The Alpha's Bride

"Can I join you?"

Damon jolted at the sound of Talia's voice even though he knew she was approaching him. Damon was staring at the imaginary spot on the horizon, and the deafening sound of the waterfall below him overpowered any other noise, but he was aware of Talia's presence.

"Absolutely.", he responded while scooting to the side to make space for Talia on the same rock.

Talia sat next to Damon, and her mouth was slightly open as she took in the panorama. The cliff was higher than she initially thought.

There was forest as far as the eyes can reach, and hills and mountains in the distance, and she could see the irregular formation of rooftops etched into the forest. Based on the arrangement of buildings, she knew that the town below them was Darkbourne. The river continued calmly after the waterfall and disappeared among the trees, but Talia knew that was the same body of water that formed the lake Talia recognized as the one where Keith took her during the Summer Solstice festival.

How far were they from the packhouse? She craned her neck to see if she can spot the packhouse from there.

Damon saw Talia leaning forward and his arm circled around her shoulders to support her, and she stiffened upon contact.

His heart ached at the thought that Talia's defenses were back up full force.

"What's the state of your wolf?", Damon asked.

"I'm not sure.", Talia responded. "She said that she came forward because I was in distress and that it was too soon, and she needs more rest. Before I lost contact with her, she said that you shouldn't mark me until you deal with Marcy."

Damon pressed his lips into a line and nodded in understanding. His first impression with Talia's wolf was horrible. He remembered his first encounter with Talia; there was Marcy, between his legs, and if Talia could forgive him for that, then her wolf should be able to forgive that video. Hopefully.

"Now that your wolf appeared, it won't take long for her to recuperate fully. They retract at the back of our minds to focus on healing. My wolf is doing the same."

Talia's brows came together as she looked at Damon. "He is?"

"From the wolfsbane.", he reminded her.

Talia's face fell. That was her fault. If she didn't go into the forest, she wouldn't bump into rogues, and Damon wouldn't end up hurt.

Damon could feel Talia's emotions and he rubbed her shoulder gently. "He will be fine in a day or two."

Talia's guilt was replaced with panic. "What if someone attacks you before he recuperates?"

Damon shrugged like it's not a big deal. "I usually fight on my own. Don't worry, kitten. I won't allow anyone to harm you."

Talia felt the urge to hug him tightly and kiss him senselessly, but she held that back.

The video.

Talia was still not over it and she fought mightily against remembering the visual or Marcy's voice moaning Damon's name.

Talia turned to look at the breathtaking view below them. The river fell sharply down, creating a cloud of white mist above a swelling of water surface before it narrowed and continued calmly snaking between the dense trees, like this majestic waterfall never existed.

"Do you come here often?", Talia asked Damon, feeling the lack of conversation pressing on her and making her anxious.

The silence between them used to be pleasant, but now she felt the urge to distract herself with chatter.

"There was a time when I would come here almost every day.", Damon responded. "I made many decisions here."

"It's peaceful. Good place for thinking and deciding.", Talia said.

"That's true, but decision-making had nothing to do with the ambiance."

Talia looked at him questionably, and he explained, "There were cases when I knew what I should do, but I didn't want to. Mostly related to the pack business."

"Like fighting another Alpha?", Talia guessed.

Damon thought for a moment before responding. "Whenever I received an official challenge, I knew that I will be facing three possible outcomes. The first one is that I lose, and he takes over my pack. I would be either killed or crippled, and neither of those two was appealing. The second option is that I defeat him and leave him alive. Alpha wouldn't be able to live with that shame, and the only way out of it is to get revenge. It took me a few duels to realize that leaving the enemy alive is stupid because they keep coming back until one of us can't fight anymore. And the third choice…"

"Is to kill him.", Talia said instead of Damon.

Damon feared that Talia will see him as a monster, but her emotions told him that she felt sorry for him. Yeah. That's his Talia. Always finding good in people, even when they are set to kill.

…

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Talia felt her heart tightening. She had no idea what Damon's state of mind would be when he faced a situation knowing he will need to kill a person or be killed by end of the day. There was a time when she thought that Damon is scary and ruthless, but now she knew that he has a kind and gentle side, and she was aware that Damon wouldn't extinguish life without a reason.

"Did you come here to calm down before duel?", Talia guessed.

"In a way.", Damon said. "This place helps me put things into perspective and understand what's important and with my parents here, I would imagine they would approve of my choice."

Talia was surprised to hear that Damon would look for his parent's approval. She saw Damon as a confident Alpha who is always looking forward and doesn't need anyone's support, but then… he started leading a pack before he was ready, and he needed someone to assure him he was doing a good job, even if that someone was long gone.

"Can you tell me more about it?"

Damon glanced down at the water far below their feet. "What do you see?"

"Water. Mist. Rocks." She focused on the details. Damon's expression told her that she missed something. "What do you see?"

"Answers.", Damon said.

Talia didn't get it. "What?"

"My options were to fight or not, and that would make a difference if I will kill my challenger or be killed. So, how do I steel my resolve and go into the fight prepared to kill?"

"How?", Talia asked after a few endless seconds that were filled with the clamor of water.

"I would leave it to chance."

"Chance?"

Damon turned a bit to face Talia. "Like now. Should I fight for us or give up?"

Talia's brows came together. Was he thinking of giving up on them?

But something was wrong with his expression.

Why was her heart aching?

Damon put his hand on Talia's cheek, his touch came with addictive sparks and Talia ended up leaning into his palm.

Damon smiled a little. "If I am alive in a few minutes from now, I will fight for us and no one will stop me from loving you. Not even your wolf."

Talia was still processing his words when he inched closer and pecked her lips once, twice, and then she opened her eyes and the whole world slowed down when she saw Damon kicking off the rock and falling down the cliff until he disappeared in the white mist the waterfall created.

"DAMON!", Talia shrieked as her blood froze.

A pair of shoes Damon left behind on the rock confirmed he did that on purpose. It was NOT accidental!

Why the hell did he jump like that? No matter how good of a swimmer he is, there are rocks down there!

Talia's anxiety swelled. Why was he not coming out?

He can't die, right? He is strong and fast and a werewolf, for crying out loud!

With every passing second, knots in Talia's stomach were increasing.

"IF YOU DIE, I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!", Talia shouted.

She desperately fought to see his head full of raven-black hair emerging from the water, but her sight was blurry from tears.

What if he was hurt, or dead? What will she do without him?

For years, while hiding in the attic, Talia would pass time by daydreaming about finding her mate, a man who will love her unconditionally, and now that she found him, she gave in to her insecurities and ruined everything.

Suddenly, Talia realized what he meant by putting things into perspective.

Damon was facing two bad choices, giving up on his life or taking another's and he used this to leave it to fate if he should live or not. After all, if he died, it didn't matter if it happened during a fight or like this.

And he said that if he survives this, he will fight for them.

In a way, Damon was proving his sincerity because he declared that there are only two paths ahead of him; he will either be with Talia or forfeit his life.

Talia pressed her lips into a line. Isn't she the same? Can she live without Damon by her side? What's the point of dwelling on the past when her soul is crying for his proximity? Isn't she torturing herself and him by avoiding his touch?

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