When they reached the master bedroom after training, both Damon and Talia needed a shower.

Talia was nervous while thinking that Damon will ask her to shower together. After all, they were sharing a room and a bed and Stephanie said that the lunch was in only fifteen minutes.

Talia was getting panicky while wondering if she can go through it. It means that both of them will be naked, in a tight space… oh, gosh!

"You go first, kitten. I need to take care of something first."

Talia was sure that her ears malfunctioned. "Eh?"

Damon cocked an eyebrow. "Did you want us to shower toge…"

"No, no!", Talia interrupted him and dashed into the closet to grab fresh clothes before going into the bathroom.

Isn't this what she wanted? But why was she disappointed?

Damon looked at the closed door of the bathroom with a complex expression. Should he join her? No. That can wait because there was a pressing matter.

'Did you hear what Talia said about my scent?', Damon asked his wolf expectantly.

Damon was itching to discuss this with his wolf from the moment Talia said how his scent is different from all others, but he didn't want to call out to his wolf when Talia is nearby because his wolf amplifies Damon's instincts, including the one to mark his mate.

Damon was already craving for Talia, and with his wolf present, he was afraid that he might lose control and do something that will stain their budding relationship.

Talia was opening up to him wonderfully and waiting a bit longer could be the difference between Talia loving Damon's mark on her and cringing whenever she sees it.

'Yes', his wolf responded. 'I heard that.'

'Doesn't this mean she can feel the bond?'

'Maybe. But it doesn't give any guarantee that her wolf is waking up.'

Damon knew that his wolf was interested in Talia's wolf the most. After all, only with Talia's wolf, their bond can be complete.

Damon heard from several people (Caden included) that other than wolf identifying the mate, the scent and the sparks also play important roles.

Damon had a wolf, and Talia's was unavailable. Damon could sense the sparks, and Talia couldn't. Talia could pick up Damon's unique scent and Damon could barely pick up Talia's.

Is this the Moon Goddess's idea of a joke?

But Damon's sense of scent is the best in the pack. He is the Alpha for a reason. Why was her scent so faint the moment there is some distance between them?

Sure, when Talia was nearby, Damon was like an addict, craving for a whiff of her scent, but he clearly remembers how more than once he failed in tracking her. Alphas have extremely sharp senses, and Damon could track anyone… anyone other than Talia.

All these uncertainties were driving Damon nuts.

Damon wanted to talk to Travis about this. As a doctor and a werewolf, Travis should know a thing or two about these things. But how can he explain the situation without disclosing that Talia is his mate?

'You can talk to Gideon.', his wolf said.

Damon frowned. Gideon is the shaman of the Dark Howlers pack, and as much as Gideon is needed for the spiritual guidance of the pack members, in Damon's opinion, the old guy is full of gibberish.

Shaman believes in the will of the Moon Goddess, karma, the power of prayer, magical crystals, and unseen energies, while Damon believes in things he can see and touch... you know, science.

The relationship between Damon and Gideon is not simple. There is an enmity between them which started many years ago.

When Damon's parents died, Damon stormed into the shaman's house and trashed it in rage.

"If you are so powerful, why didn't you see the danger? Why didn't you save your Alpha and Luna? Why didn't you stop it!?"

Gideon bowed his head in submission and didn't say a word while Damon demolished everything in sight. The old shaman knew that this was the way for the young Alpha to mourn the loss of his parents.

It was a big scene because many pack members were gathered at Gideon's place, seeking guidance in times of uncertainty.

Damon was helpless and angry, and his venting estranged him from Gideon and several other Elders of the pack who worked closely with Alpha and Luna.

As Damon gained his footing as the Alpha without mending his relationship with the shaman, the pack members started distancing themselves from Gideon. No one dared to openly support Gideon when he was shunned by the Alpha.

Gideon doesn't have children who would inherit his calling, and he had three disciples. However, due to the feud between Gideon and Damon, the three disciples left Gideon because they didn't want to risk their families being ostracized.

