Chapter 863 – Hidden Desires of the Werewolf King Novel

Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel

Janine was not capable of surviving on her own, and during her time with Tristan, she learned of many locations where rogues were hiding. Talia could extract that information from Janine’s mind, but there was no guarantee that rogues would be present in that hideout, so they let Janine lead them there.

That was Talia’s idea, and Dayson loved seeing this devious side of his kitten.

As Talia’s public Luna ceremony was approaching, Mindy, Maya, Trisha, Cornelia, Amelia, Kalina, and Michelle were official party organizers for the upcoming party of the century.

Seven females divided work among themselves, determined to make it massive, lavish, and worthy of the strongest Alpha couple that ever existed in the history of werewolves. It was a big deal.

Tatiana didn’t allow her growing stomach to make her a spectator. She was THE designer for Talia’s wedding gown and her bridesmaids’ dresses. To Maddox’s irritation, Tatiana’s assistant (aka Mario) was supervising outfits the males will wear for the ceremony, which meant that the pesky pink-loving pipsqueak was spending a lot of time with his strawberry-infused Goddess.

Mindy was the overall supervisor of preparations, and other females had their tasks assigned.

Maya was in charge of invitations.

Talia looked at the list of people who RSVP’d and then at the list of people who were yet to respond, and Maya noticed Talia’s frown deepening.

“Is something wrong?” Maya asked.

“Olivia,” Talia responded. She couldn’t find her long-lost friend on the list at all.

Dayson told Talia that they located Olivia in the Shadowbite pack and that Maya and Jaeden would handle it, but Talia didn’t hear any updates.

Maya’s eyes shifted as she avoided Talia’s gaze.

“What’s going on?” Talia asked suspiciously.

“Jaeden and Caleb were not successful in contacting her,” Maya said.

“Is she not there? Or is she ill?” Or dead? Talia didn’t dare to ask this last question aloud.

Maya puffed her cheeks. “That’s the Shadowbite pack. They are not kind to outsiders. If she is a male, things would be different.”

Talia cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. “How different?”

“You know how the Red Moon pack was horrible to Omegas?” Maya asked, and when Talia nodded, Maya continued, “Well, the Shadowbite pack is worse. They treat females as trash.”

Talia stood up, and Maya grabbed her hand with, “Where are you going?”

“To talk to Dayson.” She could use their mind link, but Talia wanted to do this face-to-face.

“Can you let it go?” Dayson was the one who told Maya not to talk about this with Talia because he didn’t want to upset her.

“How can I?” Talia asked and pried her hand out of Maya’s hold. “If you found out that your friend was being mistreated, would you let it go?”

“You don’t know if she is mistreated,” Maya said right away.

“If that’s the case, the Shadowbite pack has nothing to fear.”

“Are you going to start a war over one female?” Maya asked, and she shrunk when she realized her question hit a nerve.

“Of course not,” Talia responded dryly. “How could the life of one female compare to the whole pack?”

“That’s not what I meant!” Maya shouted, but it was too late. Talia had already left the room, and Maya had a bad feeling about this.

Maya’s eyes lost focus for a moment as she mind-linked Dayson. ‘Talia is heading your way. She asked about Olivia, and when I didn’t tell her, she decided to talk to you.’

Maya could hear Dayson groan in frustration, and she was glad he didn’t ask more questions.

Talia found Dayson on the training grounds, talking to his Generals about the latest changes in training. As of recently, the Shadow Fang pack was something like a training center for warriors of allied packs, and they had units visiting from the Midnight Guardians pack, the Blue River pack, the Spring Leaf pack, and the Lightclaw pack.

Dayson turned to see Talia walking toward him with Keith and Arya two steps behind her. Those two were like Talia’s shadows. A bit annoying and borderline creepy, but reliable.

“Kitten,” Dayson greeted her with a smile, and he was glad that she didn’t pull back when he kissed her forehead because he could feel her mood that ominously prickled his skin.

The Generals greeted Talia with a bow, and then they made themselves scarce.

“What brings you here?” Dayson asked.

“Olivia.”

“What about her?”

“Did you know that Shadowbite pack is not allowing…” Talia released a sharp breath. “Of course, you knew. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to be upset.”

“I am upset already, so out with it.”

Dayson gave up. “We tried to reach out to them diplomatically, and they shut us out. Her father is now in the Lightclaw pack, and even he said that he didn’t talk with Olivia in years.”

Talia frowned. “How is that possible?”

“Kitten,” Dayson said seriously. “When mates recognize each other, the female goes with the male and leaves her old identity behind. They live together, and he will provide for her, but that doesn’t guarantee she will be treated as his equal. Right now, Olivia belongs to the Shadowbite pack with her mate, and we have no right to interfere.”

Talia understood that, but… “Did Jaeden see her?”

Dayson shook his head. “Even this information was gained after negotiations. They don’t care that I’m Alpha Dayson and why our warriors went to meet with Olivia.”

“They don’t care about you?”

Dayson looked at Talia helplessly. She was so innocent and unspoiled that he wanted to put her under a glass bell so that nothing would corrupt her. “My word is the law here, but every pack controls their own territory, and if we force our way in, it’s considered a declaration of war. Every pack is different, and we shouldn’t force on others our definition of what’s right.”

Talia pursed her lips. She knew that just because they were powerful, that didn’t mean they could boss around others. Wouldn’t that make them oppressors? They would be worse than Alpha Edward and his cronies.

