move.", the last word came with a dose of Alpha pressure that made Mindy break into a cold sweat.

Mindy didn't like this treatment. Why was Alpha Damon unreasonable? But they were guests, so she obeyed without fussing. She will complain to her brother later about this outright bullying. She was also curious to see who that mystery person is.

Mindy took her cup of coffee and went to sit on the opposite side of the table, next to her brother.

With that, Damon went to the kitchen, to fetch Talia. He had no intention of letting her eat in the kitchen, or wherever. She will not hide anymore.

Damon was determined to keep Talia close to him for several reasons, and one of them was that when he was around, Talia wouldn't hear all kinds of rumors about him. Most of the rumors were true, but he didn't want his past to ruin the pretty future they will build together.

What if she hears nasty stories and leaves again with a Keith-like guy? What if she leaves for good? Damon won't allow such a thing to happen.

Damon decided to wait for the right timing to reveal that they are mates (hopefully, when her wolf awakens), but until then, everyone can see that Talia is with him and that messing with her means messing with him.

Back to the present…

Damon and Talia held hands while approaching the dining room.

Talia heard voices, and she tried to pry her hand free from Damon's grip, but it was all in vain. By the time they reached the door, Talia thought that her soul is about to leave her body. Why was he not letting go of her?

Axel and Maddox were discussing with Caden the security issue and spies that were captured, while Maya and Mindy spoke about the festival in general, but Talia was confident that soon they will notice them and… sure, there it was… the chatter stopped, and everyone looked at them.

Damon led the way and the two of them ended up walking to the table while holding hands. How embarrassing.

Damon finally let go of her in order to pull a chair for Talia to sit, and all eyes were on her. She really wanted to disappear.

Damon sat on his spot, and Talia stared in disbelief when Damon reached to hold her hand, this time on top of the table. Their fingers were not interlaced, but it was still an attention-grabbing gesture.

Damon used this silence to speak.

"I believe that everyone here knows Talia. She was the MVP at the tournament. In one way or another, I mentioned her to each of you, but to summarize, Talia came to the Dark Howlers pack less than two weeks ago and she is staying in the packhouse. Talia is under my protection, and I will appreciate it if you treat her with the respect she deserves. As you know, there are individuals who are trying to find out information about people who are close to me. I believe that we are all friends here and you understand that if you tell them about Talia, you will put her in danger."

Everyone at the table nodded in understanding, and Maya offered her an encouraging smile.

Talia had no idea how to react to this official introduction. She was confused, intimidated, but mostly happy.

Damon spoke about her with Axel, Mindy, and Alpha Maddox? What did they talk about?

And he told everyone that she is staying in the packhouse, so there was no risk of someone accusing her of stealing food (a thousand miles away, Cassie sneezed and wondered who was remembering her).

And Damon also said she is under his protection and that everyone should treat her with respect.

She didn't care much about the danger part, believing how that was related to the Red Moon pack and Alpha Edward causing trouble to Damon if he finds out Talia's whereabouts.

Dawn and Zina entered with a three-level cart that was full of serving trays, so people got busy with food and Talia could feel Dawn's and Zina's gazes on her. Ah, how is she going to explain this?

The only good thing was that Damon let go of her hand after his little speech so two Omegas didn't see that.

"What are you going to drink?", Damon asked Talia.

Talia wanted to say that she will help herself. After all, just having a seat next to him is probably too much, considering that there are guests present. But the way Damon looked at Talia told her that he was determined to serve her.

"Orange juice."

Damon gave her more than just a beverage. He also piled food on her plate and Talia was not sure how to behave. Are others watching? Are they finding this unusual? It can't be normal for an Alpha to serve someone. Will they say something?

Talia focused on the food in front of her and pretended that no one else was there.

She jolted when she felt something on her knee under the table and she didn't need to look to know it was Damon's hand, waiting for hers. Well, at least it was under the table.

Talia let out a long breath and her right hand sank under the table to meet Damon's.

Their fingers interlaced and Talia couldn't prevent her lips from lifting into a smile when his thumb moved slowly over the back of her palm.

Holding hands under the table. That was their little secret. Talia liked that.

"So, Talia…", Mindy called. "I apologize for taking your seat. I didn't know it was yours."

Talia blinked, unsure what Mindy was talking about.

"Mindy!", Alpha Maddox hissed, warning her to be quiet.

Mindy rolled her eyes at her brother and continued talking to Talia, "We are all friends here, right? I want to apologize for causing inconvenience. I didn't know that was your place. Alpha Damon made sure to tell me that the seat is taken."

Talia turned to look at Damon. He told Mindy that the seat is taken? It was obvious that Mindy was not pleased. Damon offended her. Why would he do that?

As if he can hear Talia's unspoken questions, Damon spoke to Mindy, "Don't try to cause drama and twist this as me bullying you. Since Talia arrived here, this is her place. There are plenty of seats at this table to accommodate everyone." He glanced at Talia. "I don't want Talia to give her spot to anyone, regardless of their background."

Damon's expression was unreadable, but the way he gave a gentle squeeze to Talia under the table made her heart melt.

Talia reached with her free hand for some of that orange juice because she felt lightheaded.

Damon said that she doesn't need to give her spot to anyone. Why did it sound like he was talking about more than just a seat at the table?

The rest of the breakfast passed without any waves, and Talia was glad that Damon didn't ask her what she made because she didn't make anything.

Mindy and Maya were chatting about the festival and Alpha Maddox was saying how he plans to visit two more packs with Mindy and after that, they will head home to the Blue River pack.

Axel was his usual self, quiet, observing, his eyes frequently moved to Talia, but he didn't try to start a conversation.

After breakfast, Alpha Maddox and Axel went with Damon to his study. They wanted to go over reports from interrogation and Maya and Caden joined them.

Mindy bobbed her head while approaching Talia and Damon was quick to block her path.

"Where are you going?"

Mindy frowned at Damon. "You guys will be busy, and I want to spend some time with Talia." Mindy made a face. "Don't worry. I won't eat her."

Damon turned to Talia. "Do you want to talk to her?"

Talia was flabbergasted. How was she supposed to answer that? Mindy was right there!

"Yes, Alpha Damon.", Talia responded respectfully, using his title to remind him that everyone was staring at them. He can keep his odd behavior for when it's just the two of them, or when Talia was not present because this was uncomfortable. "Mindy is my friend."

"A friend?" Damon glanced at Mindy suspiciously. "Since when are the two of you friends?"

"We spent some time at the fair yesterday.", Mindy said smugly and made her way around Damon toward Talia. Mindy hooked her arm with Talia's. "Let's go to the garden. The weather is nice…"

Damon watched as Mindy and Talia walked down the hallway and he had an urge to go after them.

What if Mindy says to Talia something damaging? They made such good progress with hugging and kissing and if Mindy ruins it, Damon will use Mindy's blood to wash away those grievances!

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