Chapter 833 – Hidden Desires of the Werewolf King Novel

Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel

‘People need a guarantee that they won’t be abandoned and that they are not moving from one thralldom to another,’ Gideon’s voice sounded in Dayson’s head.

“This is a lot of land for me to manage, and I don’t need more members,” Dayson said loudly so everyone could hear him.

James frowned in disapproval. “If we just leave this, it will be chaos. Other packs will fight for the territory, and people will either be enslaved or become rogues.”

Dayson raised his hand, indicating to James to be patient. “The Shadow Fang pack territory is far away from here. It doesn’t make sense for me to modify the borders of other packs to connect two territories or to have two separate regions to manage. Since it’s in everyone’s interest to suppress rogues and avoid chaos, I suggest that all Alphas present join me in discussing an acceptable solution.”

Dayson looked at Alpha William and Alpha Richard. “Based on the rules of the challenge, this territory and everything on it is mine. If you agree to compensate me, I am willing to trade you for it.”

Dayson turned back to James. “As for people, I want to give them the freedom to choose which pack they want to join. If they want to join the Shadow Fang pack, they will need to relocate. I have a lot of unused land. Accommodations and jobs will be provided.”

James nodded in agreement and turned to the crowd that was still swelling.

“People of the Red Moon pack!” James called in an official tone. “As you can see, Alpha Edward fell. The Red Moon pack as we know it is no more. I accepted Alpha Dayson’s offer to be his Gamma. The Shadow Fang pack is known to provide fair treatment to all members, and they accept anyone who comes in peace. I won’t tell you what to do next. Think for yourself. This is your chance to decide which pack you want to join. You can approach the Alpha of your chosen pack and ask if they will take you in. If you have family elsewhere, you can go to them. If you don’t have anyone, you won’t be discarded.” James glanced at the time. “I expect to see your decision by eight o’clock in the morning. We will arrange for people to write down lists for each pack, so you can come and give your names and occupations…”

James quickly organized everything, and people followed his orders without hesitation because he was a familiar face, their young Alpha James. The reality was yet to sink in.

George had a number of his people ready, a mix of warriors and Omegas. Warriors took over the security of the packhouse and surroundings, and Omegas were led by Estelle to work in the packhouse. Per James’s advice, George prepared dozens of cell phones, and they distributed them to their people so they could communicate. It was less effective, but it worked.

Owen volunteered to keep an eye on border patrols.

They acted swiftly and decisively because if hostile units found out that Red Moon pack members didn’t have their pack link anymore, hell would break loose. Unfortunately, the Red Moon pack had a lot of enemies.

They called a medic to tend to George’s wounds and clean him up, and several warriors carried Alpha Edward’s body away from prying eyes.

Lunas stayed with the people of the Red Moon pack in order to provide advice about resettling in different packs and to help document everything.

Talia led the way to Alpha Edward’s study. They planned for all Alphas in attendance to meet there, but Talia paused at the door and scrunched her nose.

She looked at Dayson, whose brows were together in a frown. He also picked up a thick scent of blood.

Dayson entered the study first, and they found Ana’s mangled body on the floor. She was naked, and every inch of her flesh was covered in bruises, and there were numerous cuts. The tan carpet under her was now dark red due to the blood it soaked in.

Keith approached the body to check. “She is not dead.”

A second later, Ana confirmed it with a groan. If she were human, those injuries would kill her.

Seeing no one moved, Tony asked, “Should we call a medic?”

Dayson looked at Talia, and he squeezed her hand. He recognized Ana from the encounter in George’s villa.

Ana’s eyes fluttered open, and she hissed when she saw Talia.

“You,” Ana said. “It’s all your fault.” She came to tell the truth, but Alpha Edward didn’t believe her. He beat her brutally, and then he left her there so he could attend the party. Ana was a she-wolf, and she wouldn’t die from that, but she could feel pain, and it hurt like hell.

Talia didn’t know how to feel. There was no glee or happiness she assumed would come when facing Ana’s suffering, but Talia didn’t feel sorry for the female either. It was an unknown numbness that made Talia uncomfortable.

Ana’s eyes moved over people who milled in the study, and she swallowed hard when she realized too many Alphas were looking at her questionably.

“Is she a spy?” Maddox asked.

“No,” Talia responded. “She is an Omega working here.”

“Do you want to send her to the dungeon?” Dayson asked. He guessed that Talia didn’t want to grant relief of death to Ana.

Talia shook her head and said to Keith and Arya, “Take her to the attic.”

“Attic?” Keith asked.

“That’s the place where I suffered because of her. Now it’s time to swap places.”

Ana’s eyes flashed, and she turned to James. “Young Alpha James! Did you hear that? This confirmed that my story was true. She is not Luna Talia or Alpha Natalia. She is an impostor, a lowly Omega who used to work here. She was hiding in the attic and was everyone’s doormat and… Ahh!”

Ana shrieked when Arya grabbed a fistful of Ana’s hair and lifted her off the ground.

“Don’t you dare badmouth my Luna!” Arya said angrily.

“Young Alpha James!” Ana cried for help, and her stomach dropped when she realized James was totally focused on the female wearing a baby-blue cocktail dress by his side.

Keith looked at Talia with a complex expression, remembering how skinny and bruised she was when he saw her the first time. Was it because of Ana? It looked like it. Talia’s gaze was firm, but Keith guessed that Talia’s emotions were unstable.

“Arya and I will take care of this trash,” Keith said, and then he asked Dayson through the pack link, ‘Are we allowed to kill her?’

‘Don’t make it easy on her.’

Keith bowed, and then he and Arya walked out while dragging Ana behind them.

“Are we supposed to have a meeting here?” Alpha William asked with a grimace while looking at the bloody stain on the carpet. It reeked of blood.

