Lunch ended and six women and one man lingered at the parking lot around two cars while determining who will be going in which car.
They already knew that George will drive one car, and Maya the second one, so Talia, Kalina, Mindy, Marcy, and Nora needed to figure out if they will take the black SUV (with Maya) or the dark blue one (with George).
"Miss Talia", Marcy called. "Can you come with me in the car? I would really like for us to continue talking about the upcoming party. I feel that my input will be important."
"She will talk to you", Maya responded before Talia could. "Unfortunately, there is one important issue in the pack that I need to address first, and Talia's presence is necessary."
"Oh?", Marcy's eyebrows shot up. "Pack issue? Can I join? Maybe I can help."
"I apologize Miss Marcy, but this is something that requires high-security clearance.", Maya said with a smile and Marcy's expression stiffened.
"It shouldn't take more than one hour", Maya added. "I suggest you go to the packhouse with others, and Talia will find you when we are done."
"I see." The disappointment in Marcy's voice was obvious. She wanted to talk to Talia about more than just the party, but that can wait for a bit.
"Alright!", Mindy exclaimed and moved toward Marcy. "I will tag along with you. I didn't get a chance to talk about my charities. We can chat about it until Lia comes."
Nora was already in the seat behind George. She didn't want to go with Maya or Talia, and she didn't want to sit next to George either.
Kalina sat in the front passenger's seat, next to George.
Maya drove the car in the opposite direction from the packhouse.
Once they were out of Darkbourne, Maya stopped the car on the side of the road and turned to Talia.
"How are you holding on?", Maya asked. She knew that lunch was unpleasant for Talia, and the fact that Talia didn't say a word during the ride, told Maya that Talia had a lot on her mind.
"I will feel better if you tell me that there is a good reason why Marcy thinks that the party is for her. And why is the party tomorrow? Does Damon know about this?", Talia asked impatiently.
"Sorry, Lia. Everything happened suddenly and we didn't have time to figure out the right approach." Maya paused to take a deep breath. "Damon told me not to tell you yet, but I think you should know."
"Know what?"
"Lisa is talking around how you came from the Red Moon pack."
Talia's eyes widened. "Why would she do that? How does she know?"
Maya frowned. "Didn't you tell her?"
"Why would I tell her? Didn't you say how that's a secret and it can cause trouble for me, Damon, and the pack?"
Maya was confused. She and Caden didn't tell anyone, and Damon confirmed that his lips were sealed. "Are you sure? You didn't tell anyone? Maybe you mentioned it to someone else, and Lisa found out from that person."
Talia thought for some time and shook her head and then froze with realization… "I think I told Steph. I remember that she asked me from where I was. That was before you told me how it should be kept a secret."
Maya puffed her cheeks. "Stephanie probably told Lisa." Maya saw that Talia's expression fell and she put her hand over Talia's shoulder. "Don't overthink it. What's done is done. Lisa can't talk anymore, and I will tell Stephanie not to spread it further. She is not the one to talk."
Talia saw Maya's eyes losing focus and she knew that Maya was already mind-linking Stephanie.
"What do you mean, Lisa can't talk?", Talia asked when Maya's attention was back on her.
Maya's lips lifted into a smile. "She is in the dungeon."
"And Steph is OK with it?"
Maya shook her head helplessly. "Steph knows that Lisa is a loose cannon and it's not safe to have her around. Damon said that he will deal with Lisa, but until the guests are here, Lisa will stay in the dungeon. She is not imprisoned but can't leave, and we hope that her time there will help her get a new perspective on life. Without Tony, people won't give her preferential treatment, and she needs to accept that Tony belongs to Kalina. The point is that we don't need to worry about Lisa. However, she is the reason why Damon requested that we organize your introductory party as soon as possible. He wants all important people in the pack to be aware you are his mate, and the future Luna. If this introduction happens after Alpha Edward finds out that you came from his pack, Elders might not be willing to support you and Damon."
Talia exhaled a shaky breath. She didn't think that her coming from the Red Moon pack and disclosing that to Stephanie would create all these problems. And her wolf was still not awake. No matter how Talia looked at this, she messed up, and it was her fault… she was the faulty one.
"Don't worry, Lia.", Maya said while patting Talia's shoulder. "We are taking care of it. You are Damon's mate, and the only one worthy to be the Luna of the Dark Howlers pack. Even if you doubt yourself, you need to believe in the Moon Goddess. She is never wrong. Keep that in mind, and everything will be alright."
