Chapter 707 – Hidden Desires of the Werewolf King Novel

Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel

These kinds of events were a nightmare for security. Guards needed to ensure that only the right people attend the event and that no one will be disturbed by party crashers that included (but were not limited to) bitter ex-es, hopeful mistresses-to-be, malicious rogues, and attention-seekers who wanted to appear in the news on the next day.

Unfortunately, all this tightened security created delays for the people who had the right to attend the event.

James was checking his phone every few minutes. There were six more cars ahead of them and it was taking forever.

James always kept his head cool, but that changed once Cornelia entered his life. He was aware of the effect she had on him, and he knew that with Cornelia by his side everything could collapse, but at the same time, he couldn’t stay away from her. It was a form of self-harming pleasurable madness that he sank into willingly.

James left that morning while Cornelia was sleeping. She looked so beautiful and peaceful that he didn’t want to disturb her. He scribbled her a note that she should take care of and that they will stay in touch via text messages.

It wouldn’t be strange, since every morning James would leave early, and whenever Cornelia woke up, she would teleport to the Shadow Fang pack, and they wouldn’t see each other until evening. They had phones to communicate, but only in case of an emergency so that they avoid the possibility of being discovered.

Today was different.

On the previous night, Cornelia saw the files with information on three females that Alpha Edward gave to James, and Cornelia hinted that she will do something about it, and then they had sex and he kind of forgot about it, but now his nerves were acting out.

How can James not worry when Cornelia was not responding to his texts, and he had no idea what she was up to? Or maybe she was not going to do anything… yes, yes, that made sense. His chocolate-colored Goddess was set on testing him. He will need to find a way to avoid those females and survive the next two days without following his father’s orders.

“Troubles with your girlfriend?”, Nora asked mockingly.

James narrowed his eyes at her while hiding his phone from Nora’s curious gaze. “What did you say?”

Nora raised her hands, palms up and she tilted her head at the tinted privacy glass that separated them from the soldiers in front. “I noticed you are nervous, and I thought that we could talk to pass the time.”

“Mind your own business”, James growled at her menacingly and Nora shrunk in her seat.

The truth was that since they left the Red Moon pack, Nora was dying from boredom and James was completely ignoring her.

She would prefer to be with Alpha Edward in the car, but with Luna Layla present, that wouldn’t be appropriate, so she was stuck with this teenager who was easily irritated.

Nora would like to tell Alpha Edward that James brought a woman with him from the Shadow Fang pack, and she would tell about George and Dawn as well, but they forced her to do that stupid blood oath and if she hinted about those secrets, there would be serious consequences, so she had to keep quiet.

Nora couldn’t wait to get out of that car, shower, dress up, and mingle. Who knows? Maybe she finds her mate, and he will be tall, handsome, and high-ranking?

…

The afternoon was trickling away and James was sitting in his room and cursing under his breath at his phone. Why the hell was Cornelia not responding?

Did she get angry at him for coming to this party and leaving her behind?

James rubbed his face with force as insecurities crept into his heart. She told him that it was not a good idea to go ahead with marking and that she shouldn’t come to the human realm and… she was right.

At the end of the day, there was a limit to how much his wits can save him, and James had to face the reality that he was just a teenager who had to obey his father in order to survive. He was not qualified to have a mate. A real man would protect his mate and stand for what he believes in, yet here was James… about to attend a party he hated and to be surrounded by people he didn’t care about, and all that while his mate was alone somewhere.

He regretted not refusing Alpha Edward the moment he heard that he needed to join this circus. Alpha Edward would be angry and punish him, but even if he got a severe beating, he would end up staying in the Red Moon pack with Cornelia instead of being here.

Oh, God! There will be press coverage and what if Cornelia sees him with some women hanging on his arm? Of course, James wouldn’t get close to any random woman, but what if they stick to him while posing for a photo? How will he explain that to Cornelia?

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to run… run from everything. Maybe that’s what he should do. Go home, find Cornelia and run. Surely, Alpha Dayson will give them a temporary refuge until they figure out something, or maybe they could go to the Midnight Guardians pack or to the Silver Flame Coven and stay there forever.

‘Where are you?’, Alpha Edward’s stern voice sounded in James’ head.

James sucked in a sharp breath while checking the time. How long was he spacing out when his father was this angry? ‘I’m almost done getting ready.’

‘Hurry up!’, Alpha Edward snapped.

James realized that he was running out of time. The sun was getting lower in the sky, and the noise from outside was a giveaway that the event was ongoing, and if James didn’t make an appearance, Alpha Edward will send someone for him, and then it won’t be good.

