Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
“Thank you for agreeing to see me, Alpha Magnus”, Talia started with pleasantries even though the old guy technically ignored her so far. “I know you are a busy man.”
“Since you know I’m busy, why don’t you get to the point? I hope it’s worth my time.”
Talia noticed the unpleasant attitude Alpha Magnus didn’t show last time. Was it because Dayson was not present now? Maya and Kalina warned her that Alpha Magnus was not easy to talk to, but Talia didn’t think he will be outright rude. How bad would it be if Axel was not with her? Talia pushed those questions to the side.
“This is about the upcoming Council of the Alphas. Alpha Edward requested this meeting because he is displeased that his daughter failed in becoming the Luna of the Shadow Fang pack. Alpha Edward is set on increasing his power and he wants to use the Council of Alphas to suppress Dayson.”
Seeing Alpha Magnus’ amused expression, Talia realized that he knew all this already and he was looking at her like a child who was complaining about some petty squabble on the playground.
Talia decided to change her tactic.
“Will you stand up against Alpha Edward? Or will you allow him to use you so that he gets stronger?”
Alpha Magnus’ face darkened. “No one uses me.”
“I was not talking only about you, Alpha Magnus. I was talking about all Alphas that are going there without an intention to do the right thing.”
“Oh? And what’s the right thing to do?”
“This is an obvious case of Alpha Edward trying to use numbers in order to bully Dayson. Unless you oppose it openly, your silence will support it.”
“Miss Talia”, Alpha Magnus called. “Are you expecting me to interfere with the issue of an Alpha refusing to make a she-wolf his chosen mate?”
“That’s not what I’m expecting from you. That’s what Alpha Edward is expecting.”, Talia responded matter-of-factly. “He will twist this into an issue of Dayson abusing his power and being incompetent, but the reality is that this meeting is called because Marcy didn’t achieve her goal. Everyone knows that. However, what you don’t know is that Dayson found his fated mate. I hear that Luna Alicia is your fated mate. What would you do if someone tries to match you with another woman? Dayson wouldn’t accept Marcy or any other no matter how much pressure is put on him.”
Alpha Magnus listened to Talia with a stiff expression.
Did he get her point? Sure. Based on the information he got, Dayson’s fated mate was right there in his office, trying to convince him to support Dayson, however… “That’s a touching story, miss Talia, but I don’t understand why you are telling it now, here, to me. I thought I was clear that I don’t have much time, yet you came here to waste it.”
Talia suppressed her rage that flared at his condescending tone. “Waste it?”
“Are you really expecting me to meddle in Alpha Dayson’s choice of his Luna? Or in the efforts of Alpha Edward to create a bond through marriage with the Shadow Fang pack? You mentioned how Alicia is my fated mate. Three decades ago, I chose Alicia to be my Luna. And if at that time I decided to reject her and pick another woman to be my Luna, I wouldn’t be kind to people standing in my way. Do you understand that?”
Talia’s brows came together as she processed his words. Of course, she understood that, but… “This is about Alpha Edward trying…”
“Yeah, yeah…”, Alpha Magnus interrupted Talia. “Alpha Edward wants to get more powerful. What’s new about that? A better question would be, what’s wrong with that? Alphas want to grow so they can protect their people, it’s normal. Let’s stop pretending how this is about mates, doing the right thing, and other sentimental crap because that’s not how things work. If Alpha Dayson was here, asking for my assistance, he would offer me something in return. He would offer me something that would make me happy so that I can make him happy. That’s how things work, Miss Talia. There is no such thing as a free lunch. So let me rephrase my question. Are you here to offer me something, or just to waste my time?”
Talia couldn’t believe this. Weren’t Alpha Magnus and Dayson on friendly terms? James told her that Alpha Magnus was selfish and thinking only about benefits, but she hoped that when facing her, he won’t be so shameless.
Talia didn’t need to look to her left to know that Tony’s head was down and his hands were balled into fists. Tony didn’t like this, but he didn’t dare say anything against his father. This was wrong, so wrong.
