"Well? Will you introduce your date to me? Or is she not worthy because tomorrow you will be with someone else?", Cassie asked Damon impatiently without removing her scrutinizing gaze from Talia, waiting for Damon to move so that she can see Talia's face clearly.

Damon's face darkened. He turned to Cassie to respond, and his mouth froze half-open because Talia spoke…

"Are you hoping that someone else will be you?"

Damon looked at Talia with renewed interest, unsure from where that confidence came. And this was beyond just confidence. Talia extruded an aura that urged him to worship her, similar to the one he felt at the human hospital when Talia faced Mr. Martinez, but this one was fiercer.

Damon was not sure if this sensation was due to the mate bond or something else. Can Cassie feel it? If Cassie felt anything, she was resisting it because she was glaring at Talia. But the beads of sweat on Cassie's forehead told him that there is something.

Talia had enough of Cassie and her attitude like she owned the place.

Every insult Cassie threw at her was replaying in Talia's mind and her cheek stung at the memory of Cassie's slap, fueling Talia's anger. At first, Talia thought that Cassie was bullying her because Talia was wearing shabby clothes and was alone, but now Talia was not alone, and her dress was fabulous, yet Cassie still treated her like trash.

This incident confirmed that Cassie looks down on everyone. Does she feel better by putting others down? How is that different from Anna and her gang of Omegas from the Red Moon pack?

Cassie is lucky to be a daughter of an Alpha, but that doesn't give her the right to bully others. Just like Marcy.

How can Talia allow Cassie to bully her? Talia is here with Damon, as his date, representing the Dark Howlers pack. If she lowers her head and allows Cassie to do what she pleases, that will be a stain on Damon and on the Dark Howlers pack. That's unacceptable.

Cassie eyed Talia from head to toe a few times and she could swear that Talia looked familiar, but Cassie couldn't put her finger on it.

"I'm not hoping that Damon will be with me. I know he will.", Cassie said confidently. "I've seen Damon with many women who don't tickle his imagination for more than one night, and then he comes back to me."

"He is ALPHA Damon to you…", Talia responded sternly and then her lips lifted into a mocking smile. "I am surprised to hear you boasting about being a fallback girl."

Cassie was stupefied. No one spoke to her like that before. Everyone in the Steelbite pack pampers her, her father included. She always had a celebrity treatment inside and outside of the Steelbite pack. What fallback girl? Damon coming to her more than once is an exception, that makes her special… why did this woman (aka Talia) make it sound like it's something shameful?

"What?"

Talia smiled condescendingly. "It seems you still don't get it. No wonder Damon was able to take advantage of you. But I must disappoint you Miss whoever-you-are because Damon is with me tonight. And I have no intention of letting go of him tomorrow either. So, you will need to find someone else's arm to latch onto, because Damon's arms are busy with me. Do you get it now or should I simplify it further for your pea-sized brain to understand?"

Cassie's biggest issue was the explosive temper that clouds her judgment and makes her forget all the warnings her father gave her. Now that Talia stood next to Damon (in Cassie's place, how Cassie saw it) and she insulted her, Cassie's anger was surging.

"Who do you think you are!?", Cassie screamed.

"I am someone who can come to this event as Damon's date. I am someone who can keep Damon by my side for more than one night.", Talia said firmly. She knew that her tone was egoistic, but she didn't lie.

Damon perked up at Talia's words. She was almost claiming him as hers openly. Almost.

Cassie sucked in a sharp breath. "You are the girl from the photo…" Her eyes darted from Damon to Talia. "You were with him at the Summer Solstice festival."

Talia really enjoyed putting Cassie in her place. "Yes. We were together at the festival and if you think that's the only place where Damon took me, think again."

Cassie's face fell when she remembered from where Talia was familiar. "You are the girl from the car… the one who went with Damon to the human town when I was..."

'SLAP!'

Cassie's eyes widened in shock when Talia slapped her.

