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Chapter 887: Preparations for whatever is coming [Bonus chapter]

"Kitten?"         

Damon\'s voice reached Talia, and she realized that she was back on Damon\'s lap and he was cradling her in his arms protectively.     

"Do you think…" Talia inhaled forcibly. "Do you think that missing people from my pack were used for experiments?"     

Damon puffed his cheeks. He didn\'t know how to answer this.     

Over the years, some people from the Midnight Guardians pack would get desperate to find their mate, and they escaped through the portal into the human realm. None of them returned.     

Talia got information from Vincent that the Guardians were aware of the portal\'s location, and they were watching it. If Guardians did that, there was a chance that someone else was watching the portal as well. Even if they didn\'t know the exact location, only by knowing the proximity, they could set up traps.     

People from the Midnight Guardians pack spent a lot of time isolated, unaware of what waited for them on the other side. They could easily be tricked, captured, and used for who-knows-what.     

"There is no way for us to know that," Damon said. "Let\'s stick to the facts."     

Talia didn\'t like this. "What facts? The ones that Guardians know about my pack members having abilities? Or the fact that they know where the portal is? Or how about the one where Marcy called me a witch, and now Cassie spoke about witches also?"     

Damon tightened his hold on Talia and started rocking in the chair like he was trying to pacify a child. Her anxiety was washing over him, and he was nervous as well.     

"I don\'t think the Guardians would be interested in harvesting organs," James said. "They consider themselves as above others. If they want to deal with their problem in a modern way, they will capture powerful females and perform artificial insemination or clone themselves."     

"If Guardians are not behind this, who could it be?" Damon asked.     

"I didn\'t say they are not involved in this," James said. "They wouldn\'t participate in organ transplants, but they might use it as bait for others. I know that my father has an inferiority complex. He can\'t accept the fact that he is not the strongest Alpha and that his pack is not the largest or the strongest. If there is an option for him to power up, he will take it."     

Damon nodded in agreement, but he had to ask, "Did this come from what Cassie said?"     

"No. After Marcy identified Talia as a witch, I found something. My grandfather was collecting data on people with abilities. The last record was about at the time when my grandfather died." James pressed his lips into a line. "If my father found those, he wouldn\'t overlook it."     

"Are you saying that Alpha Edward continued your grandfather\'s work?" Talia asked.     

James agreed. "That is possible. There is a safe in his bedroom. I don\'t know what\'s in there, and I can guess that he has more places to stash secret documents."     

"Or people," Cornelia added in a small voice.     

James squeezed her hand. "I won\'t let him harm you."     

Cornelia smiled a little. "I know."     

James was getting tenser by the day as his birthday was approaching, and now that Cassie said how Alphas and rogues were planning something for this birthday, Cornelia could feel that James was anxious under that calm façade.      

Cornelia wanted to make everything better, but she was unsure what the right approach was. Just the two of them couldn\'t do much, but they had friends.      

Cornelia looked at Damon and Talia. "We will all keep each other safe."     

Talia and Damon nodded in agreement.     

"Will you come to my birthday?" James asked.     

"Of course," Talia said confidently, surprising both Damon and James.         

Talia was not willing, but she knew this couldn\'t be avoided. "If we don\'t come, your father will either look for another opportunity, or the attack will proceed, and our allies will be trapped. It\'s best if we stick together. Like this, at least we know that is coming. With any luck, we will find out who is behind this."     

Damon frowned at these words. "Do you plan to let them capture you?"     

"No," Talia said right away. "I won\'t leave your side. Don\'t tell me to stay home and hide because we reached the point where we shouldn\'t care about Alpha Edward\'s or Guardians\' motives. They are after my people and after me, and that\'s enough for me to stop deluding myself about how we can live peacefully. Rogues will work for whoever pays, and Alpha Edward is not above hiring them. The only difference is that so far, they were not organized on this scale. It would be nice if we could find out what exactly is going on, but this is a conspiracy covered up with lies and half-truths, and we don\'t have the luxury of time to investigate it. The only thing we can do is get in there and face whatever is coming, together."     

Pride swelled in Damon\'s chest. This was his kitten. She was done with playing games, and if this didn\'t include putting Talia in danger, Damon would clap and cheer loudly for her.     

"If my father shows hostility, it will give you an excuse to retaliate openly. By removing him from his position, we will cut him off from whatever organization he belongs to," James said. "My father won\'t make a move during my birthday party."     

"What makes you think so?" Talia asked.     

"The event will be full of high profile people and journalists. My father won\'t take the risk of failure when so many eyes are watching. Once the party is over, you will need to be vigilant. He might attack you on your way home or the next morning."     

"I suggest you don\'t eat or drink anything there," Cornelia said. "It will be easy to spike food with small amounts of relaxant, not to knock you out, but to give you a buzz like you got drunk. I will talk to Dawn to prepare food for you separately in George\'s villa, and you make sure to eat only that."     

"This is what I was talking about. We know it\'s coming, so we will prepare," Talia said, and her lips lifted into a smile while looking at Cornelia. "Why are you talking like you are not going? How can my special advisor miss James\' birthday party?"     

Cornelia glanced at James nervously. They didn\'t talk about it. She was used to hiding and spending nights with James at George\'s villa. The idea of them being in the open, talking, dancing… she liked it very much.     

Damon hugged Talia close to him, and he buried his face into her hair while inhaling deeply. Her sweet citrusy scent of freesia calmed him down, and the thought of her going into danger was driving him mad. But he knew that his kitten was strong and determined and that telling her to stay home and hide was not an option.     

On the other side, Damon would prefer if rogues attacked in the Red Moon pack. Like that, he didn\'t need to worry about his pack members getting hurt or damage to his property.     

"Should we clean up rogues before your party?" Damon asked James. "Assuming Cassie knows their location, we could eliminate them before they cause damage."     

James thought for a moment before responding, "First, we need to confirm if her information is solid. Next, we should plant our own spies and find out their plans. Ideally, we will find an opening to disable them from attacking without alerting people who are pulling the strings. Only if we allow this attack to escalate to the last stage we will get an opening to see who is behind this…"