Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
In the packhouse
Maya and Jaeden were in the kitchen, and Jaeden passed Maya a cup of tea.
“Are you sure this should calm me down?”, Maya asked while looking at the steaming cup. It was her third one and based on her uneasiness, it was not working.
Jaeden shrugged. “Would whiskey work better?”
Maya thought that’s a good idea. “Probably. Give me a glass. Fill it all the way. Or better give me a bottle.”
Jaeden rolled his eyes. “Let’s not drink during the day. We have so much to do, and guests will be here soon. With Dayson and Talia out of the packhouse, we need to be sober.”
Maya puffed her cheeks in displeasure. “After the stress I went through, I need something to ease the edge.”
“Don’t exaggerate.”, Jaeden said.
“Exaggerate? You were not there, Jaeden. I couldn’t breathe.”
Jaeden didn’t know exactly what happened, but he felt Maya’s emotions through the mate bond. “We already knew that Talia’s aura is comparable to Dayson’s. It’s a good thing if our Luna is a strong she-wolf.”
Maya agreed with Jaeden but “That was not Talia.”
Jaeden frowned. “And who was it?”
Maya didn’t have an answer to this question. “It was something ancient. Powerful. Scary.” She was not sure how to explain what she felt when Talia’s wolf came out.
“You make her sound like she turned into a monster.”, Jaeden said sarcastically. He was confident that Maya was blowing it out of proportion. He thought of something. “How was Dayson faring against Talia’s aura?”
“He was fine.”, Maya responded right away. Dayson didn’t seem to be affected.
Jaeden r*bbed Maya’s shoulder to comfort her. “There you go. If she didn’t affect him, then she can’t be more powerful than he is.”
With werewolves, strength is determined by sheer strength or by genetics, where the ones with powerful aura can become high-ranking members of a pack. bet**en the two, genetics takes precedence because a powerful aura will force others to submit, regardless of how much time they spent training.
Maya didn’t know how to explain what she felt. It was not about who is stronger, but about the type of power.
When Dayson releases his aura, Maya has an urge to submit and obey, but Talia’s aura was suffocating, painful, like an invisible force was p**ssing from every side, threatening to crush her.
Before she could say anything, both Maya and Jaeden heard Dayson’s voice through the mind-link, ‘Arrange for Marcy from the Red Moon pack to come here as soon as possible. Accommodate her demands as long as they are reasonable.’
‘What?’, Jaeden asked back, but his question hit a wall, indicating that Dayson shut down the mind-link. He didn’t want to be disturbed.
Maya and Jaeden exchanged confused glances. Did they hear the same thing?
The morning started great, and they completed many of their duties ahead of time so they can relax before guests arrive, but then things turned for worse unexpectedly and Dayson carried Talia out of the packhouse to who-knows-where. And now, after nearly two hours of complete silence, Dayson told them to prepare things for Marcy?
This day was getting weirder by the minute, and it was barely afternoon.
~ the Red Moon Pack ~
Earlier that day
Marcy was in the dining room of the Red Moon Pack, having breakfast with her father (aka Alpha Edward), her mother (aka Luna Layla), her brother (aka James), Beta Raymond (aka Nora’s father), and Nora.
Other than the crisp clinking of the utensils, the dining room was silent. Luna Layla insisted that people shouldn’t talk during a meal, because no one should talk with their mouth full of food.
Unless they had guests, their mealtimes were quiet occasions.
However, the absence of people’s voices didn’t mean that they didn’t communicate through their mind-link.
Marcy could see that they would pause their movements occasionally or make faces, which was an obvious sign of an ongoing conversation.
It was normal for Alpha Edward and Beta Raymond to mind-link each other. Marcy guessed that they were discussing issues related to the pack, but this time even Nora exchanged a few meaningful glances with Alpha Edward. Since when was Nora important enough to talk like that with Marcy’s father?
Marcy was happy that they kept her out of the pack’s business, which meant that no one would talk to her.
Since rejecting George, Marcy’s wolf was getting weaker by the day, and that caused her mind-link to falter sometimes. It was like making a phone call when one’s phone has bad reception. Marcy believed that once Alpha Dayson marks her, her wolf will stop sulking and things will get back on track. Actually, with an Alpha’s venom in her system, she should get a power boost. That’s just one of many perks she will get as Dayson’s Luna.
“Marcy? Marcy!?”, Luna Layla called.
Marcy’s head snapped in her mother’s direction. “What?”
“Why are you not responding to the mind-link?”
Marcy didn’t want to admit she has problems because that would mean she needed to reveal that she found her mate (and rejected him). “I was just thinking something. What is it?”
Luna Layla frowned impatiently. “I was asking if you want to join us. I’m going with Gabriella and Natalie for some shopping, a spa, and lunch. We should be back mid-afternoon.”
Marcy was not eager to spend the day with her mother and her girlfriends. Pampering and shopping sounded nice, but those three will end up talking about the latest gossip, and everyone was still buzzing about the Luna announcement ceremony at the Lightclaw pack, which meant they will discuss topics that are unpleasant for Marcy.
Who cares about the future Luna of the Lightclaw pack? Kalina ignored Marcy more than once, and after numerous attempts to approach Kalina, Marcy got less than a minute of exchanging empty pleasantries. How frustrating!
And even worse was the topic of Alpha Dayson and the woman he brought with him as a date.
“I would love to join you, mother.”, Marcy lied with the best smile she could muster. “Unfortunately, at nine-thirty AM I have scheduled video conference with the chef who teaches baking, and today we will discuss multi-layered pastries.” Marcy knew that her mother won’t investigate because she never paid attention to what Marcy was doing outside parties. “If I miss this session, the next one will be in two weeks. His schedule is packed and I waited for my slot for more than a month.”
With that, Luna Layla gave up on convincing Marcy to go with them.
After finishing her meal, Marcy went to her room, to find solace in reading online novels. Marcy was picking novels with storylines that start with the heroine being trapped and looking for a way out. Something like modern-day Repunzel.
Since Marcy arrived home from Europe, she realized that her father is set to use her in order to expand his influence, her mother is his silent accomplice, and after Alpha Dayson’s visit, Marcy knew that Nora is NOT her friend. With her brother being only fifteen years-old, and not interested in anything beyond training, Marcy was on her own. That meant that she needed to watch her own back.
She carefully picked a handful of Omegas and gave them benefits in exchange for information and small favors.
Anna (aka Talia’s main ex-bully) became one of Marcy’s informants, and thanks to Anna, Marcy knew when who was doing what in the packhouse.
Anna was happy to work for Marcy because Marcy convinced Luna Layla that Anna should be in charge of the second floor. That was definitely a promotion and Anna was ecstatic because other than an upgrade in status, she also got five Omegas to work for her, so Anna’s duties consisted of telling others what to do and inspecting it when it was over.
It was shortly before 10 AM when a knock on the door got Marcy’s attention and based on the knocking pattern, Marcy knew that Anna was on the other side.
“Come in!”