Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Talia drank the beer quickly. The bitterness matched her emotional state and she welcomed it. Talia remembered how on the previous night, when alcohol clouded her mind, she didn’t think about Dayson and what he was doing, and part of her hoped that this one can get her intoxicated so that she forgets about Dayson completely.
“Slow down…”, Keith warned her, and he shook his head in disapproval when Talia didn’t listen.
Talia finished the beer and noticed Keith’s stare directed at her. “What?”
“I was wondering if you will name him.”, Keith said while gesturing toward the puppy plushie. There was no way that he will admit how he was lost in daydreaming which included embracing her.
Talia looked at the plush toy. It was a cute puppy with long ears and fur that was a warm brown color.
“It’s a girl. I will call her Cinna.”, Talia said after some time.
“That’s an interesting name.”
“It’s short for Cinnamon.” Talia thought how the reddish shade of brown reminded her of cinnamon, so she went with that.
Keith took the toy from Talia’s hands and cradled her, like holding a baby. “Hi Cinna, do you like the name mommy gave you?”
Talia blinked. “What?”
“Now we are parents of a pretty girl. Look, she has your hair and my eyes.”, Keith said while grinning like a proud father, and Talia stifled a laugh.
“I didn’t realize what all was included when I accepted the toy.”, Talia responded.
Keith was glad to see that Talia smiled. She was gloomy since they left the parade and Keith didn’t want to ask for an explanation on what caused her mood to drop. He knew that it was related to Alpha Dayson, but Keith guessed that it’s better if he doesn’t know the details.
“Can I have another one?”, Talia asked while pointing at the remaining beer cans.
“Sure.”, Keith responded right away. “But I hope you drink this one slower. Or are you one of those people who enjoy the hangover?”
Talia realized that her behavior was unsightly. “I will drink it slower.”
Keith nodded in approval and handed her another can.
Talia took a sip of beer and cursed internally when she realized that her thoughts went to Dayson again.
Why can’t she stop thinking about him?
He is now with some she-wolf, in his room which is across the hallway from hers, and he is absolutely NOT thinking about Talia or about the fair or about his broken promise.
And he said that he can’t stay away from her. What a joke!
The sad part was that she believed him. How stupid.
“Do you come here often?”, Talia asked Keith with the hope that a chat will keep her mind busy, and she won’t think about that Devil.
“It depends on how often I want privacy.”, Keith responded cryptically.
“So, is this like your hideout?”
“Something like that.”
There was no way that Keith will admit to Talia that this is one of his hookup spots.
Werewolves are creatures close to nature, and they don’t mind getting frisky in the open.
Keith has a room in Katya’s home, but he never brought a girl there because Katya would not let him hear the end of it. Every time Katya hears that Keith was with a girl, she starts getting nosy, like Keith found a wife candidate.
But if he said any of that to Talia, she would definitely misunderstand, so he decided to keep it short and devoid of details.
Talia noticed that usually chatty Keith was stingy with answers and acting mysterious, and she guessed that he didn’t want to tell her the truth.
She snatched the puppy toy from his hand.
“Hey!”, Keith exclaimed. “Be careful with our daughter. If you hurt her I will need to rush her to see Travis, and the poor guy is probably still sleeping. If I wake him up, he will be groggy and maybe misdiagnose her condition…”
Talia burst into giggles. Keith’s expression was full of concern for their plush daughter, and it was hilarious.
“Don’t worry, Cinna. Your mommy is drinking beer, but overprotective daddy is still vigilant…”
Both Talia and Keith laughed and that stopped when Keith abruptly gasped for air and lowered his head.
“Keith?”, Talia asked with concern, and it took her a moment to see Dayson standing a few steps away with an icy expression.
…
…
How did Dayson find his way to Keith’s secret spot?
Let’s rewind a bit…
Dayson rushed from the packhouse, convinced that something is wrong with Talia.
When Maya told him that the group who was with Talia has no idea where Talia went, Dayson thought that he is going to lose his mind.
‘Don’t call our warriors to search for her now!’, Jaeden spoke into the mind-link with urgency. ‘Everyone will be alerted, and it will be the same as putting a neon sign above Talia’s head for Alpha Richard and everyone else to see.’
‘Give us a few minutes to look into this discretely.’, Maya added. ‘Talia is the MVP of the tournament. Someone saw her, we just need to investigate this without alerting people…’
They have warriors everywhere as covert security, and no incident was reported.
Dayson eliminated the possibility of Talia willingly going with someone because she didn’t really know anyone, and considering her inexperience, Dayson was worried that she was tricked.
Was she kidnapped? Did his enemies already find out who she is? Did they connect that the woman who got Alpha Richard’s interest is Talia? What if she was being tortured right now?
Dayson cursed himself for sitting next to Talia during lunch. If he stayed away, this wouldn’t happen.
He needed to find her.
The sliver of hope came when Maya confirmed that coach Keith is missing also, and he was in that same group with Talia.