Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson enjoyed the sight of Talia who looked at everything with her eyes open wide and a big smile on her face, unable to conceal her excitement.
Talia’s eyes sparkled. There was loud music, colors, lots of people, laughter, cheers, and the scent of delicious food, and she never would have guessed that Dayson will bring her to an amusement park.
During the hour-long drive, she was guessing if they are going to the human town where she went to the hospital, but she recognized the scenery as they zoomed past that area and drove further away.
A gentle squeeze of Talia’s hand got her attention and she looked questionably at Dayson.
“What ride do you want to try first?”, Dayson asked. “Or do you want to try candied corn? Chocolate-dipped pretzels?”
Talia shrugged and shook her head at the same time. “Everything sounds great, but I’ve never been to a place like this, so I have no idea from where to start. I want to try them all.”
Dayson chuckled. “Alright. Let’s start with the closest one.” And he led the way toward the merry-go-round that had seats shaped as carriages.
“My lady…”
He gave her his hand to hold while climbing on the ride and he even bowed a little, and Talia giggled while thinking how Dayson looks like a prince from her Cinderella book.
Dayson was pleased with Talia’s reaction. He was contemplating where to take her, but he knew that a romantic spot would freak her out, so he decided on an amusement park.
Talia can experience something new, and he will get closer to her without her suspecting anything.
Dayson has no idea how to woo a girl, and everything he read online was confusing, so he kept his plan simple. He will stick to Talia and make sure she has fun and she will get used to his presence until she realizes that he became an essential part of her life, and then he won’t fear her reaction when she finds out that they are mates because she will already be in love with him.
Dayson was confident that this will work.
It was Sunday, so the place was lively. There was food, and games, and rides, and people crowding the space made their hand-holding a necessity, and more than once, Dayson held Talia’s shoulder, pulling her to walk close to him so that they don’t get separated. Perfect.
As they walked by the stalls, Dayson noticed Talia looking curiously at the headbands that had animal ears on top. He grabbed one with brown kitty ears and put it on her head.
“A kitty. It suits you.”, he said with a smile.
She wanted to remove it and he grabbed her hand before she could reach the headband.
“Do you not approve of cats? Should I get you the one with bunny ears, or would you rather be a mouse?”
“There is nothing wrong with cats.” The problem was that she didn’t have any money, and she was uncomfortable that Dayson was paying for everything.
“Then, keep it on. I want you to have a souvenir, something to remember by our first visit here.”
He paid for the headband and pulled her to the next stall that offered face painting. Dayson took the brush and after two seconds, the tip of Talia’s nose was black, and she had three whiskers on each cheek.
Dayson looked at his handiwork and nodded in approval. “Now you are a kitty. My kitty.”
Talia was not sure how to respond to this, but somehow, it confirmed that she is not only Dayson’s pet project, but he actually sees her as a pet. That would explain why wants her to sleep in the same bed.
Dayson and Talia took a number of rides that rotated, shook, went up and down, and by the time they stopped for a snack, Talia’s legs were wobbly.
Dayson was happy to hold Talia around her waist and support her until they reached a bench to sit on.
The nearby stall sold bacon-wrapped corndogs, and they enjoyed them with soda that washed down the greasy food.
“Are you having fun?”, Dayson asked Talia.
“Yes. Lots.”, she responded enthusiastically. “Is this your first time here?”
“It feels like it.”, Dayson said ambiguously before explaining. “I had a group of friends and unless something else was going on, we would come here on the weekend.”
Talia noticed that he spoke in the past tense. “What happened? Why did you stop coming?”
“I became the Alpha of the Shadow Fang pack.”
“As Alpha, you couldn’t come here?”
Dayson shook his head. “I was busy and they… became my subordinates. You can’t have fun with people who bow their head to you whenever you raise your voice.”
Talia nodded in understanding and continued munching on her corndog while her heart tightened.
She realized that ten years ago Dayson didn’t lose only his parents, but his friends as well.
From the stories Stephanie told her, Talia imagined teenage Dayson at the center of every party, surrounded by his peers who admired him and girls who hoped to catch his eye.
Overnight, Dayson turned from a carefree boy who was loved and admired into a scary Alpha everyone obeyed. Yes, he has a lot of people around him, but they are either serving him or trying to get something from him.
So far, Talia thought of Dayson as moody, scary, indifferent, powerful, caring… but she never saw him as lonely. Until now.
This was another side of Dayson, and it made Talia’s heart ache.
“What’s wrong?”
Dayson’s question pulled Talia out of her thoughts, and she realized that she didn’t control her expression.
“Nothing.”
“Tell me.”, he insisted. “I see that something got you upset. You can’t say that it’s nothing.”
The sincerity in his voice urged her to speak.
“I’m sad that you are lonely.”
Dayson cracked a smile. “I’m not lonely. I have you.”
Talia paused while looking into his icy-blue eyes that spoke volumes she didn’t understand and she tried to decipher hidden messages.
Is it possible…? Maybe…? What if…?
Talia shook her head and dispelled any ambiguous thoughts. Alpha Dayson will probably bring the ‘wife’ joke again, or maybe this time she will be a pet.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean?” He really wanted to know what’s going on in her mind.
Talia thought for a moment before responding, “I hope that one day you find someone who will be your equal, without hidden agenda.”
“What if I already found her?”
Talia smiled sadly.
‘If you found her, you wouldn’t be here with me. And when you do find her, I will become non-important. You will spend time with her, and tease her, and laugh with her and forget about me as I fade in your memory as your previous pet project…’
Talia would never say those words aloud, but she couldn’t stop a small flame in her heart that tried to resurface under his intense gaze that was directed at her.
She exhaled a shaky breath while telling herself that playful Dayson is here, and she shouldn’t get her hopes up because Dayson is looking for entertainment, and right now that was her role.
Talia chided herself internally. Why did she think he was talking about her as someone important? That’s impossible and she shouldn’t delude herself.