After slamming the door in Nora's face, Talia plopped on the chair and released the breath she was holding.

Ivy was still frozen while mind-linking, so Talia spoke to Lily.

"If that woman doesn't leave, just call security. Damon has no meetings scheduled today, and we don't know who she is. Can anyone come here?"

Lily looked at Talia apologetically. "I can confirm that she is not from the Lightclaw pack. We have a lot of guests in the packhouse, and it seems that she slipped through the cracks. Our security is focusing on keeping uninvited people outside. Considering that all guests are high-ranking members, this kind of behavior is unexpected."

Lily continued flat ironing Talia's hair. "You handled her well, Ms. Talia."

Talia hid her trembling hands in the sleeves of her bathrobe and glanced up at Lily. "Really? To be honest, I didn't expect that someone will show up like that."

"It's unfortunate, but some women will go after Alphas who are married with kids. Nothing is off-limits for them. Alpha Damon is a handsome man. You are lucky that he cares for you."

Talia blinked. "What makes you think he cares?"

"If he doesn't dote on you, he wouldn't ask us to style you for the party, Ms. Talia. I noticed the difference between how Alpha Damon talked to you and how he spoke to us. I know a bit about fashion, and that dress is the latest model from a popular designer... I forgot his name, but I remember that the queue for his works is months long. Together with jewelry, I'm sure it costs a fortune...", Lily blabbered while working on Talia's hair and Talia felt warm and fuzzy feeling swelling in her chest.

"Security is looking through surveillance footage, Ms. Talia.", Ivy said when she resumed applying foundation on Talia's face. "That was Miss Nora from the Red Moon pack. They saw her coming in and no one stopped her, because they assumed she came here to speak to her Alpha. Security will talk to her and clarify the issue…"

Talia's insides tightened. This means that Alpha Edward is here.

What about Marcy? Alpha Edward wouldn't bring Nora to such an event, not without Marcy. Talia overheard Omegas at the Red Moon pack talking about how Nora and Marcy clicked from the moment Marcy returned from Europe, and they probably came together.

Facing Nora was one thing because Talia never interacted with Nora directly, but Marcy beat her up twice and Talia's body still remembers it even though bruises healed.

Talia was concerned. Will she be able to face Marcy and not fall apart?

…

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...

"All done!", Ivy exclaimed while putting the contouring brush on the table victoriously.

Talia leaned closer to the mirror to see her face.

A bit of a blush on her cheeks… mix of brown and golden eyeshadow created a smokey-eye effect… mascara and reddish lip gloss enhanced Talia's features and made her polished, yet it was not over the top.

Talia stood up in front of the full-length mirror. She couldn't recognize herself.

Her hair was nicely sleeked back to come together in an elegant low ponytail, and she had dangling circular golden earrings that went great with the golden floor-length dress which fit her like it was made for her. The golden sequined bodice was separated from the delicate golden skirt by a black belt that had intricate golden details on it, perfectly accentuating Talia's narrow waist.

There was a golden necklace in the set, but Talia refused to wear it.

The bodice of her gown was sparkly, and Talia thought that if she wears a golden necklace, it would be too flashy.

When Talia was barefoot, her gown was touching the floor, and Talia hummed in approval to see that it was just right after she put on heeled black shoes with golden details that came with the dress.

Talia twirled on her toes and a giggle escaped her lips at the sight of the flowy skirt that opened in layers, like delicate butterfly wings.

She felt like a princess after this makeover and it reminded her of the Cinderella story.

Talia took a mental note to hold onto her shoes because those must be expensive. Will she be able to cover the cost of damaging or losing a shoe? That came to her mind because Cinderella found her prince after losing a shoe. Actually, Talia had no need to relinquish a shoe because her prince was only one door away, getting ready to attend the party with her.

Mental images of Damon wearing various clothes flashed in Talia's mind and she was confident that Damon will be dashing no matter what he wears, as always.

Talia thought how life was not fair. Why does the prince look good in anything, while Cinderella needs a makeover?

