Chapter 858 – Hidden Desires of the Werewolf King Novel

Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel

Dayson didn’t want to lie. ‘Yes.’

‘Do you know why?’

‘Yes, but…’ Dayson hesitated.

‘But?’

Dayson was not sure if Talia would hate him if he told Valerian about her past. Knowing her, she wouldn’t want to burden her father. ‘That’s a matter of the Moonrider family. I suggest you talk to Axel.’

‘As Natalia’s mate, you are family, and I’m talking to you. Speak.’

Dayson liked that he was called family, and he had a feeling that it would be a bad move to refuse. ‘One condition,’ Dayson said. ‘You will keep it to yourself until Talia or Axel tell you about it.’

‘I can’t make those promises.’

‘I am asking this for Talia. It is not a secret what happened, but it left deep scars on her. Talia suffered for a long time and is still struggling with acceptance.’

‘I understand.’

Dayson took that as Valerian’s agreement, and he started talking.

‘It all started with a prophecy…’ Dayson told Valerian about Cassandra’s prophecy and that Sophia and Isaac gave Talia away, and she ended up in the hands of Alpha Howard. He didn’t know much about her time in the Red Moon pack, but he said whatever he knew. Next, Dayson told him how Sophia and Isaac were Alphas of the Midnight Guardians pack, and the plan was for Axel to be the next Alpha until Talia appeared. Sophia and Isaac used dark magic on Dayson, and Talia took Alpha’s position from them forcibly. Axel didn’t object to Talia taking what was rightfully hers, but Sophia and Isaac were not happy about it.

Valerian listened to everything with an unreadable expression, and he didn’t say a word when Dayson finished.

Valerian just laid on the bed and closed his eyes. The silence was heavy.

Dayson understood that the guy was processing the information, and he didn’t want to disturb him.

Dayson decided to focus on the little woman who was sleeping peacefully in his arms.

He scooted lower on the sofa and pressed his lips at the top of Talia’s head. She was in his arms, safe with their pup in her belly. Talia’s breath slipping into his shirt to fan his chest was soothing, and his eyelids became heavy as the fatigue took over.

Valerian couldn’t sleep as the gravity of Talia’s childhood pressed on him.

It’s not that he didn’t believe Dayson, but he couldn’t believe that Sophia and Isaac would do that. Didn’t he ask them to watch over his daughter? How was that watching over her? Talia was the rightful heir of the Midnight Guardians pack, and instead of raising her as the next Alpha, they sent her away and didn’t check on her for two decades!

Talia was precious, not only as the female Alpha from the Midnight Guardians pack, but because she was Astraea’s daughter. Talia was the only thing left from his mate in this world of mortals, and Sophia and Isaac nearly took it away!

…

Talia took a deep breath of her favorite scent.

The warmth of Dayson’s body made her lips lift into a smile, and the rhythmical rise and fall of his chest told her he was sleeping.

Her eyes fluttered open to see that it was dark outside.

The low beeping of the heart rate monitor reminded her where she was, and she turned to see Valerian lying on the bed.

“How are you doing?” She asked.

“Better.”

“Do you need something? I can call the doctor or nurses.”

Valerian refused. “No need.” His eyes darted toward Dayson. “Your mate treats you well.”

Talia smiled dreamily. “He does.”

“I am glad. Can I ask you something?”

Talia’s ears perked up. It sounded important. “Sure.”

“Can I stay here until I recover?”

Talia blinked. “Of course! You can stay here as long as you want.”

“Another thing,” he said. “Can you keep my existence a secret for now?”

“It might be late for that.” So many people had seen him already, and they knew he was Talia’s father.

“I understand, but… can you try to keep this as low-key as possible?” Seeing Talia’s confused expression, he explained. “I was gone for a long time, and many think I’m dead. If our people hear I’m back, some will want to visit. I don’t want others to see me in this sorry state.”

Talia couldn’t make any promises, but she couldn’t refuse this request either. “I will tell Axel.”

“Is Axel treating you well?” Valerian asked Talia while hoping she would talk about Sophia and Isaac so he could stir the topic to how they treated her and the whole Red Moon pack business.

“Axel treated me well before confirming we were related. He is my proxy and acts as the Alpha in my absence.”

Seeing that Talia didn’t want to talk about the bad things, Valerian decided on a different strategy. “Tell me about the pack.”

“Before I took over as the Alpha, Sophia and Isaac were leading the Midnight Guardians pack. They believed that safety was in secrecy, so the pack members stayed mostly inside. I decided to change that policy, and now we have many new mated couples and a large number of pups on the way. Dayson is helping me make it happen while keeping our people safe…”

Valerian was disappointed that Talia didn’t confide in him and tell him the bad things she went through, but he also knew he was absent from her life. Was he worthy of her trust?

