573: Pledging loyalty

Pledging loyalty

Talia and Damon entered the conference room on the first floor to see that everyone else was already there, seated around the massive oval table, waiting for them.1

Maya, Caden, Dawn, George, Mindy, Gideon, Cornelia, James, Zina, Keith, Pierce, Caleb, Liam, Sandy, and Lulu.

This room was used when Alphas and other high-ranking members came to discuss important matters with Damon, and the study was too small or not adequate.

Damon was not happy that Talia's guards were present, but Talia told him that if they are going to guard her, they should know what's the general situation. As for the others, Talia considered them as her friends and crucial people in her life.

Damon started the meeting with, "You all know by now that Talia is my fated mate and we will be leading the pack run tonight. But there is more Talia wants to share. I hope you all understand that what she is about to say should stay between us."

When everyone nodded in agreement, Talia took it from there to say how Alpha Edward was trying to get Marcy to become Damon's Luna, and when that failed, he summoned the Council of Alphas, but that failed as well.

"We don't know what Alpha Edward will try next, but I hope you will stay vigilant.", Talia said. "As you can see, he was willing to use his own daughter; don't make the mistake to think that he won't use you. You are close to us, and he will do anything to get his hands on more information. He might use your family, your friends. If that happens, I hope you will come to us. You can't fight him on your own."

Talia glanced at her guards. "As my guards, you will be coming with me when necessary, and I want you to know what I am trying to accomplish. Right now, the Blue River pack and the Spring Leaf pack merged territories with the Dark Howlers pack, and we hope that will be permanent. In the near future, we expect that the Lightclaw pack and the Midnight Guardians pack will join this alliance as well. You will need to put your lives on the line to protect not only me but this idea of how packs can thrive while working together. If this is not something you believe in, speak now and you will be relieved of your duties."

Damon stood up to add, "And it's more than just that. Soon, everyone will know that Talia is an Alpha. Female Alphas are treated as trophies, as possessions, as incubators for powerful offspring, and greedy bastards won't care that she has a fated mate. I want you to swear that you are ready to put your lives on the line to protect her because if any of you dares to betray Talia, I will personally end you."

Talia exhaled helplessly. "Damon, that…"

"I am willing.", Keith was first to say. He stood up and walked in front of Talia before getting down on his knee. "I will put my life on the line to protect Alpha Talia, and if my loyalty to her wavers, I ask the Moon Goddess to end my life on the spot."

Lulu was on Keith's right, getting down on her knee. "I will put my life on the line…" And then it was Sandy, and Liam, Pierce, and Caleb.

Talia was emotional. "Thank you, guys. Let's hope it doesn't come to it. I promise to protect you as well." She felt guilty that they only started talking. She had so much to tell them, but they were all pledging their loyalty and she couldn't deny them.

Talia helped her friends-turned-guards to stand up and asked them to go to their seats.

Talia saw that Sandy and Lulu were eyeing warily James, so she clarified. "James is a friend. Cornelia is his mate and it's in everyone's interest that we work together, which brings me to another point of why we gathered here…" And then Talia told them about the existence of witches and how members of Cornelia's Coven were trapped in their realm for a long time. "My long-term goal is for witches to be able to come out without fear that they will be hunted and used for their powers…" Everyone's expression worsened when Talia told them about the possibility of witches being used for breeding in order to create offspring that can have a wolf and witches' powers.

"Is Cornelia the only witch here?", Sandy asked.

"Axel, the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack is mated to Yasmin. She is also a witch.", Talia responded. "There are many unmated witches in their Coven, and I suspect that when they come out, they will find their mates and they will instantly become our allies in dispelling the stigma about them."

"Stigma?", Cornelia asked.

Gideon responded, "Witches are like mystical creatures for us. We heard stories of how you are wicked and malicious."

Mindy continued, "There is a story that you live in a house made of cookies to tempt children and then you eat them."

"And people believe it?", Cornelia asked, the outrage in her voice was impossible to miss.

James gave Cornelia's hand a squeeze to get her attention. "Those are stories from humans. Humans are weak and they vilify everyone else to make themselves look better and justify imprisoning and murdering other creatures. But you can assume that some of your ancestors did a bad thing or two, and society, in general, remembers bad things. We will release news about your existence systematically so that people don't panic, and we will control the information so their impression of you is favorable."

Talia cleared her throat. She didn't want to contradict what James said, but… "We want people to keep an open mind. They shouldn't trust witches or anyone else without getting to know them. There is one thing I didn't mention…" And then she told them about Guardians and how they are witches.

"Are you sure?", Cornelia asked.

Talia confirmed. "I saw one of them using runes. He was touching the wall and chanting, and runes appeared on the wall. Those runes could suppress the Alpha aura."

Cornelia was glad that Talia shared this information. It showed that Talia trusted her more than she trusted the Guardians, which made Cornelia ask, "Do you think they are the wicked ones?"

"I am not sure what to think of them. They were concealing their true nature and I don't know if they did that to protect themselves or because of something more sinister. I want to discuss this with Evanora and find out if she knows about other witches. Were there males in your Coven before, or do Guardians belong to a different Coven?"

Cornelia shrugged, indicating that she was not sure. "I know what you are thinking, how is it possible that only Evanora might know things?", Cornelia said. "When my Coven formed groups to explore our realm and other portals, our senior sisters left because they were more powerful and experienced, leaving only Evanora to watch over us. There were a few more senior sisters left behind, but they live in seclusion, and no one saw them for a very long time."

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