The Alpha's Bride

Chapter 952: Searching for clues (2)

"I don't know," Talia responded honestly. "Assuming that Alpha Edward was involved in these experiments, we should find out where it happened. What if it's still happening? Who is involved? What if some of our people are still there?"     

"How do I fit into that picture?"     

"We found a mountain of documents, and it will take forever to go through them the old-fashioned way. I hoped you could come here and help us sift through it to find relevant stuff. You know… your super-fast reading."     

Axel wanted to say how it's not super-fast reading, but he actually sees the future where he reads the book, and then he just doesn't take that path. What seems to Talia as seconds, for him, feels like forever; at least mentally. But he didn't want to waste time explaining. If Talia was right, and they could find clues about what happened to their missing pack members and maybe even rescue some, this would be huge.     

"Alright," Axel said. "I will talk to Yasmin and make arrangements here." Every hour he spent outside would be a day in the Midnight Guardians pack, so he needed to ensure things ran smoothly in his absence.     

"Great!" Talia exclaimed. "Just give me a call when you are ready, and I will send Cornelia or Amelia to pick you up at the portal. Or I will send you the coordinates, and you can come on your own." Not on his own, but there were witches in the Midnight Guardians pack. "How are things there? Tell me about Meg's pregnancy. I assume that Yasmin is busy with babies."     

"Everything is fine. It's just... it would be better if you were here also, at least sometimes. Meg is doing fine, and so is Yasmin. Twins are keeping us busy." Axel responded, and he paused before continuing, "Yasmin is resting now. My parents are babysitting."     

"Your parents?" Talia blurted, unable to hide her surprise.     

"I know what you are thinking, Talia, but they don't have their abilities and are excited about grandbabies, and…"     

"No need to explain," Talia said. "If you managed to mend your relationship with them, that's a good thing." As long as he didn't expect her to do the same, Talia was fine with it.     

Sophia and Isaac tried to harm Damon. For Talia, nothing justified that action, not even saving a pack or the whole world from a potential calamity.     

Talia knew that Sophia and Isaac were good parents to Axel. Will they be good grandparents? That was a possibility, and Talia didn't want to ruin it for Axel. He soldiered without complaints when Talia took away their abilities and Alpha positions, but she knew Axel suffered. He wanted them to be a happy family, and the rift between his parents and Talia was eating him alive.     

After discussing logistics, Talia ended the call.     

"James, Cornelia," Talia called. "Stop what you are doing and take a break."     

James looked at Talia in confusion. "I heard you calling Axel to help while mentioning his super-fast reading. How fast can that be?"     

Talia smiled mysteriously. "You will see. Trust me. Take a break. Axel will be here shortly, and there is a chance we will wrap this up by the end of the day."     

James made a face, but he didn't want to question Talia. He wanted a break with Cornelia, but there was too much work to do.     

"Since we got this time off, how about we check those secret rooms under the basement?" James suggested.     

Talia puffed her cheeks. She forgot about those.     

"Do you know how to open them?" Talia asked.     

James shrugged. "No. But I know that they won't open on their own. We need to go there and try."     

Talia's mood deflated completely. "Alright. Let me just call Damon so he doesn't freak out if he can't reach me." They had no cameras down there, and her cell phone will probably lose its signal.     

Talia told Damon that Axel would come to help out, which Damon approved. But then she mentioned locked rooms in the secret passageway below the basement, and Damon didn't like it.     

"What if something happens?" Damon asked.     

"What can happen?"         

Damon hated that question. It was like an invitation for calamity.     

Should he insist on Talia's return to the Dark Howlers pack right away? Or should he tell her to stay put until he gets there?     

Damon released a long breath, reminding himself that Talia was strong and she had people guarding her. It was just his overprotectiveness because she was pregnant. Sapa would always tell him they should trust their mate, but Damon struggled with it. Talia was delicate and prone to getting into trouble.     

"Didn't we agree to proceed with caution because those things might be boobytrapped?" Damon asked.     

"We did, and I will be careful. I am not alone, and we won't just jump on the door to force it open. Someone needs to check. We procrastinated long enough. I promise that we will move slowly and open the door only if we are reasonably confident that it's safe."     

Damon released a long breath. "Take Keith and Arya with you, and be careful."     

Talia knew that this was tough for Damon. "Thank you, Damon."     

"I want to know what's going on! Keep the video call going."     

"That might be a problem."     

"How can that be a problem?"     

"You remember that rooms are below the basement level, right? There is no signal there, Damon."     

Damon groaned in frustration. Talia was set on doing something reckless again, and he was about to allow it to happen!     

"Don't move a muscle until I come there."     

"You can't, Damon. We talked about this. Take care of the pack, and I will investigate here. I will be careful, I promise…"     

After some back and forth, they agreed that Liam and Amelia will stay upstairs and hold onto Talia's phone. Liam will keep the mind link with Talia open, and he will contact Damon if anything suspicious happens.     

After that was settled, Talia asked, "How is your day going?"     

"I think I did a lot of work, but the pile of documents in front of me disagrees."     

Talia giggled. "I know how that feels. Should I send you Axel once he is done here? He can go through everything and just point out if there are any issues and tell you where to sign."     

"That's a great idea. Send him here, and I will authorize him to be my proxy. Then, the two of us can go on a vacation."     

"Sounds fantastic," Talia responded dreamily, even though she knew that won't happen. Axel was already busy with the Midnight Guardians pack, and he had Yasmin and the twins. She was feeling guilty for dragging him out to do this work instead of going to visit him, but it was for the best. Or so she thought.      

"Damon?"     

"Hmm?"     

"When we settle these things, let's go on a vacation. A real vacation where we will relax and do some touristy stuff."     

Damon approved. "How about after your Luna ceremony? It will be a massive event for everyone to know you are my Luna, and then we will take a month off. Where do you want to go? Hawaii? Thailand? We could rent an island and go snorkeling or a mountain so we can ski and play in the snow all day."     

Talia's heart fluttered. A month with Damon, and no worries? "I would like that very much. Let's pick a location together." Everything sounded good, as long as it was with Damon. Now that they had Betas, Gammas, and one Alpha in each of their packs, they could pull it off.