The Alpha's Bride

Chapter 962: A traitor (cont.) [Bonus chapter]

"Keith!" Talia exclaimed. Stephanie's words put her in a daze, and she was startled when Keith appeared.     

"Let me kill her!" Keith said angrily to Talia without removing his glare from Stephanie.     

Talia's mind was a mess. She couldn't think straight. Should she kill Stephanie? What would Damon do?     

Damon will be devastated to find out what Stephanie did to his parents. He had been looking for a traitor for a long time, suspecting everyone from Elders to Generals and even the Shaman. Damon never suspected that traitor was much closer, his mother's best friend, a woman who raised him after his parents died.     

Stephanie gripped Keith's wrist while wiggling her legs in an attempt to break free. "Kill me? For what? For telling the truth?"     

"You just wished for your Luna to die. That warrants a death penalty."     

Stephanie sneered. "My death won't change anything. Talia's will."     

Stephanie's eyes moved to Talia. "You can save this pack. Keith and a few more might idolize you, but they are youngsters without families to worry about. They dream about an impossible future where everyone gets their happy ending. As a Luna, you should know better. You know who you truly are. Only a few months back, you were a poor girl who couldn't stand straight. You didn't have any possessions, and you were all bruised and hungry. Everything you have is thanks to Damon and this pack. Damon brought you here and gave you a home, protection, and care. The pack accepted you, and you got to enjoy the princess treatment. Isn't it fair to pay back?"     

Talia whimpered, and Keith's head snapped her way to see traces of dark slithering in Talia's silvery eyes. He recognized it as dark magic that would invade Talia when her emotions were unstable. That can't be good. Normally, Damon would be there to ease Talia's demons and force them back, but now Damon was not here.     

"Don't let her get into your head, Talia!" Keith shouted desperately. "You are worthy. You saved this pack, and you saved Alpha Damon more than once! You saved my mate and me! That's why you are our Luna. Believe in the Moon Goddess. You have so much more to offer. Don't give up! Damon needs you! We need you, and we will stand to protect you as long as there is strength in us!"     

Arya didn't know what was going on with Talia, but she felt Keith's panic, and she knew it was serious.      

"A pack needs their Alpha and Luna!" Arya said. "Only like that, a pack will prosper. Think about your mate! Don't let this traitor make you think you are not important. If not for you, I would be dead now. Remember what other Alphas said. If we give in, the Guardians win, and we will always live in fear of when the next time will come."     

"Give me one word, just one word, and I will kill her on the spot," Keith said.     

"We need her alive!" Liam shouted from the back as he transferred James' message. "We still don't know what happened to Damon!"     

Keith looked at Talia, who gestured to Keith to let Stephanie go.     

Keith growled lowly, and Stephanie plopped to the ground.     

Stephanie rubbed her aching neck. "You will see that I'm right."     

Keith was livid. "How dare you talk about right and wrong? The previous Alpha and Luna are dead because of you, and you want to do it again!"     

"I did what's best for everyone."     

Keith's face contorted in disgust. "A pack prospers only while following an Alpha. If you have a problem with that, you should go rogue! Alpha Damon and Luna Talia have their positions for a reason, the Moon Goddess saw them as worthy, and your options are to obey them or leave! You put our Alpha in danger, and you want our Luna to sacrifice herself. How can that be good for everyone? The only one you are thinking about it yourself!"     

Stephanie narrowed her eyes at Keith. "If it's me they wanted, I would go to them willingly, but my death won't change anything. If you take a moment to cool off and think about it, you will realize that Talia would do the same."     

"That's not your call to make!" Arya shouted. "You are a traitor! Did you think about what will happen to our Alpha if he loses his fated mate? At best, he will be weakened, creating an opening for other packs to attack, and at worst, his wolf will go feral, and he will start attacking his own people."     

"Not Damon," Stephanie said. "I watched that boy grow up. He is strong. He will suffer, but he will snap out of it and choose another Luna. There are so many other willing…"     

'SLAP!'     

A harsh slap interrupted Stephanie's next words, and she tasted blood in her mouth while staring at Talia, who was standing in front of her with an expression that sent chills down Stephanie's spine.         

Talia was fuming. This was Stephanie, a woman Damon considered his second mother. He trusted her, he loved her, and she treated him like he was a machine without feelings.     

The idea of Damon forgetting about Talia and moving on with another female was unbearable. Talia wanted to beat the life out of Stephanie for that alone, and Liseli agreed. Liseli didn't wait for centuries to reunite with Sapa, only to be separated again.     

Talia raised her hand to deliver another hit.     

'SLAP!'     

Stephanie fell to the side.     

"You think that my mate will abandon me and our child?"     

Stephanie stared at Talia. "A child?" How come she didn't know about this? Was it recent? She shook her head. "It doesn't change anything. Damon is young. He can have other children."     

Talia grabbed her collar to lift Stephanie.     

Stephanie tried to resist, but Talia used just enough aura to prevent Stephanie from moving.     

'SLAP!'     

"It's ALPHA Damon to you!" Talia shouted as her eyes were a whirlwind of silver and black.     

'SLAP!'     

Talia's heart ached at the thought of Damon's parents dying because of Stephanie.     

Alpha Jacob had Sapa at that time, and Luna Violet was strong enough to make Guardians interested in her. Would Alpha Jacob and Luna Violet be able to resist the Guardians?  They never had a chance to find out because their own Betas betrayed them.     

'SLAP!'     

Keith, Arya, and Liam stood and watched as Talia hit Stephanie, and none had an intention to stop her.     

Talia gripped Stephanie's shirt and lifted her to stand. "What did you do to Damon?"     

Stephanie gave an ugly smile to reveal her bloodied teeth.     

"It doesn't matter. You should just follow the instructions." Stephanie's eyes moved to the lake. "You should go to the bottom. There is a thing there that if you touch, it will take you to them."     

"A portal?" Keith blurted out while eyeing the lake nervously. Will the Guardians pop out of there?     

Talia was not surprised. They suspected something like a portal at the bottom of the lake, but they were confident it was not working properly. Did the Guardians fix it? If they did, why they didn't just come out? Or was it a one-way thing?     

Was that how Damon was taken away from here? But the video showed only Stephanie leaving and not Damon. Was there a secret passage?     

Talia's hair turned silver as she urged her energies to envelop Stephanie's mind. Talia needed to know what Stephanie knew, and she had no intention of playing around.