The Alpha's Bride

Chapter 1007  Valerian's anger (2)

'What do you mean, she is lying?' Talia asked Liseli.

'I can only tell if her statement was a lie or truth,' Liseli responded. 'For anything more than that, we need to look into her mind. What do you say?'

Liseli was eager to find out Sophia's secrets and make her an imbecile in the process.

'No.' Talia refused. 'I'm sure my father will handle this.'

Talia didn't want to know the contents of Sophia's mind. Sophia was ugly on the inside, and Talia was still scarred by the monstrosities that stemmed from Tristan's, Luis', and Stephanie's memories. Looking into the minds of other people came with a price, and Talia couldn't disassociate herself from those gruesome scenes that were etched into her mind like she was there, like she was the one doing it. Beatings, blood, crying, backstabbing…

'Kitten?' Damon called through their mind link. He picked up Talia's unstable emotions.

Talia didn't want to talk about it, but she didn't want to hide what she had just discovered. 'She knew about Alpha Howard.'

Damon's eyes instantly turned black, and he glared at Sophia, who was focused on Valerian.

"You knew that Talia was in the Red Moon pack," Damon said in a low voice, and his Alpha aura pressed on Sophia and Isaac. "She was abused to the point of her wolf weakening, yet you did nothing! She was just a child!"

Sophia was instantly covered in a cold sweat, and her body bent at an awkward angle. "I…"

"THE TRUTH!" Valerian shouted, and his words carried his Alpha aura.

"I… I…" Sophia tried to resist, but it was in vain, as Valerian's command was directed at her.

"I knew," Sophia said. "So what? Some guy from the Red Moon pack or any other, it didn't matter. As long as they took her first time, she would be harmless. She wouldn't know what she lost, and we would be safe."

"Safe?" Damon asked in disbelief. "Who are these WE you are talking about? Isn't that just you and your mate? You left a helpless child to fend for herself while hoping that some guy will..." Damon couldn't finish. He took a sharp breath and glared at Sophia and Isaac. "This was about the two of you keeping your Alpha positions. If the pack knew that the rightful heir existed, you would just be temporary Alphas until Talia came of age, and Axel would never get the title of the next Alpha."

Axel was alerted. "I didn't…" He stopped talking when Talia raised her hand.

"You didn't know," Talia said, and she looked at Axel seriously. "You are not responsible for the actions of your parents. Without your persistence, I wouldn't find out who I was. For that, I thank you."

Axel put his hand over his chest. "There is no need to thank me, Alpha. I did what was right." ( we are nOvelBiN.nEt)

"You turned on your parents!" Sophia said angrily.

"I did what you taught me," Axel said. "Didn't you say that the family sticks together? Didn't you say that the pack comes first? Or were those teachings only when they worked in your favor? I couldn't believe that you… How could you...? Even when she came to you for help, instead of fixing the wrongs, you…" Axel couldn't finish his sentences, and he was grateful that Yasmin hugged him. He found comfort in her presence.

Talia's temper flared as she remembered how she found Damon on the altar with dark runes restraining him. "I came to you for help, yet you used dark magic to suppress Damon's abilities. Why? He was not related to your pack."

"He was already too strong. No one should have so much power," Sophia said.

Talia sneered. "You wanted to say, no one should have so much power unless it's YOU! Your action warrants a war with the Dark Howlers pack. Did you think about that? Or were you counting that no one will find out what happened, and you can tuck it under the rug as other heinous things you did?"

"My parents will be ashamed to hear of this," Kai said in a low voice, and he leaned on Meg, who was holding him as his legs were wobbly. Kai's parents didn't play a big role, but they were proud to be Betas of the Midnight Guardians pack, yet their Alphas sacrificed a baby, and their reckless actions nearly caused a war with the biggest pack in North America.

Axel swayed as the whole forest was spinning. Since he found out that Sophia and Isaac had given Talia away, he believed it was because of their ignorance and fear, and this… just what was this?

Sophia and Isaac knew Talia was in the Red Moon pack!?

