Chapter 734 – Hidden Desires of the Werewolf King Novel

Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel

“He is my mate. You can’t…”

“This is my territory,” Tatiana cut off Varya. “No one will tell me what I can and can’t do here.”

Jaeden swiftly moved to stand between the couple and angry Luna. “Calm down, Luna Tatiana. My Alpha and Luna sent him here. He can be of help.”

Tatiana frowned. “What can a scum like him help?”

“He has information. But he can’t disclose it now because of something they did…” Jaeden explained about body paint and bursting into flames and that Cornelia might be able to help.

“Stay away from him!” Tatiana hissed at Varya and then turned to Jaeden. “If body paint is the problem, why don’t we wash it off? I’m sure we have a pressure washer nearby. Or how about we peel his skin off?”

“Tanya!” Varya called pleadingly.

“What!?” Tatiana snapped. “I heard you. He is your mate. But that doesn’t change the fact he is a rogue. Do you know how many people we lost last night? We have casualties among guests, people in shelters, and our people. Warriors who were born and raised here, our people. I felt them, Varya. I felt when their lives were extinguished. It was like a part of me died, and it was all his fault!”

“He didn’t kill anyone!” Varya shouted at Tatiana.

“His hands have no blood on them, and that makes it OK? Would his hands still be clean if he was caught later? If he meant no harm, why did he come here? Do you think that only by killing he could harm us? That rogue you call mate came here with people who killed MY people. My schedule is filled with joyful activities to entertain high-ranking members of other packs, but instead, I need to visit a dozen families and tell them that their sons and daughters died. Do you think that anyone will feel better because they died honorably, protecting this pack? There wouldn’t be any need to protect the pack if they didn’t come here! Gods! I would kill him myself if that would bring any of those innocent souls back. I would kill him right now if that would soothe wounds my pack suffered.”

Tatiana jolted when Kalina’s hand landed on her shoulder.

“Are you done venting your anger?” Kalina asked.

Tatiana glared at Kalina. “You tell me.”

“We are all tired. Max and Tony are on their way back, and I suggest we take a quick break, shower, and eat. Let Omegas work on reports while you get a breather. You are pregnant now, and you need to take care of that baby.”

…

When James returned, he saw Cornelia in front of the packhouse. She was squatting and collecting with cotton swabs samples of Grady’s body paint.

James didn’t like that Cornelia was so close to another guy, and he was on the verge of shifting and tearing that guy into pieces, but then he realized that other people were present. Maya, Jaeden, and Kalina were watching what Cornelia was doing, and a few warriors were standing nearby in attention, obviously keeping an eye on Grady.

James scrunched his nose. Why did he smell a rogue?

“After you wash up, we will see what’s next,” Cornelia said to Grady.

Before James reached her, Cornelia whipped her head in his direction, and her eyes scanned his exhausted form anxiously.

Dropping the samples in Maya’s hands, Cornelia dashed toward James, and he welcomed her eagerly into his embrace.

“I was worried,” she spoke into his shoulder.

“It’s all fine now, Cora,” he responded.

She nodded. It was not fine, but it was much better because they were together.

Two seconds later, Cornelia’s body stiffened as she remembered, “What if your father is watching?”

James had no intention of letting her go. He needed her presence more than air, but he also needed a justification for their public display of affection. It took him a second to come up with something.

“My father knows we spent the night together. I left a great impression by satisfying you repeatedly, and it’s normal that you are concerned about me.”

Cornelia couldn’t believe that he was using this as a chance to boost his ego, but she didn’t want to bicker. “Is kiss acceptable?”

“Cora, Cora. Kiss is a necessity.”

Their lips met in an urgent kiss that lasted much shorter than they wanted.

“You should shower,” Cornelia said. He was wearing clothes that didn’t fit him well, there were traces of mud and dried blood on him, but Cornelia craved privacy with her mate.

While James was away, Cornelia was worried sick. That’s why she went to the pack hospital to help. She wanted to keep busy and ensure that if James was injured, she would be there to tend to him.

The time in the pack hospital felt like forever, every new patient made her stomach tighten at the thought that it might be James, and then she felt guilty because of the happiness when she realized how that bloodied warrior was not James. The whole night was an emotional rollercoaster, and she wanted just to snuggle with James behind closed doors and never come out.

“I will shower,” James said to Cornelia before adding, “But only if you are coming.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Breakfast starts in five minutes!” Kalina shouted after them. “Food will be waiting for the next two hours! You have an option to ask for food in your room!”

Nora spent the night in one of the side houses, and she had no idea why the whole packhouse was busy so early in the morning. She thought about sneaking in before breakfast or at least making it low-key, but she underestimated how early these people woke up.

“Did something happen?” Nora asked one Omega.

“We had a minor incident, but nothing that should concern you,” Omega responded as Luna Tatiana instructed.

They still didn’t know the extent of damage and casualties, and until they prepared an official statement, the story for guests was that nothing major happened.

The Blue River pack returned to their regular routine as people were emerging from shelters. On the outside, things looked normal, and only the warriors who were in the middle of it knew how bad it was.

