Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
“What?”, Jaeden asked.
“I wanted Cornelia to show me magic, yet Talia was right here, hiding a secret.”
“Don’t overthink it. I’m sure she has her reasons for hiding it.”, Jaeden said. “It’s best we pretend we didn’t see anything until she reveals that on her own.”
He tugged her to sit on the sofa. “Let’s sit and watch over them. This might be a long night.”
“What can we do if something happens?”
Jaeden shrugged. “Be a witness. Make sure no one disturbs them. That’s what Betas do for their Alphas.”
Dayson groaned lowly, and before he opened his eyes he felt a warm presence by his side. It was a familiar shape that fit perfectly with the curves of his body, and the sparks that ignited wherever they touched confirmed it was Talia.
He opened his eyes to see Talia’s hair spread over his chest and smiled a little in relief. All the negativity he experienced must be a nightmare because there was no way that he forgot how important Talia was, and even if he didn’t remember her, he wouldn’t leave her behind in an unknown place. And she was right there, in their room, it was all good.
“Are you yourself?”
Jaeden’s question made Dayson look that way and he frowned. Why were Jaeden and Maya there?
“What do you mean?”, Dayson asked. The rumble in his chest made Talia stir and he tightened his hold on her.
“I mean. Do you know who I am? Do you know who she is?”, Jaeden gestured toward Talia, and Dayson’s stomach sank. Was it possible it was not a nightmare?
Dayson responded with a nod.
“Talia went through a lot of shit to get you back, Dayson.”, Jaeden said. “You brought Marcy into the packhouse, and she believes you will make her his Luna.”
“I will fix it.”, Dayson said.
“I hope so. Are you OK now?”
Dayson was not sure how to respond to this. Was he OK? His mind was in turmoil and his emotions were a mess, and Jaeden was talking again.
“Can we go to our room? If you feel anything is off with your head or your body, mind-link me. Don’t keep this shit from me, man. This is so much bigger than you and your ego. I thought I lost you. We all did.”
Maya didn’t speak, but her troubled expression told Dayson that she felt the same way as Jaeden.
“I will.”, Dayson said before calling, “Jaeden, Maya… thank you.”
The Beta duo nodded, and they left the bedroom in silence.
Dayson turned to look at Talia and he cradled her in his arms, pulling her as close as possible to his body, needing that physical touch to confirm that she was there, and this was real instead of those horrible images of him running through the forest, sitting at the dining table with Marcy by his side, leaving the cave after he shoved Talia away… His body trembled because he somehow knew that those were real also. How the hell was he going to make up this to Talia? How was he going to get over the heart-wrenching pain in his chest because he hurt his mate?
Talia took a deep breath that filled her system with the addictive scent of the forest and dark chocolate. Dayson. He was by her side, his solid arms were around her, and she wished that the last few days were just a bad dream, but the regret and sorrow that seeped into her through the mate bond told her that she was not imagining it, and she knew he was awake and drowning himself in the grief of what happened in the last few days.
Talia looked up to meet Dayson’s icy-blue eyes full of emotions directed at her.
“How are you feeling?”, she asked.
“I am so sorry, kitten.”, he croaked, his voice breaking.
She was saddened to see him like that but also relieved because she knew he was back. Her Dayson was back.
“It’s not your fault.”
He shook his head. “And whose fault was it?”
“If I didn’t mark you…”, Dayson put his index finger to stop her from talking, but she pushed his hand away. “No, Dayson. I want you to know that it was not your fault. I marked you and when you didn’t wake up in the morning and I realized that besides glowing all over you had a fever, I panicked, and I called Axel. He came with Alpha Isaac, and I agreed that we go to the Midnight Guardians territory, believing they will help you.”
Dayson’s brows came together in a frown as he listened to Talia’s story about how Alpha Isaac and Alpha Sophia feared that he was getting too powerful, and Cassandra performed dark magic, and how Axel, Tyler, Kai, and Meg helped them get into the cave where he woke up after three days.
Dayson was shocked and fascinated to find out how he found himself without memories. There was so much information that he was not sure what to focus on first, but then Talia reached the point of him waking up and she conveniently skipped what happened during those three days, and he knew that she was sparing him from feeling more guilty than he already was.
“When I woke up, I was disoriented and confused, and the only thing on my mind was to return home.”, Dayson said. “I know it’s not much of an excuse, but I really didn’t know who you were. You were talking about dangers and asking me to stay, I couldn’t feel the bond, and I thought that you are trying to deceive me…”
“Shh…”, Talia shushed him because she could feel his emotions and she knew he was on the verge of hyperventilating. “I’m not done.”
Dayson pressed his lips into a line and tilted his head, indicating to Talia to continue.
“It wouldn’t matter if you stayed because you couldn’t remember me. I decided to go back and find out what they did to you and how to revert the process.”
“You went back?”, Dayson asked breathily. “What about Alpha Isaac and Alpha Sophia?” Dayson’s expression darkened. Those two Alphas were set to harm him, and it caused him to forget about his mate, about the rightful Luna of his pack. That meant war!
Talia realized how that was another story, and she didn’t want to talk about her so-called family or about her being the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack. Talia decided to keep those parts for later. “Axel helped me. Things happened and he took over the Alpha position from his parents.” That was the short version with a few details omitted.
Dayson felt jealousy swelling at the gentle voice Talia used when talking about Axel. Normally, Dayson would blow a fuse, but this time he swallowed his grievances because he bailed on Talia, and he had no right to question her about what happened after that. He left her on her own, and his little mate managed to do the impossible. He forced himself to focus on what Talia was saying.
“After talking to Cassandra, we realized that she knew only how to use dark magic and she had no idea how to dispel it, but she said that black runes originated from witches, so we went to find them.”
“Witches? How did you do all that in only one day?”
“Time passes differently there compared to here, and…” Talia stopped talking because there was so much to say, and she remembered that she can fast-forward through it. ‘Can I show him?’
‘Yes.’, Liseli responded, glad that Talia remembered this form of communication. ‘Get closer to Dayson. Physical contact will help because Sapa is not here to accept the information.’
Just how they exchanged memories on the night when Dayson and Talia marked each other, Talia scooted higher on Dayson’s body, and Dayson didn’t resist when Talia pressed her forehead against his.
“Relax and let me in, Dayson.”, Talia said.
Dayson saw images flashing in his mind.
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.