Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
“Please, forgive my brother’s indiscretion.”, Mindy fired back. “He is the main reason why my social life is non-existent.”
Sandy stifled a laugh at this. “I understand. I have an older brother also. I’m Sandy…”
“Alright.”, Keith said after all of them introduced themselves. “Can we start moving? I’m starving.”
“How can you be starving with all the food we had there?”, Sandy asked.
Keith rolled his eyes. “I was too nervous to eat, but now that things are settled, the hunger hit me hard.”
Keith glanced at the big trophy that Talia was holding, and he moved to stand next to Talia. “Let me help you carry the trophy. After lunch, we will go to the training center, and you can leave it there until it’s convenient for you to take it home. I will keep it safe in my office…”
The group of ten moved down the street, unaware that Mark and several other players from the Shadow Fang soccer team were right behind them. When they saw Axel and Alpha Maddox chatting there, they decided to tag along covertly.
…
…
A few minutes before…
Dayson was on the parking lot, playing his role of a good host and ensuring that his high-profile guests know that scrumptious lunch will be served in the packhouse.
He was eager to leave.
Since he spotted Talia on the playing field, Dayson was enduring various scenes of Talia with some other guys. He really hated that he is an Alpha. If he is a regular guy, he could be with Talia and tell her that they are mates, and no one would bat an eye.
Dayson thought that going to the packhouse for lunch will help him focus on his guests and the tasks he has for today.
After lunch, Dayson has a meeting with Alphas and that will not be productive if the only thing on his mind is breaking limbs of people who come too close to Talia.
He decided to imagine that Talia is having fun at the festival with Maya or maybe with those few women from the soccer team, and to ignore any male presence around Talia.
Dayson spotted Mindy turning around like she was searching for someone, and then her eyes lit up and she walked away. He didn’t really care about Mindy’s whereabouts, but she made him aware of the fact that Maddox is not there.
He was looking where Mindy was headed and his face stiffened when he saw Maddox and Axel in the group with Talia.
What’s going on? Why are those two chatting up Talia?
Dayson remembered Axel and Talia on the bench in the garden. Axel sounded like he wanted to seduce Talia, giving her his personal number and some cheesy lines.
And in the study, Maddox mentioned how Talia should go to the Blue River pack and he didn’t give up even after Dayson told him how that’s not going to happen.
Is that why Maddox told Dayson to stay away from Talia? So that Maddox and Axel can get close to her?
Where are they going?
Uneasiness swelled within Dayson.
Are Axel and Maddox conspiring to take Talia away?
Are they making their move behind Dayson’s back?
What the hell!?
“Where is he going?”, Jaeden mumbled with a frown on his face while looking after Dayson who was walking away from the parking lot in hurried steps.
“Let him be.”, Maya said.
Jaeden realized that Maya knows something. “Where is he going?” This time Jaeden asked her for real.
“Probably to make sure no one snatches you-know-who.”, Maya spoke cryptically because there were others nearby.
It took a moment for Jaeden to realized that you-know-who is Talia.
“Is this a time for Dayson to do this? We have important guests for lunch.”
Maya smiled. “This is exactly the time when he should do this. He needs to show that she is more important than anything else. As for guests, the two of us will entertain them.”
Jaeden couldn’t believe this. He had a feeling that pretending he doesn’t know what’s going on with Dayson was better because now they can justify all his borderline crazy behavior as chasing after his mate, and Maya will say how it’s romantic. Sheesh!
Talia stood in front of the stand that Lulu’s father (aka chef Page) opened, and she looked at the menu, grateful that it came with pictures.
From there, Talia understood that ramen is noodles that come in a broth, and it can have various toppings.
The pictures showed some options like the one called “ramen-blast 1” that was pork in a spicy broth with egg, corn, and green onion; “ramen-blast 2” was chicken in a regular broth with egg, edamame, and mushrooms.
Besides ramen-blasts (how chef Page called them), there was also an option to build your own ramen where anything goes.
There were options of regular or spicy broth, with meat, three toppings, and pickles included in the price. Additional toppings were available for an extra $2 each.
“What goes well?”, Talia asked Keith who was peering at the menu over her shoulder.
Keith was about to answer, but Lulu was faster, “Don’t ask him. For Keith, anything goes well..”
Talia stifled a giggle. Keith’s reputation as a crazed mixologist was well known.
“Young lady…”, chef Page said. “You should start by picking broth and then meat. There is chicken, pork, and beef. The egg goes good with all those, and vegetable choices depend on what you like.”
Chef Page saw that Talia was looking at bok choy with curiosity, so he offered, “Do you want to taste a sample before placing an order? But let me tell you, most of the flavors are coming from my specially made broth…”
Talia was embarrassed because everyone waited for her to order, and she had no idea what to get. “How about you make me your favorite? I’m not a picky eater.”
“That won’t do.”, Maddox interfered. “It’s your meal and picking ingredients to suit your taste is part of the enjoyment. Let’s start with this…” Maddox snatched the menu from Talia’s hands. “Spicy or mild?… As for the meat, do you prefer chicken, beef, or pork? … Look at these veggies and pick your favorites. Or you can go the other way and exclude the ones you don’t like. Don’t think about the limit of three toppings…”