James told himself not to panic. He needed to get down there and he will find a way out of this. Surely, with Alpha Dayson, Alpha Talia, Maya, Jaeden, Alpha Tony, Luna Kalina, and other people who were aware that Cornelia was his mate, James will be able to figure out at least one exit strategy.

—

In the room where females were getting ready…

Cornelia was among the women who wore fluffy bathrobes. They were all sitting patiently while Mario and a small army of hairdressers and makeup artists were fussing around them.

How much Cornelia understood, Mario was the main stylist and everyone (except Tatiana) listened to him.

When Cornelia accepted to be a bridesmaid, she was happy that she got not one, but two dresses; one for the ceremony, and another for the after-party. Cornelia had no idea that the bridesmaid business included a whole afternoon of dolling up and staying inside with all these people. This was a completely new human experience that baffled her.

Was there a need for facials, manicures, pedicures, and massages? But it felt good, her skin was never so soft, it was relaxing, and she smelled great, so she didn’t object.

Tatiana was going for the element of surprise when she and her twelve bridesmaids walk outside, so her female entourage was locked into that room with only a few Omegas allowed to get in and out of that room in order to replenish drinks and snacks.

After Daria bailed (because she met her mate, aka Pierce), Tatiana was upset, but then Cornelia stepped in to maintain the magical number thirteen.

Unfortunately, then Lidia met Jordan, so Tatiana was (again!) one bridesmaid short. Since the time was running short and everything had to be perfect, Tatiana picked one of her designers to step in, so they were back to thirteen females total.

The afternoon was trickling away, and Tatiana was back to nervously looking at the time.

Talia had big rollers in her hair, and she wanted to ask if Tatiana was having second thoughts about this ceremony, but then she counted the bridesmaids. There were eleven. One was missing.

“Who is the twelfth bridesmaid?”, Talia asked Kalina in a whisper.

“I’m not sure”, Kalina responded honestly. “It’s someone that Max invited, and it seems they are running late.”

“They?”

Kalina nodded. “That woman was supposed to come with two other guys. They are big business partners to the River Construction. The last thing I heard was that their flight was delayed. That was at lunchtime. They thought that everyone will be here in time, but it seems that won’t happen.”

Kalina looked at Tatiana with concern. Tatiana was a perfectionist which helped launch the “Dama T” brand into the world of elite fashion, but in day-to-day life, being a perfectionist usually meant a lot of stress, and Tatiana was visibly anxious.

At this point, it was obvious that Tatiana heard Talia and Kalina whispering because her Alpha aura was leaking. Humans broke into a cold sweat while most of the she-wolves in the room bowed in submission.

“Tanya!”, Talia called. She was not affected, but others were. “You need to calm down.”

Tatiana looked at Talia with an expression of a furious toddler who was wronged. “Calm down? How can I calm down? I planned for this, I was looking forward to this… everything is falling apart right in front of my eyes and there is nothing I can do about it.”

“Don’t panic!” Mario said while making his way behind Tatiana and he started massaging her shoulders. “Relax. Breathe, my dear. Breathe. We faced bigger crises than this one. Do you remember when due to traffic we didn’t get any matching shoes for the show? And then there was the case of mismatched fabric. No matter what came at us, we came on top. You can’t think straight because this is your event, and you want it to be perfect. And it will be perfect, but first, you need to calm down. Breathe. Breathe… that’s it. In and out… Happy thoughts…”

Talia had to acknowledge that Mario had a strange calming effect on Tatiana. It was a combination of words and tone and that massage, and Talia wondered if Mario would be able to keep his hands if Maddox saw him kneading Tatiana’s shoulders like that.

Everyone in the room thought that Tatiana’s furry sizzled away, but then she snapped. “How can I have happy thoughts when I’m missing bridesmaids?”

“Does it need to be those exact people?”, Varya asked.

“It should be someone important”, Tatiana said. Seeing strange looks directed her way, Tatiana realized that it sounded shallow, so she explained, “This is a high-profile event not only for me but for Maddox and our extended family as well.” The she-wolves in the room knew that ‘extended family’ was a codeword for the ‘pack’. “By having high-profile people in my wedding entourage, it also lifts the status of our family.”

“What about Michelle?”, Talia asked, reminding them of the Luna of the Spring Leaf pack.

Kalina thought that was a great idea. “Alpha Cristian is on good terms with Max, and I’m sure they will agree to be part of this ceremony. He can fill in for one of the missing groomsmen.”

“We can also invite Yasmin”, Meg suggested. “She has a way to come here… quickly. And I know she would be over the moon if she could participate.”

Maya disapproved. “But she is pregnant. Can she travel in her state?”

Talia also got an idea. “If you lower your requirements on status of people, guards that came from the Shadow Fang pack are available. Keith, Caleb, and Lulu. That’s two males and one female.”

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