Talia spoke about opening the portal to the witches’ realm when Dayson woke up. He rested his chin on Talia’s shoulder and listened with Valerian.

No one interrupted them, and they chatted until early morning when Travis came to check on Valerian.

“When can he leave the pack hospital?” Talia asked.

“His condition is stable, and he is recovering at a fantastic rate. If he promises not to exert himself, I will clear him to be discharged. I can visit him once per day to assure things are on track…”

…

Talia heard that Evanora and Axel were bonding in the library of the Guardians, while Edgar used this time to be with Yasmin and the twins.

Talia asked Axel and others to keep the news of Valerian’s existence a secret and left it at that.

The next few days, Talia spent quite some time with Valerian, talking about anything and everything if she was not dealing with pack-related matters.

Valerian’s favorite place was the garden, in a spot where he could sit directly under the sunrays that he had missed for two decades. He could walk with a cane now, and that was big progress. He didn’t want to use a wheelchair, and being carried around was embarrassing.

Talia found Valerian sitting on the bench in the garden, with his eyes closed and head lifted to the sky as he soaked in the sun.

“Lunch will be served soon,” Talia said.

He patted the spot on the bench next to him.

“Since I arrived here, I have asked you many questions. It’s only fair that I answer yours.”

Talia sat next to him gingerly, and she touched her necklace. She told him before that Astraea left it behind with a secret message that told Talia about her heritage. But there were so many other things she didn’t know. “Will you tell me about mom?”

Valerian smiled dreamily. “She was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

Talia’s expression fell.

“What?” He asked.

“You speak about her in the past tense. I was hoping… Never mind.”

“You were hoping she is alive,” he said, and Talia nodded.

“In a way, that’s not wrong, but it’s not right either. We were in a grave situation. I was lucky to take you to safety.” Or at least he thought it was safe. “When I returned, Astraea was surrounded. We fought, but they were too many and…” He released a long breath. “They were after her, and she hoped that by sacrificing herself, they would leave me alone. She asked me to take care of you and used the last bits of her energy to protect me.”

“So… she is gone?” Talia asked.

“Yes and no,” he responded, and he put his hand on his chest. “It sounds crazy, but… I held her unmoving body, and I know she is gone, yet I can still feel the bond.”

‘It’s not crazy,’ Liseli spoke in Talia’s mind. ‘That was how Sapa and I were. Once the bond is established, it connects souls regardless of the distance, and the passing of time won’t diminish it. Only if a soul dissipates completely will the bond be broken.’

Talia thought how that was romantic. “Her spirit lives.”

Valerian smiled a little. “I like to think so. She was a strong female, mentally and emotionally. They captured me and wanted to enter my mind, but every time they tried to harm me, I could feel the energy that reminded me of Astraea. In the end, they couldn’t do anything other than imprisoning me. I think they forgot about me. Life was uneventful until you arrived.”

“Am I interrupting?” A deep voice came from the side, and Talia turned to see Dayson approaching them. His deep blue eyes, full of emotions, smiled at her and made it impossible to look away.

“Never,” Talia responded.

“It’s time for lunch,” Dayson said, and Talia stood up. She offered her hand to Valerian because his legs were still unsteady, but he just looked at her with an unreadable expression.

“Natalia,” Valerian called. “If you ever find yourself in a situation where you can save your mate by sacrificing yourself… don’t do it. I know it sounds like the right thing to do, but living without a mate is worse than death.”

“You said mom is not gone.”

“I did, but… It’s killing me whenever I think that I will never be able to see her smile, or hold her hand, or feel the sparks. The connection is there, but it’s pulling me nowhere, and I feel lost. A big part of me is missing, and I will never get it back.”

Talia’s heart cracked, and she was glad that Dayson put his hands around her.

‘Lis,’ Talia called her wolf. ‘What can I do to comfort him?’

‘You can’t,’ Liseli responded.

‘You returned,’ Talia said. ‘Can’t we do the same to my mother?’

Liseli didn’t have an answer to that question. ‘I don’t know how I ended up being your spirit. Even if we can do the same for your mother, will your father be willing to accept a spirit residing in another’s body? The important point is that he just told you she suffered and used up her energy. We don’t know what’s left…’

“Shh…” Dayson shushed Talia while pulling her onto him. “It’s OK, kitten. I’ve got you…”

Talia didn’t realize at what point she started crying.

“I’m sorry,” Valerian said. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

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