Chapter 786 – Hidden Desires of the Werewolf King Novel

Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel

“We were lucky to find out that rogues will be attacking,” Dayson said.

“I guess this proves that Cassie from the Steelbite pack knows something,” Tony said. “Dayson, when will you call her to see if she has more information?”

Dayson released a long breath.

He didn’t want to deal with Cassie, especially not from a position where he was the one asking favors. First, it might all be a trap where Cassie revealed one attack in order to gain their trust. And there was a chance she might give them more legit information with the goal of betraying them when they lower their guards. Second, even if Cassie wanted to collaborate, Dayson knew that female was a pain in the ass. And third, there was always the possibility of Talia remembering that Cassie was Dayson’s bed warmer at some point and all that exploding into Dayson’s face. With Talia’s temper flaring unexpectedly due to pregnancy, anything was possible.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice.

“I will call her today and let you know about the outcome. Any updates about Alpha Adam?”

Alpha Adam asked if he could join their open-borders policy and act as a bridge between a combined territory that belonged to Dayson, Maddox, Cristian, and the current isolated territory owned by Tony.

“Alpha Adam met with Alpha Peter from the Everfang pack yesterday,” Tony said. “I still need to hear the outcome of that meeting.”

Tony would love it if they could combine all their territories, but not at the expense of opening the door to backstabbers. None of the Alphas present trusted Alpha Adam or Alpha Peter. Those two flip-flopped too many times. Sure, they had their reasons, but their previous behavior was a testament that they would collaborate with whoever gave them more benefits.

Luckily, Tony was not isolated. With the portal of the Midnight Guardians pack nearby, Axel could send reinforcements when needed.

After a long time of stagnation, dozens of members of the Midnight Guardians pack found their mates among witches and werewolves. Their morale was on all high, and they were ready to help their allies in fighting off attackers.

…

After the video conference with other Alphas ended, Dayson glared at his phone like it was his mortal enemy. He knew that he needed to call Cassie, but every cell in his body was resisting that action.

“The sooner you do it, the sooner it will be done,” Talia said.

Dayson cocked an eyebrow at Talia. “Come here.”

Talia got off her chair and sat on Dayson’s lap. His calm exterior didn’t deceive her as she could feel his anxiety.

“It will be alright, Dayson,” Talia said. “It’s just a phone call. Put her on a speaker, and let’s hear what she has to say. And no matter what she says, I won’t think you are cheating on me,” she ended teasingly.

Dayson groaned. “That was not funny.”

Talia pressed her lips into a line. She was trying to lighten the mood, but it didn’t work. Change of strategy!

Talia ran her fingers through his raven black hair. “How about you tell me what’s bothering you?”

“If Cassie doesn’t have a believable story, she wouldn’t risk coming here with the tribute from the Steelbite pack and seeking me. I can’t imagine what she can offer that we don’t know already, but it will be something big, something I can’t ignore. If I ignore it, I will regret it, but if I act on it and it’s a trap…” He will regret it even more.

Dayson was always a control freak, acting logically, choosing violence over negotiations because it was faster and cleaner, but now it was not just him. Other packs will be involved, and he had Talia and a pup on the way if anything happened to them because he made a wrong decision… Dayson didn’t want to think about it.

Talia hugged him in return and let him have that moment of peace, happy to know that she had that effect on him.

Talia realized that when Dayson shared his concerns, Dayson was talking in the first person, like he was alone, and it made her heart ache. Didn’t he know how many people would gather around him?

Talia was ready to stand by his side no matter what enemy they were facing, and she was confident that at least a few others would do the same.

Dayson was used to carrying his own burdens, and he couldn’t see that he was not alone anymore. Talia understood him completely because she was the same. For such a long time, Talia was surviving on her own, and even though she enjoyed Dayson’s care and affection, it took her a long time to accept it as real.

Talia was determined to remind Dayson as many times as necessary that he was surrounded by friends and allies, people who shared his ideals and desire for peaceful lives.

OK. Maybe not everyone would risk their lives for Dayson out of the goodness of their hearts, but they all understood that if their packs didn’t stand united, they will be defeated one by one. Neutrality was not an option, and they didn’t have a tangible enemy with whom they could negotiate.

The only thing they could do now was to prepare themselves to defend, but that had its limitations. In order to assure a victory, the only viable path was to attack, and for that, they needed more information.

Talia didn’t like Cassie. Actually, Cassie was one of Talia’s least favorite people. Cassie came to this packhouse like she owned the place, acting like a spoiled princess and Dayson’s future Luna. Well, that didn’t turn out the way she hoped.

Cassie had a history with Dayson that Talia didn’t want to think about, Cassie accused Talia of stealing and slapped her, and then she was unreasonable at Kalina’s Luna ceremony. Talia had no good memories of Cassie, and Talia’s skin crawled at the thought of Dayson getting in touch with that wench. Still, if Cassie had some valuable information, Talia needed to swallow her grievances and encourage Dayson to make that call.

After an unknown measure of time, Talia realized that Dayson was procrastinating. How will that help? Can a powerful Alpha act like a baby?

Or did he forget about that call completely? Dayson was known to push aside anything he didn’t want to deal with, and this belonged in that category.

If not for the small movements of his fingers on her back, she would think he was asleep.

“Dayson?”

“Hmm?”

“You know that you are not alone in this, right?”

