Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
The winds were picking up to rotate around Talia and Yasmin, and Dayson frowned as this reminded him of the spectacle those two females caused when they were in the realm of witches, searching for clues about Yasmin’s father. Were they about to summon another tornado?
—
The faster the winds around Talia and Yasmin whipped, the more Dayson’s anxiety rose as it reminded him of the phenomenon in the realm of witches when Talia and Yasmin hugged to summon a powerful tornado that glowed. Wasn’t that related to a portal that was lost? Were they about to open another one?
Once, it might be accidental or due to the location, but this was the second time, and it couldn’t be a coincidence. It was like Talia and Yasmin resonated to awaken greater powers. Dayson barely held back from rushing in there and snatching Talia away from Yasmin. What if something had happened? What a portal opens and swallows Talia? The thought of losing Talia was gripping his heart, and he wished for this spectacle to end right that instant. Cornelia and Amelia couldn’t see each other clearly because of the dust that twirled with the wind around Talia and Yasmin. Cornelia and Amelia were unsure what to do. Should they start chanting for this to stop or to give it a boost? Both witches knew in the back of their minds that it would be useless to try stopping it. This was too sudden, powerful, and mysterious, and neither Talia nor Yasmin performed any spells. From where did all this energy come?
Axel’s anxiety matched Dayson’s. He felt helpless and unworthy. Axel was unsure if the phenomenon unfolding was because Yasmin was a witch, or because she had alpha pups in her belly, or if it was due to something else, but he was aware that Yasmin was special and out of his league. Axel was a strong male with an Alpha bloodline that made him appealing to many she-wolves, but that was not Yasmin. Yasmin was beautiful, kind, smart, and talented, and if not for the mate bond, an amazing female like Yasmin wouldn’t spare him a glance. To make things worse, Axel was aware that Yasmin was doing this reckless act because of him If not for the babies, she wouldn’t put herself in this unknown and potentially dangerous situation. What if something bad happened? It would be his fault! Axel was ignorantly talking about how wonderful it will be when they become parents, blind to Yasmin’s desperation to get that pregnancy moving along. He was busy taking care of the pack matters, letting Yasmin stay with Meg and Sandy, telling her that she shouldn’t tire herself. There were many days when they would meet only for meals, and sometimes, when he returned to their room at the end of the day, Yasmin was already sleeping. Axel silently vowed to do better. If Yasmin could come out of this unscathed, he will do better.
Cassandra’s eyes moved frantically over the crystals in front of her. They were sparkling now as if something within them lit up to create a light show. Those crystals were measuring strength and type of energies, and Cassandra was visibly excited, but no one paid attention to her frantic expression. 0 In the middle of the storm, Talia and Yasmin stood, both high on the energies that coursed through them. They were connected to each other and something new that always belonged to them.
In the middle of that windy storm, ancient powers were awakened, tangible, whispering the truths that only their souls could understand. Talia was sure that she heard voices in the wind, they were saying something important, but then it all stopped suddenly, like someone unplugged the power cord. The wind stopped, and it all became eerily silent as the dust drifted toward the ground.
Talia tried to remember the words she heard in the wind, but they faded quickly, like a dream she would forget after waking up.
Talia and Yasmin stared at each other, both breathing heavily.
“How was it?” Talia asked.
Yasmin’s lips stretched into a smile to the point of hurting. “My babies are happy.” And she was happy as well. After such a long stagnation, she knew that things were progressing. “Thank you, Lia.”
Axel and Dayson rushed to their mates.
Axel was holding Yasmin, and Dayson was pulling Talia into his embrace. “Let’s not do this again,” Dayson spoke into Talia’s hair. “No, no. We need to repeat this,” Yasmin protested. She put her hands on her belly. “I felt them absorb the energies. They liked it.” Yasmin looked at Axel. “They are growing. I’m sure healers will confirm that things are fine.” 0 Dayson’s frown was deepening. He was not worried about Yasmin or her babies. He was worried about Talia! What did Yasmin mean by repeating this? How many times? Until Yasmin gives birth, or until they crack open a portal to a realm of monsters? 0
“Are you saying you need Talia to feed your unborn children?” Dayson grumbled at Yasmin. Yes! “No. Think of it like a boost. Battery charging” Yasmin hoped this was acceptable. “We will see how long this will last, but once the effect stops, we will need to do it again.” “Let’s talk about it later,” Talia said. “Make sure your condition is stable, and we will take it from there.”
