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It was obvious that Maya arranged for them to have a piece of the beach only for themselves, but this was more like putting them at the center of attention.

Damon opened the door for Talia and asked, "Are you alright?"

Talia gave him a stiff smile. Of course, Damon could sense her emotions, and based on her personality, he had a good guess about what was bothering her. If Talia said that others should leave, Damon will probably do it, but she didn\'t want to be the bully. The lake and the beach belong to the whole pack.

"Yeah. Fine.", she responded choppily.

He leaned closer and his breath splashed on her cheek, "It\'s OK, kitten. I am right by your side no one will bother you."

"Everyone is watching." She tried inching away, but Damon continued leaning and maintaining that minuscule distance between them.

"Everyone was watching last night also, and you dared to kiss me." He smirked. "Do it again."

Talia fidgeted in her seat. Last night they were in the Shifters nightclub, and it was dark, and she got carried away by the mood and… "Maybe later."

Damon chuckled and pecked her cheek. "You will get used to it."

Talia was not sure about it. She loved every minute with Damon, but this attention made her feel like she had ants crawling under her skin.

Talia released a slow breath and steeled her resolve. "Let\'s go."

She didn\'t want to make a big deal out of her discomfort. If she can\'t push through this, then she wouldn\'t be worthy of being Damon\'s mate, and she would do anything to be with him.

Talia took Damon\'s hand that he offered her, and they walked toward the beach.

The more time Talia spent with Damon, the more she realized that they had one thing in common: they both grew up lonely.

Talia was alone in the attic, while Damon was alone as an Alpha.

She couldn\'t imagine the amount of pressure Damon endured with people watching his every step, scrutinizing and evaluating if he is a good Alpha.

Talia hoped that Damon knew he was not alone anymore because she was right by his side, and she was not going anywhere.

Damon paid attention to Talia\'s fluctuating emotions, and he was pleased to confirm that Talia was overcoming her insecurities, and she did all that without her wolf.

He admired her profusely.

Most of the werewolves let their beast handle conflicts, and without their wolves, they are sorry existences, yet Talia was facing the world on her own.

Damon was happily observing the changes in Talia as her wolf was waking up.

Talia was using her powers subconsciously like they were part of her from the beginning.

Damon confirmed that Talia\'s aura can suppress others on the level of an Alpha, maybe stronger. Talia healed him, delivered punches without touching opponents, influenced someone\'s mind, and Damon was wondering how strong she will become once she intentionally collaborates with her wolf.

Sure, the old girl (aka Talia\'s wolf) might give him some hard time, but Damon was used to facing challenges and he was confident that Talia\'s wolf won\'t reject him no matter how grumpy she might be because wolves cherish the mate bond above everything. Besides, Damon\'s wolf will handle Talia\'s. Hopefully.

While thinking about wolves, Damon realized that he could feel the presence of his wolf for more than a day, but the old guy didn\'t say anything, so Damon called, \'Are you there?\'

\'I\'m here\', his wolf responded.

\'Why are you silent?\'

\'I didn\'t want to interrupt your time with mate. Besides, you are doing well without me\', Damon\'s wolf said, and Damon could feel that his wolf was happy. The old guy was enjoying the show.

…

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...

Caden was driving a car with Tony in the front passenger\'s seat and Paul and Nate in the back. A second car was following them with Greg, Axel, Kai, and Tyler.

Those eight individuals were on their way to the beach after training.

The newcomers checked the training grounds, went over the schedule with Caden who introduced them to two generals who will help them train (aka Adam and Imre), and then they did a round of sparring.

"Don\'t be disheartened.", Caden said to Tony, breaking the stifling silence in the car. "It\'s only the first day. You came here to learn and improve."

"Of course", Tony responded stiffly, unable to conceal his displeasure.

Actually, Tony was not sure if he could look Caden in the eyes. He was embarrassed and his motivation was crushed. Can he even be an Alpha? He really wanted to snuggle with Kalina and not come out of seclusion until they are old. After the pitiful performance they displayed, Tony was confident that there are many candidates who are more capable than he was to take over the Lightclaw pack.

This morning was a complete failure.

What happened?

After they met Adam and Imre, Caden suggested a round of sparring so that they can gauge their abilities in fighting.

They drew lots to establish pairings, and there were four simple no-no rules: no deadly moves, no weapons, no shifting into wolf form, no using aura.

Tony was concerned about the no-aura rule because he would use it to suppress whoever wanted to give him trouble.

Without his Alpha Aura, Tony knew that he will need to rely on his speed, strength, and skill. He never trained seriously, so he was not confident in his skills, but his speed and strength are enviable, and he hoped it will be enough to compensate for his shortcomings.

Seeing that big-shots were preparing to spar, about a dozen of warriors who were in the area approached to observe matches, and more were trickling in by the second.

What Tony didn\'t expect was he and his three guys (Paul, Nate, and Greg) will be totally wiped out.

Paul went first, with Imre as his opponent, and Paul went down after about a dozen exchanges. To Tony\'s shock, it was obvious that Imre went easy on Paul.

Greg sparred with Kai, and Nate with Tyler.

Both Greg and Nate were pinned on the floormat in less than thirty seconds without a chance to land a solid blow to their opponents.

Axel sparred with Adam in a drawn-out fight that lasted nearly half an hour where both of them showed excellent stamina and skills. They stopped without clearly deciding on a victor and settling with a tie as an outcome, both pleased about the quality of the fight. Based on the cheers from the audience, the show was to their liking.

Next, Tony faced Caden who toyed with Tony like he was facing a child, at least that\'s how Tony saw it. For more than five minutes, Caden would avoid or block Tony\'s attacks with ease, without even attempting to counterattack.

Fueled by the embarrassment of being so helpless, Tony released his Alpha Aura.

"You lose by default.", Caden said to Tony before reminding him, "Aura is not allowed in friendly spars. It kills the purpose of comparing strength and skills if you subdue me with other means."

Tony quickly retracted his aura and apologized, but what truly shocked Tony was that Caden was only slightly affected by it. What kind of monsters are in this pack?

And it was not only the Dark Howlers pack, but Axel, Kai, and Tyler were also impressive. Sure, Axel is the future Alpha, but Kai and Tyler are just Beta and Gamma, and they don\'t even look so muscular, do they need to be so overpowering?

Tony wondered if these guys are exceptions, or if he and his group were so miserable.

Tony wished that Meg didn\'t go shopping. Other than being the smartest person Tony ever met, Meg is the fastest and the most skilled fighter in their group, and he was confident that Meg would be able to put up a solid fight against one of Damon\'s generals.

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