“Dayson is your ally. Will you turn your back to him now when he needs you because there are no direct benefits? What about the friendly relationship between your packs? What about Dayson training and mentoring Tony? They are friends, good friends. Doesn’t that count for something?”
Alpha Magnus looked at Talia mockingly. “You talk about friendship and Tony, but how does that relate to me?”
Talia couldn’t believe this. “Isn’t Tony your son? Isn’t he the future Alpha of this pack? By helping Dayson now, you will set a good stage for a good collaboration between Tony and Dayson for years to come. Don’t tell me you don’t see it.” Talia shook her head. “Of course, you see it, but you don’t care because the only thing that concerns you are your benefits.”
Alpha Magnus didn’t like the way Talia spoke, but Axel was right there, glaring at him, so he controlled his temper and responded, “This is not about MY benefits. I am thinking about my pack. That’s what Alphas do.”
“Bullshit!”, Talia squeezed through her teeth. “How about you drop the act and admit that this is only about you? If you are thinking about the Lightclaw pack, you would invest more in your son. He is the future of this pack, not you. But instead of training him, you encouraged Tony to travel and have fun. Tony trusted that you have his interests at heart, yet you denied him years of proper education and now people are talking about him as a failure. Dayson is the one trying to fix your wrongs. Tony has good ideas, yet you are ignoring…”
“How dare you!”, Alpha Magnus snapped. “Who do you think you are?”
“She is…”, Axel stopped talking when Talia raised her hand.
“He doesn’t need to know who I am, Axel.”, Talia said while standing up slowly, unable to sit still as anger swelled within her.
‘Shameless goat!’, Liseli shouted in Talia’s mind. ‘Let me give him some pain.’
Talia ignored her bloodthirsty wolf and spoke to Axel while looking at Alpha Magnus.
“He doesn’t deserve to know who I am. He is just a greedy Alpha who will ruin the lives of thousands so that he can enjoy a few years pretending to be important.”
“Did you just…?”
“Insult you?”, Talia interrupted Alpha Magnus as Liseli’s rage amplified Talia’s. “That’s the least you should…”
‘Kitten?’, Dayson’s voice sounded in Talia’s mind. ‘What’s going on?’
Talia paused. Why was Dayson in her head? And he sounded concerned.
Dayson was in a plane and Jaeden was telling him about the things that happened recently, in case the black runes flare again and Dayson forgets about Talia. Jaeden’s update was focused on the Shadow Fang pack and the dangers they were facing, without mentioning Talia. In that way, Dayson’s memory related to the pack business and dealing with Alpha Edward will be intact even with Talia gone.
Talia didn’t think that their mind-link will work across such a distance, and she definitely forgot that he can feel her emotions.
Dayson wanted to know what was going on, and Talia had no intention of telling him where she was.
‘Nothing, Dayson’, Talia responded. ‘It’s just me thinking about what awaits for you at that meeting and backstabbing Alphas and… I got upset.’
‘It will be fine, kitten.’, Dayson coaxed her, his deep voice healed the cracks her anger created. ‘I will do everything I can to keep you safe. No one will jeopardize what we have as long as there is a fight in me.’
‘I know.’
Talia knew that Dayson would do everything he could, but what about her? Was she really giving it her all, or was she tiptoeing while trying not to offend anyone? Was there a scenario where everyone will be happy? Or was she supposed to look only after her interests, like Alpha Magnus and other greedy people?
Regardless of what the answers were, she didn’t want to worry Dayson.
‘Focus on your thing, Dayson, and I will do my part.’, Talia said.
‘Alright. I miss you.’
Talia smiled at this cheesy line, but the truth was that she missed him as well. ‘I miss you too, Dayson. Stay safe and… see you soon.’
“Miss Talia”, Alpha Magnus called. “Are you expecting me to interfere with the issue of an Alpha refusing to make a she-wolf his chosen mate?”
