The Alpha's Temptation

Excitement crept into her chest like a warm sunny day and settled deep in her stomach as she stood between the trees and stared at the first row of tents. Morava was so happy that this was going to be Tania's last day in Pegasii. A day had passed after her mother had discussed the plan with her.

There were rumors that Eltanin wanted to kill Morava and she was taking a big risk by coming here, but she had Mizvah and a dozen soldiers with her that her mother had arranged for her safety. Just so that the meeting arranged between her and Eltanin wasn't leaked to Biham, she had started a rumor that Morava was sick and wouldn't leave her room.

"Why hasn't the king attacked us yet?" asked Mizvah as he stared at the tents. "If they attack, Pegasii would be razed, leveled to the ground." His breath was ragged in the cold winter night.

"That's because my father wants to reason with him."

"King Biham's decision has been met with a lot of controversy, princess. Have you told him?" Mizvah said.

"What controversy?" she asked as she brushed the snowflakes off that had fallen onto the collar of her cloak.

"The soldiers are unsettled by this. Some want to fight rather than succumb to Eltanin's reign. Many are uncertain about the future. They wonder if King Biham has traded their death over a slave girl." He said as he inched closer to Morava, his shoulder brushing her back. He wanted to be as close to her as possible, seeing her with Eltanin made him jealous.

"What do you want, Mizvah?" She turned slightly to cast him a suggestive look.

He returned her gaze with his warm hazel eyes. There was a lot of tenderness in the way that he peered back at her. He had strong feelings for her and his possessiveness overwhelmed him. "I want you…" he said it simply. "And I would do anything for you princess. Rather than being here, you should contest against his decision. I know that he has this steely resolve to announce Lusitania as his heir, but what about you? You should ask him to compensate you."

She chuckled. Compensation wasn't what she was after. She wanted all of Pegasii. And then Eltanin. If tonight's plan worked, she would be on her way to victory and that slave girl would be out of Pegasii.

"If you want, I can ask my unit to attack his army. We can attack them during the night when they are sleeping."

"Before you launch the attack, King Eltanin will vanquish you. Your act would be called a rebellion by my father and before he throws you into dungeons, Eltanin would have your head on a spike!" Morava spat with hatred. Saying that she walked towards the first row of tents.

The soldiers standing on the guard raised their spears and pointed towards them immediately. Many ran to circle Morava and her guards with their swords. Her guards brought their hands to the hilt of their swords. "I am here to meet King Eltanin," she said as she shifted her tiara to the center. It was to show that she was the princess.

"Allow her to come in," a deep voice commanded them to lower their spears. Fafnir came forward. He bowed to her and said, "The king wishes to inform you before you speak with him that the meeting was arranged at your mother's request."

Morava clenched her teeth. Eltanin wanted to convey that he wouldn't have entertained her, if it hadn't been for Sirrah. "Thank you."

Fafnir nodded once. "Please come this way," he said. When her guards started following her, he said, "Only the princess can enter from here." Her guards were immediately stopped.

She took a deep breath in and followed Fafnir. They walked through a row of tents and then circled through a maze before arriving at the largest tent. She saw Prince Rigel sitting on a stump, sharpening his sword a few yards away. She bowed to him, but he didn't return the courtesy.

Fafnir lifted the flap of Eltanin's tent for her to step inside. "Please wait here, princess," he said in a cold voice and then left.

Morava noticed that a red carpet was spread over the ground. Two braziers burned in the corner giving a soft buttery glow to the insides. A table and a chair at one corner had some documents opened. A white gauzy curtain with a lot of frills blocked the view of the other side and Morava could make out the faint lines of a bed.

The curtains parted slightly and Eltanin came into view. Lying on the bed, his chest was naked. He had propped up his arms behind his head over the pillows to cradle his head. A thick fur covered him from beneath his navel. His muscled arms and the planes of his chest were so beautiful that Morava drooled. She wondered what it would be like to be beneath him. She stifled a moan and clenched her thighs. She noticed that his hair had grown and the large curls now fell lazily on his neck. His hair was tousled and she had this strong urge to thread her fingers in them and crash her lips onto his pillowy ones. Eltanin was the sexiest and most handsome man she had ever seen in her life.

Without greeting her, Eltanin asked, "What is the purpose of this meeting?" There was so much animosity in his voice that she quivered. He didn't even bother to get out of his bed.

Morava couldn't see much of him through the parted curtains. She stood in front of him to get a better view, but at a distance. It was not very bright on the other side. "I came here to tell you about my father's plans," she said. "And to tell you where the slave girl is."

Eltanin tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.

"However, once you know about her, you have to promise me that you will take her away and never return. I have more conditions for the information about my father's plans," she said without hesitation. When she waited for him to say something and he didn't, she continued, "Would you like to hear my conditions?"

He sighed, pulled his fur up a little and said, "Go on."

"Once I tell you where the slave girl is, you will have to take her back," Morava said her first condition.

"She is Tania to you," he growled. "The next time you call her a 'slave girl', I will rip out your tongue!"

Morava gasped at his reaction.

"Next condition?"

After a moment of calming her nervousness, she carried on. "T—Tania is a vicious girl. At first, my father wasn't interested in her, but when your army encamped around Pegasii, my father was worried. He asked me what the whole thing was about. I told him the truth and I was admonished for it." She lowered her head. "I am sorry Your Highness, I shouldn't have created so much… havoc." She hoped for Eltanin to soften, but only cold silence followed. Disgusted, she said, "Tania has learned that you and your army have come to get her and have become pricey and high-minded. The greedy girl started making deals with us."