Chapter 561 – Hidden Desires of the Werewolf King Novel

Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel

“Sure.”, Talia agreed. “Let’s go to a different room…”

James and Talia walked out of the study, and into a spare room on the first floor.

The room was on the smaller side, with one wall covered in enclosed storage where they kept plates and utensils used when they hosted large parties. On the wall opposite the door, was a window with a small sitting area below it that consisted of a two-seater sofa, one coffee table, and two ottomans tucked in under it.

James closed the door behind them, and when both of them were seated on the sofa sideways so they face each other, Talia kept the notepad and the pencil on the table, and asked, “What do you want to know about passages?”

She assumed that James was onto her about being in the Red Moon pack. Did he recognize her? Was that a good thing? Talia was not sure.

“Are you going to let Dayson do this on his own?”

Talia didn’t get it. “What?”

“Only Alphas of packs have the right to vote in the Council. Your proxy might attend, but his vote won’t count, Alpha Talia.”

Talia’s eyes widened when she understood where James was going with this. He knew that she was the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack. Somehow, she forgot about it. Maybe because she always saw Axel as the Alpha, and from Talia’s point of view, she was still the timid girl hiding in the attic.

“Is this why you pulled me out of the study?”, Talia asked.

James shrugged. “Based on my observation, Alpha Dayson doesn’t know you have a pack of your own, and I don’t care about your reasons for concealing it. But is that secret more important than helping him?”

Talia pressed her lips into a line. It was not really a secret, but with all the things going on, she didn’t get a chance to tell Dayson about it. Getting rid of black runes, Marcy, and preparing for the upcoming pack run seemed awfully important, and everything else could wait.

“How can I help him?”

Talia felt silly asking.

James was a teenager, the young master of the house where Talia lived while hiding her presence, yet now she was seeking advice from him. It all looked like some twisted reality. But James was serious, and he didn’t seem to be joking.

He took the pencil, opened the notepad, and started writing down while talking, “There are currently fifteen packs that are large enough to get a seat in the Council of Alphas. Every vote counts. Assuming that all of them will be present, Alpha Dayson will need seven votes on top of his to be safe from open attacks. Of course, even if my father fails, he won’t give up, but at least his allies won’t dare to support him openly. Most of the Alphas will go with the flow because they fear retaliation from bigger packs. However, you should be wary of four packs that will support my father no matter how flaky his arguments are…”

While explaining about the Council of Alphas, James was writing down names and relevant notes that contained reasons why some people will definitely side with Alpha Edward, who will side with Dayson, and who will be easily swayed.

As the names appeared on the paper, Talia recognized most of them. In the last few weeks, Talia was working as Dayson’s assistant, she exchanged emails with them, and with a few, she even spoke on the phone. Alpha Edward, Alpha Magnus (aka Tony’s father), Alpha Richard (aka Cassie’s father), and Alpha Maddox, fell into the category of Alphas that Talia saw in person.

Talia was not surprised when James put Alpha Richard in a group of hostile people.

“He doesn’t like Alpha Edward, but they have a common enemy.”, James said. “After the incident with Cassie at the Lightclaw pack, Alpha Richard is talking openly about how Alpha Dayson is using his position to terrorize others.”

Talia felt guilty about this. It was her idea for the Steelbite pack to pay tribute, and she even got Cassie’s head shaved. But more than punishing Cassie, Alpha Richard was pushed into a corner, humiliated, and thirsty for revenge.

Talia couldn’t accept that Tony’s father will also be against Dayson. James said that Alpha Magnus is greedy, and he will vote for the one who gives him the most benefits. Tony came to train with Dayson, and Kalina was a good friend with Talia, but that didn’t seem to compare with the monetary benefits or territory that Alpha Edward would offer.

“My father will tempt them by promising them a piece of the Shadow Fang pack’s territory or resources. It’s easy to give away what was not his in the first place, but those will be just empty promises. Once Alpha Dayson loses his footing, my father will scheme against his allies to squirm out of those deals, and he will end up giving away only a fraction of what he originally promised.”

Talia stared at James while wrapping her head around that information. “You talk like no one cares about what’s right. Is it possible that everyone is just looking to backstab others?”

James chuckled. “Wake up, Alpha Talia. Idealistic people are sabotaged and eliminated, and you don’t want to end up like them. No one likes a person in power that can’t be controlled, and that is why Alpha Dayson is the biggest problem for existing Alphas.”

“What about Alpha Maddox?”, Talia asked.

James shrugged. “The Blue River pack has a non-militaristic reputation, so they are not an active threat. In addition to that, they are taking in people no one wants. My father calls Mindy’s charity work as taking care of trash. If the Blue River pack falls, someone will need to accept those unfortunate souls or we will risk a surge in the population of rogues. People like my father will only see them as a burden.”

Talia puffed her cheeks. “I still don’t understand. Dayson has a strong military and he has the support of his people as well as several other packs. How can your father think that he will win?”

James leaned on the backrest of the sofa completely and stared at the ceiling while explaining, “My father will not dare to do this on his own. He will spur others to do the dirty work for him. Alphas would band against Alpha Dayson a long time ago if they didn’t fear retaliation because if they can’t take him out in one swift swoop, heads will roll. That’s why they need a show that’s going to make it believable; like that, their people will stop looking at Alpha Dayson as a young rebel who is doing the right thing.”

James shook his head. “The ironic thing is that if my father’s ploy succeeds and Alpha Dayson is removed from power, Alphas will move to their next target which would be my father, but my father doesn’t think that far because his eyes are stuck on Alpha Dayson who is above him and only when he is left at the top he will realize that the ground under his feet is crumbling.”

