Chapter 724 – Hidden Desires of the Werewolf King Novel

Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel

“Mmm… what?” Marcy mumbled as someone shook her out of her sleep.

They were up late to watch the live stream of the event where Alpha Maddox and Luna Tatiana tied the knot, and then they watched the ceremony again before calling it a night.

Marcy was not sure how much she slept, but she knew that it was not long enough.

She opened her eyes to see a girl tugging on her hand vigorously. It was Jane.

“What’s going on, Jane? You can’t sleep? Did you have a bad dream?” Marcy asked.

Jane’s expression showed panic, and she was pressing on her hears and then pointing at the door.

Marcy noticed that her two roommates were not there, and the messy beds showed they had left in a hurry. Something was wrong.

“You want me to go out?” Marcy asked, and when Jane nodded, Marcy scrambled off her bed.

Marcy put on jeans and shoes and followed after Jane. The hallway was empty, but Marcy could hear muffled noise from outside.

“Come on!” An irritated male voice shouted from the end of the hallway. “Why are you still here? Get in the shelter! Didn’t you hear the emergency signal?”

Marcy rushed with Jane toward the stairs, and she asked, “What signal?”

The man frowned at Marcy when he recognized her as Kim Dorsey, a female without her wolf. “No wonder you didn’t hear the signal.” Without her wolf, Marcy was like a human, which meant that she didn’t hear the high-frequency signal.

He looked at Jane sternly. He saw her outside before, but the girl was looking around, and then she rushed back inside. He was the one assigned to come and get her, thinking that the crazy girl went to get something or maybe hide under a bed. If rogues come here, they can smell her within a second! When he saw Marcy with Jane, he realized that Jane had returned to get Marcy, and he couldn’t scold her for that.

He moved to walk downstairs and shouted, “We are under attack. Get into the shelter! You should know the procedure! Why are you lingering here? Do you expect us to carry you?”

His eyes lost focus for a moment, and he cursed under his breath as his brisk walk turned into a full run, and he disappeared through the main door.

Marcy’s adrenaline shot up as she realized that this was real. There was danger, they were under attack, and she needed to hide. Where was the shelter? Right… there was one underground shelter with several entry points, and the closest one was less than a minute away in the forest.

Marcy looked at Jane, who was clutching her hand nervously.

“It will be OK,” Marcy was unsure if she was comforting the child or herself. Probably both. “It’s not safe here. We need to head to safety. Can you do it?”

Jane nodded in small choppy movements, and then the two of them descended swiftly down the stairs.

They walked outside, and Marcy stared into the darkness while trying to determine from where the noise of fighting could be heard. The darkness was filled with growling, whimpering, kicking, punching, and crunching noises that made Marcy’s hair stand on ends, and the only thing preventing Marcy from collapsing was Jane, who was sticking to her closely.

Marcy’s sight was just like human’s, and everything looked pitch black because they emerged from an illuminated hallway. Marcy would need a minute to adjust to the darkness, a minute they didn’t have.

The sounds were coming from every direction, and Marcy decided to head toward the entry into the shelter. If she can punch in the code, get in, and close the door behind them, they will be safe. Hopefully.

“Let’s go,” Marcy said, her voice barely above a whisper.

They needed to cross a small clearing until they reached the trees and bushes. That clearing was ominous because there was no one in sight, yet the noise was a giveaway that they were surrounded.

“Ahh!” Jane screamed when two big wolves dashed toward them from a bush. The first one almost reached them when the second one tackled him, and Marcy couldn’t believe they were this close. She had never seen anything so fierce in her life, and this time she thanked the darkness for concealing the gruesome parts.

Marcy tugged Jane to move.

They didn’t have the time to linger or to check if the one on the top was a friend or a foe. They needed to get out.

Marcy’s insides tightened when they entered the cover the first bushes provided. Yes, they were out of the clearing, but they were also surrounded, and as much as this provided cover, it could be walking into a trap also.

