Chapter 739 – Hidden Desires of the Werewolf King Novel

Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel

Grady looked at Talia. “We each got to see photos of the same woman. Our main mission was to bring Luna Talia to our camp. If we encounter her, we were to persuade her to come with us with the only limitation that she shouldn’t be harmed. Nick showed us a map of this area and assigned us spots where we will hide. If we encounter patrols, we were to run and not cause a commotion.”

As Grady spoke about Talia, people looked at her and Dayson nervously, fearing that Dayson will explode into violence. However, Talia and Dayson were not surprised to hear that she was the target. They heard it before.

“What would you do with Talia after you get her?” Maddox asked.

“That is how much our group got to know,” Grady responded honestly. “I was just a messenger. In the last few months, I collected a few packages in a human city. I would go to the address that was either a nightclub or a bar, and a package would be waiting for me. I never saw who left it there, or what was inside, and the bartender who was holding onto the package was just a human who did it for extra tips.”

“Is that how you got those devices?” Maddox asked.

“As I said, I never looked inside packages. They told me to pick up whatever is there and bring it back without questions asked, and I was not allowed to look what was inside.”

Maddox guessed that would be a dead end. Rogues don’t have loyalty toward anyone. Whoever was pulling the strings would keep as much as possible to himself. Betrayal meant death, and most of the rogues hated packs so much that they would kill themselves when caught out of spite.

It’s not that rogues were crazed fanatics out of choice, but the lack of a pack link changed them.

Wolves are social creatures, who live in packs with a strict hierarchy, and they see themselves as part of something bigger. When that is taken away from them, their wolves turn feral and they go… rogue.

Some wolves are born outside packs, and they accept individuality as normal, even though they always feel that something is lacking. However, when a werewolf is banished from a pack later in his life, the missing pack link is a hole he knows that shouldn’t be there. There is a pain of rejection and the pack link breaking, and that wound festers and grows until they lose their compassion and empathy. The weak-minded ones succumb to it faster.

Banishing one from a pack is the death penalty for a werewolf.

Maddox was genuinely surprised that Grady knew that much, and he was collaborating.

Now, was he collaborating because of Varya, or because he was deceiving them, that was another thing Maddox needed to figure out.

“Who is Nick?” Maddox asked.

“That’s Tristan’s second in command.”

“Who is Tristan?”, Cornelia asked.

“It’s a small-time rogue who causes us trouble occasionally,” Jaeden responded.

“Are you saying that rogues we met last night belong to Tristan’s group?” Maya asked. “There were hundreds of them.”

Grady shook his head. “No, no. Tristan said that many groups came together for this. Some had a task to attack storages, some were to distract the patrols, and our group had Luna Talia as the target.”

Talia thought of asking one thing that was bothering her from last night. “How did you know Luna Talia will attend this event?”

“We got information that Alpha Dayson left with his Luna,” Grady responded.

“From?” Talia continued probing.

Grady’s brows came together. “I already told you all that I know, but I can tell you the rumor that’s circulating.”

Dayson waved at Grady, indicating to keep talking.

“There is a woman by Tristan’s side. I believe she is his mate. I’m not sure what her name is. The word is that she has access to confidential information from the Shadow Fang pack.”

Maddox frowned. That was so vague. “Is that the rumor?”

“No. Those are facts. The rumor is that she grew up in the packhouse of the Shadow Fang pack and is very close to their Alpha. Her mother still works there or something like that, and that’s how Tristan found out that Luna Talia left the packhouse. There was also something related to her telling Tristan about a scent-concealing potion and where it was made.”

“Scent-concealing?” James asked. “Is that what you used last night?”

Grady nodded. “Tristan sent a group to the Shadow Fang pack and they got their hands on how to make it. I don’t know if they bribed someone, stole it, or…”

Grady’s voice trailed when he noticed that Talia, Dayson, Maya, and Jaeden were staring at him like he was growing a second head. Or did he burst into flames? Grady quickly looked down to check himself. No, everything was normal.

“Did I say something wrong?” Grady asked apprehensively.

“You say you don’t know the woman’s name,” Maya said. “Did you see her? What does she look like?”

“I caught a glimpse of her once. Dark brown hair, or maybe black.” He gestured just below his shoulder level. “Not very tall, nor curvaceous, but not skinny either. I wouldn’t say she stands out in any way, other than having Tristan’s mark on her neck.”

“Could you draw her?” Maya asked, desperately hoping that it was not Lisa.

Grady made a face. “My drawing skills are horrible. The female will look no better than a stick figure. If you have a picture, I can identify her.”

Unfortunately, no one had Lisa’s photo handy, but considering the information Grady told them, they all suspected that Tristan’s mysterious mate was Lisa. Now what?

—

“Did we ever confirm who is Lisa’s mate?” Jaeden’s question broke the silence.

Maya shook her head. “I will ask Steph.”

“Be careful what you say,” Dayson warned Maya as his insides churned at the possibility of… “We don’t know if Steph is the one who leaked information.”

“You don’t think that she would…”

Dayson raised his hand, interrupting Maya. “I don’t think anything. But this sounds like Lisa, and she got the information somehow. Only a few people in the pack knew that Talia came with me, so the list of suspects who would put my Luna in danger is not long. And about the potion…” Dayson jabbed his hand into his hair. He heard there was a breach in one of their labs, but nothing was missing, so they assumed it was warriors pranking each other. But now it seems rogues stole the formula.

