Chapter 434: Morning Negotiations (5)

Talia's whole body tensed. Did Damon speak about a duel with another Alpha?

She didn't want him to fight. The idea of him getting hurt invoked gruesome images of Damon lunging at the rogue who stabbed him with a wolfsbane-laced knife and Talia's chest tightened. She leaned into Damon with the hope that his proximity will dispel the dark thoughts.

Talia noticed that Damon was still sitting there straight, firm as a mountain with his left arm around her waist, and she wondered how many times he had these heavy talks and then returned to smile at her like everything was alright. Talia silently prayed that things work out and that her insecurities were not showing. She needed to be strong if she wanted to stand by Damon's side as his Luna.

James wondered how much Damon knew about Alpha Edward's ways of doing things.

"My father will not challenge you openly.", James said. "He will avoid direct confrontation unless he is confident that he can win. He will send spies and small teams to disturb your pack. Some of them are already here, as sleeper cells. They will spread misinformation and cause unrest. My father will collaborate with other packs to pressure you from the outside. He will hire rogues to attack you at random times until your warriors are weakened due to injuries and exhaustion from extra patrolling shifts. He will chip away your power until he creates the right opening, and then he will strike to deliver the final blow."

Listening to James say all those ominous words like it was a totally normal thing made Talia break into goosebumps. Is this how a sixteen years-old boy should be talking?

"Is there a way to resolve this amicably?", Talia asked.

James looked at Talia keenly with his brows slightly furrowed and she pushed further into Damon on instinct. Why did she have a feeling that James can see through her? Was it possible that he recognized her as the girl who used to stay in the attic of his packhouse?

She relaxed when James started talking.

"There are always negotiations. My father will say that Alpha Damon wronged him and will demand compensation. What will it be? Money? Resources? People? Territory?" James glanced at Damon. "Considering that Marcy was supposed to be the Luna of the Dark Howlers pack and she lost it, maybe my father demands something of equal value."

Damon's jaw tightened when he realized that 'equal value' would be Talia, the Luna of the Dark Howlers pack. Damon would rather go into an all-out war than give up on Talia, but he was not sure how Talia would feel if it came to it. Damon decided not to think about it because that's not happening.

James returned his gaze to Talia and continued, "Will Alpha Damon give any of that knowing that he was being set up from the start? Will that be the final payment or a stopgap until my father asks for the next thing? Do you think that my father will be happy with just one slice when the rest of the pie is on the table and greed is urging him to have it all?"

Talia realized that her question was silly. Alphas settle differences in a bloody fight, and not over tea and biscuits. Did she embarrass herself and Damon? But Damon's hold on her was solid, and that prevented her from shrinking.

Damon smiled a little as he looked beyond James' words. "You don't approve of your father's methods."

"I don't.", James didn't conceal it. "We have a lot, but to him, it's never enough. He enjoys life in a luxurious packhouse where everyone bows to him, but the people who are enabling such a lifestyle are warriors and Omegas who work and train until their hands bleed." James said this last part through his teeth. Only he knew how much he struggled to produce acceptable results. He pushed his body to the point of vomiting, just because his father needed an heir who won't disappoint him.

"Do you plan to fix the current situation when you become the Alpha of the Red Moon pack?", Damon asked James.

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Seeing that James hesitated, Damon cocked an eyebrow and asked, "Or maybe I should ask you if you want to take over the pack at all."

James snorted. "You sound like I have a choice."

"What if you do?", Damon challenged him. "What if I give you an exit ticket? Imagine a life where you can be whatever you want."

James narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to poach me?"

Damon smirked. "You are a smart kid. Any pack would be happy to have you as their strategist; my pack included. Your bloodline doesn't define you. It's what you will do with it that counts. Think about it."

James shook unnecessary thoughts away. "If I decide to stay here, it will only be one more reason for my father to attack you. He doesn't have another heir, there is no way he will let me go. And also, I'm not suicidal. Why would I stay in a place that will be razed to the ground?"

A low growl formed in the back of Damon's throat. "Are you underestimating me?"

James didn't flinch. Years of his father lashing at him made him numb to these shows of power. Unless Damon used his aura to suppress him, James wouldn't show weakness. Actually, if he was not the young Alpha of the Red Moon pack, James would bow his head in submission and apologize, because Damon was stronger than James in every possible way, but James knew that submission was not an option. He survived so far by bluffing, and he had no intention to admit his thoughts.

"No. I am only saying what will happen if we don't handle this carefully. While on the topic of exit tickets, maybe you should offer one to my sister. She can't go back home. Offer her asylum."

"How will that appease Alpha Edward?" It was George who asked.

"It won't.", James deadpanned. "Actually, it will probably anger him more. However, if my sister makes a public statement that she was a willing participant in whatever happened, other packs won't support my father, and that will make him think twice before reaching for something that belongs to the Dark Howlers pack."

James spoke to Damon, "Invite media to broadcast Marcy's emotional speech about how she realized that she wants to be a nun or travel the world and that you were a wonderful and understanding host who didn't trample on her dreams. That will also allow me and George to return to the Red Moon pack, and the most we will get from my father is scolding because we didn't stop Marcy from straying from the plan of becoming your Luna…"

Damon sat frozen with Talia on his lap, and he listened to James while thinking how the teenager in front of him is a monster. Did he just come up with that plan within minutes they were discussing this? Scary.

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