Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
“I don’t see this as turning my back on them.”, Axel said. “They were so focused on the safety of our pack members, that they couldn’t see how they were the ones oppressing their own people. What they did to Alpha Dayson is inexcusable and I hope that one day they realize that.”
At the mention of Dayson, Talia pressed her lips into a line. There was a question she feared to hear the answer to, but she couldn’t ignore it. “How long will it take him to reach the Shadow Fang pack?”
“For a normal werewolf, two days. For him, a day probably.”
Talia nodded. That would give her a month in here to figure stuff before he reaches home. She was grateful for this phenomenon. Looking at the flat rock, Talia wondered what was on the other side. “Is there a way to know if the time passes differently in the other realms?”
“There is, actually…”, Axel said and fished a small device from his pocket.
It looked like a compass with two dials. The white dial was moving slowly while the golden one stood still.
“The white dial shows the passing of time here. The golden one is also moving, but at a rate thirty times slower than the white one and it shows time in the human realm, how we call it. My father gave me this when I went through the portal the first time, to remind me that every day I spend outside is a month for them and that I shouldn’t stay longer than absolutely necessary.”
Talia observed the device curiously. “How will this help when we pass through the portal?”
Axel smirked. “If you pay attention to the white dial, you will see that it’s actually two of them, there is a blue one. This button on the side will put them in the same position. The blue dial shows the time passing in this realm, and the white one shows the time for wherever you are. Right now they are moving at the same rate because we are here. When I pass through the portal to the human realm, the white dial moves at the same rate as the golden one.”
Talia understood that once they pass through that portal, if the white dial moves slower compared to the golden one, she will be in a predicament. She is already pressed to get this resolved as soon as possible, and if the time with witches moves slower than in the human realm, in a matter of hours months could pass for Dayson. Who knows what the situation will be when she returns?
Her anxiety was obvious.
“I know it’s hard, but try to focus on things you can control, and allow others to happen. We will deal with them as they come.”, Axel said.
Talia shook her head. “Sounds easy.” But he was right. There was no point in dwelling on things that didn’t happen yet. “What are we going to do if the people on the other side are hostile?”
Axel shot her a side glance. “We are not pushovers. I might not be able to take down Alpha Dayson, but I am the best fighter in my pack, and you are amazing.” He smiled a little. “I was worried before we came here but now, I think it will be alright. This portal was closed for a long time and I’m sure they don’t have guards watching over it. The other side probably looks plain just like this rock here. Our biggest problem will be to find where witches are.”
Talia hoped it will be that simple.
“What happened to your mind-link?”, Axel asked. “I can’t reach you. Did you shut it down somehow? It would be useful if we can communicate stealthily while in there.”
‘Liseli? What do you think?’
‘It would be useful, but you will need to practice separating what you want to share. I can do an on-off switch. If I turn it on, all your thoughts will be available to Axel and any other member of the Midnight Guardians pack until you learn to control it.’
‘Everyone?’
‘There is a range limit, but you are a strong Alpha, so there is a chance that your range will cover this whole realm.’
Talia remembered members of the Midnight Guardians pack that gathered on the lawn earlier that day. They were now eating and drinking to celebrate Alpha Talia and Alpha Axel, with the belief that their new leaders left to further research that will allow everyone to leave this realm and find their mates. Well, in a way they were not wrong.
Talia thought how opening her mind to all of those people would be unsettling. She was looking forward to doing that with Dayson. He said that he will teach her about everything.
Talia put her hands over her face while trying not to think about Dayson, but the more she tried, the more his face appeared in front of her closed eyes. His smile that made her stomach flip every time… serious expression while focusing on the documents in front of him… anxiousness when he thought that something was wrong… his heated gaze that made her feel naked no matter how much clothes she had on…
“Talia?”
Axel’s voice got her attention.
“I’m sorry, Axel. I am not ready to open up in such a way.” If Axel gets a hint of what was on her mind, she wouldn’t be able to face him. “Give me time, please.”
“It’s OK.”, Axel said while lifting his arms in the air. “We will make it work. I was just asking. No pressure.”
Talia smiled a bit at Axel’s flustered response. What was that about?
“I believe we are ready!”, Cassandra exclaimed.
Axel and Talia stood up and joined Cassandra next to the rock.
“Is the portal working now?”, Talia asked while eyeing the massive rock that was twice her height and as wide as three people standing side-by-side.
Talia imagined that there should be some buzzing and sparks or something like that, magical, but it didn’t look different than just a regular, big, smooth rock.
“There is this last piece”, Cassandra said and held a palm-size triangle-shaped rock in her hand.
“When I put it in here”, Cassandra gestured toward the triangle-shaped groove on the side of the massive rock, “that will be the last piece, and the portal will be functional. Assuming that the other side is not dismantled as well.”
Talia didn’t consider this option before Cassandra mentioned it. “If the other side is not working, then what? Will we get lost in a void? Or sucked into some random dimension? What if we end up crushed into pulp?”
Cassandra waved her hand at Talia, indicating to her to calm down. “No, no. If the other side is not working, the connection won’t be established.”
Well, that was better than getting lost or smashed, but… “If the other side is not working, how can we get there?”
Cassandra shrugged. “There was a time when Gods walked the Earth. They could split and merge continents with a wave of their hands, and create other dimensions with a thought while moving across space and time at will. They created these portals for mortals. However…” She looked at Talia meaningfully. “Even if the portal is not working, you should be able to open it. The Moon Goddess is with you.”
Talia smiled awkwardly. After telling her some nonsense about Gods splitting Earth, Cassandra had a lot of faith in Talia’s non-existent abilities.
Cassandra’s eyes moved from Talia to Axel, and she spoke, “Once the portal is open, we might not be able to shut it down. These pieces will become part of the portal and I don’t know how easy it will be to take them out. We don’t know what’s out there. It could be a broken space or a swarm of monsters. Are you sure we are doing this?”
“Do it.”, Axel said with finality. “We are already here and we are not going back empty-handed. If the other side has trouble, we will deal with it as it comes.”
Talia balled her hands into fists, hoping this will work and it was not another mistake.
Axel’s warm hand wrapped around Talia’s right fist, making it appear so small and delicate like he could crush her without even trying, and she turned to see him smiling at her.
“It will be alright.”, he said, and she felt his encouragement enveloping her, just as his hand wrapped around her fist protectively.
“I won’t allow anything to happen to you, Talia.”, Axel said with all the seriousness in the world. “We will get your mate back and we will make sure that other members of our pack find their mates as well. Believe in that. Believe in me.”
Talia envied his confidence. “How can you be so sure?”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.