Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Pierce kissed her hand again and stood up, and just as he stepped on the side, Mark was kneeling in front of Talia and holding her hand. He was the second to kick from the penalty mark.
Talia exhaled helplessly and looked to the side where Liam was sitting on the bench. If she knew that allowing Liam to warm her hands that morning would lead to all this crazy ritual, she would stop it before it happened.
…
Up in the VIP booth…
Everyone was on their feet (just like the rest of the audience) and observing the preparations for penalty kicks in silence.
Other than a few indistinct whispers that were hushed in the bleachers, no one was talking.
Dayson was torn between his reasoning and emotions that raged within him as he watched Talia standing in the middle of the field and holding hands with some random guys (how he saw it).
‘Doesn’t she look like a Luna?’, Jaeden’s voice sounded in Dayson’s head.
Dayson didn’t get it. ‘What?’
‘Maya found out that they believe how holding Talia’s hand and kissing it is good luck. Every player dedicates his goals to Talia. She is motivating them to do better. Isn’t that what Luna does for her pack? Those are some of our best warriors, and they are kneeling in front of her willingly, no one is forcing them. Can you believe that they met only a few hours ago? That should tell you that Talia’s strength goes beyond physical. People want to be with her and to please her.’
Dayson had to agree that Jaeden was right, but Dayson wanted to do the pleasing, damn it!
Dayson knew that he should be happy for Talia, however… ‘I have maddening desire to go down there and chase away all those guys.’
‘That’s the bond.’, Jaeden responded. ‘The more time you spend together, the stronger the pull will be.’
‘But she doesn’t feel it.’, Dayson said dejectedly.
‘I don’t think that’s true.’
Dayson whipped his head to look at Jaeden. ‘What?’
‘Talia is not a lusty power-hungry she-wolf who is interested in your looks or in your status. Considering your nasty personality, she should run for the hills, yet she is still around. Think about, why is that?’
Dayson frowned when Jaeden said how he has a nasty personality, but he was focusing on something else, ‘Are you saying that she can feel the bond?’
‘Probably not like you, but to some extent, yes. Whenever we asked her to decide on something, her sight gravitated toward you. She wants your approval. When the two of you are together, she looks happy, and that, my friend, is the effect of the mate bond.’
Talia is happy when she is with Dayson. Dayson repeated those words in his mind a few times because he liked the sound of them.
…
The penalty kicks ended with 4:5 for the home team, and the audience erupted in cheers and shouts, notifying the rest of the Darkbourne that it’s time to celebrate the win of the Shadow Fang team.
Everyone dashed to change and quickly freshen up and then the players lined up to get their awards that were set for the top three ranked teams.
The winner was the Shadow Fang team, the second placed was the Midnight Guardians team, and the third placed was the team from the Blue River pack.
The starting crew of eleven players from each of the top three teams was in the middle of the field, accompanied by their coaches, and they were surrounded by other teams.
Dayson walked to the field with Alpha Maddox and Axel.
Four ladies in tight-fitting outfits followed the handsome trio, three ladies were carrying trays with shiny pins that will be given to the players, and the fourth one held onto a trophy for the winner.
The trophy looked like a massive golden cup with two handles, one on each side.
Talia stood with Lulu on the side and clapped as Dayson put pins on the jerseys of the Shadow Fang team.
Talia told herself not to think about Dayson, but he was right there, standing tall and handsome, and she couldn’t stop staring at his back.
Alpha Maddox and Axel were putting pins on teams that were representing their packs.
It was all very official, and no one spoke until Alphas finished putting all the pins.
Then, Dayson shook hands with Keith and gave him the big trophy. With the audience cheering, Keith passed down the trophy to other players until it reached Mark who had a role of a team captain.
The photographer took photos of teams with their awards and Dayson took the microphone for a closing speech.
“Alpha, will you allow me to say a word?”, Keith asked Dayson and Dayson handed him the microphone.
Keith stood in front of his starting eleven players and spoke to the audience. “We are honored to receive these awards, and we hope that you will share with us the joy and pride of winning the tournament. As it’s our custom, I will call out our MVP of the game, the person who contributed the most to our win today.”
Keith paused and walked toward the field line. The crowd parted, opening a path that led straight to Talia.
Keith reached for the pin that was on his jersey and removed it while speaking into the microphone, “Talia, we wouldn’t win today if not for you. You went above and beyond for the team, and you showed us what it truly means to be selfless. I hope you will accept this as a sign of me acknowledging your contributions.”
Talia stood frozen while Keith put the pin on her jersey.
She was not sure what to say. Should she even say anything?
And then Liam approached Talia. “I agree. Without you, I would be sent to the hospital during the first game.” And he put his pin on her jersey.
Talia looked at two shiny pins and when she looked up, there was Pierce, grinning at her and removing his pin.
And just like that, all players of the Shadow Fang team approached Talia and after a minute, she had twelve pins on her jersey.
Mark was standing in front of Talia last, handing her the trophy.
“You guys…”, Talia said in a small voice. “You shouldn’t do this. You worked hard for this win.”
Keith patted her shoulder. “As I said, you are selfless. You didn’t realize how much you did for the morale of our team. These pins are yours; you deserve them. I hope you will continue to be our team spirit. And this is yours also…” Keith waved at Mark and Mark pushed the trophy in Talia’s hands.
The audience exploded in cheers and claps, and Talia felt the heat creeping on her cheeks.