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Talia smiled a little. "I guess I am. My name is Talia. Stephanie told me about you."

"Mom told me about you also.", Lisa said and observed Talia who was putting knives and carefully pushing forks and napkins so that they are perfectly aligned with just the right amount of space between them.

"Are we having a guest for lunch?", Lisa asked.

Talia paused. "No. Why?"

Lisa shrugged. "I see you arranged a second plate next to Damon\'s so I assumed that person must be important."

Talia wanted to say how that\'s her spot, but she held her words back. She didn\'t want to make it sound how she was boasting. Damon should arrive in a minute, and Lisa will either leave or see them so… Talia decided not to comment.

"Did you have lunch?", Talia asked Lisa.

"I don\'t eat much lately."

Talia understood that this might be related to Tony finding his mate (aka Kalina). "I heard what happened. I\'m sorry you had to go through that."

Lisa made a face. "It\'s not enough that I was dumped, but everyone knows about it."

Talia was not sure how to respond to this.

"Mom told me that you are staying in the packhouse and helping in the kitchen.", Lisa said to what Talia nodded, and Lisa continued, "Not everyone is open-minded like Damon."

Talia\'s insides tightened. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, not everyone will accept a wolf-less she-wolf into the pack, and Damon even arranged for you to stay in the packhouse and work. In most of the packs, people like you will be shunned as trash, forced to work some menial work or banished and they end up living with humans."

Talia frowned. Why does Lisa know that Talia doesn\'t have her wolf? Did Damon tell her?

Since Lisa arrived, Stephanie was spending a lot of time with her, and Stephanie spoke to Lisa about Talia, a wolf-less she-wolf who came from the Red Moon pack and is staying in the packhouse.

Damon told Stephanie about Talia\'s condition, as an excuse for Talia to stay in the packhouse and to be treated with special care. Talia herself is the one who disclosed to Stephanie that she came from the Red Moon pack. That happened before Maya warned Talia to keep her background a secret.

Stephanie didn\'t mean to gossip. She hoped that Talia\'s story will inspire Lisa to keep on fighting and not drown in depression because Tony found his mate.

Lisa saw that Talia\'s expression worsened, and Lisa quickly added, "I don\'t have a problem with you not having a wolf. I just wanted to point out how Damon is an amazing Alpha. If this was Alpha Magnus, he would label you as a damaged wolf and discard you, yet Damon treats you as any other Omega…"

Talia\'s ears were buzzing. Shunned? Trash? Damaged? Discarded?

Talia wanted to tell Lisa that she was wrong. Damon doesn\'t treat her as an Omega. And Talia was not damaged, and no one would discard her, but her insecurities that took roots over two decades were swelling again and suffocating everything good in Talia.

Talia wished that Damon gives her a comforting hug and to tell her that she is wonderful and amazing, just how he always does, and she would believe him because he has the power to dispel her negative thoughts, but he was not there, and Talia was looking for an exit.

"Excuse me, I need some air…", Talia said and walked out of the dining room and into the garden.

Lisa didn\'t get it. Why did Talia leave suddenly? She was just praising Damon.

Lisa\'s eyes fell on the plates with food. Those sausages smelled amazing, and Lisa didn\'t eat in a long time, and she licked her lips because she drooled a little.

Talia said that there will be no guests for lunch, so Lisa sat on Talia\'s spot.

How Lisa saw this, the second plate could be for her mother, Maya, or Caden, and neither of them will raise a fuss if Lisa helps herself.

She never suspected that the second plate was for Talia.

…

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In the study…

Damon felt uneasy and he glanced at the time. Was Talia upset because he was late? It was only by a few minutes!

He got up and rushed toward the dining room.

Damon paused at the door of the dining room at the sight of Lisa sitting at the table and eating. She was so focused on the food that she didn\'t notice him.

"Lisa?", Damon called.

Lisa\'s eyes lit up when she saw Damon, and she swiftly got up and walked to him.

"I\'m sorry I didn\'t greet you so far. I was a mess.", Lisa said while giving Damon a hug.

