Chapter 538 Talia, the negotiator

Damon spoke to the warriors about the changes in the border patrols, and he worked with his generals to select squads who will flush out the rogues from the neutral territory so that they can temporarily merge the border with the Spring Leaf pack.

This was new, and everyone was excited.

Talia was impressed that no one had concerns about this as dangers would come from rogues and potentially from the Spring Leaf pack.

'They will just follow your order even if they might be harmed?', Talia asked Damon through their mind-link. She knew that these were strong and prideful warriors, and she was worried that they might do something on their own when Damon is not watching over them.

'This is not just my order.', Damon responded. 'They see that Caden and Maya are supporting this, and when the leadership is united, the rest will follow. That's why it's important that we stand together in front of our people. If you have any objections, voice them in private.' He turned to look at her seriously. 'I will never oppose you or question you in front of others.' And probably not in private either. 'If I do that, others will see it as a sign of discord and distrust. I want our people to trust you as much as they trust me.'

Talia really admired Damon. He was one of the youngest Alphas around, yet he was so knowledgeable and she fell for him more.

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Damon selected a group of warriors to stick around and spar with James and George inside the training center so that Calvin (the reporter for WW Magazine) can take photos.

Damon and Talia sat on the exercising mats, with Damon's arm around Talia's shoulders as they observed the training.

Keith, Sandy, Lulu, Liam, Pierce, and Caleb were sitting nearby and occasionally looking at Talia and Damon. Talia could guess that they were talking through the mind-link, and she wanted to invite them to sit closer to her and Damon, but Damon explained that her recently appointed personal guards won't be comfortable.

'You can be friendly with them in private, but now that they know your identity, they will show you respect in front of others.', Damon said to Talia through their private mind-link. 'Don't think of it as demeaning. They are warriors and you are their superior. A military's might is amplified by discipline. We have a chain of command and rules to follow.'

Talia was aware that she would need some time to get used to this. She remembered that Maya and Caden would walk behind Damon and address him by his title in front of others, and when it was just them, things would be informal. Will she be able to strike such a balance with her guards and be OK with it? Especially with Keith. She always looked at him as her trainer, someone who can guide her. Can she treat him as a subordinate?

Talia decided to leave those thoughts for later. She knew that Damon was not just sitting next to her, he was monitoring the progress of removing rogues from the neutral territory by mind-linking the generals who were assigned to that task, but he was still by her side and Talia wanted to bask in his presence.

She leaned on Damon completely while looking at the stars of this show, James and George.

Talia was amused when she noticed Cornelia's various expressions. Cornelia grimaced when James punched someone, and her whole body tensed like she was about to jump in there when James received a hit.

Dawn just gazed at George dreamily, and if this was a cartoon, Dawn would have hearts in her eyes.

"Luna Talia!", a call was heard from the side. "Pardon me, I meant, Alpha Talia! Can I have a word with you?"

Talia needed a moment to recognize the man, it was Calvin, the reporter. What did he want?

"About what?", Talia asked.

Calvin sat on the exercising mat while keeping a respectable distance from Talia, and he extended his hand that was holding a recorder toward Talia.

"Alpha Talia, everyone would like to know, where did you meet Alpha Damon? When? How did it all unfold? When did you…"

"Calvin", Damon called in a dangerously low voice. He was pissed that the reporter was coming here to disturb them and ask for more even though they gave him a chance to interview Marcy and to cover this training. Normally, this area was off-limits for reporters because they might accidentally leak secrets that should stay within the military.

"You are here to interview Maya and to cover our collaboration with the Red Moon pack.", Damon reminded him.

Calvin licked his lips nervously. "I am, but…"

"No buts, Calvin", Damon interrupted him. "Are you so greedy for more that you will risk losing your current privileges?"

Talia saw that Calvin was torn. He really wanted to interview Talia, but he didn't want to anger Damon.

Calvin lowered his head and started moving away when Talia stopped him.

"Calvin, I hope you can understand that these are sensitive times, and we want my position to be stable within the pack before outsiders find out about it. There is a reason why we didn't disclose we were mates so far.", Talia said with all the seriousness in the world.

Calvin's eyes widened in understanding. "Are you saying that someone is targeting you?"

"For your safety, I can't talk about it now." If you don't leave willingly, Damon will put you in a dungeon. "How about you join us in the packhouse for breakfast after the pack run?" Hopefully, by then, this mess will be cleared up. "At that time, I can give you an exclusive interview. Think about it. In this way, you will have front-page stories for two editions of WW Magazine. The first one is your coverage of Marcy's statement, with a side story of our collaboration with the Red Moon pack. Your next big scoop will be about me. Of course, Alpha Damon will also be able to answer your questions at that time because the main story is that the Alpha of the Dark Howlers pack found his mate."

Calvin smiled happily, feeling that he was part of this process and not just a side character. "Alright. Take care, Alpha Talia." He bowed a little. "Alpha Damon. We will see each other in two days."

Talia confirmed. "Until then…" She put her index finger over her lips.

Calvin gestured with his fingers like he was locking his mouth and throwing the key away, and then he turned and left.

Damon was impressed. He was ready to use his aura to punish Calvin, or maybe he would throw the nosy reporter in the dungeon or maybe send him for survival training, yet Talia effortlessly negotiated with him. Isn't she the best?

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