Chapter 804 – Hidden Desires of the Werewolf King Novel

Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel

“It doesn’t look like it. I mean, they seem to be smitten and happy, but…” Zina hesitated. “You know that Steph was always hovering around Lisa. Lisa was in the Lightclaw pack, but Steph knew where Lisa was and with whom. Is it possible that the mate bond impacted Steph so much that she doesn’t care if Lisa is in trouble?”

Dawn knew that Zina blamed herself for the rogues’ attack on the Blue River pack. One of the theories was that Zina told Steph about Talia’s whereabouts, and Steph was the one who gave that information to Lisa (and rogues). Those were just guesses, and they didn’t have proof it actually happened, but Zina still felt guilty about it, and now it seemed that Zina blamed Stephanie.

“Tell me from the beginning,” Dawn demanded.

“There is not much to tell, and that’s the problem. Steph and Richard stop by every few days to catch up. Richard goes into the garden, and Steph helps out in the kitchen, or she makes coffee for Trisha and me. Steph talks about anything and everything except Lisa. Maya hinted that we don’t know anything related to Lisa’s mate and that he should come so we can all meet him, and Steph brushed it off, saying how he is busy.”

“Did Steph meet him?”

“No. And that’s another red flag. Steph said she doesn’t know who Lisa’s mate is or where Lisa is. Don’t you think it’s strange? She should at least tell us which pack Lisa joined.”

Dawn agreed with this. Stephanie was known to hover around Lisa, yet now she acted like Lisa was unimportant. “Don’t overthink it, Zi. You know that Lisa caused a lot of trouble recently. She is not a child anymore, and now she also has a mate. Maybe Steph finally decided to be happy and let Lisa take responsibility for her actions.”

“Do you believe that? This is Steph we are talking about.”

Dawn puffed her cheeks. Did she believe that? No. She was just comforting Zina. But there was a point… “If anything is off with Steph, I’m sure Dayson and Talia are on top of it.”

Zina leaned into her chair and stared at the sky that had a few clouds on it. “I don’t know, Di. Our Alpha has a soft spot for a woman who raised him after his parents died.”

“You don’t think that Steph is coming to the packhouse with the purpose of getting information for rogues, do you?” When Zina didn’t respond, Dawn continued. “You know Steph, just as I do. She takes pride in the Shadow Fang pack and would never do anything against it. Everything Steph did was for the pack. She lost her mate and even sent her daughter away.”

Zina knew all this, but she couldn’t help the doubt that swelled within her. Something was off with Stephanie, and it seemed that only Zina saw it.

…

George was at the training grounds. His Lieutenants were monitoring their units and taking notes of the performance of each soldier.

Before meeting Dawn, George would spend here most of the day.

Since Dawn came to the Red Moon pack, George would be at the training grounds in the morning, afternoons he would spend in his office, meetings were somewhat random and on a need basis, while he would look for opportunities to take his work with him and finish it from the study. During those times, Dawn would be in the study with him, reading a book or watching a video with a headset on. He loved those moments when Dawn was in his visual range.

George checked the time. It was dragging. If James was present, George could use an excuse of training the future Alpha to leave earlier, but James was studying with another tutor now, so that was not an option.

George knew that Dawn was with Zina because he could feel her happiness, and it made him happy also. He remembered the promise of joining them for lunch, and he didn’t want to miss it. George knew that Estelle was preparing a feast.

Most of the warriors would go for lunch to the canteen. It was close and convenient since they didn’t need to prepare a meal, and the food was decent.

It was not unusual for mated pack members who lived nearby to head home for lunch or for their mates to join them. Unfortunately, that didn’t apply to George. He didn’t announce that he had found his mate and if Dawn appeared there, it would raise many questions.

George couldn’t risk Alpha Edward finding out about a new female. Dawn was attractive, and George could see the old fart setting his sight on Dawn. George wouldn’t allow that to happen, and then he would reveal his identity, and a decade of planning would go down the drain.

Just a bit more, George told himself.

It was close to eleven-thirty when George raised his arm, making hundred-something warriors stop moving and look at him.

“Let’s break for lunch. We will continue at one o’clock sharp!” George announced and turned to leave.

“You are in a hurry,” a condescending voice came from the side. “If I didn’t know better, I would assume you have a sweet pussy waiting for you. Is it possible that a woman caught the eye of monk George?”

George frowned while turning to look at the familiar face he didn’t want to see. It was Owen. He was a Lieutenant of a battalion that was not under George.

Owen and George had been rivals since they started climbing ranks.

George and Owen were both orphans. They became warriors at the same time, and their promotions were always close to each other. Since George became a General (and then Commander), Owen’s rivalry intensified, and George didn’t hold back his punches either.

“Is there a reason you are here, Lieutenant?” George asked, emphasizing Owen’s rank. “I assume you are not here to discuss women.”