“I don’t care about their pack,” Talia said. “I only care about Olivia. She was my only friend while I was in the Red Moon pack, and she made my life there bearable. As a girl hiding in the attic, there was nothing I could do, but now I am Alpha Natalia, your Luna. Surely, I can at least check on my friend.”

With this, Dayson confirmed that Talia wouldn’t let this go. “What’s your plan?”

Talia smiled a little. “I want to see her and extend the invitation for her to attend my Luna ceremony. Her mate will also be invited. If she says she doesn’t want to come, that’s fine.”

“What if she wants to come and her Alpha doesn’t allow it?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Talia snapped. “They might be closed off, but he can’t tell their people if they can attend a party.”

“He can,” Dayson deadpanned. “Alpha can close the borders and prevent anyone from going in and out, and he doesn’t need to provide a reason. His territory, his rules. He could even detain us, and if we don’t cooperate, it will be war.”

“We can go there without disturbing their borders. No one will know,” Talia said while giving Dayson a meaningful look, and he knew she was talking about teleporting there.

Dayson rubbed his face with force. She could pinpoint Olivia as the destination, but there was no way to know if they would end up in a dense forest, in the middle of the training ground, or in Olivia’s bathroom (while she was using it). Dayson could see this going wrong in so many ways!

Dayson could see that Talia was set on visiting her friend. Talia said she wanted to ensure that Olivia was alright, but what if she wasn’t? What if Talia sees things that will upset her? And also… “Let’s say we go to the Shadowbite pack, and their Alpha welcomes us. He might even allow Olivia to come to your Luna ceremony. What if he punishes her when she returns?”

“Will he do that?”

“It is a possibility.” A strong one. Alpha of the Shadowbite pack might be helpless in front of Dayson and Talia, but he will unload his pent-up resentment on the Omega in question.

Talia looked at Dayson sadly. “I know your words are reasonable, but you are only making me more worried. I understand that Olivia has another life now. My life changed also, but that doesn’t mean I will forget about people who were kind to me.” Talia released a long breath. “I won’t go there without you. But I am asking you to reconsider. I have this nagging feeling that I should see Olivia and that if I don’t, I will regret it. Can we just check on her? Please?”

Dayson pushed an unruly lock of hair behind Talia’s ear. “Was I ever able to say no to you, kitten?”

“You are not going without us,” Keith said from the side, and he didn’t flinch when he saw that both Dayson and Talia were frowning at him. “This is about Luna’s safety. After we went there, the Shadowbite pack was alerted of our intention. It would be foolish of them to think we gave up. I am confident that their security is tightened and that they are keeping a close eye on that female.”

Arya nodded in agreement with Keith’s words, and Dayson’s frown eased.

“What do you suggest?” Dayson asked Keith, who quickly came up with a plan.

“We form a unit and ask witches to teleport us close to their border.” He didn’t want to leave Talia from his visual range, but he never saw her teleporting more than one extra person, and asking her to take both him and Arya would be a stretch. “We all have scent-concealing herbs and will lay low. The two of you can proceed with your plan, but if anything is amiss, mind-link us, and we will charge in.” Keith lifted his chin smugly, obviously proud of his plan.

“A unit?” Talia asked. “That won’t be necessary. We will be there only a minute regardless of Olivia’s response.”

Dayson was about to protest when Talia added through their mind-link, only for Dayson to hear, ‘And let’s imagine they spot us and try to capture us. Will you play along with that charade? Having other people around only means we won’t be free to use our abilities because we don’t want to harm our people.’

Dayson smiled a little, ‘Since when are you so reckless?’

Talia’s smile matched Dayson’s. ‘Since I’m hanging out with you.’

Keith’s eyes darted from Talia to Dayson, who stood facing each other and smiling and holding hands, and… Keith’s expression fell when he realized that the wind picking up was not normal.

“WAIT!” Keith shouted, but the electric tornado lasted only a second before it was over. Dayson and Talia vanished.

“FUCK THIS!” Keith shouted in frustration. “I QUIT!”

“What do you mean, you quit?” Arya asked.

“THIS! THIS!” Keith was pointing at the spot where Talia and Dayson had been standing a few seconds ago. “How are we supposed to protect her when she goes who-knows-where without us? I would rather babysit a flock of falcons!”

Arya looked at Keith helplessly. She was also vexed that Talia just disappeared on them (literally), but there was nothing they could do about it. And did Keith say he was babysitting Talia? If Dayson heard that, Keith would be punished. Talia might be their Luna, but she was also the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack. The rumors were that Talia was the most powerful Alpha in existence. Keith’s insinuation that he was babysitting Talia could be interpreted as a claim that he was more powerful than Talia. Blasphemy.

“Trust in our Luna,” Arya said. “She is with the Alpha. He will keep her safe.”

Keith closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm his emotions. “You are right. While our Alpha and Luna are reckless, how about we go to Darkbourne and grab an ice cream?”

Arya wanted the ice cream, but… “Shouldn’t we notify Beta and Gamma about where our Alpha and Luna went? If things escalate, someone will need to do damage control.”

…

~ the Shadowbite pack ~

A gust of wind subsided, and Talia squinted at their surroundings as the dust settled.

They were in the forest, next to a single-story cabin.

‘CLACK!’

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