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He responded with silence.

Caden told her more than once that she was going too far, but she responded with, 'you guys always stick to each other', and continued doing her thing.

Maya is the smart one, and her schemes usually work without a hitch, but this time her own Alpha took the burn of her actions.

Both Maya and Damon are hardheaded and willful, but Damon is above Maya in the hierarchy, even though Maya is above Damon in Caden's heart.

To say that Caden is torn between the two is an understatement.

"Aren't you going to comfort me?", Maya asked.

Caden sat on the sofa and patted a spot next to him, for Maya to join him.

Once Maya was in Caden's embrace, she spoke, "You know that I didn't mean for Talia to sleep with some random guy, right?"

"Your intentions don't matter, sweet cake. What matters is that you took Talia out twice, and both times Damon found her with some guy getting his hands on her. If it was any other girl, we could find a way to pacify him, but Talia is his mate and things are not simple."

"Why doesn't he tell her they are mates? Don't tell me you believe his crap how Talia will run away?"

"I don't know how she would react", Caden said with honesty. "But I know that she is his mate. And I also know that I wouldn't want anyone to meddle in our relationship. Damon can feel the bond and he is probably aware of her emotions so…"

"You are coming up with excuses for him.", Maya cut him off.

"Excuses? At the end of the day, it's his relationship. Will it fly or sink, it should be his doing. Or do you want to be responsible?"

Maya pressed her lips into a line. Of course, she didn't want to be responsible.

To be honest, Maya didn't think that things will escalate like this, but she didn't like how Damon was raging like it's the end of the world. And he threatened to cripple her. That was a hard pill to swallow.

"Now what?", Maya asked irritably. "Am I to hide until our Alpha calms down?"

Caden let out a long breath. "I hope that will be enough."

"What do you mean?"

"Damon is an Alpha. He might take your actions as insubordination; acts against Alpha and future Luna."

Maya couldn't believe this. "You are kidding, right?"

"Do you think I would joke about something like this? Talia and Damon are mates and you exposed Talia to quite a number of guys."

Maya didn't deny it, but… "How is that insubordination?"

"You acted against your Alpha. Damon has a small circle of people around him because he prefers trust compared to submission and you…"

"I blew it.", Maya finished Caden's sentence. "My intention was for Talia to see the world on her own, without Damon's shadow above her."

Caden knew that Maya was thinking about Talia, but she made a mistake by neglecting Damon's existence. In a pack where Alpha's word is law, Maya ignoring Damon's interests could be costly.

Maya was always a rebel, a free spirit who does what she thinks it's right, and Caden loves that side of her. As her mate, he loves every side of her.

Caden hoped Maya will understand that as a Beta, she needs to consider how her actions are impacting the pack.

A pack is like an army and a lieutenant can't act without considering the consequences.

"Damon was backstabbed too many times and he has scars to prove it. On a scale of getting a girl out for some fun, what you did, was not much. But you are Beta, and your actions were against your Alpha." Caden paused and picked his words for the next part. "If I'm Damon, I would think about a variety of scenarios. What if we are facing a crisis with rogues, and you decide to do what you believe is best without considering how that might impact Damon? If Damon is indisposed, the whole pack will be vulnerable. We are not prioritizing Damon because we worship him as our tyrant. Alpha is our pillar, and we are the foundation. In order for the pack to stay strong, it's our duty to support our Alpha."

Maya pouted at Caden's words. Why is he making everything so dramatic?

But it's true that Damon is overly cautious and that he will rather cut off suspicious people than have them nearby and risk their betrayal; and for Damon, what Maya did, might be interpreted as a betrayal.

"So, now what?", Maya asked dejectedly.

"Now we wait and hope that Damon will give you another chance. In the meantime, try to stay low."

"What will you do if he wants to punish me? Send me away? Banish me?"

Caden didn't want to think about it. "Let's hope it doesn't come to it."

…

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...

While his paws dug into the dirt and winds whipped through his black fur, Damon thought about his predicament.

The only thing that can calm him down is a solution, a plan.