“How are you feeling?” Dayson asked Talia. She gave him a reassuring smile. “I am fine, Dayson. It’s like I woke up from a pleasant dream” Dayson’s expression was not good. He hugged Talia with all his might, hoping that her closeness would dispel the unease that seeped deep into his bones. When Dayson loosened his hold on Talia, her attention went to Cassandra, who was writing down something on a notepad. Everyone else was busy around Yasmin, while Cassandra was the odd one.
Talia went to see what Cassandra was up to. “What are those?” Talia asked while eyeing colorful crystals that were laid on the altar.
“Energy crystals,” Cassandra responded without lifting her gaze from the paper.
“What are you writing down?. “The order and intensity with which they lit up. Please, Alpha… Give me a moment to finish before I forget the patterns I observed.”
Talia waited for Cassandra to stop writing before asking, ‘Well?” “Nature is full of energies. You can think of them as elements that create and influence everything around us,” Cassandra started her explanation. “Knowing what energies are prominent in a specific area can help us determine the best place to grow crops, build houses, cast spells, and other everyday stuff. These crystals can identify the type of energies and measure strength.”
“You used them now?”
Cassandra nodded. “When I heard that you will use your ability, I thought of seeing what these will show.”0
“And? What are they showing?” “I’m not completely sure. I will need to analyze the data. The reaction of the crystals was strong, showing that you can not only command the elements but their synergies as well.”
“Is that unusual?”
Cassandra gestured toward the crystals. “I have twelve crystals here. While healers are performing spells, each can activate one, maybe two. I can activate three.” It’s down to two now since Talia removed Cassandra’s ability to control the fire element. Cassandra swallowed that complaint back and continued talking. 0 “We collaborate in spells to activate up to seven. You activated all of them.” Cassandra licked her lips nervously while looking at Talia. “If you would use your ability again, I can collect more data and_”
“Absolutely not!” Dayson growled from the side. “You are talking to your Alpha, not a research specimen” Cassandra quickly lowered her head. She didn’t miss murderous intent seeping from Dayson, and she couldn’t blame him. Because of what she did, he nearly became a cripple..
Y Racism,” Your comments and votes are making my day!
“It’s OK,” Talia responded, more to calm down Dayson than for Cassandra. “I will think about it and let you know.”
The truth was that Talia was curious about her powers as well. The only problem was that she didn’t trust the Oracle.
“Can I?” Talia asked while pointing at the purple palm-sized crystal shaped like a crooked pyramid.
Cassandra gestured for Talia to go ahead, and Talia took the crystal into her hand. Its smooth surface was cold to the touch.
‘What do you think, Liseli?’ Talia asked.
‘It’s a pretty rock.’
‘Can it measure magic? Or is it about something else?’
‘Are you worried if it can detect me?’
‘Yes.’ Talia admitted while keeping the crystal back to the altar.
The old wolf didn’t have an answer to this question. Can there be a thing that detects spirits and determines their nature? Anything was possible.
Talia would like to know more about her powers.
At first, Talia thought her powers stemmed because she came from the Midnight Guardians pack, but Axel’s exaggerated reactions whenever she did something he thought was impossible told her it was more than that. Every member of the Midnight Guardians pack had only one ability, which applied even to Alphas, yet Talia clearly had more.
Axel and Dayson said that things like sensing surroundings and precisely controlling the Alpha aura take years to master, yet she did it effortlessly.
And then there was Liseli, an ancient spirit that was raised by the Moon Goddess and was shrouded by many mysteries, just as Talia was.
However, no matter how curious Talia was, she didn’t want to risk exposing Liseli. If people knew how special her wolf was, Talia would be in danger for much more than just being a female Alpha with magical powers.
After confirming that everything with Yasmin was fine, Talia asked Cassandra to show her the relics.
Axel, Yasmin, and Dayson joined them as well.
They entered the archives of the Midnight Guardians pack.
The long and narrow room had tall shelves on each side, packed with books and rolls of parchment. Several tall ladders provided access to shelves that were at the top. There was no obvious categorization, but everything was neatly stacked, giving an impression it was organized.
Talia wondered if Axel read all those books with his ability. That was highly possible.
Cassandra led the way to a door that was in the back.
The room was dark and dusty, with old books and parchments scattered everywhere, some on the shelves, but most on the floor to create piles of mess. Faint squeaky sounds made Talia wonder if they had mice or rats here.
“How old are these?” Talia asked Axel.
Axel shrugged. “I was here once as a kid, and then the door was closed.” He looked at Cassandra suspiciously. “I was not aware that the Oracle can come in here.”
