Chapter 574 – Hidden Desires of the Werewolf King Novel

Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel

Tony looked at Talia seriously. She spoke with conviction. Will he ever be able to match that?

“You are an Alpha now.”, Talia said. “Don’t you feel the connection with your pack?”

Tony placed a hand over his chest and nodded.

“Those are their feelings, their faith in you and Lina. Use it to boost your courage when you think that you reached your limits because if you give up, there will be no one else to fight for your people.”

“How do you know so much?”, Tony asked.

Talia smiled. “Dayson showed me what it means to be an Alpha. I always thought that Alphas are about parties, bossing around, and fights. I could imagine him in a bloody fight to get his way. But after I arrived at the Shadow Fang pack, I realized that Dayson is the one who wakes up at dawn and heads to his office, and then goes to the training grounds. That’s the Dayson outsiders don’t know about because they only see him when he is out to have fun. Dayson is not the smartest, the fastest, or the strongest, but he works hard, always with his people and for his people.”

Talia stared into the darkness through the window and her brows came together, as she continued, “Even now, he went to that meeting, knowing that many Alphas will try to take what’s his, yet he will face them and do his best. I guess that’s what being an Alpha is, doing your best. I want to do what’s best for my people, and for my mate. I know that I am not strong enough, and I’m definitely not smart enough, but I am not alone.” She turned to look at Tony. “And neither are you. Use the will of your people to boost your determination and use your friends and allies to find the best solution and it will be alright.”

“I wish I recorded this!”, Meg’s excited voice came from the side and after a second of silence, the whole van burst into laughter, defusing the heavy atmosphere and replacing it with a light one.

Tony and Nate looked at each other and exchanged nods while silently agreeing with Talia. They were not alone, and it will be alright.

The Council of the Alphas could be summoned in any of several locations that were hosting inconspicuous buildings which could be easily missed if one didn’t know where to look. The amenities included rooms where Alphas could gather in a formal and informal setting, and also rooms where Alphas could rest.

Every location was staffed with a number of werewolves who didn’t belong to any specific pack, and people addressed them as Guardians. Their tasks were to maintain the buildings and to serve Alphas during meetings, and other than that, the Guardians were neutral, and everyone treated them like national treasures that can’t be touched.

Normally, these places would be used in a time of crisis, or a war where opposing sides would meet to negotiate. The Guardians ensured that matters here were settled peacefully, and some rumors spoke that they were immune to Alpha aura and they possess unbeatable fighting skills, so even Alphas looked at them with respect.

The building where the Council of Alphas assembled this time had a lounge that was decorated in dark red walls and bulky purple furniture that sat on the stone floor. One long dark-brown block of polished wood served as a bar and there were several sitting areas defined by sofas and chairs arranged in circles. That was where Alphas and their Betas gathered while waiting for the meeting to start.

Alpha Cristian and his Beta Imre arrived to see Dayson, Jaeden, Maddox, and Maddox’s Beta Oliver sitting at the bar. He didn’t care about other people.

“I’m glad to see we are not late.”, Alpha Cristian said while exchanging greetings with four people, and then he took a seat on Maddox’s right. The assembly was summoned for dawn which should be soon, but there was no exact hour mentioned.

“Do you know who else is missing?”, Alpha Cristian asked.

“We heard that twelve packs confirmed attendance, but we don’t know who they are.”, Beta Oliver responded.

“With you, we have nine Alphas.”, Maddox grumbled.

“I see. Three more to go.”, Alpha Cristian said and waved at the bartender to give him a drink.

Dayson was sipping his amber-colored drink while looking at the people present through the mirror behind the bar. He knew they were watching him, waiting for him to lose composure, to give them a reason to oust him, but he had so much on his mind, that this curveball from Alpha Edward was not much.

Yes, Dayson’s stomach churned at the possibility of a war, because that meant casualties that could be avoided if those greedy bastards would stick to their territories, but Dayson was mostly concerned about the fact that black runes were there, just under his skin, waiting to strike when he least expected, and make him forget the most important person in his life. The period where he couldn’t remember Talia was like a living nightmare for Dayson. He was confused and disoriented, and he didn’t forget only about his mate, but he forgot about himself. He didn’t want to go back there, and the fact that Talia was not by his side and he couldn’t reach her via their mind-link or feel her emotions was unsettling.

Dayson downed his drink and gestured to the bartender to give him another.

The nine Alphas were separated into three distinct groups.

Dayson was with his confirmed allies, Maddox and Cristian at the bar. The three of them cooperated many times before, and their core values align enough that they trust each other not to go back on their word no matter what the other party offers them.

Two Alphas were sitting on one sofa in the corner, Alpha Robert and Alpha Patrick. Their two packs were the smallest ones among the packs who were members of the Council of Alphas. Dayson guessed they were neutral and will side with the majority.

In the middle of the lounge, on the largest sofa, were Alpha Edward, Alpha Richard (aka Cassie’s father), Alpha Peter, and Alpha William. The four of them talked in a light atmosphere, occasionally throwing glances toward Dayson, and Dayson pretended not to notice them. He knew very well that those four were power-hungry and eager to see him fall, but what he didn’t know was what kind of agreement those four reached nor what their strategy will be so that they could be so easygoing.

Every Alpha was flanked by his Beta who observed, measured, and reported to his Alpha every detail.

The door opened with an announcement, “Alpha Adam Hessen and Beta Milo from the Silverfur pack!”

Alpha Adam was a man in his mid-fifties with a sturdy build and straight posture, but what gave away his position of power was his unwavering gaze that moved over everyone present.