At this point, Dayson was fairly certain that Lisa got information from Stephanie. No one else was in contact with Lisa, how much he knew. Stephanie was either part of this, or she disclosed sensitive information without knowing that Lisa would give it to rogues so they could cause this mess.

Going after Lisa was one thing, but how could he go after Stephanie? She had been like his mother for the last decade, and Dayson couldn’t see himself pointing fingers at the woman who supported him when everyone else was confident he would fail.

Talia looked at Dayson, feeling his anger and confusion. She knew that his emotions were amplified by the memory of his parents dying because someone from their inner circle betrayed them.

And this was about him and his people targeting his mate. How could be OK with that?

Maya and Jaeden were aware that Lisa could do petty things, but betrayal? That was a new low.

Dayson punished Lisa lightly for what she did because of their history and because of Stephanie. Instead of appreciating what Dayson did, it turned out that Lisa backstabbed him.

This was not just about Lisa being jealous of Talia. It was about endangering others, Dayson included. After all, if anything happened to Talia, Dayson would be weakened, which meant the whole Shadow Fang pack would be in danger, and that was not a forgivable offense.

Maddox continued interrogating Grady, and Grady told them that he grew up among humans and that he joined Tristan’s group only a few months back.

Other than, “I can show you where Tristan’s hideouts and package pickup spots are,” Grady didn’t have anything else that would be usable.

Maddox ran out of questions, so they needed to decide.

“What should we do with him?” Maddox asked Tatiana.

Tatiana looked at Varya standing next to Grady and clinging to his arm, and Tatiana had no idea how to answer this.

Grady was a rogue, a part of the group that caused them so much grief and turned her luxurious wedding into a day for mourning, but there was her younger sister, pleading silently for her mate to be spared.

“We are yet to confirm if what he said was the truth,” Tatiana said.

“I believe he spoke truthfully,” Talia chimed in. Liseli told her that the guy was not lying. There might be a chance he was concealing things, but whatever he said was the truth.

Maddox frowned at Talia’s words. If Grady lied, it would be easy to deal with him. However, if he told the truth, it meant he collaborated, and… what next? Should they just release a rogue? That wouldn’t end well.

“How about we take him to the Shadow Fang pack?” Dayson asked, surprising everyone. He knew that Talia wouldn’t say the guy was truthful without confidence.

“What do you mean?” Varya asked Dayson suspiciously.

“So far, your mate showed goodwill. Considering that he was with Tristan only for a short time, and he didn’t harm anyone himself, we will give him a chance as long as he agrees to join the Shadow Fang pack.”

“Join the pack?” Grady asked, unsure if he was relieved or horrified by this.

Dayson confirmed. “You said that you are a scout and quick on your feet. If you join the Shadow Fang pack, we will test your abilities. If you do well, you can become a warrior.”

“A warrior?” Grady echoed Dayson’s last words, unsure if Dayson was giving him a way out or tricking him.

Talia looked at Dayson questionably, and she asked him through their private mind-link, ‘You will take in a rogue?’

Dayson didn’t think it was a big deal. ‘The Shadow Fang pack takes in anyone who needs a place to stay and doesn’t mean harm to the pack. I told you that when we met. Didn’t I?’

He did, but… ‘Why do I have a feeling you have another reason?’

‘He saw you using your powers. If he joins our pack, I will have more control over him.’

Talia was still not convinced. ‘Isn’t he a liability?’

‘It is clear that no one wants him dead, and keeping him in the dungeon is not an option either. I will have people assigned to watch over him. Becoming a warrior can be a lengthy training, and we can prolong it until he slips or convinces us in his sincerity.’

Talia realized that Dayson’s words made sense, and she admired how he could think logically in this situation. He already had a plan, and it turned her on a bit. Smart Dayson was sexy. How could she lag behind him?

“My Alpha has spoken,” Talia said to Varya and Grady. “If I understood correctly, neither of you lived as part of a pack before. Other than joining the Shadow Fang pack, you will need to learn about the rules we follow and accept guidance from people we assign as your counselors. Based on your abilities and interests, we expect that you will perform specific duties. Since you are a mated couple, you will get a dwelling where you can live together, and you will never go hungry. What do you say? Do you agree to this?”

“We agree!”, Varya and Grady said in unison, both relieved that there was a way out for them which didn’t include a dungeon or worse.

Talia was already planning to conceal Grady’s identity as a rogue. Only a selected few will know in order to avoid any unnecessary complications. And there was also one more benefit.

‘We can ask Grady to let us know if he recognizes anyone,’ Talia spoke to Dayson through their mind link. ‘He worked as a messenger for rogues, and I’m sure that he saw some spies.’

Dayson nodded in response. He liked that Talia was thinking about how to use this situation to their advantage.

Kalina and Tatiana looked at Talia gratefully. They wanted Varya to be happy with her mate, but they didn’t know how to make it happen, considering that Grady was a rogue. However, with Talia keeping an eye on the couple, Tatiana and Kalina were confident that Varya won’t be bullied. If it was Talia and Dayson, they could do anything.

Sisters were also happy that all five of them would be staying in the US. What luck!

—

Tatiana’s smile fell when she saw that Varya and Grady were about to kiss.

“What are you doing!?” Tatiana snapped. “Until you become members of the Shadow Fang pack and pledge loyalty to Alpha Dayson and Luna Talia, you are not allowed to mate.”

“Or kiss!” Kalina was quick to add.

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