Marcy gritted her teeth and forced her legs to move. There was no point in thinking about what-ifs. They needed to reach that entrance into the shelter, and she prayed silently that they don’t bump into anyone on their way there.

…

The group of werewolves was almost at the warehouse when Maddox stopped at one clearing to shift into his human form. He waved at others to do the same, and soon several wolves changed shapes. Beta Oliver, Dayson, Jaeden, Maya, Keith, Caleb, Tony, Kai, and James.

Maddox rubbed his face. The adrenaline helped dispel most of the numbness caused by his excessive drinking, but he still didn’t feel right.

Maddox didn’t want to shift into his human form and waste time, but they needed to communicate, and outsiders didn’t have the mind-link. He was getting information while they were running, but now that they were there, it was necessary for others to know what was going on.

“Why did we stop?” Dayson asked impatiently. There was a lingering scent of blood in the air, but there was no sign of an active fight. Did the rogues leave? That would be for the best, but that would also mean they came out of bed for nothing.

“Rogues are at the shelters, not at the warehouse. I want you to double-check their scent before attacking. It is not uncommon for people we have here not to have a pack link. They can be easily mistaken for rogues.”, Maddox responded.

James didn’t like this. “Didn’t you say they came for supplies?”

Beta Oliver responded. “That’s usually the case. After they were found here, our warriors confronted them. They thought that rogues were retreating, but only a handful of them went toward the border while others headed toward the shelters.”

Maya felt her skin crawling. Why did this sound like a diversion? But… a diversion from what? Unless… “Did they come here to kidnap females?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Maddox said. “However, they would usually grab the isolated ones that wandered close to the border and not attack head-on.”

“There is no point in discussing their motives,” James said. “They are here. Let’s get rid of them and try to catch a few alive and question them. As long as we can prevent them from committing suicide, they will talk.”

Everyone felt uneasy at the iciness in James’ tone; there was no fear, no compassion, and if not for bloodlust, they would assume he was a machine. He didn’t sound like a teenager but like a mercenary who killed and tortured many, but then… under Alpha Edward’s tutelage, no one could guess how James grew up.

James was looking at Maddox now. “Which way?”

Maddox gestured to his right, and then they all shifted back into their wolves and rushed into the darkness.

Talia was growing increasingly restless, her anxiety was amplified by Liseli’s impatience.

The ancient wolf disapproved that they were sitting in the cozy living room while their mates were out there, risking their lives. And for whom? For a bunch of strangers?

Based on Liseli’s rage, it was obvious that the old gal had only Sapa in her heart and mind.

Talia wondered if Liseli would care about her or Dayson, if Talia was not necessary as a vessel for Liseli’s spirit and if Sapa didn’t have the same dependency on Dayson. Talia brushed those thoughts to the side. This was not the time to allow dark thoughts to creep in. Besides, Liseli had every right to be on the edge as Talia was the same.

Talia glanced at Meg and Cornelia to see that they were not fairing much better. They both had their powers, yet due to the circumstances, they were left behind to worry about their mates.

At this point, they gave up on random chatter because it didn’t help to distract them from the current crisis.

Talia walked to the open window and stared into the darkness.

“Do you see something?”, Varya’s question startled Talia, who was too focused on her thoughts to notice the only unmated Wilkow sister approaching.

“No, I don’t,” Talia said dejectedly. “It’s funny.”

“What is?”

“How peaceful things are.”

Varya listened intently and agreed. “It is peaceful. Too peaceful. Why are the forest animals quiet?”

Talia realized that Varya was right. Dawn was cracking in the East, and not a peep could be heard from the forest that was all around them. Shouldn’t birds chirp to announce the new day? Maybe they could also sense that things were not right.

Talia turned to see females in the room, and she realized that someone was missing. “Where is Mindy?” And she didn’t see Gideon either.

Tatiana responded, “Mindy and Gideon headed to the underground bunker when the alarm sounded to comfort the refugees we have there. Max’s and my parents also went with them.”