After a few seconds, Alpha Adam decided to move toward the bar with his eyes locked on Dayson.

Dayson was surprised by this interesting development. The Silverfur pack was eighth in size, and they wouldn’t take sides in any conflict, so Dayson assumed that Alpha Adam will either join two neutral Alphas on the sofa or pick a separate seating for himself and his Beta.

‘Jade is Beta Milo’s daughter’, Jaeden’s voice sounded in Dayson’s head and Dayson groaned in irritation when he connected the dots.

Jade, of course! How could he forget the she-wolf model who suggested that they pretend to date so that her father allows her to pursue her career?

Just like everyone else, Alpha Adam wanted to make a firm alliance with Dayson, but he had two sons, and since Dayson was not gay, they agreed to push Jade onto his lap because she was still Beta’s daughter.

Jade was easy on the eyes, so Dayson went on a date with her. They shared a meal and bed and then parted ways until Jade called him with a proposition to pretend to date, and for a brief moment, Dayson considered it. That was before he met Talia, and Jaeden quickly burst that fake-dating bubble. Jaeden reminded Dayson that once a female is in, it’s a headache to shake her off. Every she-wolf is attracted to power and riches, and Jade won’t be any different once she experiences the perks of people who think of her as the future Luna of the Shadow Fang pack.

After Dayson remembered those details, he understood why Alpha Adam was approaching him openly. Alpha Edward probably reached to them in an attempt to buy Alpha Adam’s vote, and that revealed that Dayson was in trouble, and the old bastard was hoping to use this situation as leverage for Jade to put her leg through the door of being his Luna.

Alpha Adam greeted everyone with a big smile on his face before turning to Dayson. “Alpha Dayson, we meet again.”

Dayson turned to face the man before returning the greeting dryly.

“It seems we will be in a position to collaborate again.”, Alpha Adam said.

Dayson was not in the mood for bullshit. “I don’t remember us collaborating previously.”

Alpha Adam frowned. He was confident that Dayson would get the hints by now. Or did Dayson want Alpha Adam to be more obvious?

“The word is that you met some kind of trouble, and we can help.”

The way Alpha Adam looked smugly at his Beta, made Dayson’s insides churn.

‘Don’t blame them.’, Jaeden said. ‘It’s a smart move to ask for favors now when you are in a pinch. We don’t know who are the other two Alphas coming, but if Alpha Adam sides with us, we will even the numbers with Alpha Edward among the current crowd.’

‘They want me to make Jade my Luna.’, Dayson reminded Jaeden. ‘That’s his bargaining chip and he hopes I’m desperate enough to take the deal.’

‘You don’t need to accept.’, Jaeden said cautiously. ‘As long as you are ambiguous now…’

Dayson didn’t hear the rest. Just the thought of Jade flaunting her status as Dayson’s anything made Dayson’s temper flare to the point of wanting to punch someone. How can Jade compare to Talia? No one compares to Talia. NO ONE!

Dayson’s insides churned as he wondered, would he accept the deal if he didn’t remember Talia? How would he scrape that dirt? Even if Talia forgave him, he would never forgive himself. The idea of him causing Talia pain again, and making her act like his assistant or anything other than his equal was making him feel like his heart was being torn out of his chest.

‘CRACK!’

The glass in Dayson’s hand burst, making a mess of amber liquid and glass shards on the counter of the bar. There was some blood also as a piece of glass was stuck in his palm.

Dayson pulled the glass out and waved at the bartender to clean the mess and give him another drink.

“It seems my state of mind is not the best to discuss collaborations, Alpha Adam.”

Alpha Adam’s smile froze. Was Dayson rejecting him?

Alpha Cristian turned to ask everyone present, “When are we going to start?”

“Two more Alphas are on their way. They will be here within minutes.”, one of the Guardians that was standing at the door responded.

Alpha Edward was eager for those two to remaining Alphas come. He was confident that one of the two was Alpha Magnus from the Lightclaw pack because they spoke the previous evening.

As for the last Alpha coming, Alpha Edward didn’t know who it will be because responses were kept by the Guardians, but he didn’t care who it was because he was confident that he will have the necessary majority to move on with his agenda.

Alpha Edward knew about Alpha Adam’s plan that involved Jade, and after seeing Alpha Adam’s sour expression that matched his Beta’s, Alpha Edward was confident that Jade will fail in becoming Dayson’s Luna. After all, Dayson rejected so many better candidates, and Jade was not known for the virtues required for a Luna. Why would Dayson want to give status to a female who was set on traveling and exposing her body on a catwalk and in magazines? On top of that, Jade had numerous confirmed previous relationships, so there was that.

The door opened again with an announcement, “Alpha Anthony Ambert and Beta Nathan from the Lightclaw pack.”

Everyone gaped at two young men who entered, unsure if they heard this right.

Alpha Edward’s mind was spinning and he was not aware that he was walking toward Tony and Nate.

“Since when are you the Alpha?”, Alpha Edward asked sternly, like he was addressing two mischievous boys.

Tony patted the token that was attached to the breast pocket of his jacket. “My father retired and I’m the Alpha now.” Tony was surprised that his voice was steady. He actually sounded confident! Talia told him to look at everyone like they are trash that can’t touch him, and the strategy worked!

“Impossible! How could this happen!”, Alpha Edward exclaimed.

Tony looked at the man for a moment before asking, “What makes it impossible for an Alpha to give the position to his son? I am of age and I have my fated mate. Didn’t you attend the event last month where we celebrated Kalina as my future Luna? Are you so old that you forgot?”

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