The Alpha's Bride

Chapter 963: Stephanie's secrets (1)

Talia turned robotically to see Keith, Arya, Liam, and Caden looking at her.     

"Take her to the dungeon," Talia said. "Treat her as a dangerous individual. Give her medical care only if her life is in danger."     

"Are you OK?" Liam asked with concern obvious in his voice.     

Talia blinked. "Who is keeping an eye on Cassandra?"     

Liam froze. Talia told him to watch over the Oracle and to kill her if he noticed anything suspicious, but when Talia left the study, he just went after her without thinking.     

"Uhm… Cornelia and James are there," Liam responded and quickly mind-linked James, so Cassandra was not left unattended.     

Talia released a long breath. She didn't want more surprises.     

Talia needed a moment to sort out everything that she found out in Stephanie's mind. There was so much information, and Talia couldn't wrap her head around the fact that they all looked up to Stephanie, yet her betrayal ran deep.     

Damon should be able to pick up the negative emotions of a person who is so close, but the thing was that Stephanie believed she was doing the right thing for the pack, and she totally fooled not only Damon but everyone else.     

"Caden," Talia called. "You need to capture Richard also."     

Caden frowned. Why did Talia bring up Richard? "Is he involved in Damon's disappearance?"     

"That's not easy to answer, but… he was sending information to the Guardians. Richard and Stephanie are not mates. They faked it, so he gets access to the packhouse and snoops around when we were not there while Stephanie kept Omegas busy in the kitchen."     

Caden, Arya, and Liam gaped at Talia.     

Keith knew that Talia could look into people's minds, so he was not surprised that Talia had this information, but he was scared by the information she provided. If Stephanie and Richard were spies, everyone else was a suspect also!     

Caden was unaware that Talia could read minds, but he already saw so many unbelievable things from Talia that he didn't question her.     

"Anyone else we should take to the dungeon?" Caden asked.     

"Stephanie didn't know about more, but Richard might."     

Caden nodded stiffly. "I will arrange for him to be captured low-key and interrogated."     

Two warriors came to them in full sprint and grabbed Stephanie's arms to drag her away.     

Talia turned to look at the lake.     

From Stephanie's memories, Talia was confident that Stephanie didn't meet Gregory in person. After Violet's death, Stephanie and the Guardians didn't communicate… until the Council of the Alphas. At that time, Talia revealed herself as a powerful Alpha and that she was close to Damon, Maddox, and Cristian.     

Guardians contacted Stephanie to be alert and keep an eye out if Alpha Natalia visits Damon. Talia could guess that the Guardians activated their sleeper spies in other allied packs as well.     

Eventually, the Guardians confirmed that Alpha Natalia and Luna Talia were the same person. Was that why they kidnapped Yasmin and the babies, to distract Talia? What if they find out that Yasmin was part Guardian? Talia tried not to think about it.     

Richard was known as a friendly blacksmith who kept to himself. People from Darkbourne would come to order things like daggers, candlesticks, fireplace fittings, chains, decorative items, and keychains, and while placing orders, they would chat about anything and everything. That was how Richard knew what was going on in the Dark Howlers pack, even though he rarely left his home.     

Since Richard was taking online orders, no one suspected that mail and packages from the human city carried instructions from the Guardians. Richard would send them information hidden in shipments of his custom-made products. He had been doing it for a long time. That's how Stephanie found out that the bottom of the lake has a secret that can transport Talia to the Guardians.         

Talia wondered, why didn't they contact her so far? Were the Guardians counting on Talia to feel overwhelmed and helpless so that she would go to them on her own?     

"Talia?" Keith called cautiously. "Don't do anything stupid. We will get Damon."     

Talia turned to him and smiled a little. "I know."     

Keith was relieved to see that the black from Talia's eyes was gone. Her eyes were back to their honeyed color, but they were full of worry and sadness.     

Talia released a long breath and turned to walk toward the packhouse. She needed a breather to think, but how could she calm down to think in this situation?     

"What's going on?" Arya asked the guys in a whisper.     

Keith responded through their mind link, 'The woman in question is Stephanie. Her mate was the previous Beta, and she was very close to Alpha Damon's mother, Luna Violet. After previous Alpha and Luna died, she took over the packhouse management and was something like a second mother to Alpha Damon. No one saw this coming.'     

Talia walked through the forest, too distracted to notice the glorious golden hues that were painted by the sunset.     

Damon had been missing for several hours already, and her every heartbeat was painful.     

Instead of going to the packhouse, Talia went to the garden and sat on the bench. It was a bench where she would sit with Damon often. It was a compromise between Talia's need to be outside in the forest and Damon's plead for her to stay in sight so he knew she was safe. He always wanted her to be safe.     

Talia knew this was not the time to idle, but her mind was a mess.     

Caden had other matters to handle. Liam went to the study to watch over Cassandra with the hope she didn't make a big offense. Arya and Keith kept their eyes on Talia from a distance.     

Talia leaned on the bench and closed her eyes. The familiar scents helped her to calm down a bit, but the fading of Damon's scent was agonizing.     

Talia struggled to focus.     

Stephanie betrayed Alpha Jacob and Luna Violet, and Stephanie's mate, Beta Gil, was in that as well.     

Stephanie didn't care about Talia at first, thinking it was just one Omega that everyone pitied and that she won't play a big role. Stephanie was happy to hear that Damon had found his mate. However, the more Talia grew in power, the more wary Stephanie became, suspecting that the Guardians would set their eyes on Talia, and they did.     

Talia's insides tightened at the thought of Damon. His heart will break when he finds out what Stephanie did.     

Damon told her that no one could be trusted, and Talia told him that was not true. She believed that people loved him, respected him, and followed him willingly and that no one will betray him. Oh, how wrong she was.     

And the worst thing was that Stephanie had no remorse. She believed she was doing the right thing. It was all so messed up.     

"You OK?"     

A voice pulled Talia out of her thoughts, and she turned to see James.     

"No, I am not," Talia responded.     

James sat on the bench next to Talia.     

"Talk to me, Luna," James said. "I can't do my job as a Gamma if I don't know what's going on."