Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Both Jaeden and Dayson froze when they saw Talia standing at the door warily.
Dayson wondered how much she heard. Did she hear that they are digging dirt on Marcy? Or that Maya wants to send her away? What if Talia agrees to leave?
“Good morning, Talia!”, Maya wished cheerfully.
“Good morning”, Talia responded.
Talia’s eyes were darting from Dayson to Jaeden to Maya, and back to Dayson again. All three of them were standing and Talia was not sure if she should come in or not.
Dayson told her to come down for breakfast, but then she heard them arguing and she wished to go back to her room.
She can skip food. It’s not a big deal.
But her legs moved on their own and brought her to the door and this awkward situation.
Dayson cleared his throat and spoke calmly to Jaeden, “Tell them to hurry. We will continue this conversation later.” He turned to Talia. “Nice of you to join us, come here.” He gestured to the chair on his left. “What will you drink? Orange juice, milk, tea, coffee…”
Talia approached the table gingerly. “Orange juice.”
Dayson pulled a chair for Talia and she watched as Dayson poured her a glass of juice.
Talia was not sure how they can all resume eating as if nothing happened. She didn’t understand what the shouting was about, it seemed random, but she clearly heard that the seemingly calm conversation exploded into a heated argument. Or is that a normal occurrence?
Her desire to leave the packhouse swelled. This place is too stressful.
By the time Talia snapped to her senses, the plate in front of her was heaping with food.
“That’s plenty”, Talia told Dayson who was ready to put another sausage on her plate.
“You didn’t say, ‘enough’, so I assumed you want more.”, Dayson responded casually and then he started piling food into his plate.
“How was your night, Talia? Are you feeling better?”, Maya asked.
“It was good, and yes, I’m better. Thank you.”, Talia responded while wondering if Jaeden and Maya are aware that Dayson spent the night in her bed. She tried not to think about it.
Talia looked helplessly at the small mountain of food in front of her, and she poked a piece of scrambled eggs.
The fork nearly reached her mouth when Talia jolted.
She glanced under the table and saw Dayson’s hand on her knee, palm up, and his fingers were wiggling.
Talia knew what that means, but she couldn’t believe it.
She leaned closer to Dayson, over the table, and asked in a whisper, “Now?”
“No questions asked, remember?”, Dayson responded without removing his gaze from his plate.
She was not sure if she should laugh or cry, but she knew that Alpha Dayson is not the one to give up easily and she didn’t want to cause a scene.
Talia glanced nervously at Maya and Jaeden who were busy with their food. Good. It seems they didn’t notice.
She jolted again when Dayson squeezed her knee, silently telling her that he is still waiting.
Talia shifted the fork in her left hand and her right hand went under the table.
The moment her palm landed in Dayson’s, their fingers interlaced, and Talia’s heart skipped a beat.
She couldn’t help but steal glances at Dayson who was eating with one hand, and if not for a small smile at the corner of his lips, she would assume that she was holding someone else’s hand.
Dayson worked on his breakfast while focusing on his hand under the table that held Talia’s.
Talia’s warmth and delicious sparks calmed his restless mind and heart, and there was some mischief because of the discomfort Talia was trying to hide whenever his thumb moved gently over her knuckles.
Dayson was upset at the thought of Marcy wanting to come, and he needed Talia’s touch to comfort him.
Unfortunately, just hand-holding under the table was not enough.
Dayson really wanted to hug Talia, and much more, but he knew that this is as far as he can go in the current setting, and it needs to be enough. For now.
“Talia”, Maya called, and Talia’s head snapped at her.
Talia’s heart raced, does Maya know what’s going on under the table? Will Maya and Jaeden tease her if they know that Dayson is holding her hand during breakfast?
“Do you have plans for today?”, Maya asked.
Talia released the breath she was holding. “I have an appointment with Doctor Travis in the morning, and then I will help in the kitchen.”
“How about the afternoon?”, Maya continued probing and Talia instinctively glanced at Dayson.
Dayson liked this, it showed that Talia is depending on him.
“Talia wants to train, so she probably hopes to start as soon as possible. But she is not allowed to move a muscle until Travis says that she is fine.”, Dayson responded.
Maya nodded in understanding. “A walk is fine, right? After lunch, I can show you around. You can see the training facilities, and if Travis gives his OK, we can get you sweaty.”
Talia’s eyes widened and she smiled. “That would be wonderful.”
Dayson didn’t like this. Talia, outside, sweating? Without him? “Where are you taking her?”
Maya bobbed her head. “Just around the area. We will start with a walk to the lake and see community buildings on the way, and take it from there.” Maya continued talking to Talia, “The town is especially lively with all the preparations going on. We can stop whenever you feel tired. There is a lot to see and one afternoon won’t be enough. We are the biggest pack in North America, after all. It might take a few days, but I will show you everything we have here.”
“Thank you.”, Talia said and without thinking, she gave Dayson’s hand a squeeze under the table. She was excited.
Dayson wanted to protest because the idea of Talia not being in his visible range was unsettling, but she was happy, and he didn’t want to spoil it, so he swallowed his objections with the piece of sausage that was in his mouth.
He knew that he has a mountain of work waiting for him and it wouldn’t be fair to keep Talia in her room until he is available to show her around.
Dayson was determined to spend time with Talia as soon as he clears up the backlog that’s waiting on his desk. But… where will he take Talia? Forest? Picnic? Romantic dinner? Beach? There are so many options!
However, if he could have his way, they wouldn’t leave the room. Just he and Talia, that’s enough, and any room is fine.
…
Ignoring Jaeden’s complaints, Dayson accompanied Talia for her appointment with Travis.
Talia was not sure why Jaeden was in a bad mood because all bickering between Dayson and Jaeden happened through the mind-link and she would probably resume her thoughts about leaving if she knew that Marcy plans to come in a few days.
“Thank you for coming with me. I’m sure you have a lot of work, yet you still took the time for this.”, Talia said to Dayson while they made their way through the forest.