Talia nodded, but her expression was not good. "So, how does Marcy fit into all that?"
Maya's eyes lit up with a malicious glint. "She won't make it to the party."
"What? How?"
"We got it figured out. You saw what happened in the restaurant. As soon as Marcy felt that things were going according to her plan, she started acting like she owns the place. We will continue boosting her ego, and tonight we will pull the rug under her feet. We have several options in place, but we are mostly leaning toward taking Marcy to the Shifters nightclub. A few cocktails will loosen her up and then we will deliver unpleasant surprises that will make her blow up. We want her to lose her composure and to make a scandal. The bigger the better."
Talia thought how that made sense. "What do I need to do?"
"Nothing. You just sit and watch the show. Until showtime, I will be respectful toward Marcy as a Beta, and Mindy is already sucking in with a pretense of how she wants to secure donations from the future Luna of the Dark Howlers pack. That's why she went with them in the car."
"What about Kalina? She was not friendly toward Marcy.", Talia said.
"A-ha!", Maya exclaimed and raised her index finger. "That's the point. Neither of us has a good history with Marcy. I kind of ignored Marcy when I was at the Red Moon pack, and both Mindy and Kalina dissed her at the Lightclaw pack. It would be suspicious if all three of us are suddenly friendly. That's why I said that I'm going to approach her as a Beta, Mindy is talking about her charities. From Marcy's perspective, she will understand that we have our reasons to be friendly. However, Kalina is different. She will keep her distance, like when two Lunas must be together due to political reasons, but they don't like each other."
Talia admired the plan. They came up with all that on short notice, and Talia wondered what they would do if they had time to prepare.
Talia had nothing to add, other than to ask, "How do I fit in that?"
"You do your thing.", Maya said. "I'm sure that Marcy noticed you are not just an assistant, and that might be one more thing that will trigger her. If she suspected it before our lunch, she definitely confirmed when those deserts arrived. Damon won't allow you to suffer a loss."
Talia's lips lifted into a smile involuntarily and her chest was filled with warm and fuzzy emotions. Yes, Damon treats her well.
Lunch ended and six women and one man lingered at the parking lot around two cars while determining who will be going in which car.
They already knew that George will drive one car, and Maya the second one, so Talia, Kalina, Mindy, Marcy, and Nora needed to figure out if they will take the black SUV (with Maya) or the dark blue one (with George).
"Miss Talia", Marcy called. "Can you come with me in the car? I would really like for us to continue talking about the upcoming party. I feel that my input will be important."
"She will talk to you", Maya responded before Talia could. "Unfortunately, there is one important issue in the pack that I need to address first, and Talia's presence is necessary."
"Oh?", Marcy's eyebrows shot up. "Pack issue? Can I join? Maybe I can help."
"I apologize Miss Marcy, but this is something that requires high-security clearance.", Maya said with a smile and Marcy's expression stiffened.
"It shouldn't take more than one hour", Maya added. "I suggest you go to the packhouse with others, and Talia will find you when we are done."
"I see." The disappointment in Marcy's voice was obvious. She wanted to talk to Talia about more than just the party, but that can wait for a bit.
"Alright!", Mindy exclaimed and moved toward Marcy. "I will tag along with you. I didn't get a chance to talk about my charities. We can chat about it until Lia comes."
Nora was already in the seat behind George. She didn't want to go with Maya or Talia, and she didn't want to sit next to George either.
Kalina sat in the front passenger's seat, next to George.
Maya drove the car in the opposite direction from the packhouse.
Once they were out of Darkbourne, Maya stopped the car on the side of the road and turned to Talia.
"How are you holding on?", Maya asked. She knew that lunch was unpleasant for Talia, and the fact that Talia didn't say a word during the ride, told Maya that Talia had a lot on her mind.
"I will feel better if you tell me that there is a good reason why Marcy thinks that the party is for her. And why is the party tomorrow? Does Damon know about this?", Talia asked impatiently.
"Sorry, Lia. Everything happened suddenly and we didn't have time to figure out the right approach." Maya paused to take a deep breath. "Damon told me not to tell you yet, but I think you should know."
"Know what?"
"Lisa is talking around how you came from the Red Moon pack."
Talia's eyes widened. "Why would she do that? How does she know?"
