No matter how eager Axel was to meet Talia, based on the information Maddox provided, Axel knew that Damon and Talia were in a relationship, and he told himself to be patient. As long as he sticks to Damon, it's inevitable that he will see Talia.

Every member of the Midnight Guardians pack keeps secrets, and they are doing it for a reason. If Axel was right, and Talia is the missing child, that should be kept a secret from Damon, regardless of whether Talia awakened her powers or not, because Damon is an outsider.

Kai and Tyler went with Dawn and Zina straight to their rooms, and Axel headed to the lounge after dismissing Dawn and Zina with, "I know the way. Thank you."

Damon was aware that Axel and his party arrived at the packhouse, and he looked at the door of the lounge a few seconds before Axel appeared.

"Did you encounter issues during your trip?", Damon asked as Axel approached him with his hand outstretched for a handshake.

"No issues.", Axel responded, pleased that Damon shook his hand.

Axel glanced at Maddox who was scrolling on his phone and scribbling something on a piece of paper while his face changed rapidly from surprise to shock, outrage, delight... and then it was back to thoughtful.

"Did something happen?", Axel asked while gesturing with his chin toward Maddox.

In addition to the strange behavior, Maddox didn't even acknowledge his presence! But Axel was not angry because he spent quite some time with Maddox on the phone recently, and they could be considered close friends.

"Max met his mate this morning and…" Damon paused while picking words that wouldn't offend Maddox. "Things didn't go well."

Axel was speechless and he looked at Maddox with pity.

"Did he get rejected?", Axel asked Damon in a hushed voice.

"No. But he got close to it. As you can see, he is a mess."

Axel was unable to hide his curiosity. Finding a mate is a big deal, especially for an Alpha, and Maddox messed it up? What does that mean? He really wanted to know more.

"Let me know if I can help."

Damon shook his head. "You won't understand, and you can't help."

Axel frowned at Damon. It's one thing to say that he can't help, but what was that about not understanding? Did he imply that Axel was stupid?

"How about you tell me what happened and let me see if I can understand it?", Axel asked, unable to conceal his displeasure.

Damon shrugged and responded, "Max found his mate, took her to his room, and they were welcomed by two naked she-wolves who were there already."

Axel stared at Damon blankly while processing this information.

Damon smirked. "See? I told you. You won't understand because it's impossible to comprehend the infinite stupidity of a horny Alpha."

"Don't act like you are a saint.", Maddox growled. He glanced at Axel and nodded in a silent greeting.

Damon raised his hands defensively toward Maddox. "Don't put me in the same bucket with you. Besides, this is not about me. You need to fix it on your own if you want Tanya to see your sincerity. And aren't I helping? Without me, you would still be drinking and sulking."

Maddox wanted to object, but he stopped himself before he said anything. Damon was right. Without Damon, Maddox wouldn't think of going to the internet to search for the best ways to cajole a woman.

However, it was not straightforward because there were so many different tips and Maddox was confident some of them were decoys written by bitter women to make men crash and burn.

Complimenting Tatiana, gifting flowers, jewelry and perfumes sounded acceptable, but what was that about writing her poems, and singing? Do they really expect him to learn how to play guitar?

Be spontaneous? How can a man be spontaneous when under pressure to impress a woman?

Sure, watching the sunrise together sounds great, but how the hell is he supposed to reach that point?

There was a stream of articles about whisking her away on a romantic weekend. Did that mean kidnapping was allowed and women like it?

Surprise her. Respect her. Be honest. Be mysterious. Ask permission. Make her feel special. Don't shy from expressing your affection. Keep things private. Be available. Don't be intrusive. Call often. Don't suffocate her. Learn about her likes and dislikes. Don't pry into her private matters.

Maddox thought that his brain will explode. Don't authors of those tips realize they are contradicting each other?

The point of how women are emotionally driven was complete bullshit! If Tatiana followed her emotions, she would stick to Maddox no matter what because mate bond comes first, and he is a hot piece of ass!

Maddox and Tatiana were less than a minute away from going at it and Maddox was confident that Tatiana wanted it just as he did! But then… why did she leave?

Sure, she was angry because her pride was hurt, but why didn't she slap him a few more times to get it out of her system and then drag him to bed?

Nothing made sense.

…

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...

Maddox would occasionally sigh or groan, and Damon had enough of it. Besides, he had more important things to do, and that included talking to Axel.

Was Axel really interested in training? He can do that in his own pack.

With the reputation of the Midnight Guardians pack being an isolated pack and not mingling with outsiders, Axel coming here two times within one month was unusual and Damon believed that this might be related to Talia.

Damon saw Axel looking at Talia, and Damon didn't like it.

Being nice to Talia had nothing to do with how Damon treated others and he wanted to clarify important points with Axel: Talia was taken, and Axel needed to drop whatever ideas he had about her.

"I need to talk to you.", Damon told Axel. "Do you mind joining me in the study for…"

"You are leaving me?", Maddox's question interrupted Damon.

Damon frowned. Since when was Maddox clingy?

"You have things under control.", Damon responded.

"I don't.", Maddox admitted grumpily. Seeing that Damon was not willing, Maddox turned to Axel. "I need support."

Axel shifted on his feet. "I am not the right person to give relationship advice."

"That's fine. I need moral support. And you can give me your opinion on these…" Maddox waved the paper where he was jotting ideas. "At least tell me if I will make a complete ass of myself."

Axel glanced at Damon. "We can talk later, right? I plan to stay here for a few days."

Damon grumbled in displeasure before pointing out for Maddox, "You should really ask girls about this. I recommend Maya." Goddess knows Maya always has something to say.

Axel's ears perked up at the mentioning of girls and he suppressed his urge to ask if that includes Talia.

Maddox's brows came together in concern. "All girls are together, and Maya probably heard what happened. Do you think she will help?"

Damon had to agree that Maddox had a point.

Axel looked at Damon and Maddox and he couldn't believe his ears. "If both of you are aware that your lecherous ways are disrespecting women and will come to bite you when you find your mate, why do you keep doing it?"

Damon gritted his teeth in annoyance, but he couldn't rebuke Axel's words. If this was before Talia came into his life, Damon would argue, however, now it was different.

"There is no point in talking about the past.", Damon said diplomatically. "We need to assess the current situation and make plans for minimizing damage and turning this catastrophe into something beautiful."

Seeing that both Maddox and Axel stared at him, Damon asked, "What?"

"This flowery tongue…", Maddox said. "Is that Talia's influence?"

Damon didn't deny it. "She makes me a better man."

In the face of Maddox's pleading gaze, Damon caved in. "Alright. Let me see what you came up with. Axel, take a seat… we can talk later."

Axel eyed Damon cautiously. Damon just admitted that he is entangled with Talia and that sounded alarm bells in Axel's head. If they are serious, it would be a problem to take Talia with him.

Axel really wanted to ask Damon about the nature of his relationship with Talia, but he knew that this was not the right time.

If their relationship was something that should be publicized, Damon would do it a long time ago, probably during the Summer Solstice festival.

At that time, Axel assumed that Talia was a passing entertainment for Damon that will pass shortly, but then Damon took her to the event at the Lightclaw pack, and now she was here with other females, and Axel was not sure what to think.

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