No one in the room had time to react to what happened next.
Tabia felt her body thrown against the couch as Paul, Mark and Aiden rushed past her towards Talyn and Dannick wrestling against the wall as paintings crash to the floor. The three men pushed against Dannick trying to pull him away from their Beta, before they could grasp at his shoulder to pull him back Dannick's left leg planted a kick on Aiden's chest sending him flying onto the coffee table, another swift kick went across marks' jaw flipping him across the room and into the wall as glass shattered around him from falling picture frames. A third kick into Paul's gut brought him to his knees and the thud of his body hitting the floor was heard after Dannick's fist connected with his temple. His Grip still digging deep into Talyn's jugular, Dannick turned barring elongated canines with eyes burning blood red and nostrils flaring as Talyn's body plastered against the wall, his feet dangling off the floor.
"Dannick, stop! You can't 'kill him, please!"
Tabia's small fists pounded on Dannick's solid shoulder as she cried in fear. She needed both men in one piece or everything they've sacrifice would be in vain.
Talyn gripped both hands around Dannick's wrist trying to free himself while coughing and gasping for air. Dannick quickly released his hold then looked around the room at the groaning men twisting their bodies in pain then gasped in horror at what he'd done.
"Hell yeah! Next time I want full control Nick, you can't have all the fun."
Dannick ignored his wolf counterpart as he tried to comprehend the scene around him then Talyn's raspy voice broke the silence in the room.
"You see how strong you are and that was not even a fraction of your strength. You are not a weak boy Dannick, you're a strong and talented man who we all know is ready for whatever this world will throw at you. Our Moon Goddess didn't choose wrong. We have faith in you and now it's up to you to have faith in yourself."
Dannick mouth gaped. "You did this on purpose? Look at what I've done I could have killed you!"
Talyn walked leisurely towards the chair where his shirt still lay neatly. Massaging and rotating his neck and shoulders he looked at his three strongest fighters still groaning as they gathered to stand while also rubbing and rotating their necks and extremities.
"Nah, it takes way more than that to kill me. You did quite a job on my neck though, Saber is impressed, but I'll be all good and new in a few minutes."
Aiden glared his hazel eyes at Talyn and grunted. "Speak for yourself, I'm going to need a whole day to recover from this. Give us a heads up next time you want to get us pummeled to get your point across, Beta."
Talyn let out a throaty laugh then looked at Aiden. "Now what good would it do if I told you my plan, it wouldn't have felt realistic enough to provoke Dannick's anger now would it?"
Aiden huffed then dropped himself in the lazy boy.
Mark held a palm to his jaw while opening and closing his mouth, avoiding Dannick's gaze". "I think my molars are loose; how will I eat my steaks now? Talyn, you better be ready to pay up and repair my teeth when the time comes. I'll probably be the only werewolf in the pack with veneers, that's just insane! No offense my Alpha."
"Yeah, not your best plan Talyn. I don't know what pain to focus on more, my swollen brain or my crushed liver. I need a strong drink." Paul lowered himself on the chaise to lie down then closed his eyes letting out a long relieving breath.
"You guys whine more than watches, am I the only one with accelerated healing around here? Get some protein in your system and rest up, we have a long day ahead of us."
Dannick nervously cleared his throat looking from the complaining trio then to Talyn, then ask.
"So, werewolves really do have accelerated healing? How fast do they heal and what other powers do they have?"
"You're still speaking of werewolves as if they're creatures of legends and not living, breathing beings staring right at you. Their Alpha and leader, by the way, also happens to be a werewolf."
Talyn looked at Dannick with a small smile then winked. "To answer your question yes, we heal much faster than the average human, the more serious the wound the more time we need to heal but usually a few hours to two days. Vampires heal almost instantly which is ridiculously unfair but at least we get to use the sun as part of our healing process."
Dannick's eyes widen in shock. "Vampires are real too, no way! What else is out there, tell me everything. Are we friendly with them, do we team up to fight common enemies?"
Everyone looked at Dannick incredulously.
"Hell no, we're not friendly with those disgusting creatures!" Mark lifted his head to say.
"They're demons my Alpha, stay away from them. They bring nothing but death wherever they go." Aiden shook his head and gave Dannick a knowing look.
"Common enemy, they are the enemy! They hide in darkness like the malicious demons they are and kill for sport and think they're better than us. We protect both our pack and even humans from those abominations!" Paul spat out as he messaged his lower back.
Dannick's mouth twitched, he regretted asking the question. He was fascinated by what he was hearing, however. Not only was he a creature of legend and their leader, but other creatures of legends were also real. Suddenly his world didn't seem so small and was growing by the minute.
"Don't listen to those three knuckle heads, the vampires are not prominent in this area and keeps to their covens like we do in our packs. We don't associate with them much but we do run into them from time to time. We don't consider them friends or allies but they're not our enemies. There've been a truce for a few decades now. In the past, the two races came to realize they had a common enemy, humans. So, leaders from wolf packs and vampire covens came together on neutral ground and created a peace treaty, the documents are in your father's office among the other peace treaties we've signed over the years.
"Wow, this is a lot. How did I spend all these years without remembering any of this, your tea is that powerful aunt Tabby?"
Tabia didn't speak for a while. She stood near the couch where Paul lie groaning and rubbing his stomach. She was still fighting back tears from looking at Talyn's back and knowing how much her brother had suffered. She knew how much he valued family and how much he loved his wife, his fated mate, the pain he's endured all these years should have broken him but he stood strong and even kept his humor in the face of it all. She was so proud of him and hope with all her might Dannick would free them all and perhaps someday her brother would be reunited with his family and she could go back to her beloved land to see for herself the damages to the blood flower tree.
Tabia sniffed then wiped her nose before responding to Dannick with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Our pack has many talented people my Alpha, I just happen to be one of them. Herbology was taught to me by my grandmother, it's a talent passed down from generations to the first-born girl. My grandmother didn't have daughters so it was passed down to me."
Dannick furrowed his brow and said carefully. "Do you have a daughter to pass it on to?"
Tabia looked down uneasily then said in a low voice. "No, I don't have any children. You are the closest to a child I've ever had. Not to worry though, when the time comes, I will teach the right person everything I know."
Dannick and the others looked to each other uncomfortably clearing their throats. It was evident that it was not only Talyn whom made huge sacrifices for the good of the pack but everyone in the room. They gave up their lives and protected Dannick to ensure that he fulfilled his destiny and save their people.
Talyn broke the tension in the room with a sharp clap that snapped the melancholy out of the air.
"Well, I am starving. Come Alpha Dannick, let's get you fed before our long journey. I will fill you in with all of the pack's history and current events, Tabia will explain the particulars of the ceremony and those three will fill you in on the territory and security details. By the time you get on pack lands, you should be well informed."
The group walked towards the kitchen with Dannick and Beta Talyn leading, even though they were still in pain, Mark, Paul and Aiden respectfully followed. They felt the change in the air and they were hopeful for the future, hope that great things were coming.