Damon slowly pried Lisa\'s arms away from him. It was one thing to hug when they were kids, but Lisa is a grownup now, and he didn\'t want Talia to misunderstand.

"It\'s good that you are better now.", Damon said and looked around the dining room. "Did you see Talia?"

"That new Omega?", Lisa asked.

Damon\'s brows came together. "Who told you that she is Omega?"

Lisa shrugged and shook her head. "Mom told me she is helping in the kitchen, and I saw her setting up the table, so I assumed…" Lisa\'s voice trailed when she saw that Damon\'s expression was not good.

"Where is she?"

"She said that she needed some air and left."

Damon\'s face darkened. "What did you say to her?"

Lisa was flustered. "Me? Nothing. Actually, I was just saying how you are an amazing Alpha. That\'s it."

Damon had many questions for Lisa, but he felt the urgency to find Talia and anything else will need to wait.

Damon dashed out of the packhouse, and his heart fell into place when he saw Talia sitting on a bench in the garden.

Talia\'s hair moved a bit in the breeze as she stared absentmindedly in front of her.

She jolted out of her stupor when Damon took a seat next to her.

"Hey…", Damon called. "Why are you here?"

Talia exhaled a long breath while adjusting her emotions. Damon did nothing wrong, and she didn\'t want to burden him with her demons from the past.

Lisa didn\'t say anything bad, but she hit a nerve. If Talia was a normal she-wolf, she would probably agree with Lisa and praise Damon, and it would end at that. But Talia was not a normal she-wolf because she doesn\'t have her wolf and due to that she was bullied and stuck in the attic.

But now that Damon was next to her, Talia\'s mood improved because he made everything better.

"I finished setting the table and I thought of enjoying the garden until you finish with work."

Damon knew that she lied, something definitely happened, but he didn\'t want to poke into it and upset Talia further. He will talk to Lisa, later.

He wrapped his arms around Talia, and she leaned on him.

Damon scent of the forest and the dark chocolate did wonders, and his solid embrace made Talia feel safe and Talia decided to focus on the positives.

"We should go back to the dining room before the food gets cold.", Talia said. "I hope you will like what I made. It\'s nothing much, but keep in mind that it was my first time to cook…"

Damon was moved at the thought that Talia gave him another of her firsts. But his joy lasted only for a second because he remembered that Lisa ate from one of the plates, and it was obvious that Talia was not aware of that.

Talia made a meal for the two of them, and Damon could see that it was very important for Talia. Well, it was important for him also but if they go there now, instead of remembering it as the first meal Talia made for them, it will be remembered as something that Lisa ruined.

Damon scrambled his brain while searching for a solution, and it took him a moment to come up with something.

"I\'m sorry that I took longer to come down for lunch, but I was late for a reason.", Damon said and when Talia looked at him questionably, he added, "There is an issue with a restaurant in Darkbourne, and I need to check it personally. It seems to be urgent. What do you say that we ask Stephanie to wrap the delicious lunch you prepared, and we can eat that later? It should be good reheated, right?"

Unsuspecting Talia didn\'t object, and she knew that Damon was mind-linking Stephanie when his eyes lost focus.

In the car that was heading to Darkbourne...

\'Stephanie!\', Stephanie jolted when he heard Damon\'s stern voice in her head. \'Talia prepared food for us, but Lisa ended up eating it. I want you to re-make those two plates and make sure Talia doesn\'t suspect anything when she reheats it. You have one hour.\'

\'Yes, Alpha\', Stephanie said quickly and turned the car around.

Stephanie pressed her lips into a line. She remembered how happy Talia was while making a meal for Damon. Why would Lisa eat from those plates instead of from the kitchen?

Lisa is willful and says whatever is on her mind, and it seemed that she caused some trouble.

Stephanie jolted when she heard Damon\'s voice again, \'I want you to talk to Lisa and remind her that she can\'t act like she owns the place.\'

Stephanie\'s stomach dropped, \'Did Lisa do something?\'

\'You should ask her.\'

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