Talia nodded in understanding. Mindy told her how most of the people they accept in shelters are traumatized, and Talia guessed that they will need assurance that things will be alright. And who is better to comfort them than members of the Alpha family and a Shaman?

Talia stared into the darkness while tightening her hands into fists to the point of hurting. Should she mind-link Mindy? Talia rejected that idea. Mindy was somewhere underground, with no relevant news available, and Talia would probably just distract her from whatever Mindy was doing.

Talia was dejected. Even Mindy had something to do, yet Talia was here… waiting. What was the point of being an Alpha if she needed to hide? How was this different from her pitiful self that was hiding in the attic of the Red Moon pack?

“Don’t worry about Alpha and the guys,” Lulu spoke from Talia’s right, and Talia turned to look at her.

“You seem confident,” Talia noticed. Everyone was tense, yet Lulu was relaxed, munching on grapes like this was a social occasion.

Lulu shrugged. “I believe in them. They are some of the finest warriors I’ve ever seen. Besides, worrying won’t achieve anything other than making others think they are weak.”

“I wish I had a switch to turn off worrying,” Talia admitted.

“Even if you worry, burry that deep, so it doesn’t show,” Lulu said. “If people see you down, they will assume you are reluctant, and that can weaken your mind. Sometimes, the difference between winning and losing is confidence; even the fake one can help. We were taught to jump into the fight instead of waiting for the fight to come to us. That boldness will make our enemies step back because it will be their turn to worry if we have a skill or a weapon they don’t know about.”

Talia knew that Lulu had a point. Everything Lulu said was right, yet Talia was unable to relax. Only when Dayson gets back, safe and sound, will she be at ease.

Talia wanted to mind-link Dayson or Kai and ask about the situation, but she held back because she knew that if they were in the middle of a fight, she might distract them and cause them to get injured. Or worse.

Dayson said he would contact her when he got a chance, and the fact that he closed off his emotions she could usually sense through their mate bond told her he was busy and probably in danger.

Talia regretted not going there with Dayson. Why did she give in? What charms did he use to swindle her into staying in the packhouse? She would fight by his side and ensure his safety, and now… it was too late for that.

…

Marcy held Jane’s little hand and led the way through the foliage that was getting denser to the point of them needing to squeeze between it.

With every passing moment, Marcy’s heart was thundering stronger as she feared that they had been walking for too long. Weren’t they supposed to be there already? Her eyes were used to the darkness now, so she could see the outlines, and she was confident they were on the right path. However, with those deep shadows hugging the landscape, everything looked different. Should they return? No, no… it was just her anxiousness that made every second feel like an hour because there was no way she could miss the path.

The noises around them were super-loud, and Marcy didn’t know if the two of them were walking toward the fight, or if the fight was coming to them, or maybe all this was a bad dream, and she will wake up and find herself in bed, preferably in the Red Moon pack. She would call Ana and ask for a double serving of sandwiches. Or, if she could wake up in her apartment in Paris, Marcy would make her own sandwiches and pretend that none of this ever happened.

But it happened. It was happening, and the only thing Marcy could do was struggle to survive.

If only she could see her surroundings clearly, she would confirm where they were.

If only she ventured here more often instead of staying indoors, she would have more confidence about which path to take.

If only she didn’t reject George, her wolf would still be present, and she wouldn’t be a dead weight.

Marcy would feel better if Jane was not with her. Jane was sticking to her and wouldn’t let go of Marcy’s hand. Marcy was confident that she couldn’t take care of herself; how can she be responsible for a child?

But she couldn’t leave Jane behind, not when Jane came to get her back, not when Jane silently followed her from the day Jane came to the shelter, and somehow… that little mute girl made Marcy’s life a bit more bearable.

Jane’s gasp got Marcy’s attention. Now what? Did Jane hurt her foot or something?

Jane quickly tugged Marcy’s hand and pulled her to the side and then down. Marcy crouched next to Jane and tried to see something, but she couldn’t see anything other than the darkness. Listening didn’t help much either because the noise was coming from everywhere.

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