The Alpha's Temptation

With not a single soul out there in the meadow, the vast expanse looked eerie. They walked toward the bridge, each with their water canteens. Soon they came across a meandering brook that branched out of Eridani. "Don't drink this water," warned Rolfe. "This brook merges with Eridani, but it will go all the way to the bridge."

"Yes, we know," said Rigel. "I have asked the soldiers to dig holes in the ground to find water. I am sure that they will get plenty near the trees." He let out an exhale. "Last time we had come to Hydra, along with my army for Eltanin, I remember the experience was bad. The Nyxers have poisoned most of Eridani with their underground mines and factories. I have heard that they are into forging metal using poisonous herbs and dark magic."

"Why don't you create a portal to the bridge rather than all of us walking towards it?" Eltanin asked Rolfe, removing a sharp thorn from his leather boot.

"Felis has spread his magic in Hydra. If you are careful enough to sense it, you will feel it crawling on your skin, like I can. If I create a portal here, it will send blaring signals to Felis of our arrival, and you wouldn't want that, would you?"

Eltanin chuckled.

"I wanted to ask you one thing," Rigel said. The question was unspoken and hung in the air for a long time. He hoped that Ileus answered it without him asking it, but when he sensed Ileus was staying quiet, he probed, "Why are you helping me?"

Ileus stopped in his tracks and turned and looked over his shoulder at Rigel, while Eltanin and Rolfe carried on. Rigel stopped in his tracks, wondering if he had riled up the prince. "You could have gone back with Eltanin and left me, yet you chose to help me without any contingencies..."

Ileus took long strides to catch up to Eltanin and Rolfe, not wanting them to move out of the stretch of  mist he had created. Rigel followed him feeling awkward. Plucking a dandelion from the meadow, Ileus said, "Because I remember what it was to have your mate captive in a land where you were not welcome, where you were an adversary. In Vilinski, even though my mate was abused, the kingdom wasn't as bad as Hydra. In a way your situation and mine are the same, but with a difference. You know that your mate is out there, but you don't know where she is. So, you see your situation is worse than mine." Ileus stopped, turned and placed his warm hand on Rigel's shoulder. "I feel for you. I hope that I can help you in retrieving your mate. But I must warn you about one thing."

A crease appeared on Rigel's forehead in anticipation of what he was about to say.

"Your mate could very well be utterly broken and you may need to give her all the time in the world to gather her emotions..."

Rigel gulped as he stared in the direction of Hydra Kingdom.

They had finally reached the bridge two hours after they had started this journey. There was a Nyxer stationed every few meters with swords,  axes or bows and arrows.

"How do we get past them?" Rigel asked as they stopped several meters away from the bridge. "The mist that surrounds us will be noticeable, like a walking cloud, if we cross over the bridge." They looked at the vast expanse of Eridani. Patrol boats were running beneath the pillars that supported the bridge.

"I don't think that will be a problem," Rolfe breathed. "In fact, crossing the bridge won't be as much of a problem as staying in the town afterwards!" He looked up at the sky, where dense clouds had gathered. A loud thunder sounded and was followed by a crack of lightning. Moments later a deluge started. "There you go!" he said. "Now we can cross easily."

While Eltanin and Rigel marveled at Rolfe and Ileus, the two had bounced ahead. They walked over the stony floor as Ileus mocked the Nyxers. He even slapped a Nyxer and walked ahead leaving him stunned. "I hate their tattoos!" he whispered, looking at their tattoo-riddled bodies. It was as if the tattoos had gone crazy and spread all over their bodies.

"There's something out here!" The Nyxer who was slapped growled, as he stared right in front of him, trying to feel the air with his hands as if something would materialize.

"There's nothing here!" shouted the Nyxer next to him. "You have just drank too much!"

It took them another hour to cross the bridge. In that time, Ileus had pushed a Nyxer down the bridge into the river, when he found him leaning over the rail.

"Are you insane?" Rigel pulled him back. "They will detect us!"

"Nah! They won't," he replied, looking keenly at how the Nyxer splashed in the waters, screaming for his life. Boats sailed to him with speed and nets were thrown to save him. However, the man couldn't be saved. By the time they fished him out, his legs had melted away and so had his hands and parts of his body. It was an ugly site. "What is the material of those boats that aren't getting dissolved by the water?" Ileus asked, amusedly.

Even after being here a few times before, Eltanin thought that he had experienced every kind of cold that there was in this world. But when they crossed into Hydra Kingdom, he realized that wasn't true at all.

The cold in the Hydra Kingdom was a frigid wind, sharp needles of sleet. They were greeted by blizzards brought on by loud howls and wails of gale and endless dense clouds. The wintry lands of Hydra were nothing like Draka. It was blustery and punishing. It was as if the calm of this place was at war with the cold. As they entered the town, they found very few Nyxers. The town was... gray. In every sense. The buildings were gray, the weather was gray and so was the mood of the people. And true to what Ileus had said, there wasn't a single woman.

As soon as Rigel entered the city, he picked up the same scent. His eyes became droopy and his fangs lengthened. His chest rumbled with a growl as his wolf recognized its mate's scent. His claws came out as his wolf tried to surface. The scent was strong from even a thousand threads of them. Sensations overwhelmed him, racking his muscles. She was somewhere very close. He didn't know what she looked like or what her name was, but he realized one thing--his entire existence, he had been waiting for her. His head whipped in the direction of the scent.

"Rigel!" Eltanin rasped when he looked at how his neck tendons had strained and how he was digging his claws in his palms almost to the point that they would bleed if he didn't stop him now.

Rigel growled at him as if he was a threat to his mate.

"We need to look like Nyxers if we have to enter the palace," said Ileus in a low voice as they rushed to an abandoned narrow alley that stretched between two adjoining markets.