Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Cornelia was visibly upset. She looked at James and wondered if he knew about it. Was he part of it? Is that why he was reluctant to accept her as his mate?
James didn’t know about it. Before meeting Cornelia, James thought that witches were old women with hairy warts on their noses who live in secluded caves, or maybe in houses that were made from candy to lure children and eat them. But no matter what witches looked like, if there was a plot to gain more power, James believed that his family would be part of it.
Seeing that James was silent, Cornelia turned to Talia. “That can’t be related to us. Our realm was sealed for centuries.”
“Do you know why it was sealed?”, Talia asked.
“No. But it was closed from the outside. We assume it was done to trap us.”
“Or to protect you.” It was James who said this.
While they were in the forest, earlier that morning, Cornelia had shown James a few tricks and he saw the silvery light coming out of her fingers that reminded him of stories about the members of the Midnight Guardians pack. He thought those were lies or gibberish from a drunk person, but after meeting Cornelia, James realized that those stories were probably true, even though they might be exaggerations.
“Marcy spoke of witches”, James said. “However, what if it was not witches but people who have other abilities? We all heard rumors that members of the Midnight Guardians pack have mystical powers.”
“Those are not rumors.”, Talia said and lifted her arm in front of her.
They all ended up staring at her palm which was glowing in silvery light.
“I am from the Midnight Guardians pack.”, Talia said, dispelling the last shred of doubts from people who gaped at her.
Maya and Jaeden were secretly happy because now they could ask Talia about that white and dark light they saw when Talia was holding onto unconscious Dayson.
“Talia…”, Dayson called with worry obvious in his voice. He didn’t want her to reveal her powers in front of so many people.
“It’s OK.”, Talia assured him. “We are all friends and if we are going to make the existence of witches public, this right here is a good place to start.”
Talia trusted Maya and Jaeden, and she knew that Mindy and Dawn will support her. Gideon is a shaman, and no matter how much he and Dayson bickered, Gideon never did anything against Dayson which spoke about Gideon’s integrity. As for James and George, Talia was confident that they won’t have bad intentions considering who their mates were.
“I don’t know much about witches and I don’t believe I am one, but I can do this.”, Talia said and closed her palm into a fist, making the silvery light flash before disappearing.
“The light in the lake when Tanya was stuck at the bottom and Max went to rescue her… that was you?”, Mindy asked.
Talia confirmed with a nod and spoke to everyone before Mindy could ask more questions, “We will make this work only if we open up. Secrets won’t help. I agree with James. Marcy spoke about witches, but what if the Silver Flame Coven is not the only one out there? Or what if that applied to the members of my pack?”
Dayson flinched when Talia said ‘my pack’ for the Midnight Guardians pack, but he didn’t want to fuss about it. Soon, Talia will become his Luna officially (actually, Alpha, when he figures out technicalities of two equals leading one pack), and the Midnight Guardians pack will fall into the background, as it should. At least that’s what Dayson thought.
“Are you saying that we are not safe in your realm?”, Cornelia asked while shrinking in her seat. The idea of her being used for breeding was extremely unsettling.
“At this point, I’m not sure.”, Talia responded honestly. “That’s why we are here. I want to get to the bottom of this and I hope you will help me.”
James noticed Cornelia’s discomfort, and he was quick to put his arm around her shoulders and give her a gentle squeeze of reassurance. His heart soared when Cornelia leaned on him, it meant that she trusted him. James liked that.
“How can we help?”
Talia was glad that James volunteered. “First, we need to know if this is current, or it stopped with your grandfather. Only by understanding what we are dealing with, we can come up with a plan to end it. At this point, we have only one lead, your grandfather’s journals that Marcy mentioned. Do you know where they could be?”
James shook his head. “I was four years old when grandfather died, and I don’t remember him. But I can look in the storage and see if I can find anything.”
“It won’t be in plain sight.”, Talia said. “Check the safe deposit behind the portrait in the main study of Alpha Edward, and a hidden compartment behind the North wall in the library… the secret passage in the double-door of the third bedroom on the second floor…”
James’ eyes widened as Talia spoke. “How do you know about those?”
“I know your packhouse probably better than you do.”, Talia said mysteriously. She spent years sneaking around there, and at night she was free to explore.
“Make sure Alpha Edward doesn’t suspect you.”, Dayson said while trying to divert James’ attention away from Talia.
“I know what to do.”, James said with confidence. He perfected his act so that Alpha Edward believes he was ignorant and obedient, and probably stupid.
“Will you go with James to the Red Moon pack?”, Talia asked Cornelia.
“I…”, Cornelia was not sure how to respond to this.
“We didn’t talk about it.”, James said while tightening his hold on Cornelia.
James didn’t think about what will happen after he leaves the Shadow Fang pack. There was no time to think about such things!
But in just a second, James saw more than a dozen of red flags related to the idea of Cornelia cohabiting with him in the packhouse of the Red Moon pack. However, being apart from her was also difficult to swallow.
James looked at Cornelia and he felt his stomach tightening. Before last night he was not aware of her existence, and only a few hours ago he confirmed they were mates. James was still at a stage where he couldn’t fully feel the bond, yet he couldn’t bear the thought of being apart from her. That was not like him, but there was nothing he could do about it. He really wanted to tie her up to him, so they can always be together. But he needed a plan to keep her safe, because if his father finds out about Cornelia, it won’t end well, even without the whole breeding-with-witches nightmare.
