Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
To lighten up the mood, James led the way to a park where Cornelia removed her shoes and walked on the grass happily. Park had a merry-go-round, benches where older people played chess, and a playground for kids. Cornelia observed all that with curiosity.
James took Cornelia for dinner that was not too extravagant because they didn’t wear fancy clothes, and they rounded their date with a movie.
Cornelia’s eyes were open wide as they watched the latest sci-fi action movie. She was asking James questions about all those gadgets she saw there, making others shush them as James was explaining what the special effects are while ignoring the irritated movie-watchers around them. Annoying humans.
To Cornelia, things on the big screen looked like magic, especially lasers and teleportation gates.
When they returned to the packhouse, it was late, and after freshening up, Cornelia fell asleep quickly. She told him that she had fun and kissed him good night and that was all it mattered.
The date ended well, and James loved that he woke up first.
James greedily soaked in Cornelia’s relaxed sleepy expression, and he wished that he could wake up like that every morning, with Cornelia in his arms. The raging boner was a bit of a problem and James used all of his will to control himself and not start grinding on her.
His gaze moved to her breasts which were rising and falling as she breathed. He swallowed hard. Could he touch her there and maybe lick a bit without waking her up? She slept in his t-shirt that was roomy and he could probably get his hand in there and she won’t notice as long as he moves slowly.
James shook those thoughts away. She was beautiful, and her scent of the wild berries was driving him nuts, but he didn’t want to act like a horny savage.
As if she could feel his hungry stare on her, Cornelia’s eyes fluttered open, and she smiled, that small action made James’ heart sing. Even when she was drowsy, her instinct was to smile at him. Wasn’t that beautiful?
During his sixteen years of existence, James’ sister was not present, his mother was indifferent, and his father would mostly give him frowns, yet here was Cornelia… smiling. It was so simple, yet it made him happy beyond belief.
“Good morning, Cora.”, he said in a singing voice while tightening his hold on her.
“Mhm…”, she hummed in response, too lazy to say anything, and other than her lips puckering when he kissed her, she didn’t move a muscle.
Cornelia’s eyes closed slowly, and James thought that she will sleep more, but then she asked, “What’s the time?”
“It’s almost time for breakfast.”
Cornelia yawned. “We should get ready and eat. Did you plan something for today?”
James’ heart skipped a beat. She wanted to spend another day with him! It’s not that James was doubting it will happen, he made plans for the next three days. However, considering how the last few days went, James thought that he will need to persuade her first. This was definitely progress.
…
On the third floor of the packhouse, Dayson stared at Talia who was waking up.
He was up for a while and he discussed with Sapa the best approach to tell Talia that he didn’t approve of her actions, without upsetting her. What if the black magic in her was triggered again? Dayson wanted to talk to Talia last night, but she was too happy and he decided to leave it for the morning. Well, it’s morning.
Talia blinked herself awake before greeting him, “Good morning, handsome.”
“Good morning, kitten.”
“What’s wrong?” She could feel that he was struggling with something.
Dayson pressed his lips into a line. He didn’t want to spoil the mood, but he didn’t want to keep it in either.
Sapa told him that the only way to deal with it is to talk about it because postponing things will make them pile up and form a big one, and then just a talk might not be enough.
“I am concerned about the oath.”, Dayson said.
Talia didn’t get it. “What about it?”
“If you don’t want your guards to protect you, then it will be better that you don’t have any.” There, he said it.
Talia pushed herself into a seated position. She knew what Dayson was talking about. “I didn’t mean to make an oath, Dayson. It just happened.”
Dayson also sat up and faced Talia. “Our word is our bond, especially in front of our pack members and in front of other Alphas. Whatever you say, you need to mean it.”
“But I do mean it.”, Talia responded. “I don’t think that my life is more valuable than any other.”
Dayson frowned. “This is not about lives. This is about our pack. I know they are your friends and if anything happens to them, you will grieve, and so will their friends and family, and the whole pack will honor them for the price they paid in the line of duty. But do you have any idea what will happen if you die?”
Talia didn’t respond, and Dayson continued talking.
“If you die, I will follow right after. Don’t think that it won’t happen because I won’t rest until I find who caused your demise, and once I make sure they are in hell, I will lose the reason to exist, and then the Shadow Fang pack will collapse.”
Dayson’s voice softened. “The pack is depending on their Alpha and Luna to guide them; without us, they are vulnerable, like a boat in the stormy sea without a helmsman and there will be no one to take over the wheel because no matter how many skilled warriors we have, without us, other Alphas will make them submit. The stubborn ones will be killed, and the submissive ones will be enslaved.”
Talia lowered her head. She knew that he was right, but still… “So, what do you expect me to do? To hide while my friends risk their lives to fight off the bad guys?”
“Not to hide.”, Dayson responded. “But I don’t want you on the front lines either. I know that you think I’m exaggerating. And I probably am. Not everyone will be out to kill you, but they will want to capture you, manipulate you, to make you submit. Imagine that a rogue gets his hands on you. Will Keith dare to jump on him if the rogue is holding you by the neck?”
