Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
In terms of size, the packhouse was bigger than the one at the Red Moon pack.
They came from the side, but Dayson led the way toward the main entrance, so Talia saw the circular driveway and the lawn that had low green plants along its edges and several topiary trees that were cut in spiral shapes.
It was simple and elegant, and she liked it better than the lavish front of the packhouse of the Red Moon pack that had colorful fragrant bushes and small ponds.
They were approaching the main door, which was open, when Stephanie’s voice reached them.
“Any longer, and we would send a search party…”
Talia panicked at the realization that she is holding Dayson’s hand.
She tried tugging her hand free, but Dayson tightened his grip.
At the sight of Stephanie emerging from the door, Talia swiftly stepped behind Dayson in an attempt to hide their connected hands.
“Let go…”, Talia pleaded while trying to pry her hand free.
Dayson enjoyed Talia’s predicament. His grip was tight enough so that she can’t get free, yet not strong to cause pain.
Talia couldn’t believe this. He is the Alpha, and she is nobody. How can they hold hands? It’s not appropriate! If anyone sees them like this, she will become a target. Is that what he wants?
“You said that this is only if I trip or get lost.”, Talia spoke in an urgent whisper. “We are out of the forest, and we reached the packhouse, so…”
At this point, Stephanie was looking at the duo and waiting for them to acknowledge her presence. She didn’t see that Dayson was holding Talia’s hand, but she saw a girl struggling over something behind Dayson’s back and Stephanie didn’t know what to think about the scene in front of her.
Reluctantly, Dayson released Talia’s hand.
He felt the loss of Talia’s touch and balled his hands into fists in an attempt to stop himself from reaching for Talia again.
“Stephanie, this is the girl I mentioned. Talia.”
Stephanie looked at Talia who was still half-hidden behind Dayson, and she did her best not to frown at the sight of bruises on Talia’s face.
“Hello, Talia. I’m Stephanie. Welcome.”
“Hi”, Talia said apprehensively, and Stephanie waved at them to enter.
“Come on. The food is ready. We can talk inside.”
Talia observed the interior which was clean and neat with just the right touch of elegance. Large windows allowed ample light, giving it an open feel and she could pick up Dayson’s scent of the forest and dark chocolate lingering everywhere.
If she closed her eyes, she could easily mistake this place for a forest. Probably because of the scent and all the fresh air.
Somehow, she didn’t imagine that this is the place where a scary Alpha would live.
A few young ladies peeked at them from behind the corner. Talia didn’t miss hearts in their eyes as they looked at Dayson. Talia concluded that those are Omegas. If they have any standing, they would approach Dayson and talk to him.
The dining room had a rectangle-shaped dining table in the middle, big enough to fit twenty people.
The furniture was light gray in color, and chairs were cushioned in deep red, but Talia’s attention was on the food that smelled divine. There were fruits and waffles and several different spreads.
“I will get fresh coffee…”, Stephanie said and disappeared through the door on the left.
Dayson went toward his usual seat, at the head of the table, and he gestured for Talia to sit on his left.
“Do you want orange juice, milk, or coffee?”, Dayson offered to Talia.
She picked the orange juice and Dayson poured her a glass.
Jaeden and Maya joined them at the table.
Stephanie entered the dining room with a silver kettle that released steam from the top.
She poured the hot beverage into Dayson’s cup, and the aroma of fresh black coffee reached Talia’s nose. It mixed well with Dayson’s scent of dark chocolate.
“Did you come here for second breakfast?”, Stephanie asked Jaeden and Maya.
“How can I allow my Alpha to eat alone?”, Jaeden said with a straight face and beckoned Stephanie with his empty cup, indicating that he wants coffee also.
“Well, he is not alone…”, Maya said and the three of them looked at Dayson who was putting a waffle into Talia’s plate.
Dayson felt their gazes on him and grumbled. “Talia’s hand is hurt, and I’m helping. Stop staring like a circus came to town.”
Talia lowered her head in embarrassment. She told Dayson that she can manage, but he insisted and now everyone was looking at them.
“Ignore them.”, Dayson said. “Do you want a jam or syrup with that?”
“I’m not sure.”, Talia said honestly.
It was a long time since she ate fresh waffles, and things like jams and syrup were luxury items.
Another odd thing was that she was seated at the table, in a dining room, with people.
A lot of new things to process.
Talia noticed the absence of Omegas. At the Red Moon pack, Omegas were always around, ready to serve Alpha, Beta, and their guests. It’s not that Talia wanted someone to serve her, but Stephanie going to get coffee and everyone getting food on their own was unusual.
After Stephanie poured coffee to everyone who wanted some, she also joined them at the table and grabbed a handful of grapes to munch on.
Without Talia’s input on waffle toppings, Dayson placed a few strawberries next to the waffle and a dollop of whipped cream, and then he drizzled syrup over half of the waffle, and he applied plum jam on the other half.
Talia rejected Dayson’s offer to feed her. “You already prepared everything. Please, don’t…”
She stopped talking when Dayson started cutting the waffle into bite-sized pieces.
“Talia…”, Dayson called, and she looked at him who was totally focused on cutting the waffle. “These are Jaeden and Maya, Betas of the Shadow Fang pack. And that is Stephanie. She takes care of the packhouse. If you need anything, you can ask them. They might be nosy, but the three of them are here to help me run this pack and they are doing a great job. Neither of them will tease or bully you, but if they make you uncomfortable, you should let them know. In time, you will get used to their sense of humor.”
Dayson pushed the plate with a cut waffle in front of Talia and gave her a fork. “Now, eat.”
Dayson’s tone didn’t allow for objections. Not that Talia had any. She was happy that he didn’t feed her how he did in the hotel. That would be super embarrassing.
She mumbled a thank you and started eyeing the food on her plate, silently deciding from where to start.
Maya and Jaeden exchanged knowing looks, but they didn’t say anything, not even through the mind-link, because they didn’t want to risk Dayson overhearing them (again).
Dayson’s expression was stern, and he sounded bossy, as usual, but it was undeniable that he was giving extra attention to Talia. It was something no other girl received so far.
A blissful smile appeared on Talia’s face as the buttery waffle with a hint of vanilla melted in her mouth together with the sweetness of the plum jam.
‘Jaeden told me that this girl is different, but only now I realized how much…’, Stephanie’s voice reached Dayson through the mind-link.
Dayson guessed that Stephanie was alluding to the way he helped Talia with food.
‘There is nothing wrong with me helping the girl out.’, Dayson said and took a sip of coffee nonchalantly.
‘I never said that it’s wrong.’, Stephanie immediately responded.
It was not wrong, but Dayson never took a personal interest in any of the new members.
Stephanie knew that Dayson waited for Talia at the pack hospital, gave her his old room on the third floor, and now served her food. This was unheard of.
Stephanie was not considering the possibility that Dayson had romantic feelings toward Talia.
She thought of Dayson as a child, and compared to him, Talia looked like a little girl, innocent, in need of protection, and not romancing.
On top of that, Talia was shy, timid, and less flashy than many who were after Dayson, definitely not a seductress. It’s like her presence was small and she was forgettable, even though her face had pretty features.