Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson thought about how to explain Talia’s presence to Jaeden and Maya.
“I’m responsible for her.”, Dayson said which got him raised eyebrows from Maya and Jaeden who obviously wanted more information.
“Marcy was in my room and this girl… interrupted. Because of that, she ended up in her current state.”
Maya connected the dots. “Is she the Omega you mentioned, that got a beating from Marcy?”
Dayson nodded.
“Why are you making it sound like you are responsible?”, Jaeden asked. “If Marcy has a temper, it was only a matter of time before she snaps, regardless if you were involved.”
Dayson raised his hand, indicating to Jaeden to be patient. “That was the first time. Then, I went to Alpha Edward and told him that some Omegas are being punished physically and that he should talk to Marcy about it, and after that, this girl got another beating.”
Maya and Jaeden exchanged looks, feeling that something is missing from the story.
Sure, Talia got hit because of Dayson twice and even though he was involved, he didn’t do it on purpose. These are internal dealings of the pack. As an Alpha, Dayson should know that any Alpha won’t tolerate others meddling in how rewards and punishments are given to his people.
Taking her away sneakily is stealing. Alphas consider their pack members like their belongings, because a pack builds strength with numbers. By taking away Talia, Dayson indirectly weakened the Red Moon pack. Sure, she is not a warrior, but every member counts.
“You know that Alpha Edward can turn hostile if he finds out that she is with us, right?”, Jaeden asked.
Dayson rubbed his face with force. He knew that but… “You didn’t see where she stays. I found her in the attic, bruised and bleeding among broken furniture and rags. No one cares about her.”
“And you do?”, Jaeden snapped. “You are aware that our relationship with the Red Moon pack is tense, and that Alpha Edward is working in the shadows while trying to topple you, and you just gave him a reason to go openly against us. Is she worth jeopardizing the Dark Howlers pack? Are you aware that this might cause a war!?”
Dayson growled and his face contorted in anger. “What do you expect me to do? To leave her there to rot while waiting for another beating?”
“That’s not what Jaeden said.”, Maya interrupted with urgency while her eyes darted from Jaeden to Dayson.
She can’t go against her Alpha, but she didn’t want her mate to end up fighting with Dayson either.
Seeing that she got both Jaeden’s and Dayson’s attention, Maya resumed talking calmly.
“We need to do this right. So far, Alphas who complained about us accepting their pack members were silenced by Elders after we provided them with testimonies of how they came to us willingly. We can’t tell them that we smuggled her in a trunk. Only the three of us know how she ended up with us and we can’t keep this under wraps because our pack members will see the newcomer. We need to come up with a cover-up story that will make sense because when Alpha Edward notices her missing, we will be the first suspects and he might send people to look for her.”
Dayson frowned at the thought of anyone from the Red Moon pack coming and searching for Talia. What if they take her away?
He got an idea.
“She didn’t have the mind-link. She was brought to the Red Moon pack as a child and she never went through the acceptance ceremony, so technically, she is a rogue. We can say that she grew up with her grandparents and when they died, she came to this area and we found her on our way home accidentally.”
“Who will believe that?”, Jaeden asked.
“Make it believable!”, Dayson snapped.
“Alright, alright…”, Maya said while waving her hands for Dayson to calm down. “She is a rogue we picked up on the way. We will fill that with a few details to make it believable. How do we explain why she came to us and not to some other pack?”
“Something is off with her wolf.”, Dayson said. “Not many packs will accept members who are not in top form.”
Maya thought that this is something they can work with. But… “Will she cooperate and confirm the story?”
“If she doesn’t, it will bring trouble for us, and she will go back to the Red Moon pack.”, Jaeden said and looked at Dayson with disapproval. “I wish you spoke to me before stuffing her in the trunk. Considering that she is just an Omega and that Alpha Edward doesn’t find value in them, we could have made a deal to take her with us, without risking complications.”
“I didn’t stuff her anywhere. She got in on her own.”, Dayson said irritably. Why are they making it sound like he kidnapped her?
Dayson was with Talia in the attic and he didn’t want to stay there a minute longer than necessary, so he came up with the idea to leave right away while smuggling Talia with them. He didn’t have time for strategy meetings, but it worked, they are out, and they only need to come up with a coverup story and things will be fine. Why is Jaeden raising a fuss?
‘THUD!’
A sound came from Jaeden’s phone and Dayson’s eyes widened in panic when he saw an empty bed.
Talia disappeared!
Dayson dashed out and ran frantically to his room.
He let out the breath he was holding when he saw Talia sprawled on the floor, sleeping.
