Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Talia was not sure if she wants to stay in the Shadow Fang pack, and she was grateful that Alpha Dayson didn’t bring up the point that she needs to officially join his pack. Her plan was to postpone that ceremony as much as possible because if she forms the mind-link with the pack, it will be much more difficult to leave stealthily.
No matter what, Talia didn’t want to attract attention because her experience so far showed that attention means trouble.
At this point, other than a few people in the packhouse, no one was aware of her presence, and she will do her best to keep it that way.
Talia was determined to use this time to learn skills that will help her if she ever finds herself on her own… and she will start with cooking.
Helping in the kitchen sounded like a much better job than cleaning restrooms and as a kitchen helper in a restaurant she might get leftovers, which is an added bonus.
For now, Talia decided not to ask for any special dishes from Stephanie. She will include food groups that are lacking as snacks, or maybe make something on her own when the kitchen is free. With this approach, she will not stand out and she will maximize the hands-on learning that she gets from Stephanie.
Talia grabbed the tablet with an intention to take notes and maybe look up recipes, and she made her way downstairs with renewed vigor.
“Hello, dear!”, Stephanie greeted Talia enthusiastically. “You are on time.”
“Of course. It’s my first day at work, how can I be late? What are we making today?”
Stephanie loved Talia’s energy.
“Ah, I wish that my Lisa has your passion for cooking.”
Talia heard several stories about Lisa from Stephanie, so she knew that Lisa is her daughter.
“Not everyone is into cooking.”
Stephanie shook her head helplessly. “We spoiled her. While she was here, Lisa was young and we had many Omegas in the packhouse, so other than washing vegetables occasionally, she didn’t do much. My sister doesn’t have children and she treats Lisa like a princess. I have no idea what that child will do when she starts her own family.”
Talia knew that she and Lisa are about the same age. “Lisa is still young and there is time to learn. Look at me.”
Stephanie showed a warm smile. She really liked Talia’s attitude.
Stephanie knew that Lisa is beyond redemption in the kitchen, however, she didn’t want to talk about it with Talia.
It was not about time to learn, but about will which Lisa didn’t have. Stephanie’s comment about how Lisa received the princess’ treatment was not an exaggeration.
“You said that there used to be many Omegas in the packhouse, but I barely saw a few so far.”, Talia said, and Stephanie understood that Talia wanted to know why the situation changed.
“When Dayson took over the position as the Alpha of our pack, there were several attempts on his life, and he decided to reduce the number of people who have free access to the packhouse.” Stephanie gestured toward the pantry. “If you get two large yellow onions, we will start on the marinade, and I can tell you more…”
“This is the last one!”, Talia announced victoriously as she peeled the last potato.
“Good, you can take a break now.”, Stephanie responded.
Marinated steaks were roasting in the oven, and Stephanie put potatoes that Talia peeled into boiling water. Those will become garlic mashed potatoes.
A batch of spiced-up peppers, asparagus, and zucchinis was waiting for the right time to enter the oven.
The gravy was done. Vegetables for the salad were washed and chopped, and they will put the rosemary-infused dressing over the salad before serving.
For dessert, they had store-bought Tiramisu cake which was chilling in the fridge.
It was a full dinner and Talia felt quite accomplished.
The fun part was that while they prepared food, Stephanie was telling all kinds of stories about the Shadow Fang pack and about Alpha Dayson.
She told stories about Dayson as a mischievous child who would sneak out to play with his friends and avoid practice and homework.
“Dayson was a cheeky boy who was good in combat and in academics, but if he invested in those half of the effort he spent in dilly-dallying, everyone would put him in the genius category. Alpha Jacob would punish him for avoiding responsibilities, and Luna Violet always came to calm him down saying how Dayson is still a child. And on few occasions when Luna Violet wanted to scold Dayson, Alpha Jacob came to the boy’s rescue…”
Talia understood that Dayson grew up with a loving family and his life turned from a carefree childhood into a dangerous reality overnight when his parents perished and the heavy responsibility of leading the pack fell on his shoulders. And it was not just Dayson, the whole pack faced dramatic changes when they lost experienced leaders who could keep enemies at bay.