Damon knew that Maya was hardheaded loose cannon, and he waited for a day when it will come to bite him.

If Damon uses his Alpha aura and issues an order, Maya will submit, but that is not the type of Beta that Damon needs.

Actually, Damon never gave Maya the title of a Beta. She became Beta as Caden's mate.

During the mating ceremony, when Caden marked Maya and injected her with his venom, Maya got a power boost which granted her an aura of a Beta. She was Caden's mate, with Beta qualities, so Damon didn't object when Caden suggested that Maya acts as a Beta in the Dark Howlers pack.

Damon trusts Caden (and Stephanie) to act in his best interest, regardless if Damon is present to issue orders or not.

Maya is different.

Maya came to the pack only a few years ago, and if she is not Caden's mate, Damon would never let her close to him.

Damon's parents were ambushed and killed because someone close to them betrayed them, Damon is certain of that. Yes, the official report says that it was rogues, but only a few people close to Damon's parents knew that they were heading for that trip. Unfortunately, many people had access to the packhouse, and they could sneak into Alpha's study to get access to important documents.

Damon has no intention of repeating the same mistake.

He will rather work with a few trustworthy people than hundreds who will backstab him when he is not paying attention.

Damon and Maya don't share history or a bond of friendship, and now Damon confirmed that she doesn't see him as her Alpha either; if she does, Maya wouldn't dare to bring Talia anywhere near unmated guys. To make things worse, Maya knew Talia was Damon's mate.

Without Caden, Damon would see Maya as a spunky (above average) warrior. There are plenty of those around and are easily replaceable.

However, Caden is indispensable.

Damon trusts that Caden has his back in any case, other than one… when Maya is in question.

Talia and Damon didn't go through the mating ceremony, yet Damon would put Talia above anything and anyone, and Damon was confident that Caden feels the same for Maya.

Can Damon allow Maya to stay close when he doesn't trust her? But if he pushes Maya away, he will lose Caden also. Damn it!

…

After returning to the packhouse and tidying up, Damon went to search for Talia.

He calmed down significantly, but he craved her proximity. All that talk with Maddox and Axel about Talia leaving him and his thoughts about messing up their relationship made him needy for cuddles. And kisses. Yes. A lot of kisses.

Talia was not in her room, nor in the garden, nor in the kitchen. Ah, finding Talia would be so much easier if she had a mind-link.

Damon's steps halted when he saw Mindy in the living room, reading some fashion magazine. She was sideways on the sofa, with her legs up. She definitely made herself at home.

The last thing Damon knew was that Mindy and Talia went to chat.

"Do you know where Talia is?", Damon asked.

"She left.", Mindy responded casually.

Damon's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as his worst nightmares replayed in his mind. "Left? When? Where?"

Mindy lifted her gaze from the magazine while wondering why was Damon freaking out.

"I didn't check the time, but it can't be more than half an hour since Talia left for some training session. I'm not into sweating, so I stayed behind…" Mindy's voice trailed when she noticed that Damon's expression worsened. Did she say something wrong?

Damon's mind was racing. Training session? Sweating? Does that mean Talia went to the training center? Does that mean WITH KEITH!?

Mindy guessed that Damon was worried about Talia. After all, Mindy already knew that Talia is skinny and weak, and Damon announced that she is under his protection so… "Don't worry about Talia. She is in safe hands."

"What hands?", Damon asked stiffly.

"Max and Axel went to accompany her…"

Damon didn't hear the rest. He saw black and red spots in front of his eyes. It's not only Keith but Maddox and Axel also? What the hell!?

Mindy stared in disbelief at the empty doorframe from where Damon dashed like the wind, without an explanation.

Her brother has a temper, but Alpha Damon tops the charts.

Mindy shook her head in disapproval and decided to continue reading the magazine.

She always said that Alphas are nothing good. Yes, they are powerful and packed with muscles, but that also comes with the baggage of being willful and moody, and sometimes violent. It's not their fault, it's just that their animalistic urges are too strong and sometimes they take over. Mindy knows it very well because one of those difficult-to-get-along Alphas is her brother.

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