She fell off the bed.
Dayson shook his head helplessly because she was adorable while hugging a pillow, and he panicked like an idiot for no reason. Why did he think that she disappeared?
He walked to Talia slowly and carefully pried the pillow from her hold before lifting her up.
Talia stirred a bit while adjusting in Dayson’s arms to a more comfortable position, and he stood still like a statue as delightful sparks shoot through his body.
Dayson laid with Talia on the bed with a plan to leave Talia sleeping so that he can return to Jaeden’s and Maya’s room. After all, with Talia’s arrival at the Dark Howlers pack, they needed to make necessary preparations so that she has a place to stay.
However, Talia’s head rested on Dayson’s shoulder and her warm breath fanned his neck as wonderful sparks overtook his senses, making him tense and relaxed at the same time, and he was unable to let go.
Talia was exhausted, and Dayson didn’t sleep for two nights in a row either.
Dayson stared at Talia, engraving every curve of her face into his memory, and he didn’t realize that his eyes were closing gradually.
In Jaeden’s and Maya’s room…
The couple stared at Jaeden’s phone.
“Did Dayson develop a split personality, or did we bring an impostor from the Red Moon pack?”, Maya asked.
Jaeden chuckled. “Maybe they really drugged him with something that makes a man lovey-dovey and Marcy is now pulling her hair out because he left before drugs took full effect.”
“You are not worried about this?”
Jaeden shrugged. “It seems that he cares about the girl. Why would I worry? That should be a good thing.”
“Yeah. It should.”, Maya said thoughtfully. “But this is Dayson. Remember, our Alpha Dayson? The one who uses the word ‘girlfriend’ as a cussword. The one who doesn’t get close to a woman if she has clothes on. Are you telling me that suddenly his tender side is showing? I’m not buying it. This is too sudden, and that girl is NOT his type. Something is not right.”
Jaeden had a thoughtful expression. “It’s not sudden. This change happened shortly after we arrived at the Red Moon pack. I realized Dayson’s behavior is strange when he asked me how I felt when we met.”
Maya blinked rapidly. “Dayson was interested to know more about mates?” She looked at the phone where Dayson slept while cradling Talia in his arms and Maya’s eyebrows went up in slow motion. “Call me crazy, but I think that girl is his mate.”
“You are crazy.”, Jaeden said right away. “Dayson hates everything about mates. If she is his mate, he would reject her and run for the hills, and not cuddle.”
Maya smirked knowingly and pointed at the phone. “And how would you explain THAT?”
Jaeden’s mind was unable to accept that Dayson found his mate, but Jaeden didn’t have an alternate explanation for Dayson’s bizarre behavior. “If that girl is Dayson’s mate, why didn’t he say something?”
Maya rolled her eyes. “Because that’s Dayson. He will not admit it even if you ask him outright. But think about it. Erratic behavior. One moment he wants to leave, and the second one we are staying. Didn’t he show us the video of Marcy naked, humping his hand while begging him to take her, and he left her like that? Since when is Dayson the one who refuses a free meal? He requested a tour of the Red Moon pack, and you know that he always avoided those because when he saw things he didn’t like, Dayson never stayed quiet. And in the car, Dayson was sticking to the girl and we both saw how gentle he was with her. The only explanation is that he found his mate.” Maya pointed at the phone.
“Jaeden, you know better than anyone how much Dayson cherishes the Dark Howlers pack. He wouldn’t risk provoking the Red Moon pack by smuggling a random girl. She is either his long-lost sister or his mate.”
Jaeden remembered how when he met Maya, the only thing he wanted was to be with her, and nothing could get in his way. Not even war.
Everything Maya said made sense and pointed to the possibility that the girl who came from the trunk is Dayson’s mate. Maya was always the smart one.
Jaeden chuckled with a hint of evil sparkling in his eyes. “Dayson doesn’t want to admit that the girl is his mate? Let’s see how long he can pull that off.”
Maya had a bad feeling about this.
She would never consider going against Dayson, even if it’s a joke. However, Jaeden doesn’t have problems with it.
“What do you have on your mind?”, Maya asked reluctantly.
“Let’s observe, for now.”, Jaeden said while rubbing his chin with the tips of his fingers.
Jaeden didn’t want to share too much with Maya, knowing that she will not approve and probably worry. But Dayson is giving a hard time to Jaeden ever since he found Maya, and Jaeden thought how this is a great opportunity to get even.
Jaeden noticed one more oddity. Assuming that Talia is Dayson’s mate, something was not right. She was indifferent toward Dayson, is it possible that she doesn’t know Dayson is her mate?