The Shadow Fang pack was never in an open war, but that was thanks to the diplomatic capabilities of Alpha Jacob and Luna Violet. The facts are that werewolves are creatures attracted to power, and it’s in their nature to crave for more. More territory, more pack members, more resources… it’s never enough. And when Alpha Jacob and Luna Violet perished, Dayson became an Alpha of a pack who had a lot of assets, but Dayson was not even eighteen years old, so other Alphas saw him as an easy target.
Stephanie told Talia about attacks from the rogues and other packs who pretended to be rogues, but the Shadow Fang pack stood united, and they came out of that period stronger than ever.
Now, open attacks are rare, but the calm is deceitful because many are working in the shadows, trying to sway Dayson on their side, to use him, trick him, force him to obey, and they are not picky about the methods to accomplish their goals.
Talia couldn’t help but feel sorry for Dayson. In a way, he was being bullied just how she was while staying in the attic. Actually, she thought that bullying she had was mild compared to what he is going through.
Stephanie saw that Talia’s expression became solemn, so she shifted the conversation toward food and cooking.
Since they needed to wait for potatoes to boil, Talia started cleaning the kitchen island.
“Dr. Travis wants to talk to you.”, Stephanie said suddenly.
Talia paused. “How do you know?”
“He mind-linked me. Actually, Travis mind-linked Alpha Dayson and Alpha Dayson mind-linked me.”
“Oh…” Talia didn’t want to bring up the obvious point that she doesn’t have the mind-link, fearing that Stephanie might remind Alpha Dayson of that detail. “How can I reach him?”
“Use my phone…”, Stephanie said and got a cellphone from her back pocket. “Here. Since it’s a talk with a doctor, go and find yourself an empty room.”
Talia looked at the phone with a complex expression. She knew what a cellphone is, but werewolves are not really cellphone friendly because they have mind-link, and most of them don’t venture outside the pack. So, unless one has important connections with other packs or humans, they don’t have personal phones. There is a number of landlines available for everyone to use.
Stephanie has her phone because that’s how she communicates with her sister and Lisa.
“How do I use this?”
Talia’s embarrassment disappeared quickly because Stephanie explained to Talia how to make a call without making it sound awkward.
Talia went into the hallway, and she didn’t need to search far to find an empty room. It seemed that other than her and Stephanie, no one else was in the packhouse.
Taking the first room on the right, Talia found herself in the living room. She sat on the sofa and made the call.
“Hi, Talia!”, Travis greeted her as soon as he picked up the call, and based on his tone, Talia knew that Stephanie told Travis through the mind-link to expect this call.
“Hi, Doctor. You wanted to talk to me?”
“I told you to call me Travis.”, he said sternly before continuing in a softer tone, “I want to hear how your appointment with the nutritionist went.”
Talia took a moment to pick her words. “The information Dr. Jones provided was generic and I decided to look up relevant information online and try it out on my own. Alpha Dayson approved.”
“I see…”, Travis said thoughtfully. “I would like to be part of that process, if you don’t mind.”
Talia had no objections. Travis left a good impression on her, and she wanted to find an excuse to get in touch with him and maybe find the right timing to ask him about working in the pack hospital, just in case if she decides to stay in the Shadow Fang pack.
“I would like that.”
“Great!”, Travis exclaimed. “I want to hear your plan and give you some inputs. I’m confident that the information you find will be good for humans, but werewolves need more meat in our diet. How about you come to the pack hospital tomorrow morning…”, he paused while looking at his schedule. “Ten o’clock?”
“I can do that.”
“OK. I got you in for an appointment. We can also do a round of bloodwork and take your weight. After that, we can meet weekly to track your progress. Are you taking the vitamins?”, he had to ask.
Werewolves are known as stubborn creatures, and they don’t take medicines or see a doctor unless they are at the death’s door.
Talia was touched by the care Travis showed. “Yes.”