Chapter 811 – Hidden Desires of the Werewolf King Novel

Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel

Every next moment brought another surprise, and Owen was now surprised by the sense of pride and accomplishment that swelled within him because Zina accepted the food he was giving her. It was his first time feeding someone, and it was such a simple thing. Why did it feel like it was important?

“How come you are here for dinner?” Zina asked Cornelia.

The witch would usually eat at the Shadow Fang pack and leave later in the evening when James was done with his duties.

Cornelia smiled at James while responding to Zina, “Jay texted me that he will be having dinner here, so…” She couldn’t say more because James stuffed a spoonful of soup into her mouth which was quickly followed by a piece of dinner roll.

Owen remembered that James was setting up two additional plates. At that time Owen didn’t think much of it, but now it made sense. Owen concluded that even young Alphas were not immune from the desire to serve their mates.

“Congrats on finding your mate,” Cornelia said to Zina.

Zina glanced sheepishly at Owen. Was it too early to accept congratulations? But Owen was looking at her and she could feel his heart cracking with every second she remained silent, and her heart cracked as well when she realized that those were his insecurities.

“Thank you, Cora,” Zina said. “It all happened so quickly that I’m still processing it.”

“Take your time,” Cornelia said. “You are mates and that won’t change no matter how long you take to settle into it. Your heart knows best, but sometimes your mind needs to accept the adjustment. Only when they are in sync will you truly be at ease. Not everyone allows their impulses to take over thoughtlessly and gets marked the moment they see their mate.”

Dawn felt that this was a jab directed at her. “And not everyone waits for a month!”

Cornelia’s eyes flashed. “Why are you assuming that everyone is horny like you?”

James and George stiffened. Why were Dawn and Cornelia bickering about mating? If this resulted in no sex, they will be the ones suffering!

Zina burst into giggles when she noticed James’ and George’s panicked expressions. “Maybe you should take that back, Cora, as most of the people here are horny.”

Dawn cocked an eyebrow at Zina. “Are you talking about yourself?”

Zina couldn’t believe that Dawn called her out like that in front of Owen. “Mind your own business!”

“But you are my business, Zi. Until you figure out living arrangements, keep your hands to yourself.”

“You shouldn’t worry about their hands,” George said.

“Living arrangements shouldn’t be a problem,” Cornelia said and turned to Zina. “Until you figure out things, you can always do how Jay and I are doing.”

Zina’s eyes lit up. Cornelia’s suggestion made sense. Like that, she could work in the Shadow Fang pack, and Owen would do whatever he does during the day, and they could meet for the night. It was not perfect, but it would work until they find a permanent solution.

Dawn raised her hand to get everyone’s attention. “You are assuming that we will dedicate a guest bedroom for Owen and Zi. And you are forgetting that after a few trips you will be tired of shuttling Zi around. How often will your schedules match?”

“Will a room for Owen and I be a problem?” Zina asked.

Dawn rolled her eyes. “It’s not that simple. James was close to George before, so no one suspected a few additional trips. However, Owen and George are not exactly friendly. If their interaction changes suddenly, people will start asking questions and snooping around. You already know that if they look into this, they will find more than they bargained for. This is not the Shadow Fang pack, Zi. The slightest mistake will put all of us in danger.”

Dawn saw that Zina’s expression fell, so she added pleadingly, “Zi, you know that I’m thinking about what’s best for you.”

“Thank you,” Zina said curtly. “I wonder how you would react if I was in the room when you saw George and realized he was your mate. What if I stood in front of you and told you to stay back because he is from the Red Moon pack?”

Dawn knew that Zina had a point, but there were many things Zina didn’t know.

“Let’s not talk about it now,” James said, making both Dawn and Zina look his way. He gestured toward Owen and George. “Since you are discussing this small stuff, I assume that your mates didn’t tell you what happened in my father’s office.”

Dawn was alarmed. “What happened?”

“We will talk about it after dinner,” George said. He didn’t want grim topics to spoil his appetite, even though it was already spoiled because Dawn was restless.

George knew that Dawn was worried about him, and it was killing him from the inside. He was an Alpha, why was his mate living in fear?

In moments like these, George was wondering if his revenge was worth it. Wouldn’t it be better to disappear with Dawn to a place where Alpha Edward won’t find them? It would be just the two of them, and it would be wonderful.

After dinner, George, Dawn, Zina, Owen, Cornelia, and James worked together to clean up the table and kitchen, and then they went to George’s study.

No matter how much George trusted Omegas working in his villa, he didn’t want anyone to know more than necessary.

George sat in his leather chair behind the executive desk and Dawn settled on his lap. His arms snaked around Dawn’s waist, and he rested his chin on her shoulder.

James sat on the sofa chair and Cornelia squeezed next to him sideways so that her legs rested over James’ thighs. James put his hands on Cornelia’s knees, his thumbs moved to caress her gently and she leaned on him completely.

Owen and Zina were on the sofa and Owen realized that there was a distance between them. Should he get close to Zina, or pull her toward him? What if she hates it? He really didn’t know what to do.

Zina felt the same awkwardness as Owen, and those two couples cuddling didn’t make her situation more comfortable.

Owen jolted when he felt something warm on his hand. It was Zina’s fingers, silently asking to be held. Owen slowly moved his hand, and Zina’s palm slid over his until their fingers interlaced naturally.

Owen stared at their connected hands, the invisible sparks of their bond danced there, making him tingly all over. He slowly raised his gaze to meet Zina’s blue eyes smiling at him. He really wanted to kiss her and somehow… he knew that she wanted the same.

George cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention, bursting Owen’s and Zina’s lovey-dovey bubble and reminding them that they had important matters to discuss.

George narrated what happened in Alpha Edward’s study.

