The Alpha's Bride

In the dining room, ten minutes ago.

Damon was caught by surprise when Talia left with Stephanie. He wanted to go after Talia, and his wolf agreed, but then Cassie appeared at the door and Damon paused.

If he goes after Talia, Cassie will notice and target her.

'You were supposed to get rid of Cassie a long time ago!', Damon's wolf growled in his head. 'Sent her packing and go after our mate!'

Damon pinched the roof of his nose. 'Cassie is just a fly. But a fly with a hurt ego and big mouth can cause damage. Even if she doesn't know that Talia is my mate, just the fact that I'm treating Talia differently will put a target on her back.'

'So, what is the plan, wise guy?', his wolf asked sarcastically. 'You will pretend that mate is not here until this annoying she-wolf leaves?'

'I can't act differently. Talia's safety comes first.'

His wolf snorted in disapproval. 'How about you go and shag every she-wolf in ten miles radius? In that way, no one will suspect you have a mate.'

Damon gritted his teeth in annoyance. 'If you don't have anything useful to suggest, then go back to sleep!'

By this time, Cassie was next to Damon, grinning at him.

"Why are you here?", Damon asked Cassie grimly and pointed at the door through which she came in. "Who gave you the right to reprimand my pack members? And who allowed you to stay in a room?"

"Damon, baby…", Cassie leaned to hug him, and Damon stood up, dodging her by a hair.

"It's Alpha Damon!", Damon snapped and released his Alpha aura, making her lower her head in submission.

Did she ignore his questions, thinking that getting chummy will fix things? Since when was he easily coerced by pleasures of the flesh?

Damon's rage was directed at Cassie, but Caden and Maya also lowered their heads. No one could deny that Damon can suppress them easily without lifting a finger.

This was not supposed to happen.

Normally, Damon would let Cassie greet him with a hug and a kiss. Yes, he would always reject Cassie as his Luna, and he told her that she can't call herself his girlfriend (or anything related to him), but Cassie was fine for a temporary release. She was pretty and available, and willing. From Damon's point of view, it was perfectly fine.

However, this time, just the thought of Cassie's touch made his stomach tie into knots and he couldn't make himself go through it.

"Miss Cassie…", Damon called stiffly. "Even your father can't come here without an appointment. Don't mistake my politeness for weakness."

"You can't treat me this way…", Cassie said through her teeth. "I gave you my first time and many others. You owe me."

"That's why I didn't snap your neck so far, but there must be a limit to how much one's virginity costs. I believe I paid for yours several folds so far. But if you think you are worth more, give me a number, and we will negotiate. ", Damon responded, and Cassie's face contorted with anger as he spoke.

"We should write up a contract so I know that the final payment will prevent you from bringing up that point again. Maybe your first time was important to you, but for me, you are just one of many."

Cassie was never so insulted!

Did he just treat her like a hooker?

And he was not done talking!

"I will let my Betas explain to you about rules we follow here and if I see you again without an appointment, don't blame me for being impolite."

Damon walked out of the room, and only when he was out of sight, the three people resumed breathing.

Caden and Maya exchanged glances. That was intense.

Yes, Cassie is irritating, always was, and always will be. However, Damon didn't pay attention to her so far. If he was busy, he would ignore her, and if he was willing, he would play with her. But he never snapped like this.

Cassie would play various games to get Damon's attention which sometimes worked more or less, and she would boss around Omegas in the packhouse, imagining that she is the Luna, and leave after a few days, but this was the first time for Damon to reprimand her like this.

Cassie was in shock.

Maya glanced at Cassie who stood in place like her feet grew roots. Her hands were balled into fists, and she was shaking profusely either because of fear or anger. Probably both.

'Why is he letting us deal with his trash?', Maya asked Caden grumpily through their mind-link.

'You saw him. If he deals with her, we will have a task to come up with an explanation of how Cassie died on our territory.'

'He must be grumpy because Talia left.', Maya said and Caden nodded in agreement.