There was one soul that suffered a heavy blow. Jane couldn’t stop sobbing, no matter how much Mindy comforted her. Only after Gideon fired up the calming incense did Jane fall asleep.

Beta Oliver returned, and he immediately relieved Maya and Jaeden from the burden of watching over Grady.

Warriors escorted Grady to the shared bathroom that soldiers used. It was a big space with dozens of showerheads, so Grady could clean up while being watched. Of course, Varya followed Grady. She didn’t want to leave him out of sight, fearing someone might attack him just because he was a rogue.

Varya didn’t get it. She was also a wolf without a pack. Would they look down on her also if her sister was not the Luna here?

Varya grew up in a diverse environment, with more humans than werewolves, and she learned to judge everyone by how they treated her. Based on that criteria, Grady was definitely a good guy. Why can’t they leave them alone?

Dayson and Talia worked with a few smaller units of warriors to identify the cube-shaped devices. After finding a few, Dayson suggested they return to the packhouse, but Talia wanted to keep going.

“You won’t achieve anything if you work yourself into collapsing, kitten,” Dayson said. He knew that she was staying busy so that she didn’t think about Lulu’s death. “You didn’t sleep the whole night.”

“You didn’t sleep either,” Talia retorted. “And neither did these warriors. I’m just doing what I can.”

“You should listen to me when I say that doing this is only postponing the inevitable. We have a lot to do and some things only we can do, and this is not one of them.”

Talia gave in grudgingly. Staying distracted was not working anyway. Whenever she saw a cube-shaped device, Lulu’s face resurfaced in Talia’s memory, and Talia’s heart ached. It wouldn’t hurt that badly if Lulu didn’t die while protecting Talia, and it would hurt even less if Talia didn’t suspect Lulu of being a traitor. Talia believed she wronged Lulu, and it was too late to say sorry and fix things.

Breakfast was gloomy.

People who knew what happened last night didn’t want to talk about it. There was a danger that casualties from last night could be labeled as Maddox’s and Tatiana’s incompetence, so no relevant information left their inner circle, especially because they had press members in attendance.

Talia was unsure if she wanted to reveal that she was marked, but she had no intention of applying makeup, so she tied a silk scarf around her neck.

Dayson was wearing a polo t-shirt, and he lifted the collar. It made him look cool, and it also concealed Talia’s mark there.

They were all sitting in the same positions as they did for dinner on the previous night, with the difference that about one-half of the seats were empty.

Even with that, there were more than a hundred people present, and guests were coming to Beta Oliver to inquire about Maddox and Tatiana. Everyone hoped to hear from Alpha and Luna of the Blue River pack about last night’s disturbance.

After the third group came to Beta Oliver, he went to the stage and took the microphone.

“I would ask for your attention, please,” Beta Oliver said. “Last night, we had an intrusion of rogues into our territory that caused everyone inconvenience. Reports are still coming in, and once we know the details, we will share them with you. Until then, we can assure you that the situation is resolved. We will proceed with our schedule for today as planned, with the difference that our Alpha and Luna might be absent for some time while they catch up on their sleep. Thank you for your understanding.”

Of course, Maddox and Tatiana were not resting. They were working from their room while having their meal there because they knew that people would disturb them. After last night’s events, Maddox and Tatiana didn’t have the capacity to smile and entertain their guests, and they had many things to handle. Guests will need to wait.

“I don’t see James and Cornelia here,” Talia said.

“They asked for food to be delivered to their room,” Maya responded. “After they are done, Cornelia will see Grady to deal with his fiery problem.”

“I want to be there also,” Talia demanded.

Maya glanced nervously at Dayson, who was frowning in disapproval.

“I thought you would rest,” Dayson said to Talia.

“Can you rest in these circumstances?”

When Dayson didn’t respond, Talia turned to Maya. “What happened to Lulu?”

Maya lowered her gaze. “We found her a good place for now and cleaned her.”

Talia turned to Dayson. “I know we said we will stay for three days, but…”

“We can return whenever you want,” Dayson said.

Talia was grateful for his understanding. She wanted to return to the Shadow Fang pack with Lulu and talk to her father in person, but first… “As soon as we figure out things with Grady and hear what he has to say, we can go.”

…

In the room on the second floor…

James absentmindedly fed Cornelia.

“You should eat also,” she said while offering him a forkful of scrambled eggs. When he opened his mouth to accept her offerings, Cornelia asked, “Will you tell me what’s going on?”

He was unusually quiet and clingy. They were sitting on the sofa next to each other, connected at the hips. Any closer and she would sit on his lap.

James shook his head. “It’s been a long night.” His arm snaked around her shoulders, and he pulled her to lean on him. “I’m glad you are here.”

Cornelia exhaled helplessly. She couldn’t do anything if he was unwilling to talk.

A knock on the door disturbed the silence, and James opened the door to see Maddox.

“Alpha Maddox, what brings you here?” James asked.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I have a question,” Maddox said and gestured toward the room, indicating that they should talk inside.

Maddox closed the door behind him. “This is about… you know who. Do you have instructions on how to deal with her body?”

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