James turned his head to look at Talia. “Our kind is controlled by greed for power. Even if you want to fight for the greater good, you can’t show that to anyone because they will use it against you.”

James saw that Talia’s face fell. “What? Is that too much for you?”

“I am sorry.”, Talia said. “I had no idea how difficult it was growing up as the future Alpha of the Red Moon pack.”

If it was a happy childhood, he wouldn’t have such dark thoughts. Her heart cracked for the sixteen years-old boy who was sitting right there and talking like an old man who saw the ugly side of life and gave up on humanity.

James sat up straight and stared at Talia. They were discussing his father coming after Dayson and everything he holds dear, yet Talia looked like she wanted to give James a comforting hug, and suddenly… he wanted one. But he didn’t want to act on that impulse. It wouldn’t be appropriate.

And before he could react, Talia scooted closer to James, invading his personal space and her arms wrapped around him. James sat still like a statue while considering his options. No one ever gave him a comforting hug. Not even his mother.

Talia’s hand patted his back gently and… damn it! James’ arms moved on their own around her.

“There, there…”, Talia said, like she was comforting a child. “Considering how you grew up, you are a fine young man, James Redmayne. I am confident that great things are ahead of you.”

James froze. Was she talking in the context of him being the future Alpha of the Red Moon pack?

He released Talia awkwardly and inched away. “You don’t know what you are talking about.”

Talia smiled and her eyes lit up in a silvery glow. “Did you forget that I’m the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack? I have mysterious powers that are telling me you will do just fine.”

James had to agree that mysterious was an adjective that went great with Talia. She looked weak and fragile, yet she had the most powerful Alpha of their generation as her fated mate and James definitely noticed marks on both Talia’s and Dayson’s neck which put them as equals. And Talia also had a circle of friends that was charged with influence and power in front of which the older generation would tremble if they only knew about it. People followed Talia and listened when she spoke, even though she didn’t use anything to suppress them or announce her high ranking.

Alpha Edward was set on toppling Dayson, and James had a feeling that Talia was a much greater danger compared to Dayson.

James shook those thoughts away. “Let’s focus and finish this before others come looking for us.” And he was eager to go back to Cornelia.

Talia understood that James was telling her all that about the Council of Alphas with the intention that she should attend it, as an Alpha.

The idea of her being stuck in the same place with Alphas who had bad intentions toward Dayson, and maybe they were involved in the witch-breeding nightmare, made Talia’s skin crawl, but she liked the thought of supporting Dayson.

Talia was aware that since Dayson became the Alpha of the Shadow Fang pack, he faced many challenges alone. Sure, there were Jaeden, Stephanie, Maya, and maybe a few others, but they could only offer their advice and support from the side. Dayson had to tackle one challenge after another on his own; he negotiated and fought as one against many, and this was Talia’s chance to stand by his side when it counts, as his equal. It made her feel important.

“Usually, the Midnight Guardians pack doesn’t involve themselves with matters of other packs, so my father probably thinks that Alpha Isaac won’t come.”, James said. “And no one has a clue that the leadership changed.”

“Do you think they will recognize me?”

James looked at Talia seriously for a few seconds before responding, “No.”

“How can you be so certain?”

“Alpha Dayson’s reputation as a womanizer made women by his side invisible.”, James responded bluntly. “There were so many that people stopped caring. And my sister created such a hype about her being his Luna, that no one spared you a second look.”

“You say that like it’s a good thing.”, Talia said dryly.

“But it is. Everyone will be intrigued by the new Alpha. The fact that you are from the Midnight Guardians pack will work in your favor because no one really knows what’s going on there. You can say that you are the daughter Alpha Isaac and Alpha Sophia kept hidden, or you can spin the story and say that you are the dark horse who took over with a display of power.”

Talia thought about how both of those apply. Was James smart, psychic, or just lucky? In any case, it was scary how spot-on he was.

James chuckled. “Most of the Alphas of the older generation are misogynic. The fact that you are female will rub them the wrong way, yet they won’t be able to do a damn thing about it. I would give anything to be a fly on the wall in that room when you show up so I can see my father’s face.”

Talia cocked an eyebrow. “You know, maybe Cornelia can make it happen.”

James shifted uncomfortably at the thought of him actually turning into a fly. What if a frog eats him? Or someone splats him into a mush?

“It was just a figure of speech.”, he said awkwardly. “Besides, as an unknown player, you can have fun. Make them believe you are considering to vote for their side, let them lick your shoes, and then deliver slaps as you see fit. In any case, I leave those fine details to you. I told you what I wanted to say, and I recommend that you go there, but in the end, it’s your decision. We are done here.”

James stood up and bowed a little before leaving the room.

Talia didn’t move as she was thinking about the information James provided and she frowned at the names of Alphas who will face Dayson with bad intentions tomorrow morning.

Dayson didn’t say anything and she sensed his anxiety, but she didn’t know it would be that bad. If those people vote against Dayson, he will be in trouble; his whole pack will be in trouble. Their pack. Isn’t that why Dayson concealed her identity as his mate? But… she was weak then and now she is an Alpha. Surely, she can do something to help him.

Talia was attracted to the idea of putting those greedy old geezers in place. How dare they threaten her mate!?

Liseli was quiet, but Talia could sense that Liseli approved as the old creature boosted Talia’s confidence, reminding Talia that she was not alone anymore. Talia had her wolf, her powers, her mate, her pack, and friends who were willing to help.

James told her that the Council of Alphas has ways of confirming who is the real Alpha of a pack in order to avoid frauds. He didn’t know details about this because his father never mentioned it, but James remembered that his father has a token with the crest of the Red Moon pack, and he guessed that the token must be part of verifying the identity as legitimate rulers.

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