As expected, Dawn and Zina were concerned about the potential consequences. Both females attended many parties, but now they had mates and they will be mismatched and potentially preyed upon. The worst thing was that the culture of the Red Moon pack dictated how Omegas don’t retaliate. It was not something Zina and Dawn wanted to go through.

“What should we do?” Dawn asked while her eyes moved from George to James.

Zina and Owen were confused to see that George was looking at James also.

Zina was aware that the youngster was mated to Cornelia, and that he had a positive relationship with Alpha Dayson, but nothing beyond that. As for Owen, he knew that James was the young Alpha of the Red Moon pack, and that was mostly it; the rest were Owen’s assumptions based on Alpha Edward’s reputation which was not good.

“You should go to the event,” James said to Dawn and Zina.

“Can’t we avoid it?” Dawn asked.

James shook his head. “Women are one of the top three things my father takes notice of. If you don’t show up, he will seek Lieutenant Owen at what point he needs to have a very good explanation as to why you didn’t come.” James looked at Owen. “No matter what explanation you give him, the fact is that two Omegas didn’t show up when explicitly asked for them. You will be punished.”

Owen had to ask. “Punished? How?”

James shrugged. “It will depend on my father’s mood. Demotion. Dungeon. He might make an example of you.”

Zina sucked in a sharp breath. “That bad?”

“My father will see that as Lieutenant Owen rebelling against Alpha orders. What does Alpha Dayson do with traitors?”

Zina’s hold on Owen’s hand tightened. Sure, traitors don’t have a good ending, but Alpha Dayson doesn’t classify as treason when a woman misses a party.

“What if we leave the pack?” Owen asked.

James was surprised by this question. “You want to flee? Disown the pack? What do you think my father will do when he realizes you ghosted him? He might think that you were attacked, kidnapped, or that you ran away. In any of those cases, he will look for an explanation.”

Owen couldn’t believe this. “Are you saying that the only way out of this is if I attend the party with someone else’s mate and pretend that she is mine? What about my mate? Should I stand on the side and watch other males breathe down her neck?”

James raised his hand, indicating to Owen to calm down. “It will be a big party with a lot of people. My father won’t do anything despicable in front of guests.” He turned to Cornelia. “Especially not guests from the Midnight Guardians pack.”

Cornelia understood where James was going with this. “You want me to keep an eye on them?” She turned to Dawn and Zina. “We can take turns. Talia, Mindy, and Sandy will also be there. If we notify Kalina and Tatiana, I’m sure they will cooperate as well.”

Since Maya and Jaeden were staying in the Shadow Fang pack to protect it in case rogues attack, Mindy was the next in line to go as Luna Talia’s aide, and she would come with Gideon who was not happy to go, but he couldn’t leave Mindy to go on her own either. As for Sandy, she will come with Tyler, as Alpha Natalia’s Gammas. Normally, Meg and Kai would accompany Talia from the Midnight Guardians pack, but Meg was pregnant, and Talia didn’t want to expose her to potential risks.

George liked James’ plan. “With females staying in groups, no one will dare to act out of line.”

Owen was still not pacified but he saw that Zina relaxed a bit, so he decided to keep his mouth shut. He didn’t want to be a worrywart.

“Don’t forget that Nora will come in the afternoon to help your mates get ready for the party,” James said before asking, “Are we done here?” He was eager to go with Cornelia to their room.

George had a question, “Is there something we should know about tomorrow’s event?”

James shrugged. “You are one of the guys in charge of security. You probably know more than I do.”

James didn’t care about his birthday celebration. Cornelia will attend as a special advisor to Alpha Natalia, and James will look for every opportunity to stick to his mate. Other than that, nothing else mattered.

Before leaving, James gestured toward Owen and spoke to George. “I suggest you don’t leave him out of your sight.” James reached into his pant pocket and threw a small bottle at George. “You should feed him this. One pill will prevent him from using the pack-link for twenty-four hours.”

George nodded in understanding. If Owen can’t use pack-link, he can’t betray them sneakily. James really thought of everything.

Once James and Cornelia left the study, Zina shifted in her seat. “It seems it’s time for sleep.”

Zina was worried about the upcoming party, but that was far in the future because she had a full day until then and her mate was right next to her, holding her hand, handsome, edible, and smelling of honey. How could she focus on anything other than Owen?

“Where will you sleep?” Dawn asked.

Before Zina could respond, George spoke, “How about you girls talk outside? I want a word with Owen in private.”

Dawn was happy to hear George suggest this. Dawn wanted to tell many things to Zina, but she didn’t want to embarrass Zina in front of her mate who was visibly confused with everything that happened in the last few hours.

Owen didn’t like that Zina left his visual range and George frowning at him didn’t make things better.

George threw the bottle of pills at Owen which the latter caught with the flick of his wrist.

“Take one,” George said with finality.

Owen didn’t like the obvious show of distrust, but if the roles were reversed, Owen would do the same. He didn’t want to fuss about it. If George or James wanted to harm him, they would do it already.

Owen took one white pill and placed it on his tongue for George to see, and then he swallowed it.

“Are you going to ask me to leave?” Owen asked George after returning the bottle with the remaining pills.

“That would be for the best,” George said. “However, considering what you know, I can’t afford leaving you out of my sight.”

“You don’t trust me.”

“Do you trust me?” George responded with a question.

Owen puffed his cheeks. George was right. They had no reason to trust each other. Owen was acting like an ass for years and a simple sorry won’t fix it. “Now what?”

George didn’t have a long-term solution. If this was anyone else, he would just snap his neck and eliminate the threat. It wouldn’t be the first time for people to have a deadly accident after finding out things they shouldn’t know about. However, Owen was Zina’s mate and George needed to be less murderous. “You will spend the night in this villa, in the room where you woke up.”

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