Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
‘Talia is a quiet girl. She didn’t say anything, but I think she likes it.’, Stephanie responded.
Dayson remembered that when it was just the two of them, in the forest, Talia was talking and smiling, and she didn’t make a big deal about them holding hands until Stephanie showed up.
It told him that Talia was comfortable with him, only him. It made him smile a little.
Dayson concluded there is a good chance that in the right environment, Talia will come out of her shell.
‘How long is Cassie staying?’
Stephanie’s question which came through their mind-link pulled Dayson out of his thoughts.
‘I don’t know. Probably as usual.’, Dayson responded honestly.
He wanted to chase Cassie away, but he already snapped at her, which is something he never did before, and if he does anything more drastic than that, Cassie will definitely be suspicious.
‘Can you tell Talia not to pay attention to Cassie?’, Dayson asked Stephanie.
‘I will.’
‘Did Talia say what she plans to do later?’
‘Rest.’
Dayson wanted to ask more, but it would risk exposing himself more than he already did, so he decided to stop.
Talia will rest, and he had a lot of emails to go through.
He will check on her later.
Cassie entered her room (aka the guest bedroom on the second floor where she usually stays when she visits the Shadow Fang pack), and she paced while biting her nails.
She understood loud and clear that Dayson wanted her out of here, but how can she leave? She just got here!
Dayson was never ecstatic to see her, but she always played her role of an airhead perfectly. She would ignore his grumpiness and accept any affection, and he never told her to leave. What changed?
Cassie got her phone and called her father.
“Hi, pumpkin…”, her father said in a singing voice that doesn’t sound like it should belong to a vicious Alpha Richard of the Steelbite pack.
“Hi, daddy…”, Cassie spoke in a whiny voice which told him that something is not right.
“What happened?”
“Dayson told me to scram.”
He snorted. “What did you do?”
“Nothing. Really. Absolutely nothing. I arrived and I wanted to greet him, but he acted like I have a plague or something. He used his Alpha pressure to make me submit and told me not to appear unless I have an appointment. I’m not sure what to do now. I don’t want to leave. He just returned after spending two days with Marcy and I need to find out how far they went. But if I insist, I might irritate him more.”
“Relax, dear”, Alpha Richard said.
“How can I relax?”
“Nothing happened with Marcy. I spoke with Alpha Edward and he said that things are looking good, but he didn’t say that they sealed the deal either. It doesn’t matter how far he went with Marcy or with any other woman, as long as he didn’t agree to the Luna ceremony.”
“But if he didn’t fall for Marcy, why did he avoid me?”
Alpha Richard thought for some time before responding. “It sounds to me that he is under stress.”
Cassie snorted. “If he is under stress due to some random thing, he doesn’t need to vent on me.”
“Don’t you want to be his Luna?”
“Yes, yes!”, Cassie confirmed enthusiastically.
“Then, you should learn to read his mood. Alpha’s job is not easy. Other than managing his pack, Dayson needs to handle relationships with other packs also. It’s a job that never ends. When things are good, it’s easy. But when he hits a rough patch, as his Luna, you need to observe and listen, and help him if you can, and if you can’t then don’t bother him.”
Cassie pouted while thinking about her father’s words. “But… how can I observe and listen if he doesn’t let me come close?”
“He was probably irritable, and you came suddenly. I know you are a ball of energy, but you need to do it gradually so that he doesn’t notice you coming. It’s all about the right approach.”
Cassie smiled. “Thank you, daddy. You always know what to say.”
“Of course, pumpkin. Give him some time to cool off and try again but be more subtle. If all fails, be vulnerable. Real men love helping a lady in distress. And don’t forget to pretend that you are clueless. If he suspects that you are putting on an act, he will really kick you out.”
“Got it, daddy.”
Cassie sent a smacking air kiss to the phone before ending the call.
She plopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Right. She needs to give time to Dayson to cool off and then she will try approaching him again. Later.
But what should she do until later?
…
In the study room…
Dayson was still going through his emails when Jaeden entered after a brief knock.
“I’ve got you these to check and sign.”, Jaeden said while putting a stack of papers on Dayson’s desk.
Dayson frowned at Jaeden’s gifts. “Did Cassie leave?”
“Not that I know of, and I have no intention of going to her room to check.”
Dayson’s frown deepened. “That’s not her room.”
Jaeden chuckled. “You know that she always stays in that room, and no one else uses it, so… it’s Cassie’s.”
Dayson rubbed his forehead and Jaeden observed him curiously. “What’s got into you?”
“She is annoying.”
Jaeden agreed. “Cassie was always annoying. But what I don’t know is what changed with you to suddenly tell her that she can’t come without an appointment. You used your Alpha on her.”
Dayson paused. How is he supposed to answer this? “Cassie is acting like she owns the place, bossing Omegas around and upsetting Steph.”
Jaeden nodded in slow motion. “Cassie always did that, but you never cared. When I asked you why we are allowing Cassie to stay, you would always give me a half-smirk and say how she has her uses. Did her pussy go bad or something?”
Dayson exhaled irritably. “Maybe I’m tired of her shit.”
He really didn’t want to explain.
Dayson knew that Jaeden was suspicious, and he knew that Talia being his mate can’t be hidden at this rate, but he didn’t have a solution.
Before anyone finds out that Talia is his mate, Dayson needed to prepare himself and Talia for those who will come after Talia in order to get to him. She will be put on the spot, scrutinized, hunted. Some will come openly, and some will act from the shadows.
Dayson didn’t want to see that. He wanted to see Talia energetic and happy, just how she was in the forest, earlier that day.
The other option was for Dayson to get his act together and to convince everyone that Talia is just a girl who doesn’t mean anything. But how can he do that when every woman he met so far is just a vague outline, while he can remember every speck of golden in Talia’s honeyed eyes?
Dayson would need to be indifferent toward Talia and allow women like Cassie to get close to him.
He didn’t care for Cassie. Her or any other, it didn’t make much difference for Dayson, but now just the thought of contact with any other woman was repulsive.