Talia was equally shocked. This was her first time to hit a person! But Cassie was addressing Damon casually and Talia couldn't stand it.

Talia lifted her chin smugly. "It's ALPHA Damon. How dare you talk about Damon in such a friendly way?"

Cassie robotically reached for her cheek which didn't hurt much because Talia doesn't have the strength of a werewolf, but what received a devastating blow was Cassie's ego.

Talia's palm, on the other side, was throbbing painfully and Talia would shake her hand and cry if not for maintaining her high-and-mighty posture. Her hand was achy, but Talia felt the satisfaction of returning the slap that Cassie gave her in the packhouse of the Dark Howlers pack. It came late, but it still felt good.

Cassie's face turned ugly. "And what gives YOU the right to address him casually?"

"The right that you don't have, Missy…" Talia said smugly and hugged Damon's arm. "Do you get it now? You are nobody. A bad memory. Scram."

Cassie's fury swelled to the point of boiling and she lost it completely.

"You, wench!", Cassie screamed and moved toward Talia.

'SLAP!'

This slap came from Damon and it propelled Cassie backward until she fell on the butt unceremoniously.

There was no way that Damon would allow Cassie to hit Talia again. He still clearly remembers Cassie slapping Talia in the packhouse, and he regrets that he was not one second faster, to prevent it.

…

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...

"CASSIE!", Alpha Richard exclaimed while rushing toward them. He got into the hallway just in time to hear Cassie call Talia a wench and to see Damon slapping Cassie away (literally).

To make things worse, Alpha Richard didn't come alone. Several other people were right behind him, witnessing this, and making it an incident that can't be easily brushed off.

When Omega told him that Cassie and Damon are in the hallway and that his presence was requested, Alpha Richard asked people who were at his table to join him, with the hope that he can take advantage of the situation and the audience, but this was NOT what he had in mind.

Alpha Richard cursed internally while helping Cassie stand up. He told her to stay at home, but she insisted on coming because Cassie doesn't miss these events, and then Cassie said that she needs more time to get ready and he suspected that Cassie has a plan to get close to Damon, but he still thought she will be wise about it and not make a spectacle.

What did she do for Damon to hit her like that? Damn it!

Alpha Richard took a deep breath to compose himself. This is not a lost cause. His daughter got a beating and he can definitely turn this in his favor.

"Are you OK, pumpkin?", Alpha Richard asked sobbing Cassie whose cheek was swelling visibly. He turned to several Omegas who were observing the scene. "Ice! Bring an icepack!"

Damon put his arm around Talia and Talia glanced at Damon with eyes full of worry. Damon told her to not let anyone bully her, and she got carried away, but she didn't think that it will escalate so much. But Damon stood steady as a mountain and Talia leaned on him, basking in the comfort his presence provided.

"He hit me…", Cassie sobbed to her father. "Because of that woman… Damon hit me! And she hit me as well!" She was a pitiful image of a wrongly abused woman.

Too bad that no one other than her father dared to comfort her.

Omega with an icepack approached the group gingerly, and Damon called, "Come here."

Damon took the icepack and put it on Talia's palm, the one she used to slap Cassie.

"How does it feel?", Damon asked Talia in a low voice.

"It's fine. Thanks.", she responded in a whisper. Talia was touched by Damon's care and that he noticed her hand was achy. That icepack was soothing to her throbbing palm.

"Remind me to teach you evasive maneuvers you can use when someone wants to hit you in the face. I don't want you to end up like that." Damon's eyes darted toward Cassie. "As for this..." He looked at her palm with a frown. "Next time, use a fist."

Talia's smile widened. "Alright."

Alpha Richard's expression darkened at this public display of affection. That icepack was obviously for Cassie!

Alpha Richard waved toward lingering Omegas impatiently. "Get another one!"

Omega bowed and rushed to get an icepack, but she really wanted to stay and not miss a thing of what's coming.

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