“That’s not what I’m expecting from you. That’s what Alpha Edward is expecting.”, Talia responded matter-of-factly. “He will twist this into an issue of Dayson abusing his power and being incompetent, but the reality is that this meeting is called because Marcy didn’t achieve her goal. Everyone knows that. However, what you don’t know is that Dayson found his fated mate. I hear that Luna Alicia is your fated mate. What would you do if someone tries to match you with another woman? Dayson wouldn’t accept Marcy or any other no matter how much pressure is put on him.”
Alpha Magnus listened to Talia with a stiff expression.
Did he get her point? Sure. Based on the information he got, Dayson’s fated mate was right there in his office, trying to convince him to support Dayson, however… “That’s a touching story, miss Talia, but I don’t understand why you are telling it now, here, to me. I thought I was clear that I don’t have much time, yet you came here to waste it.”
Talia suppressed her rage that flared at his condescending tone. “Waste it?”
“Are you really expecting me to meddle in Alpha Dayson’s choice of his Luna? Or in the efforts of Alpha Edward to create a bond through marriage with the Shadow Fang pack? You mentioned how Alicia is my fated mate. Three decades ago, I chose Alicia to be my Luna. And if at that time I decided to reject her and pick another woman to be my Luna, I wouldn’t be kind to people standing in my way. Do you understand that?”
Talia’s brows came together as she processed his words. Of course, she understood that, but… “This is about Alpha Edward trying…”
“Yeah, yeah…”, Alpha Magnus interrupted Talia. “Alpha Edward wants to get more powerful. What’s new about that? A better question would be, what’s wrong with that? Alphas want to grow so they can protect their people, it’s normal. Let’s stop pretending how this is about mates, doing the right thing, and other sentimental crap because that’s not how things work. If Alpha Dayson was here, asking for my assistance, he would offer me something in return. He would offer me something that would make me happy so that I can make him happy. That’s how things work, Miss Talia. There is no such thing as a free lunch. So let me rephrase my question. Are you here to offer me something, or just to waste my time?”
Talia couldn’t believe this. Weren’t Alpha Magnus and Dayson on friendly terms? James told her that Alpha Magnus was selfish and thinking only about benefits, but she hoped that when facing her, he won’t be so shameless.
Talia didn’t need to look to her left to know that Tony’s head was down and his hands were balled into fists. Tony didn’t like this, but he didn’t dare say anything against his father. This was wrong, so wrong.
“Dayson is your ally. Will you turn your back to him now when he needs you because there are no direct benefits? What about the friendly relationship between your packs? What about Dayson training and mentoring Tony? They are friends, good friends. Doesn’t that count for something?”
Alpha Magnus looked at Talia mockingly. “You talk about friendship and Tony, but how does that relate to me?”
Talia couldn’t believe this. “Isn’t Tony your son? Isn’t he the future Alpha of this pack? By helping Dayson now, you will set a good stage for a good collaboration between Tony and Dayson for years to come. Don’t tell me you don’t see it.” Talia shook her head. “Of course, you see it, but you don’t care because the only thing that concerns you are your benefits.”
Alpha Magnus didn’t like the way Talia spoke, but Axel was right there, glaring at him, so he controlled his temper and responded, “This is not about MY benefits. I am thinking about my pack. That’s what Alphas do.”
“Bullshit!”, Talia squeezed through her teeth. “How about you drop the act and admit that this is only about you? If you are thinking about the Lightclaw pack, you would invest more in your son. He is the future of this pack, not you. But instead of training him, you encouraged Tony to travel and have fun. Tony trusted that you have his interests at heart, yet you denied him years of proper education and now people are talking about him as a failure. Dayson is the one trying to fix your wrongs. Tony has good ideas, yet you are ignoring…”
“How dare you!”, Alpha Magnus snapped. “Who do you think you are?”
“She is…”, Axel stopped talking when Talia raised her hand.
“He doesn’t need to know who I am, Axel.”, Talia said while standing up slowly, unable to sit still as anger swelled within her.
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.