Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
As things were settling down, Talia remembered one person: Nora.
Even with James’ help, Dayson had his hands full, but he made sure to escort Talia to the dungeon. There was no way he would let her go there on her own.
The dungeon of the Shadow Fang pack was a nasty place, but the Red Moon pack doubled down on nastiness.
The air was heavy and filled with the scent of blood, feces, and rotting flesh. It was gross, and Talia barely held her lunch down.
There were so many people inside, and Dayson ordered Keith and Arya to investigate why those people were imprisoned, to let go of the ones who only committed offenses against the Red Moon pack, and to get someone to clean the wretched place.
Dayson stopped Talia as they moved down the hallway of the dungeon and asked warriors to bring Nora out for questioning. He didn’t want to risk endangering Talia’s health by exposing her to whatever was festering in that dungeon.
Nora didn’t know where her father could be, and Tyler was unsuccessful in locating him. Beta Raymond walked into the forest during James’ birthday party, and no one saw him afterward. His phone was offline, and with Alpha Edward gone, the pack link was gone as well, so they couldn’t contact him.
“What will you do?” Talia asked Nora. “Human city? Will you risk turning rogue?” It was common knowledge that when a werewolf is without a pack, they are in danger of their wolf turning feral, making them unable to join a pack and function as a part of a community, hence, turning them rogue.
Nora was not sure where to go next. “My father was my only family. I was thinking of making my exit and contacting him when things cool off.” But it seemed that Beta Raymond vanished.
Nora looked at Dayson. “Can I come to your pack?”
A low growl ripped from Talia’s chest. How dares that bedclimber ask to be close to Dayson!? “You have nowhere to go, so you should do the same thing others like you are doing.”
Nora didn’t get it. “What?”
Talia got her phone and made a call, “Tanya, are you still here? There is one more Omega for your shelter.”
Nora’s face fell when she realized that Talia was talking about her. Did Talia say, shelter? And there was one more point… “Omega?”
“Would you rather that I call you ex-Beta’s daughter?” Talia snapped, her patience running thin.
“I was never…” Nora’s voice trailed.
“You were never what, Nora?” Talia asked. “Your father was a Beta. He got his status because of the ceremony. Without it, he would be an Omega, a warrior at best, and you… his daughter. Unless there is Alpha blood in your veins, you are an Omega. You need to live with it.”
Nora’s chin trembled. “I did so much for you. I helped.”
“And that’s why I’m letting you live,” Talia said dryly. “You should recognize that this is not punishment. This is an opportunity for you to start over. I recommend you take it.”
They didn’t let Nora take the suitcases she packed to flee with. They were filled with designer clothes and jewelry that were expensive and could feed a family for many years.
Nora protested, “I am Beta’s daughter. Those are my things. What you are doing is stealing!”
Dayson had enough. “Do you know what happens to the high-ranking members of a pack that was occupied?”
Nora shook her head, and she froze when Dayson continued talking.
“They are all killed in front of their pack members as a symbol that their pack is gone. Should I detach your head from the rest of your body in a public spectacle?”
Nora didn’t want to part from her fancy things, but she also had no intention of getting beheaded. “Let’s not rush into things. Talia said…”
Dayson narrowed his eyes at Nora. “How did you call her?”
Nora felt chills down her spine, telling her she was in danger. She quickly lowered her head. “Luna Talia said I’m just an Omega. As such, I’m not a high-ranking member.” And she can keep her head on her shoulders.
“Good that you know,” Dayson said.
Nora released the breath she was holding. Her insides tightened when Dayson continued talking.
“Omegas don’t have these kinds of clothes and jewelry. Which one will it be? Are you going to part with them willingly? If you insist on keeping them as Beta’s daughter, I will be magnanimous and bury you with those so you can wear them in the afterlife.”
Nora felt like crying, and she cursed herself for not thinking ahead. If she had fled the pack earlier, if she had moved faster… she would escape and not be stuck in this situation.
“It’s not all bad, Nora,” Talia said. “We won’t take away your personal bank accounts. Once you pass the rehabilitation program in the Blue River pack, you will get access to those.”
“Will you allow me to pass?” Nora asked bitterly. How she saw this, she knew too much, and Dayson and Talia would never let her go.
“That will depend on you,” Talia said. “The programs at the Blue River pack are great. Do you know that Marcy died while protecting a ten year-old orphan girl?”
Nora was not happy to think that the pinnacle of her existence should be to sacrifice her life for an orphan. What kind of nonsense rehabilitation programs are those? And did Talia say that Marcy was dead!? How could that be a good thing?
Nora prioritized her life over everything else, and she ended up joining the group of people who were set to leave for the Blue River pack. She was officially Nora, an Omega. It was a bitter pill to swallow.
After Alphas confirmed deals with Dayson, they went to their respective territories to prepare for the official handoff while taking with them new pack members.
As time passed, the area around the packhouse belonging to the Red Moon pack was clearing of people, leaving the group for the Shadow Fang pack last.
The trip via land from the Red Moon pack to the Shadow Fang pack would take a whole day (with minimum stops). Considering that they had more than two hundred people moving, Dayson didn’t want to waste time. He rented an airbus that could seat everyone. The pilot was included as Dayson didn’t want to waste four hours of his life in flight that could be reduced to a few seconds with Cornelia’s magical help.