“There is a conference room at the end of the hallway,” James said, and he turned to Cornelia. “Are you hungry? I didn’t see you eat much.” His mate was pregnant, and he wanted to feed her.

“Let’s take half an hour break before we meet. I’m sure everyone could use a few minutes to process what happened here.” James said, and then he gestured toward the big map on the wall. “This is the territory of the Red Moon pack. Alpha Dayson said that he was not interested in land, but he was willing to trade for it. I suggest you think of the area you want and what you will offer in exchange for it…”

…

Dayson followed Talia to the third floor. That’s where the master suites were, which belonged to Alpha Edward and Luna Layla. Talia knew there were two suites as Alpha and Luna of the Red Moon pack didn’t share a bedroom.

Dayson thought that she would go to the suite belonging to Alpha Edward, but Talia went to the door across the hall.

Talia knocked on the door, and she waited for “Come in” before letting herself inside. Dayson was right behind her.

Luna Layla was packing a suitcase. She looked up warily. “I’m getting one suitcase of clothes and toiletries to last me a few days until I figure out what to do. I left jewelry and things of value behind.”

Talia waved, indicating that was not important. “We are not here to check what you are taking.”

“You should be,” Luna Layla said. “I assume Edward is dead. I could feel the bond break fully, and I’m confident he wouldn’t let me go willingly. Everything here belongs to you now. Do whatever you want to with clothes, but this…” She reached for one purple palm-sized box. “It belonged to my grandmother and her mother before that. Can you ensure Marcy gets this?”

Talia pressed her lips into a line, and she didn’t accept the box. “Luna Layla…”

“Just Layla. I am not anyone’s Luna anymore.”

Talia looked at her sadly.

‘She deserves to know,’ Liseli said, and Talia agreed.

“Marcy is dead.”

Luna Layla’s brows came together. “Dead? How?”

“She was in the Blue River pack when rogues attacked after Luna Tatiana’s ceremony. Marcy was one of the casualties. I am sorry for your loss.”

“Rogues? I was there and… I didn’t know…” Luna Layla said absentmindedly. “In a way, it was Edward’s fault. If he didn’t meddle with those people…” She shook her head.

“Do you know something about people Alpha Edward worked with?” Talia asked.

Luna Layla shrugged. “He didn’t confide in me. But I saw things. Recently, he was super secretive. Once, he was talking drunk, and he said how he will be young again. I don’t know from where that came, but Beta Raymond might know. Edward didn’t share much with his Beta, he was always selfish, but Raymond had a way of gathering information.”

When Luna Layla mentioned Beta Raymond, Dayson remembered… “Beta Raymond is missing. Do you know where he might be?”

“If he guessed that Edward would challenge you and lose…” Luna Layla paused. “In the basement, there is a secret door. At the end of the hallway, on the right, there is a brick with irregular patterns. If you press it, it will expose a lever that opens the door. I saw Edward sneaking there more than once in the last few weeks. If I saw him, Raymond saw him as well.”

Talia turned to Dayson. “You should check it out. Take Sandy and Tyler with you, and be careful.”

Dayson knew they shouldn’t delay this as Raymond might be destroying evidence or stealing important things, assuming that he didn’t do the damage already and fled. But Dayson couldn’t leave Talia alone.

“I will be fine, Dayson,” Talia assured him. “I want to talk to Luna Layla a bit, and then I will rest until the meeting starts.”

‘Do you think anyone can harm me?’ Talia asked through their mind-link.

‘Trust in mate,’ Sapa grumbled in Dayson’s head.

Dayson puffed his cheeks. Even his wolf was set on separating him from Talia!

Reluctantly, Dayson left.

Talia turned to Luna Layla, who was hugging the purple box to her chest. When she noticed Talia’s eyes on her, Luna Layla quickly wiped her moist cheeks with the back of her palm. “You probably think I’m a failure.”

“I don’t,” Talia said. “You did what you thought was the best at that time. I didn’t stay here to talk about the past.”

“Why are you here, Alpha Natalia?”

Talia looked around. “Are you sure you want to leave?”

“Even if you allow me to keep it, this is not my home. There are too many bad memories here.”

“I was told that the way to erase bad memories is to replace them with happy ones,” Talia said.

“This pack is done. I heard Omegas talking about how Alpha Dayson won’t take over. Are you telling me to stay here and wait for rogues to come?”

“Dayson won’t take over, but he won’t leave this land unprotected. Land can be divided, but this packhouse is only one, and it will be left empty.”

Talia had an idea on her mind. She didn’t understand how Luna Layla could be such a wasteful Luna who only cared about glitz and glam while neglecting her children. However, after hearing the truth, Talia realized that Luna Layla suffered and endured for more than two decades. Overall, Talia’s opinion of Luna Layla rose and she thought of giving the woman a purpose.

“Why don’t you seek Chester and come to live here? If you do so, I will assure this piece of land will remain neutral. You can keep the third floor as your living quarters, and the bottom can be an area for Alphas to meet, similarly to how Guardians are providing facilities for the Council of Alphas.”

Talia didn’t want to rely on Guardians anymore, but Alphas needed a neutral location where they could meet. This place would serve the purpose perfectly.

“Dayson and I will announce that you are under our protection. No one will dare to bully you. With your experience as the Luna of the Red Moon pack, you will be perfect for the role that requires management, style, and firmness when dealing with willful Alphas. You are free to pick trustworthy people to work here and stand guard; if you don’t have any, we will help you pick.”

“That’s very generous. Why would you do that?” Luna Layla asked. “I’m sure there are many others who would do that job.”

Talia shrugged. “James is now Dayson’s Gamma. James is a smart male, but he is lonely. If you consider yourself as failed in motherhood, it’s not too late to fix it. Create good memories for yourself and James.”

---