The Alpha's Bride

Talia explained the number of guests to Damon.

"You know that Kalina and Tony will bring four people, and Mindy will come with Max." Talia made a pause because Damon frowned at the mentioning of Maddox, and when Damon waved his hand, she continued, "Axel will also come with Tyler and Kai."

Damon's frown deepened. "Why is Axel coming?"

"When I spoke to Mindy, Max was nearby and he was on a call with Axel, and since it's a social visit and Axel has some free time, Axel asked if he can come…", Talia's voice trailed. "It's fine, right?"

"Right.", Damon said stiffly. Something didn't sound right. If Max was on the call with Axel, how could Axel hear what Talia and Mindy were talking about?

But even if Damon accepts that unlikely situation as real, there was the fact that members of the Midnight Guardians pack are not social butterflies; unless there is some official function, they keep to themselves. And Damon still didn't forget Axel's unusual interest in Talia.

The more Damon thought about this, the more his suspicions grew.

Talia's face fell. "I can see that you disapprove. Should I tell Axel, Tyler, and Kai that they can't come? But I already said they are welcome. Will they be upset if I go back on my word?"

Damon didn't have the heart to spoil this for Talia. "Don't worry about it, kitten. Eleven guests in three days. You can tell them to come in time for lunch. Make sure to notify Steph that we will have guests, she likes to shop for groceries in advance. As their host, you should make sure their rooms are ready, and think of some entertainment options. Tony said that he wants to train, so I will take care of the guys, and you should figure out something for the girls, and maybe something that we can all do together. Steph and Maya can give you a hand."

Talia's eyes were sparkling from excitement, and she hopped toward Damon to give him a smacking kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Damon. This will be fun."

When Talia tried to inch away, she realized that Damon's arms were around her waist and that she can't budge.

Damon's expression challenged her in a where-do-you-think-you-are-going manner.

"Do you think that one kiss on the cheek is enough to thank me for eleven guests?"

Talia understood that he was asking for more kisses. On the lips, probably.

Part of her wanted to point out how some of those guests are his. Actually, most of those guests were his. But another part of Talia was eager to pay Damon in requested currency (aka kisses), with interest.

The second part won, and Talia moved to sit on his lap.

"How many kisses are enough?"

Damon hummed while his eyes roamed over her face that was getting redder by the second. Even when she acted boldly, Talia's cute blush was proof of her inexperience. Damon really adored this shy side of her.

"From you, kitten… it's never enough."

Talia's heart skipped a beat when Damon inched closer, and her toes curled when he deepened the kiss. It was that good.

…

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It was dinnertime when Lisa left her room unwillingly.

Stephanie gave her a lesson on how she needs to get down from her high horse, she was forced to cook, and then Stephanie said how she will not be bringing any food into Lisa's room anymore. If Lisa wanted to eat, she needed to either make something for herself or come to the dining room, like everyone else.

It's not that Lisa had a problem with eating in the dining room, but Maya and Caden saw Lisa being humiliated in the kitchen, and she didn't want to face them. On top of that, everyone knew that Tony dumped her, and it didn't seem that anyone cared because other than her mother, no one came to check on her and offer some words of comfort.

Lisa understood that her mother was triggered when Alpha Damon ordered them to remake food that Lisa ruined, but Lisa really didn't understand what's such a big deal about it. It was just a meal and a very simple one. Did Talia blow it out of proportion?

Why would Stephanie, Maya, and Caden defend the new face (aka Talia) so ardently? Is it because Talia is a wolf-less she-wolf and they feel sorry for her?

Lisa felt like everyone was against her!

If it's up to Lisa, she would never come out of her room, but alas, she was hungry and she dragged herself toward the dining room that was unexpectedly lively. The cutlery made clinking noises, indicating that people were working on their dinner, and excited chatter filled the air. Did they have guests?

Lisa peeked in to see that Maya and Stephanie were talking with Talia while Caden and Damon were eating and listening to the commotion.

The picture looked harmonious, like a family sharing a meal in a good mood, and Lisa was dejected that all this was happening without her.

In the packhouse of the Lightclaw pack, there were always at least a few Omegas ready to serve her at any moment and this was… different.

Lisa felt like an outsider.

She was standing at the door, and no one acknowledged her. Considering that there were five werewolves at the table, they should be able to notice her.

Lisa didn't get it. Why was Talia eating with them at the table? Why were they acting so close? And why was Talia sitting on Damon's left? Isn't Talia just an Omega?

Sure, Stephanie told Lisa not to think of Talia as Omega, but if Talia was not Omega, why would she work in the kitchen? And Talia even prepared a separate meal for Damon.

Lisa spent years with Tony, and she never cooked. In the Lightclaw pack, they know the order. Omegas perform those low-level jobs like cooking and cleaning, and how much Lisa knew, the same was valid for the Dark Howlers pack.

Lisa cleared her throat and chatter stopped abruptly.

"Hi Lisa, nice of you to join us.", Stephanie said. "Don't just stand there. Help yourself…" Stephanie gestured toward the spot on her right where an empty plate was with clean utensils. Stephanie set it up with the hope that Lisa will join them.

Lisa approached the table, and her eyes flashed when she saw Damon cutting meat that was obviously on Talia's plate, and everyone was acting like it was a totally normal thing.

Seeing that Lisa was settling into a chair, Stephanie continued talking with Talia, "As I was saying, don't do everything yourself. Ask Rosa to set up the rooms. You should only check when it's done."

Talia really didn't want to interact with Rosa. "Can I borrow Zina and Dawn?"

Damon's ears perked up. "Is something wrong with Rosa?"

Talia's mouth opened and closed without making a sound and she needed a second to come up with a response. She didn't want to cause trouble for anyone.

"No, no. I mean, I don't know. I'm familiar with Zina and Dawn and the three of us can set up the rooms in a jiffy.", Talia said.

Stephanie didn't agree. "I told you to let them do it. Other than Rosa, there are a few more Omegas on cleaning duty. You need to tell them which rooms to prepare and check if everything is in order once the work is done. I admire your eagerness to do it yourself, but you can't do it all. Learn to delegate."

"I don't mind working. It's not a big deal to set up the bed and vacuum.", Talia said with the best smile she could muster.

Talia didn't want to say that she was not comfortable with the idea of ordering others what to do.

If it's up to Talia, she would do everything herself, but Damon told her to get help because he needs her as his assistant. The truth was that Damon wanted Talia to study and not bother with those menial tasks anyone can do.

Lisa put food on her plate and took a seat.

By now, she understood that someone was coming to the packhouse. But why was Talia in charge of Omegas who were setting up the rooms? Was Stephanie training Talia to work as her replacement?

Lisa decided to eat and listen. For now.

As the dinner progressed, Lisa realized that it was difficult to focus on the conversation because she couldn't stop staring at Damon and Talia. Damon was cutting things for Talia, and feeding her, and Talia accepted all that pampering like it happened many times before.

And Lisa definitely noticed the way Talia and Damon looked at each other. It was not surprising to see a big smile on Talia's face, because any she-wolf would be moved when an Alpha is giving her special treatment, but Lisa had difficulty understanding why Damon looked at Talia like she was the only girl in the world.

Lisa's eyes lost focus as she drifted off into her memories. Only a week ago she was next to Tony as they shared a meal. Tony never cut food for Lisa or fed her, but they did many other things together and she still missed him immensely. Her heart tightened at the thought of how that will never happen again because Tony found his mate and that was not her.

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