Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Talia nodded in understanding. “So, you don’t want to be a Luna?”
Mindy shrugged. “When I imagine my future, I see a guy who will worship me without trying to fit me into a mold he created for me. That’s why I will marry only one guy, and that will be my fated mate, regardless of what his standing is. I’m not an innocent girl who saves herself for marriage, but I know that playing with Alphas doesn’t bring anything good, because they are the ones playing, while females are treated as playthings.”
Mindy saw that Talia was frowning, so she clarified, “I’m not talking randomly. Just like any other unmated Alpha, my brother left a long trail of broken hearts behind him, and I refuse to be a notch on the bedpost no matter how expensive or flashy that bedpost is.”
Talia gaped at Mindy while processing her words. She said so many things! But Talia understood that Mindy is a confident woman who knows what she wants.
In a stark contrast compared to Talia, Mindy was born as part of an Alpha family, and she grew up with all the riches one could wish for, yet Mindy was just like Talia, wanting independence and to be in charge of her destiny.
Talia respected that.
…
…
Talia looked at Mindy and thought how this was silly. Yesterday, Talia couldn’t wait to put distance between her and Mindy, yet here are they now, at the same table, just the two of them, having a casual talk, like equals. Friends, maybe.
“You are a crafty one, aren’t you?”
Mindy’s question confused Talia.
“What?”
“I was asking you about your relationships, yet you managed to turn it around and I ended up talking about myself.”
“That was not my intention.”, Talia said. Why was it her fault that Mindy was chatty?
“But that’s what you did.”, Mindy said. “It’s only fair that you return the favor and tell me something about yourself.”
It’s not that Talia was not willing, but talking about the Red Moon pack and her time in the attic was prohibited. She didn’t want to get Alpha Dayson in trouble.
“There is nothing much to say.”
“There must be something.”, Mindy persisted.
Talia gave up. She had a story ready anyway. “I grew up with my grandparents, isolated. When they passed, I went to find somewhere to live because it was hard to survive on my own, and Alpha Dayson was kind enough to offer me a place in his pack.”
Mindy made a face. There was that word ‘kind’ again. Mindy is not close to Dayson, but the rumors about him are consistent: Dayson doesn’t care about women for more than one night. Besides, when a pack accepts new members, there are channels to put them through, yet in Talia’s case, Dayson was involved personally.
How can Mindy not be curious?
“So, now that you are at the Shadow Fang pack, what are you doing?”, Mindy asked Talia.
“I’m helping in the kitchen.”
Mindy cocked an eyebrow. “Alpha Dayson put you to work right away?”
“No, no.”, Talia quickly said. “I asked to work in the kitchen because I wanted to learn how to cook. Besides, sitting in the room the whole day is boring.” Seeing that Mindy’s expression showed approval, Talia had an urge to leave a good impression, so she added, “I’m also studying about medicine with the hope to work in the pack hospital, and I’m training to improve my physical condition and learn to fight.”
“Really?”
Talia nodded earnestly and gestured toward the table where Keith was. “Keith is my personal trainer.. He designed an exercise routine for me. We will be going to the training center from here…”
“Oh, you will not stay at the festival?”, Mindy interrupted Talia. She was looking forward to being part of a group.
Sure, there are Sandy, Lulu, Pierce, Liam, and Jaeden, but all of them are looking at Mindy with stars in their eyes, while Talia is treating Mindy like a normal person, so Mindy preferred Talia compared to other people.
“We will not go right away.”, Talia responded. “It won’t be good to exercise immediately after lunch. If you want, you can join us for training. Keith is a great coach.”
Now that they broke the ice, Talia thought that Mindy is a nice person.
Mindy pursed her lips. “No, thanks. I will skip on sweating.” She stood up abruptly. “Alright, since you won’t be here long, we should start checking out this fair. Your friends seem to be eager to move…”
…
…
Talia and Keith headed to the training center for their session in the gym, and Talia was in a daze.
After finishing lunch, for more than an hour, they were checking out various booths and she even got to throw balls on empty cans. Talia’s aim was horrible even after Mindy showed her several throwing techniques, but Talia had a lot of fun.
The best part was that maybe, just maybe, Talia made a new friend. Mindy.
The two of them spoke a lot and the mood was good, and before Talia left, Mindy gave Talia her personal phone number with, “We will be here until tomorrow, but things can get crazy, and I want to make sure we can stay in touch no matter how things develop…”
Mindy was not pleased that Talia doesn’t have an email address or a phone, but Talia promised that she will contact Mindy as soon as she gets one of those two.
With this, Talia had Axel’s and Mindy’s phone numbers, and that made it two!
Talia kept Mindy’s number safe, determined to contact Mindy as soon as she gets a phone.
Mindy also said that she hopes to spend more time with Talia before they leave the Shadow Fang pack, and Talia was looking forward to it.
Talia couldn’t help but compare Mindy and Marcy. Both of them are princesses in their respective packs, but Marcy is a white lotus who would ruthlessly punish Talia without evidence, while Mindy is kind and approachable, and most importantly, Mindy treated Talia as equal. Talia liked that. She liked it a lot.
It was all surreal.
“Are you alright?”, Keith asked Talia.
“Yes. Why?”
“You are limping.”
“Oh…” Talia was so excited, that she didn’t notice. “It seems that the medication wore off.”
Keith frowned. “What medication?”
“Hangover medication.”
Keith was confused. “You are limping because of a hangover?” It didn’t make sense.