'And that confirms that Damon is set on keeping Talia a secret…', Caden responded in a singing voice.

Cassie lifted her head and glared at Maya and Caden. "Damon can't treat me like this!"

"It's Alpha Damon, Miss Cassie.", Maya spoke in her official tone.

Cassie sneered. "When I become Luna of the Dark Walkers pack, you will need to answer me."

Maya shook her head. "I suggest you get your act together, Miss Cassie because this was just a warning. No one disrespects our Alpha and gets unpunished."

Cassie didn't get it. "Disrespect?"

Caden responded instead of Maya. "Miss Cassie, if you didn't understand so far, Alpha Damon has no intention of making you his Luna. He was tolerating your presence because of your father. For the same reason, he didn't summon our warriors to escort you to the border of our territory, but he gave you a choice to leave on your own. Don't test him."

…

Damon went to his study and powered on the computer.

He shoved his hand in his hair angrily.

Why did he snap like that?

He was supposed to let Cassie do her usual routine, and she would leave in a few days without suspecting anything. But he ruined it.

Actually, he forgot that Cassie was coming.

Damon was so focused on Talia, that he neglected everything else.

Now that he thinks about it, if Cassie figures out that Talia is here, it won't take her long to assume how Talia is important to Damon, and that will be more than enough to start rumors. Rumors spread faster than a wildfire and it will be only a matter of time before someone comes for Talia.

What if he can't protect Talia?

What if he ends up in a situation where he needs to pick between Talia and his pack?

Damn it!

He took a deep breath and looked at the screen which flashed with notifications.

Just as he expected, his inbox was flooding with unread emails.

Damon didn't feel like working. What he really wanted to do was to go to the third floor and snuggle with Talia or at least confirm how she is doing.

Ah, if he thought about this earlier, he would install cameras in that room, so that he can watch her.

Damon mind-linked Stephanie. 'What is Talia doing?'

'She is picking clothes from the stash that Lisa left behind.'

Damon frowned. 'Why are you giving her secondhand items?'

'Because she has nothing else to wear, Alpha. Maya will take her shopping, but until then, these will do. There is nothing wrong with these clothes. Lisa barely wore them, and some still have tags on.'

Damon grumbled internally. He wanted to dress Talia in Chanel, Dior, Versace, and Valentino, and not some no-name labels from the mall that someone else left behind.

Why would she wear shabby clothes, if he is loaded with money? Damon's money is made for Talia to spend!

Damon decided to take Talia shopping, and he will personally pick clothes for her.

He could imagine himself sitting in front of the dressing room, and Talia would come out and strike a pose to show him how the dress he picked fits… and then she will need help with the zipper in the back, so he will join her in the dressing room, and help her out with more than just a zipper. Ah, the possibilities!

Damon remembered the feeling of applying cream on her back, and his palm tingled in response.

He really wanted to touch her.

He will definitely take her shopping.

Damon regretted that he didn't get to show Talia her room personally, so he had to ask, 'Does Talia like the room?'

'Talia is a quiet girl. She didn't say anything, but I think she likes it.', Stephanie responded.

Damon remembered that when it was just the two of them, in the forest, Talia was talking and smiling, and she didn't make a big deal about them holding hands until Stephanie showed up.

It told him that Talia was comfortable with him, only him. It made him smile a little.

Damon concluded there is a good chance that in the right environment, Talia will come out of her shell.

'How long is Cassie staying?'

Stephanie's question which came through their mind-link pulled Damon out of his thoughts.

'I don't know. Probably as usual.', Damon responded honestly.

He wanted to chase Cassie away, but he already snapped at her, which is something he never did before, and if he does anything more drastic than that, Cassie will definitely be suspicious.

'Can you tell Talia not to pay attention to Cassie?', Damon asked Stephanie.

'I will.'

'Did Talia say what she plans to do later?'

'Rest.'

Damon wanted to ask more, but it would risk exposing himself more than he already did, so he decided to stop.

Talia will rest, and he had a lot of emails to go through.

He will check on her later.

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