Of course, they knew. His mother's ability was to see things. Even if she didn't know where exactly Talia was, with enough time and focus, she could find her, and his father's ability was teleporting. They could rescue Talia anytime, yet they pretended she didn't exist. They probably knew about the horrid treatment Talia endured, and they did nothing! Did they know about Valerian also? What about his grandparents and all those missing pack members?

Axel was a father, and he couldn't believe that the same people who taught him about moral values gave an innocent baby away with the hope that some random man would defile so they could keep their positions. Axel thought of the Alpha position as magnificent, but his parents made it dirty!

Axel lowered his head in shame. How could he look Talia in the eyes? How could he face their people? Could he look into his parents? He wanted to hug Valeria and Edgar and to keep them close… away from Sophia and Isaac.

"It's OK," Yasmin said while tightening her hug on Axel, and she spoke only for him to hear, "You are your own person. You are a wonderful father and even better mate. Our people love and support you."

Axel leaned his forehead on Yasmin's shoulder, and he listened to her comforting words while taking deep breaths to fill his lungs with her scent of jasmine, which had the power to calm his anxiety.

Sophia saw that Axel turned away from her. And it was not just Axel; everyone either avoided her gaze or looked at her with dejection. She was an Alpha everyone admired, yet now they were looking at her like she was a criminal.

"You are doing this on purpose!" Sophia hissed at Valerian.

"What? Exposing you? Yes."

Isaac held Sophia's shoulders, and he gave her a squeeze while saying through their mind link. 'Calm down. Being angry won't solve anything other than turning others against us. We will talk about this later.'

"I agree," Valerian said. "Being angry won't solve anything, but I think everyone here already is against what you did."

Isaac gaped at Valerian. "How do you…?" He stopped talking when Valerian narrowed his eyes at him, and he heard Valerian's voice in his mind, 'Watch your next words, Isaac. At this point, I see Sophia as the culprit and you as an ignorant sheep. You probably want it to stay that way.'

Isaac couldn't believe this. Did Valerian call him a sheep? How degrading. He was a werewolf Alpha! And how did Valerian force that message in? Isaac closed up his mind link, so it was only between Sophia and Isaac. Was Valerian so much stronger, or was that his ability?

Declyn watched this from the side with amusement. He was wondering how ex-

Alphas would end up. It was obvious that they offended strong characters, and their whole pack disapproved of their actions.

'Lis?' Talia called. 'Would their plan work if Damon didn't find me?'

'No,' Liseli responded. 'The blood of a Goddess is strong in you. You suffered while growing up only because of their ignorance. Aren't you angry?'

Surprisingly, Talia was not angry. She was numb.

'That's fine,' Liseli said. 'I can be angry for both of us. Regarding your abilities that stem from your bloodline, even without me, if your body and spirit were fine, you would have them. It is not related to that wild night of sex in the Lightclaw pack.'

Talia couldn't believe that she was blushing in this situation, but Liseli sent her mental images of Talia and Damon in the tub, fireworks, and then fireworks of a different kind in the bedroom. Kisses, caresses, and the way Damon looked at her while promising that she would be his last. Talia could feel her stomach tightening at the vivid memories of the stretch and friction as he made his way inside her.

Instead of being angry at Sophia and Isaac for abandoning her, Talia was looking at Damon dreamily.

Damon turned to Talia in slow motion, and he looked at her questionably.

Talia knew he could sense her emotions which didn't match the situation, but it was not a bad thing.

"I refuse to let them take away any more happiness than they already did," she said. "I choose to be happy with you." She spread her hands to gesture at everyone. "I choose to be happy with all of you. Past should teach us lessons, and we should not allow ourselves to be weighed down by it. Sophia and Isaac wronged me, and I punished them for it. They wronged my father, and it is on him to decide how he will deal with it. They also wronged the Midnight Guardians pack, and it's up to each of you to decide what you will do about it."

Isaac looked around nervously, and Sophia felt like fainting from anger. Did Talia permit everyone from the Midnight Guardians pack to take a swing at them?