And that is how the relationship between Damon and Gideon cooled to the point of them ignoring each other's existence. When they meet for some functions, they talk, but not more than absolutely necessary.

Damon's wolf knew how Damon felt about the shaman, so he started throwing ideas, 'You can talk to Gideon with a pretense of you being unsure how to identify your mate. Tell him that the Elders are pressuring you to marry some random women, but you want to find your mate, and you suspect I'm flawed, so you want to know about other signals. He will support to have a fated mate as a Luna because that's what the Moon Goddess intended…'

Damon thought that this might work. Maybe.

Ah, he really didn't want to see that guy! There must be some other way because going to Gideon and asking for guidance is the same as asking for a truce.

In the world of werewolves, the person who seeks a truce first is a loser.

Damon's wolf snorted when he sensed that Damon was not willing to reach out to the shaman. 'You can wait until mate's overall condition improves and see if that will wake up her wolf. Or you can mark her, and your Alpha DNA will give her the necessary boost.'

At that thought of marking Talia, Damon became hard instantly.

Yes, marking is technically a bite where one injects his venom into the mate's system, but in order to commemorate the moment, loving couples do it while two bodies are connected as one passionately, and Damon really wanted to connect with Talia.

'Marking her could give her a boost, or it can cripple her', Damon responded dejectedly while looking at the closed door of the bathroom. The sound of water running told him that Talia was in the shower.

'And that's another thing you could discuss with Gideon…'

Damon groaned in frustration.

Maybe he can talk to Maya? With Caden gone, Maya is the only one who knows that Damon and Talia are mates. But… what can she tell Damon that he doesn't already know?

Yes, there is Stephanie, and several other people, but Damon built a reputation for himself as someone who is not interested in relationships and is looking down on a mate bond and if he starts asking about it, it will be suspicious.

…

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...

"Damon?", Talia called with concern when she got out of the bathroom.

Damon was sitting on the sofa with his hands over his face. He looked distressed.

Damon raised his head and in a few quick steps, he was in front of Talia, pulling her in his embrace.

"What are you doing?", Talia asked while squirming out of his hold. She was frustrated. His embrace was not forceful, yet she couldn't budge. Actually, it only made her rub on him more.

"I just showered, and you are sweaty. Everyone will pick up your scent on me.", Talia cried.

"That's fine.", Damon said. "Since your scent is barely noticeable, I will give you mine, so that I can find you when you are not in my sight."

He noticed that Talia lowered her gaze and he quickly let her go. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

Talia felt guilt washing over her. He did so much for her, yet she was keeping secrets from him.

"About that…", Talia spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "I am taking a mixture of herbs to suppress my scent."

Damon sucked in a sharp breath. "What? Since when?"

"Uhm… I don't know exactly. For years? You know how I lived at the Red Moon pack. I was able to move around the packhouse undetected because I learned not to make noise when I move, and I found this mixture to suppress my scent. When you brought me to the Dark Howlers pack and we walked through the forest the first time, I saw that herbs are available here and…" Talia's voice trailed at the sight of Damon's unreadable expression. "Are you angry?"

Was he angry? "No, kitten. I am not angry."

He was sad while thinking about what she went through before coming here, and proud that she managed to survive on her own without her wolf, and relieved that he finally uncovered the mystery of Talia's faint scent… but not angry. Definitely not angry.

"Are you willing to share that mixture of herbs with me and my warriors? It would be useful to suppress one's scent when he is on a scouting mission."

Talia's eyes widened in surprise. She thought that Damon will tell her to stop taking it or blame her for keeping that secret, yet he asked if she can share it with him.

Talia never felt so accepted before. It was another first that she had with Damon.

"OK.", Talia responded with a smile.

Damon inched closer and pecked her lips. Once, twice… and then he groaned in frustration. "Lunch is ready. I need to shower…" He gave her one more quick kiss before heading to the bathroom with urgency.

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