Cassandra turned to look at him. “This area is not off-limits. Anyone can come here. It’s just that no one cared to see these old records.” She continued talking to Talia. “I explored this place way before young Alpha Axel was born. Most of these are old ledgers about food, water, and other supplies, and there are notes people forgot to finish. Some list pack members and their occupations, but that information is now obsolete. You can think of this room as a place where we keep things we don’t need anymore.”
“And ancient relics are here?” Talia asked in disbelief.
Cassandra confirmed. “No matter what magical powers they possess, since no one can activate them, they are just trinkets.”
Talia thought how some things didn’t add up. If no one can activate them, then… “How did you know that the necklace resists magic?”
“There was a time when I thought I had answers to everything,” Cassandra responded. “I was trying to figure out the nature of the relics, but nothing worked, so I left them here. About a few years ago, I had a vision that told me a necklace will be useful, and I found it here. Since then, I have carried it with me.”
Cassandra paused while sorting her thoughts before continuing, “Another vision told me that the necklace could resist magic, and I took it with me when we headed to the realm of witches, thinking it would protect me from… whatever they were doing. But then I had another vision; a vision which included your guard, and you know the rest.”
Talia was visibly disappointed. Part of her hoped that Cassandra would have universal answers, but that was not the case.
And there was one more point that rubbed Talia the wrong way. “If you had a vision of a guy coming after me, why didn’t you warn me?”
Cassandra paused. “The vision was about your guard and the necklace. A man approached you with malicious intent, and I saw the woods. It was Keith’s fate to rescue you.”
“Wouldn’t it be simpler if you told me to stay away from the woods?”
Cassandra looked at Talia like she had said something silly. “As an Oracle, I learned that some things shouldn’t be said. I didn’t know when or where it would happen. If I told you, would you stay away from the woods? Would you run away from anyone with dark hair?”
Talia pressed her lips into a line. Unless she cooped up inside, she would go into the woods. Actually, she would either become paranoid or dismiss the Oracle’s warning as the rambling of a crazy woman. But still, this was about Talia’s safety. Shouldn’t she know about it?
Seeing Talia’s stubborn expression, Cassandra shook her head. “My job is to do the minimum required in order to make it happen unless the vision tells me otherwise.”
“Do you always blindly follow what your visions show you?”
“If it’s not too troubling,” Cassandra responded mysteriously, stopping at the end of the room. “Here we are.”
Talia looked down to see a wooden chest that reached her knees. The red paint flaked brown due to its age.
“Disappointed?” Cassandra asked.
Talia confirmed. “When you said ancient relics, I was expecting display cases and not… this.”
Cassandra chuckled. “This is not a museum, Alpha. Our kind doesn’t care about material things, regardless of how old they are.”
Talia had to agree with this. Werewolves were simple. They cared about food, clothes, the roof over their heads, and… mates. Pack and family were important, and many pack members were unmated. Why would they care about magic necklaces and whatever else was in that chest if they didn’t have their other half?
Talia squatted and put her hand on the chest. Again, nothing. It was a plain, dusty chest.
Dayson, Axel, and Yasmin stood on the side, eagerly waiting to see what was inside.
The rusty lock creaked when Talia flipped it, and then she opened the chest.
With a glance, Talia could see that most of it were jewelry. Necklaces and various chains, brooches, and gemstones. It was like a box of trinkets that belonged to a female. Talia put her hand inside and moved them around. There was a belt and a palm-sized dagger whose white hilt was embellished with emeralds.
—
Cassandra reached into a box and took one diamond-shaped silver brooch. “If this is normal, it would be affected by abilities. However, all these things will absorb the energy directed at them, change its properties, or repel it. I’m not sure if that classifies them as magical, but they were tampered with magic. I experimented enough to know that whatever was done with these, it’s beyond our knowledge.”
“And you didn’t report this to Alphas?” Axel asked angrily while pointing at the chest.
Cassandra raised her arms defensively. “They were right here. I assumed that one of the previous Alphas got these as a gift, or maybe one of our gifted pack members crafted them. And there was a possibility of them being failed experiments of imbuing items with abilities.” She turned to Talia. “We don’t care about gold, silver, and gems. Other than being shiny, they have no other purpose.”
Werewolves didn’t wear jewelry because it would come off or break when they shifted. Things like these would be kept in some storage or used in the human realm in exchange for money and supplies. However, since these were special, they were not to be given away, so they stayed in a chest.
“How many of these did you take?” Axel growled at Cassandra.
“I am not a thief!” Cassandra hissed back.
“That’s what you say!”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.