If they didn’t conceal the existence of witches and magic, everyone would move via a teleportation spell, but they were not ready for that step, so Dayson’s wallet bled for this.
The plane rental was an easy part. Securing antinausea medicine and antidepressants for more than two hundred people was a problem. Omegas would normally freak out while in flight because their instinct was to feel the solid ground under their feet. Antidepressants would numb their senses to the point of not caring where they were. The shaking would still make them puke their guts out, so Dayson thought of getting antinausea medicine as well.
Renting a plane (and a pilot) was costing him a fortune already, and he didn’t want to pay for deep cleaning of the airplane’s interior on top of it.
Mindy, Gideon, Owen, and Zina traveled via plane to provide comfort to Omegas in flight.
Dayson, Talia, Keith, Arya, Sandy, Tyler, James, Cornelia, George, and Dawn stayed behind to organize warriors that arrived from allied packs. Until the official handoff of territories was completed, they needed to protect the borders.
With so many things to do, Talia and Dayson didn’t get to search for Alpha Edward’s secret stashes of documents, but Talia didn’t think it was a big deal.
“Those secrets are there for decades, maybe more,” she said. “One or two more days won’t make a difference. Our warriors will protect this place, and we will return here after the ceremony.”
Dayson was not so optimistic about the timelines. “It will take some time for newcomers to settle into a routine, and we should be present to ensure things go smoothly. Also, you didn’t check on your pack in a while.”
Talia realized Dayson was right. “Axel would contact me if anything urgent is going on there. As for the Shadow Fang pack… I can come here for a few hours with Cornelia or Amelia and check out stuff while you are busy with your Alpha duties.”
“Let’s talk about it later,” Dayson responded. He didn’t want to tell her that she shouldn’t come, but he didn’t want to part from her. On the other hand, Keith and Arya proved themselves as loyal and capable, so maybe a few hours would be fine.
Mindy texted them that the plane was getting close to landing in the Shadow Fang pack, so Cornelia prepared a teleportation diagram that would come in handy for the days to come. She was also interested in finding information about witches being used for experiments.
…
~ the Shadow Fang pack ~
The evening descended on the packhouse, and the garden was filled with people.
Gideon stood on the podium in front of an altar where flames danced while releasing exotic fragrance into the air.
Next to Gideon were Mindy, Dayson, Talia, Maya, and Jaeden, all dressed in ceremonial clothes.
On the side were Elders, ready to witness the ceremony of more than two hundred new members joining the pack at the same time. Other than the influx of pack members, they all heard that the territory of the Shadow Fang pack had expanded. It was a big deal.
The crowd moved in an organized line toward the podium. One by one, they cut their palms to release a few drops of their blood into a metal chalice that had engravings of wolves.
Dawn stood by George’s side, and Zina was with Owen.
James was there also, with Cornelia by his side. He was staring at the scene unfolding and squeezing Cornelia’s hand excitedly every few seconds.
James couldn’t believe that this was happening. He was with his mate, in front of people, without hiding. It was surreal. If this was a dream, he didn’t want to wake up.
When the crowd reached about halfway, Gideon called James and Cornelia to step forward.
“James Redmayne,” Gideon called solemnly. “Do you reject all ties to your previous pack and pledge your loyalty to the Shadow Fang pack?”
“I do,” James responded seriously.
Gideon turned to Dayson. “Alpha Dayson, do you accept James as a member of our pack?”
“I do,” Dayson said with a smile.
Since James was set to become Gamma, he needed a separate ceremony. Cornelia was James’ mate, so they decided to include her as well.
“Cornelia of the Silverflame Coven,” Gideon called, “Do you accept the Shadow Fang pack as your home and family?”
Cornelia glanced at James. “I do.”
Gideon turned to Dayson. “Alpha Dayson, do you accept Cornelia as a member of our pack?”
“I do,” Dayson responded.
Gideon handed James a knife, and James cut his hand. Next, Cornelia took the knife and cut hers. They had no idea how this would go because it was unheard of a witch participating in a werewolf ceremony and joining a pack, but the worst thing would be that it would fail. At least, that’s what they hoped for.
Cornelia and James joined their bloodied hands, pressing their wounds against each other and above the flames.
The blood dripped into the flames that danced on the altar. One drop, two, three… and then it happened… James and Cornelia sucked in sharp breaths as a wave of energy assaulted their bodies.
James felt the moment when the pack link got established, giving him the clarity of thousands of minds connected into one. He could feel the difference compared to the pack link of the Red Moon pack he had previously, and he knew that he had made the right choice of coming here. Dayson was a good Alpha. His people followed him willingly; they admired him, and so did James.
Cornelia was a witch, so she didn’t get the pack link, but she could feel the energies of the people gathered and many others who were not nearby.
“You are now bound to the Shadow Fang pack as its members, to live and prosper together and help each other in times of need,” Gideon announced.
“Welcome to the Shadow Fang pack!” Dayson exclaimed, and then he raised his head to the sky.
“AWOOO!”
Dayson’s howl shook the air, and everyone else joined him, “AWOOO!!!”
James was staring at Cornelia, and they had matching smiles on their faces, but this was not over.
“James of the Shadow Fang pack!” Dayson called, “I’m offering you the position of my Gamma. This role comes with honor and responsibility, and it can’t be broken as long as the pack exists. Do you accept to work with me for the benefit of the pack?”
“I do,” James responded with confidence.
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.