Talia shook her head, silently admitting that he won’t.
Dayson didn’t want to push it, but he wanted her to understand the gravity of the situation. She was a Luna now, the Luna of the largest pack in North America, and there was also the point of Talia being the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack, and she needed to stop acting like her existence was not important.
“You are a kind person, Talia”, Dayson said, and Talia knew this was serious because he used her name this time. “You value life, but don’t assume that others are the same. Some people out there will kill for the slightest provocation without blinking. They use and abuse others and don’t even bother to justify it.”
Talia’s chin shook as Dayson sent her mental images of a scene in the forest. She was being restricted by a muscular rogue, and a few more guys stood there and held wolfsbane-laced weapons. Keith, Liam, Pierce, Caleb, and Sandy were forced to kneel and to submit under the threats of the rogues because if they refused, the rogues would harm Talia.
“I know you have powers.”, Dayson said. “But if your guards have knives under their throats, will you dare to act? Can you take out all the bad guys without harming your friends? Can you guess what will happen next?”, Dayson continued probing. “You are important, so they will take you away without caring what’s going to happen to you as long as they get paid. In their eyes, your guards are useless, and the rogues won’t hesitate to dispose of them. Keith and the guys won’t fight back because the big guy will harm you if they retaliate. By stepping forward recklessly, you WILL put them in danger.”
Dayson raised his hands and wiped the tears from her cheeks, wet pearls that were trickling down silently and wetting the bedsheets which covered them from the waist down as they sat facing each other.
“Sorry, kitten. I had to do this so that you understand. You are a queen now. For the Shadow Fang pack, you are the most important player, the most powerful one, and you shouldn’t move unless absolutely necessary.”
Talia blinked. “Are you using a chess analogy?” She never played the game, but she read about it.
“The whole life is a game of chess, kitten. You are not a pawn. You are a queen. My queen. I want you to stand tall and protect yourself and me, and let your guards do their job because if we fall, it’s game over.”
Talia almost smiled at Dayson’s words, but her expression froze when she saw that he was serious as he continued.
“There is another thing… I will treat you as my equal. In front of our people, we need to be united, and if you don’t agree with my decision, tell me in private. Last night, I told your guards not to party, and you contradicted me.”
Talia remembered it, and she didn’t think it was a big deal. “You didn’t order them. You only asked if they have the luxury of time to party.”
“It was obvious that I didn’t approve of them going to the Shifters. They got it, you got it, everyone got it, yet you still stepped forward and told them to go ahead with it.”
Talia bit her lower lip. He was right. She didn’t mean to undermine Dayson’s authority, she only wanted her friends to have fun, but she ended up talking over Dayson.
For an outsider, she probably looked shallow, boasting how she had Dayson wrapped around her finger. Dayson was wise enough not to start an argument in front of others, but for them, he looked like he was too love-stricken to contradict her.
Talia felt irritation and helplessness bubbling inside her. Why did being Dayson’s mate come with so many rules and restrictions? Will her life from now going to be about watching her words and expressions? How can she enjoy it like that?
Talia looked at Dayson who patiently waited for her to speak and Talia steeled her resolve. She will learn. If Dayson could take over the pack at the age of seventeen and not only survive and protect it but make it better, she can definitely learn how to be a good Luna. Besides, she was not alone; she had friends and she had Dayson, and she needed to clarify, “I’m sorry. It was not my intention to challenge your authority, I was just speaking my mind.”
“And that’s fine. You have a beautiful mind. I love your mind, kitten. Remember, you are an Alpha also. Your wolf and your spirit match mine and you have every right to challenge me, and I will do the same to you. However, our disagreements will be handled in private.”
Talia nodded at Dayson’s words, and he had to add, “If you didn’t say anything last night while we were outside, Sandy and the guys would go home. Once you convinced me that I was too strict, I would mind-link them that they can party as long as they do it in moderation. They would get their party, and not think of me as a henpecked husband.”
“I didn’t…”
“I know.”, Dayson cut her off. “But this is more than just my bruised ego. Right now, all Alphas are keeping their eyes on me. I can’t trust that any of them would stick his neck out to save mine.”
“What about Max?”
“I consider Max to be my friend, but if he needs to pick between siding with me and watching over his pack, I’m not confident he will have my back. The reality is that not every situation is black or white. Most of the life is shades of gray and we need to pick an option that minimizes our losses without the possibility where we can save everyone.” Dayson released a long breath. He didn’t want to sound like a paranoid person who didn’t trust anyone.
Dayson touched Talia’s chin, making her look at him, and he spoke, “My point about everyone watching me was that now people know I have a Luna and they will be watching you. I don’t want to think what they will try once the word spreads how much influence you have over me. Some will try to befriend you, some to manipulate you, and if they get a hint of how powerful you are…” Dayson couldn’t finish. Would they kill her? That would be an easy way out compared to the torture they might put her through in order to understand the secret behind her abilities and to force her to work for them. And he didn’t even want to think about the breeding nonsense that was making his blood boil.
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.