Talia didn’t want to influence Cornelia’s decision, but Talia knew firsthand how badly Omegas were treated in the Red Moon pack. Without her wolf or Aura, as an outsider, Cornelia will be categorized as the lowest Omega there is.
“I will go with George.”, Dawn spoke to Cornelia. “I know a thing or two about Alpha Edward, and I assume that you shouldn’t reveal your identity as James’ mate, and that means you shouldn’t go to the packhouse.” Dawn turned to George. “Can she stay with us?”
George confirmed, and explained to the confused witch, “I have a villa that provides privacy. Dawn and I will be there with a handful of trustworthy staff. We can give you a bedroom, and you are welcome to stay with us. James can visit you when his schedule allows. However, if you plan to move about, you will need to be extra careful. Without a wolf, you will be just a human, and that’s not favorable in the Red Moon pack. Your identity as my guest might give you some protection, but I’m not sure how far that will stretch.” No one dared to bully Estelle and other Omegas who worked in his villa, but that was only when George was around. He knew that all kinds of things happened when he was not looking.
“I will be with you whenever James is not around. Talk it over with James before deciding on anything.”, Dawn said to Cornelia.
George told Dawn a lot about the Red Moon pack without sugarcoating things, and he also spoke about James and how he is in charge of James’ training, so Dawn knew that James and Cornelia will be facing a tough decision. James was underage, and his father controlled his routine. James never opposed his father openly, and he probably won’t be able to protect Cornelia. On one side, James will want to be with Cornelia, and on the other, he wouldn’t want to put her in a difficult situation.
Dawn bit the inside of her cheek while wondering if she was too hasty to offer their help. Sure, she wanted to help, but she will be an underdog also. Dawn was an Omega, and she will need to conceal the boost in strength that came with the Alpha aura after George marked her. And considering George’s plans to take down Alpha Edward, the situation was not favorable. What was she thinking?
Jaeden’s phone beeped, and everyone looked at him.
Jaeden looked around apologetically. “I swear, I thought I had it on silent.” He was confident about it because he could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket while they were talking. Only super-urgent notifications would make his phone break the silent mode.
Jaeden’s eyes widened when he saw the message. “Dayson…”, he called. “The Council of Alphas was summoned. You need to be there at dawn.”
This was the first time for Dayson to be summoned to attend the Council of Alphas, but he knew what it was. He couldn’t help but frown at the timing. “Now?”
“My father is behind this.”, James said with certainty.
“Do you think Alpha Edward can use the Council to pressure Alpha Dayson?”, Maya asked.
James confirmed. “He only needs to make his case and put it for voting. The majority wins. Considering what happened here, Alpha Dayson will face an attack on his character, and it will escalate into a challenge to his ability to be the Alpha of the largest pack in North America. If Alpha Dayson doesn’t agree to give up on whatever they demand, they will form an alliance to impose sanctions on the Shadow Fang pack, or maybe even threaten with open war, depending on how confident they are.”
Talia was restless. This all sounded like big trouble! But first, she had one basic question, “What is the Council of Alphas?”
Dayson responded, “Alphas of packs gather and make decisions that will impact all werewolves.” He released a frustrated breath. “Jaeden, you will come with me.”
“I want to come also.”, Maya said.
Dayson refused. “We need you to stay here and ensure everything is ready for the pack run. Besides, only the Alpha and his Beta are allowed to go.”
Talia didn’t like this. ‘What if the potion wears off and you forget about me?’, she spoke to Dayson through their mind-link.
‘Jaeden will go with me.’, Dayson said. ‘Give him the potion and instructions, and do not worry.’ He pressed his lips against her forehead. “Knowing the methods of Alpha Edward, the news about the Council meeting and me being in trouble will spread with the goal to confuse our people. You will be needed here to work with Maya and ensure things are in order. I promise to be back before the pack run.”
Dayson gave Talia a reassuring smile and turned to Jaeden. “Where will the meeting be held?”
“GPS coordinates came with the summon. It’s close to the territory of the Lightclaw pack. I will get the plane ready because with a car we won’t make it even if we start now.”
Dayson puffed his cheeks. That meant they can stay until dinner if they give up on sleeping, and they had a lot to do until then.
He ran his hand through his hair and looked at the people gathered. “Let’s end this meeting for now. Maya, Jaeden, can you stay here and help to discuss plans while Jaeden and I are away? Mindy, Gideon, if you can help Maya and Talia regarding plans for tomorrow’s pack run, that would be great.”
Talia looked at Cornelia. “I hope you can double-check I have everything ready for the ritual to dispel the black runes.”
Mindy waved at Talia, indicating that she will help with that also. “I want to be a part of that conversation.” Tomorrow at the ceremony, Mindy will be introduced to the pack as Gideon’s mate, and she will officially become a member of the Shadow Fang pack. She was looking forward to it.
“Can we help?”, George asked.
Dayson thought of something. “As a Commander, do you have people you trust that can tell us more about what Alpha Edward is up to?”
George confirmed. “I will contact them.”
Before Dayson could give a task to James, James was talking to Talia, “Miss Talia, can we have a word? I would appreciate it if you could explain in detail the passages you know in my packhouse. It will help me look for journals.”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.