Hide and seek (cont.)

After four buildings without any hints of Talia, Damon was frustrated.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?", Nora asked when she saw Damon spacing out in the middle of the hallway.

Damon shrugged and shook his head. He was not sure himself.

Nora stepped closer to him and spoke in a sultry voice, "Whatever you want, I can give you…"

Damon frowned. "Keep your distance, Miss Nora, or people might get the wrong idea."

She didn't move and his expression darkened.

"Do you want to start the rumors about us? I wonder, what would Alpha Edward say if he thinks there is something going on between us? I'm sure you are aware of my reputation. One more girl won't make a difference, but for you who tried to ruin Marcy's chances of becoming the Luna of the Dark Howlers pack..." Damon clicked his tongue.

Nora gave him a tight smile and increased the distance between them.

She got the message to stay away. For now.

Damon got immersed in his thoughts, completely ignoring Nora who fidgeted by his side.

He was recollecting everything he knew about Talia and trying to come up with something that makes sense.

Damon assumed that Talia is an Omega because she brought towels into his bathroom, and because of the poor treatment she received.

If she has any standing, Alpha Edward wouldn't be oblivious that she is mistreated. Of course, there was a possibility that Alpha Edward knew about it, and he was pretending to be oblivious. However, if he was concealing the issue, he would deny it and not tell Damon that he will talk to Marcy.

Damon spent the last decade among Alphas, and he learned a thing or two about reading them. He was confident that Alpha Edward didn't know that Marcy (and maybe someone else) is physically punishing Omegas.

Damon wanted to ask Nora if she knows something about beatings or the girl with copper-colored hair, but he quickly decided not to. He didn't want to appear to be snooping into something that is not his business and if anyone suspects that he is specifically interested in one girl with poor standing, that can backfire big time.

The last thing he wanted was to jeopardize Talia in any way.

He had to connect the dots on his own.

Anyone with such injuries will probably stay in bed, either in the pack hospital or in her room, and an Omega would help her out. Hell, even if she is an Omega, someone should take care of her and not let her search for food in the middle of the night.

The fact that she was looking for food in the middle of the night while injured, means that she didn't have dinner, and her skinny appearance told Damon that she skipped many other meals as well. His heart ached.

He thought that maybe she committed some crime and was being punished, but if she was imprisoned or tortured, she wouldn't be able to come to the kitchen, so he crossed off that as a possibility.

If Talia is an Omega, she would live in one of these common buildings, and Damon could pick up her scent.

Another mystery was, why would she look for food in the packhouse when there is a kitchen in each of these buildings?

The more Damon thought about it, the less sense it made. It all felt like he was trapped in a game of hide-and-seek.

He was exasperated and his mind was a mess.

His life was so much simpler before he saw that girl sneaking out of his room while Marcy was sucking him off.

Damon didn't want to think about Talia, and he couldn't believe that he spent so much time searching for her. The girl ran away, and she probably doesn't care about him.

The smartest thing to do is to leave this pack and return to his routine. Eventually, her addictive scent will fade from his mind, and he will be normal again.

Compared to this emotional turmoil, he will take Cassie's erratic screaming anytime.

…

Damon wanted to leave the Red Moon pack and go home. He really did. But as time passed, Damon realized that he couldn't leave without seeing the girl with the copper-colored hair again. Just one more time.

He wanted to ensure that she is fine. At least that's what he told himself.

Damon hoped that if he can inhale her sweet citrusy scent of freesia a few more times, he might get sated, or maybe he finds out that it's not affecting him anymore. And then there are those sparks that felt divine. Yes, he needs to feel those again also.

Just once and then he will leave.

Definitely.

Damon came up with a million reasons to see the girl he couldn't get out of his mind, and he roamed around the packhouse and community buildings, but with no luck.

It was like the girl simply disappeared.

Damon was desperate. Was she a ghost who came to torture him?

He was never this anxious.

Caden and Maya realized that Damon is acting strangely, but he didn't explain anything, no matter how many times they asked.

Damon was irritable and he said more than once how they are leaving, yet then he told them that they are staying longer.

To say that Maya and Caden were confused, was an understatement.

When Damon announced that they will stay another night, Caden and Maya started suspecting that Marcy or Alpha Edward drugged Damon or cast some mind-muddling spell on him because this was not Damon they knew.

Damon was never indecisive, and he never refused a naked woman (like Marcy they saw on the video), and this was enough proof for Caden and Maya that Damon is losing it.

Caden and Maya agreed that if Damon's behavior escalates, they will take him away by force. The plan was that Maya distracts Damon, and Caden whacks Damon in the head, and then they drag him into the car and drive away.

Oblivious to Caden's and Maya's plans, Damon thought about his situation and realized that there was only one thing for him to do.

He left his room around midnight and headed downstairs.

Damon sat in the kitchen of the packhouse with the lights off and waited. That's where he saw the copper-haired girl, so he hoped that she will show up again.

Damon didn't sleep the previous night, and he was not in his best shape, but his every muscle was tense, and he didn't feel like sleeping.

His mind was going through numerous scenarios of what he will say when the mysterious girl shows up, and how she will respond.

Will he play it cool and ask casually how she is doing?

Or maybe he should show a stern expression and demand an explanation to why she disappeared last night without a goodbye?

Or maybe he should make a pitiful expression and say how she hurt his feelings? Based on the internet, girls like it when a man exposes his vulnerable side.

Damon was still not sure if he should embrace this madness or reject Talia, but he knew that he had to see her.

His wolf would growl in displeasure whenever Damon thought about rejecting Talia as his mate, and whimper sadly when Damon worried why she is not there yet.

What if she is hurt? Did she leave? Is she hungry? Damon shoved his hand into his hair. Maybe the girl is fine and sleeping and he is an idiot for spending the night in the kitchen.

Seconds ticked into minutes that turned to hours, painfully slow, and Damon was exasperated when he saw dawn cracking through the window. She didn't come.

Damon was about to give up and head to his room when footsteps from the hallway got his attention.

He impatiently jumped to his feet, in hope that it's Talia.

Damon's handsome eyebrows came together when he saw a woman with a duster in her hand. A blonde Omega in her late-twenties.

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she stuttered. "Can… can I help you, Alpha Damon?"

Damon rubbed his chin. Can she help him? Maybe. He looked around, making sure they are not overheard.

"Can I ask you something, but you make sure it stays between us?"

The woman nodded fervently in small jerky movements.

"I'm trying to find a girl. I believe she is an Omega. This tall…", he gestured with his hand. "Skinny. Looks no older than a sixteen years old. Copper-colored hair this long…", he pointed below his shoulder.

The woman shook her head, indicating that she doesn't know the person Damon was searching for.

Damon remembered one more detail. "She wore old clothes that were oversized for her."

The woman made a thoughtful expression.

"You know her?", Damon asked in an urgent whisper while inching closer to the Omega who was now blushing profusely.

"I… I…", the words were stuck in her throat. He was too handsome and too close, and all this was too sudden. "She… maybe…"

"Yes? Yes!?", he asked impatiently.

She blinked rapidly. "The attic. There is a girl living in the attic."

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