"You will be the most eye-catching lady at the party tonight.", Ivy's compliment reminded Talia that she was not alone.

Lily hummed in agreement. "You look like a fairy, Miss Talia."

Talia smiled at the compliments. Maybe they were just polite, but it still felt good to hear something like that. Eye-catching. Fairy.

What will Damon think?

Ivy and Lily were packing makeup and hairstyling gadgets, and their movements stopped when they heard noise from the bathroom which announced that Damon will come out any minute.

"We will take our leave.", Lily said and gestured to the lip gloss. "Keep this in your purse to retouch it through the evening. Feel free to call us if you need anything else, Ms. Talia."

Lily's words reminded Talia that her outfit came with a matching purse. It was black with golden details, just like her shoes and belt on her gown.

"Don't you want to stay? You did a great job, I'm sure that Damon will praise you.", Talia said.

Ivy was tugging Lily's arm toward the door. "We need to leave. It was an honor to serve you, Ms. Talia."

Talia exhaled helplessly. "Thank you for helping me get ready. I really appreciate it."

Ivy and Lily bowed and scurried out of the room.

The main door closed and a second later, the bathroom door opened.

Talia turned to see Damon standing frozen and looking at her from head to toe several times. His expression told her that he approved. He approved very much.

Damon was wearing black trousers and a black shirt. There was no necktie and the top button of his shirt was undone. At first glance, it was nothing fancy about his outfit, because Talia saw him wearing similar clothes before, but then Talia noticed golden details on the collar of Damon's shirt and along the strip that covered the buttons.

The designs matched the ones she had on her purse, belt, and shoes, and the colors matched her outfit with the difference that she had more golden while Damon had more black.

Her heart fluttered at the thought that they were wearing couple's outfits.

Damon ran his hand through his hair that was still damp from the shower. "I don't think we are going to the party, kitten."

Talia looked at him in disbelief.

"You are kidding. Why did I suffer through this styling session?", she whined.

Damon chuckled and stalked toward Talia, stopping only an inch from her. The scent of his aftershave splashed on her, but she could still clearly distinguish Damon's scent of the forest and the dark chocolate.

"If you go out like this, I will end up killing guys who are gawking at you."

This reminded her. "And what will you do if one of those guys comes knocking on the door of our room and demands to see me while refusing to say why?"

Damon frowned. That was oddly specific. "Did we have a visitor?"

Talia was impressed that he got it right away. "Nora. Beta's daughter from the Red Moon pack."

Knots formed in Damon's stomach when he remembered a brunette following after him. He couldn't recall her face clearly, but he definitely remembered taking her from behind.

Why did he feel so guilty about it? Is it because that happened after he met Talia? Or is it because he imagined Talia's coppery hair bunched in his hand instead of Nora's?

Damon shook those thoughts away. There was no point in regretting anything. Besides, it's not like he was cheating. He didn't even know Talia's name then!

But it was undeniable that something gnawed his insides.

Damon bedded more women than he could count, but that incident with Nora was the only one he really wanted to scrape from his memory.

"What did she want?", Damon asked stiffly.

"To see you. She didn't say more than that."

One knot in Damon's stomach was undone. At least Nora didn't cause trouble. For now. But there was another thing. "Did she recognize you?"

"No.", Talia said and glanced toward the mirror. "To be honest, I don't recognize myself."

Damon touched Talia's chin, making her turn to look at him. "You are beautiful, as always."

Talia blushed. "This is not how I normally look. This is definitely an upgrade. Thank you for getting Lily and Ivy to help me get ready and for the dress and… everything."

Talia wouldn't call herself beautiful, but she was definitely more sophisticated and sparkly.

Damon leaned closer and pecked her lips. "No dress is doing your wonderful body justice, kitten. If you want an upgrade to your appearance, you should get naked, but don't forget… that's only for me to see."

Talia thought that the air in the room was getting thin. Why else would she get this breathy?

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See in the comments Talia after her makeover

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