“Yes. I have you, Max, Chris, and Tony.” He would mention Maya and Jaeden, but those two will go on a vacation, so he couldn’t count on them short term.

“And James,” Talia added. “How about we record this call and ask Cornelia to bring James here tonight? We can have dinner together and let him listen to the call. James always had unique views and ideas. And this would be a good chance to get updates on Alpha Edward.”

At the mention of James, Dayson’s mood improved. Talia was right. That boy always had good ideas. If James comes, Dayson will remind him that the offer to be Gamma of the Shadow Fang pack still stands.

Seeing that Dayson was willing, Talia thought of something. “How about we can ask if George and Dawn can also join? If this is as big as we think it is, we will need all the help we can get.”

Dayson pushed a lock of coppery-colored hair behind Talia’s ear.

“What would I do without you, kitten?”

Talia’s smile fell. What would he do without her? He would go with his business as usual. Wasn’t his life much simpler before she came into the picture?

“If not for me, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”

Dayson frowned. “Don’t say that.”

“Did you forget that the intrusion in the Shadow Fang pack during the Summer Solstice festival was because of me? Since then, things have been escalating. The last few attacks wouldn’t happen if the Guardians were not set on me.”

They didn’t have any proof, but after her encounter with Gregory, Talia was confident that the Guardians were the ones pulling the strings from the shadows.

Gregory said that he didn’t have anything to do with the attack on the Blue River pack, but why would Talia believe him? The only thing she believed was that Gregory would say and do anything to make her trust him long enough so he could snatch her.

If the Guardians thought Talia would come to them willingly, that disappeared when Gregory forced heat on her. Sure, it all ended well, but it could have ended in so many horrible ways that Talia was getting nauseated just by thinking about it.

“Rogues were attacking way before you came into the picture,” Dayson reminded her.

She couldn’t deny that, but… “They see your Luna as your weakness, so the rogues want me as well.”

“I wish that you could see yourself through my eyes. You are my light. You are my everything.” He put his palm on her abdomen. “You are my gift from the Moon Goddess that keeps on giving. It is my duty and my honor to protect you. Don’t see yourself as my weakness, and you are definitely not a burden. If anything, you are a catalyst that urges me to try harder and improve.”

Talia smiled as he shared his emotions so she could feel the raw adoration he had for her, and she would love to spend eternity basking in his unconditional acceptance, but they had work to do.

“If you think your sweet-talking will get you out of calling Cassie, you should think again.”

Dayson chuckled. “Busted.”

Talia’s eyes flashed in outrage. “So, you admit to it?”

“That doesn’t mean my words were not true. You make my life worth living. Don’t forget that kitten.”

Talia melted into an emotional puddle. Even after all this time, she sometimes doubted if this was happening. Even the wildest dreams of Talia from the attic in the Red Moon pack didn’t include becoming Dayson’s Luna, being an Alpha, or that this handsome male specimen would look at her like she was the only woman in the world and say all those sweet things… it was surreal.

Dayson’s palm landed on the back of Talia’s neck, and he pulled her closer for a slow sensual kiss that made her toes curl.

Was this another Dayson’s tactic to postpone calling Cassie? It didn’t matter. Dayson wanted kisses, and Talia was willing to let him have them.

Later that evening…

As Talia suggested, Dawn, George, James, and Cornelia came from the Red Moon pack to join them for dinner. Zina was elated to see her bestie.

Dawn wanted to join George for the serious talk Dayson planned (and why they came to the Shadow Fang pack), but she also wanted to hang out with Zina. George helped her decide by saying he would tell her what happened after they returned home.

Caleb was waiting for Trisha in the car. Trisha was new in the area, and they were newly mated, so Caleb didn’t want to leave Trisha on her own, but he also didn’t want to intrude on her girl time. Trisha had a bubbling personality, and she had a lot of friends in the Spring Leaf pack. Caleb couldn’t deny her this opportunity to make friends, even if it meant sitting in the car and playing games on the phone to pass the time until Trisha returned.

Zina, Dawn, and Trisha were gathered around a small mountain of food on the kitchen island and chattering away.

Talia, Dayson, James, Cornelia, George, Maya, and Jaeden were in the study.

Dayson gave them quick updates on the situation before playing the audio recording he took while talking on the phone with Cassie.

‘Beep-beep… beep-beep’

“I knew you would call,” Cassie said smugly the moment she picked up the call.

“Get to the point, Cassie,” Dayson sounded impatient. “What do you know, and what do you want in return?”

“I know plenty.”

“Don’t talk in a roundabout way if you expect me to take this bait. Give me more than words. How do I know your info is valid? And how do I know you won’t backstab me?”

“That’s up to you,” Cassie responded. “But I won’t talk until you give me what I want.”

“And that is…?”

“A ticket out.”

“Out from where?” Dayson was audibly confused.

“From here. People are saying you bailed out Marcy from the Red Moon pack.”

“They are saying, what?” Dayson growled.

“There is no proof, but the fact that she disappeared without a trace means someone big helped her. You were right there, so it’s natural for people to connect the dots. I want the same. Different identity, money, and one ticked to a place my father won’t find me.”

“Do you expect me to believe you are abandoning your free meal ticket? Everyone knows that Alpha Richard treats you like you can’t go wrong.”

Cassie released a whine. “That was before. Now the Elders are bitching how we need to pay tribute, that I embarrassed the pack, and I have no value with my hair gone.”

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