Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Tatiana wondered if she was overreacting.
Was she on the edge because of her situation with Maddox?
Her wolf was protesting that they were apart, and it was affecting her more than she wanted to admit.
Seconds turned into minutes, and Tatiana continued looking at the surface of the lake. Why couldn’t she see Maya or Kalina?
“How long do werewolves hold their breath underwater?”, Tatiana asked Talia. The guys were relaxed and focused on the card game and she decided not to talk to them.
“I’m not sure.”, Talia responded.
“Maya’s record is twenty-two minutes.”, Jaeden said proudly.
“Wow!”, Axel exclaimed. “Maya is impressive. Mine is twenty-seven minutes and twelve seconds.”
Jaeden puffed his chest. Yes, Axel can stay underwater five minutes longer than Maya, but considering that Axel is an Alpha, that’s expected.
“I can go nineteen minutes and twenty seconds.”, Tyler chimed in, and other guys started giving their longest time while holding breath underwater.
Talia’s eyebrows twitched when she realized that no one reported under fifteen minutes. She remembered that she jumped into the waterfall and after less than a minute, she was panicking about how she will drown. Did she panic for no reason? She took a mental note to time herself in a tub… when no one is watching.
Tatiana didn’t care about that who-can-do-it-longer nonsense. Men. Why is everything a competition?
Kalina is a bubbly girl who loves to play and have fun, and Tatiana was confident that Kalina wouldn’t stay underwater for a prolonged time only to prove she can do it. But… why would she be underwater?
Tatiana’s eyes widened when she remembered the story Maya told her while she was standing on that exact spot earlier that day. Mermaids.
Sure, her bubbly sister wouldn’t waste time on silly competitions, but going on a dangerous adventure is another thing. Kalina is an adrenaline junky.
“What are you doing?”, Talia asked when she saw Tatiana removing her dress with haste.
“I need to find Lina.”
“I told you, she was fine.”, Tony chimed in from the side.
“Maybe you can be relaxed, but I can’t.”, Tatiana snapped at him.
Talia realized that Tatiana wouldn’t do this without reason. “What are you thinking about?”
“Mermaids.”, Tatiana said. “Maya was telling Lina about mermaids at the bottom of the lake and I think they went to search for them.”
Talia remembered the story. Maya and Kalina were excited and Talia agreed with Tatiana. Those two daredevils probably went to try their luck with mermaids.
“I will go with you.”, Talia said to Tatiana who was already waist-deep in water.
Tatiana jumped in and started swimming.
Talia was down to her swimwear in less than a second. “Jaeden, tell Dayson that Tatiana and I are going mermaid searching.”
“There are no mermaids there.”, Jaeden said.
Talia didn’t want to argue. “Just tell him.”
It was not about mermaids, but she wanted Dayson to know where she was. She would expect that Dayson will notify her if something unusual happens also.
For the first time in her life, Talia really wished for a mind-link. Then she would be able to reach out to Dayson at any time. Will she get the mind-link after Dayson marks her? Talia was not sure, but she was super-excited at the thought of Dayson marking her. That mark will make it official that they are mates, forever. Forever with Dayson was surreal.
In no time, Talia caught up with Tatiana. She didn’t realize how quickly she swam, but Axel took note of that. He was thinking of going after Talia, but he paused when he realized how quickly she was moving. That was one more confirmation that she was special and Axel couldn’t wait for a chance to catch Talia for some one-on-one talk.
“Are you going down there?”, Talia asked when she saw that Tatiana was taking deep breaths.
“Yes.” Tatiana didn’t know why, but she was uneasy and she needed to check on Kalina.
“What if they are not there? What if they come out?”, Talia tried to reason with Tatiana.
“If they are not there, then I’m worrying for naught. But just in case…” Tatiana’s brows furrowed. “You wait here. If they come out, tell them not to go down until I come back. I want to scold Lina for being so carefree. Doesn’t she know that I worry sick about her? She can try any stunt she wants when I’m not around, but in my presence, I need her safe.”
“What if they are fine?”, Talia asked.
“Then I will dive in for no reason.”, Tatiana said. “She is my baby sister and I’m restless. I need to do this.”
Talia could see Tatiana’s determination. “Alright. Be careful.”
After Tatiana disappeared underwater, everything became peaceful.
With nothing else to do, Talia looked toward the beach and she realized how far they went. She didn’t notice that they swam that far, and she was not tired, not even a little bit. Was that because of her wolf?
Eventually, Talia flipped on her back and relaxed in the water.
Talia was not sure how much time passed when two splashing sounds were heard nearby one after another.
Kalina and Maya.
Both of them gasped for air and had cheery expressions.
“Was that your limit?”, Maya asked smugly.
“I could go at least ten more minutes.”, Kalina responded like it’s not a big deal.
Maya didn’t believe it. She could stay underwater for another minute or two, but ten was exaggerated and she didn’t want to admit that Kalina could hold her breath longer, but how can she prove it? “No way.”
“Yes way!”
Talia cleared her throat to get their attention.