“Does Alpha know you are cutting short training for your warriors?”

“Does Alpha know you were watching my people when you were supposed to watch yours?” George returned the question.

…

Note: you can find Owen’s pic in comments

Normally, George and Owen would engage in verbal spats, but he didn’t have time to waste today. Every minute with Dawn was precious.

“Why are you here, Owen? Don’t tell me you wanted to invite me for lunch?” George asked.

“What if I did?”

“Then, I will need to decline.”

“Is there a reason?”

“Of course, there is,” George responded. “Other than not wanting your ugly face to give me indigestion, I woke up craving dumplings, so I asked my Omegas to prepare them for lunch. You would know how that feels if you had Omegas serving you. Oh, how inconsiderate of me. Lieutenants don’t get Omegas to serve them; that’s only for Generals and above.”

Owen’s jaw ticked, and George shook his head.

“If there is anything official, schedule an appointment. If you have time to spare, I suggest you return to the training grounds. When you feel you have a fighting chance, issue me a warrior’s challenge. I won’t refuse.”

Owen watched bitterly George’s retreating back, noticing that George’s steps were getting faster until he broke into a run, and then he took a turn and disappeared out of sight.

…

George opened the door of his villa and stepped inside when…

“WAAAH!”

A Dawn-bullet jumped on George with an enthusiastic scream, and he was quick to catch her.

Dawn rubbed her face on the side of his neck. “I thought you won’t make it.”

“What made you think so?” George asked through chuckles. Dawn was adorable, and her happiness spilled on him. He had never felt so welcome before Dawn came into his life.

“I sensed your displeasure not so long ago, so I assumed that you had something unexpected and… you know… that you will be too busy to come home for lunch. You didn’t miss anything important for this?”

George squeezed Dawn against him and took a deep breath to fill his system with her addictive scent of cinnamon.

“It was nothing much. Just Owen.”

“When will the two of you stop acting like high school kids?” Dawn never met Owen, but George told her about him.

“Hey, hey,” George protested. “He is the one coming onto me. Are you expecting me to stay quiet and let him use me as a doormat?”

Dawn released George and touched his cheek. “No, I don’t. But I wish that you could talk it out. Didn’t you say that the two of you used to train together and help each other? If he sees that you are still the same man, he might be a friend. A good one.”

George smiled helplessly. Talking was not the way of people at the Red Moon pack.

Here, George was a Commander, cold, ruthless, and calculative.

“This reasonable and soft Commander George is only for you, Dawn.”

Dawn grinned. She loved to know that she was special.

“I wouldn’t call you soft,” Dawn said while wiggling her eyebrows, and George growled lowly in approval while leaning to capture her lips with his.

“How easy is it for you to forget about me?”

Zina’s voice reached them from the side, and Dawn and George smiled.

Dawn spoke about Zina a lot, and George visited the Shadow Fang pack more than once, so they were familiar with each other. The only thing new about this was the location.

“Hi Zi,” George greeted her. “I assume you had a pleasant morning with my mate.”

“I did. And now I’m starving. Can we eat?”

They kept the chat during lunch on light topics, and Zina wished she could be this close to Dawn daily.

“What are your plans for the afternoon?” George asked.

“We will prepare dinner,” Dawn responded. Other than chatting with Zina, she didn’t have other plans.

“I was hoping you could show me around,” Zina said.

George paused. “Around?”

Zina looked at Dawn. “Around. Outside. Are you telling me you don’t leave this villa?”

Dawn released a long breath. “I do get out, but… this is not a good environment for an Omega, Zi.”

“I came to see how you are living here. Show me. I don’t want to see only pretty things.”

George didn’t like it. “Due to the preparations for James’ birthday, I have meetings this afternoon and can’t accompany you.”

“Dawn can’t leave this house unless you are with her?” Zina asked incredulously.

“No, no,” Dawn said quickly. “I go out on my own, but…” Dawn puffed her cheeks. “Fine. We will go.”

“Dawn,” George called, his low voice full of warning.

“We won’t stir trouble. I will take Dawn to the market and back. Maybe Estelle will join us also. What can happen?”

…

Eventually, George left, and Zina asked when it was just the two of them, “Tell me straight, what’s the big deal with us going out? Will people beat us?”

“No. It’s just…” Dawn was not sure how to say this. “In general, Omegas are treated like dirt here. Then there is a distinction between Omegas who were born with a bloodline of the Red Moon pack, and Omegas from other packs. People will scrutinize you and assume the worst. Things don’t get physical. Don’t respond to provocations, and we will be fine.”

Zina cocked her eyebrow. “Oh? There are noble Omegas and peasant Omegas?”

Dawn would laugh at the sarcasm, but this affected more than just Dawn and Zina, and it was not funny.

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