Maya frowned. "Didn't you tell her?"
"Why would I tell her? Didn't you say how that's a secret and it can cause trouble for me, Damon, and the pack?"
Maya was confused. She and Caden didn't tell anyone, and Damon confirmed that his lips were sealed. "Are you sure? You didn't tell anyone? Maybe you mentioned it to someone else, and Lisa found out from that person."
Talia thought for some time and shook her head and then froze with realization… "I think I told Steph. I remember that she asked me from where I was. That was before you told me how it should be kept a secret."
Maya puffed her cheeks. "Stephanie probably told Lisa." Maya saw that Talia's expression fell and she put her hand over Talia's shoulder. "Don't overthink it. What's done is done. Lisa can't talk anymore, and I will tell Stephanie not to spread it further. She is not the one to talk."
Talia saw Maya's eyes losing focus and she knew that Maya was already mind-linking Stephanie.
"What do you mean, Lisa can't talk?", Talia asked when Maya's attention was back on her.
Maya's lips lifted into a smile. "She is in the dungeon."
"And Steph is OK with it?"
Maya shook her head helplessly. "Steph knows that Lisa is a loose cannon and it's not safe to have her around. Damon said that he will deal with Lisa, but until the guests are here, Lisa will stay in the dungeon. She is not imprisoned but can't leave, and we hope that her time there will help her get a new perspective on life. Without Tony, people won't give her preferential treatment, and she needs to accept that Tony belongs to Kalina. The point is that we don't need to worry about Lisa. However, she is the reason why Damon requested that we organize your introductory party as soon as possible. He wants all important people in the pack to be aware you are his mate, and the future Luna. If this introduction happens after Alpha Edward finds out that you came from his pack, Elders might not be willing to support you and Damon."
Talia exhaled a shaky breath. She didn't think that her coming from the Red Moon pack and disclosing that to Stephanie would create all these problems. And her wolf was still not awake. No matter how Talia looked at this, she messed up, and it was her fault… she was the faulty one.
"Don't worry, Lia.", Maya said while patting Talia's shoulder. "We are taking care of it. You are Damon's mate, and the only one worthy to be the Luna of the Dark Howlers pack. Even if you doubt yourself, you need to believe in the Moon Goddess. She is never wrong. Keep that in mind, and everything will be alright."
Talia nodded, but her expression was not good. "So, how does Marcy fit into all that?"
Maya's eyes lit up with a malicious glint. "She won't make it to the party."
"What? How?"
"We got it figured out. You saw what happened in the restaurant. As soon as Marcy felt that things were going according to her plan, she started acting like she owns the place. We will continue boosting her ego, and tonight we will pull the rug under her feet. We have several options in place, but we are mostly leaning toward taking Marcy to the Shifters nightclub. A few cocktails will loosen her up and then we will deliver unpleasant surprises that will make her blow up. We want her to lose her composure and to make a scandal. The bigger the better."
Talia thought how that made sense. "What do I need to do?"
"Nothing. You just sit and watch the show. Until showtime, I will be respectful toward Marcy as a Beta, and Mindy is already sucking in with a pretense of how she wants to secure donations from the future Luna of the Dark Howlers pack. That's why she went with them in the car."
"What about Kalina? She was not friendly toward Marcy.", Talia said.
"A-ha!", Maya exclaimed and raised her index finger. "That's the point. Neither of us has a good history with Marcy. I kind of ignored Marcy when I was at the Red Moon pack, and both Mindy and Kalina dissed her at the Lightclaw pack. It would be suspicious if all three of us are suddenly friendly. That's why I said that I'm going to approach her as a Beta, Mindy is talking about her charities. From Marcy's perspective, she will understand that we have our reasons to be friendly. However, Kalina is different. She will keep her distance, like when two Lunas must be together due to political reasons, but they don't like each other."
Talia admired the plan. They came up with all that on short notice, and Talia wondered what they would do if they had time to prepare.
Talia had nothing to add, other than to ask, "How do I fit in that?"
"You do your thing.", Maya said. "I'm sure that Marcy noticed you are not just an assistant, and that might be one more thing that will trigger her. If she suspected it before our lunch, she definitely confirmed when those deserts arrived. Damon won't allow you to suffer a loss."
Talia's lips lifted into a smile involuntarily and her chest was filled with warm and fuzzy emotions. Yes, Damon treats her well.
