The Alpha's Temptation

All of a sudden a blinding, bright light filled the small stable where Kinshra was lying. Terrified, Cordea snatched the baby from her mother. Pressing the child close to her chest, she crouched down on to the ground. "Kinshraaaaa!" Cordea's scream echoed.

Tania woke up abruptly, covered in sweat, trying her best to suppress a scream. Her chest heaved heavily and her throat was paper dry. She rose up with a jerk and something tugged her back down. She snapped her head in the direction of what it was and found a large hand gripping hers. Trembling from the dream, Tania followed the arm in a haze and stared into Eltanin's black eyes. He was holding her hand tightly as he watched her. Her breath was ragged, but the relief she felt at seeing him was massive.

"Nightmare?" he asked.

She didn't reply as she tried to gather her wits. She laid back down on her pillow, still trembling.

Eltanin shifted himself towards her, turned her away from him and then pulled her against his chest. She was shaking so violently that his heart felt like it leapt out of his chest. He stroked her hair, arm, and the sides of her belly gently, until she had stopped trembling and her breath evened out. "Would you like to tell me about it?" she asked.

"No…" she replied, her voice ashy.

Eltanin tucked her head beneath his chin and brought his thigh over hers. He pulled her closer to his chest, his arm curling protectively around her slender waist. It was as if he wanted to protect her from her dreams also.

"Sleep Tania."

Tania had never felt such intimacy from anyone before. She hadn't received any until now. Right now, she felt so comfortable and protected that a thought crossed her mind—what if she could stay like this forever? Her eyes jerked open at her ridiculous thoughts and shoved it out of her mind immediately.

---

In the morning, even though Eltanin wanted to have breakfast with Tania, he had to come to the foyer in the west wing of the palace as his father had demanded. He sat on the couch as the guards went to announce his arrival to Alrakis.

Morava was sitting to the left of him on a cushioned chair, looking like she hadn't left a place in her body to doll up. She was wearing a maroon silk gown and her hair was pinned with a large number of diamond pins that formed a hairband on the top of her head. As she sat on the chair, she smiled sweetly at him, the opposite of her usual pompous, self-righteous demeanor.

"How are you, Your Highness?" she asked in a soft voice as if she had forgotten everything that had happened to her close confidante, Giada.

Eltanin knew how to play this game. He had invented the game. "I am fine, princess. And how are you?" He scoffed. He was well aware of Morava's intentions for being here.

Morava bowed again. "I am doing fine as well. However, can you tell me why Alpha Alrakis has called us?"

If Eltanin was surprised, he didn't show it. Morava was good at feigning ignorance and excellent at forgetting about those who laid their lives down for her. In this case, who lost their lives for her. Did she think that the question would put him on a backfoot? He brushed an invisible particle from his tunic and adjusted his baldric. "I have no idea either," he replied, as he looked away. He gave a cursory glance to her and saw a flicker of temper cross her eyes. He wanted to laugh at her but chose to remain quiet.

Alrakis stormed inside the room looking furious. "I heard that you killed Giada!" he snarled at Eltanin even before he sat down. He came to stand right in front of his son and placed his hands on his waist, his lips peeled back from his teeth.

Eltanin tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. "I don't think I have to explain myself to you, as king, as to why I killed her." He gazed at Morava who appeared as if she was anxious about the conversation, but at the same time attentive. His gaze returned to his father and he snarled back, "However, this is the last time I will warn you, I will not tolerate people going against my judgment or the laws of my kingdom. If they do, I will punish them," he paused to gaze at Morava, then continued, "and punish them severely!"

"Eltanin!" Alrakis shouted. The minute he shouted, Eltanin let his aura out. Alrakis immediately backed off a little.

"Please Alpha Alrakis," Morava cried. "What the king did was the right thing to do. Giada was wrong. She shouldn't have gone against the law of the kingdom." She lowered her head and sniffled. "Even if she was doing it all for her princess. But— but she stepped over the line and I will take full responsibility for her punishment." There were at least a dozen guards standing in the hall, stationed at the doors and every nook and cranny. She said all this a bit loudly for all of them to hear because she knew that the whole incident would travel beyond the walls of the palace, through rumors spread by the guards. "King Eltanin was right in defending the servant girl."

Eltanin retracted his aura and Alrakis eased. "Do you see how nice Morava is? She is ready to forgive you for killing her friend!"

"Morava was no friend of Giada!" Eltanin growled. "If she had been her friend, she would have been mourning Giada's loss instead of sitting here and smiling at me. After all, her friend died just yesterday!"

Morava was frozen in place. She looked like a fool in front of the guards. They were going to think of her as a cold-hearted bitch who was only interested in the king and wasn't even grieving about her friend. "I— I am saddened by my—" she muttered.

Eltanin smirked at her. "I will take my leave, Father," he said and then strode out of the room. He stopped at the door then turned and looked over his shoulder to say, "Giada has been sent to your kingdom for her last rites. That was the only reprieve I could give her. Had she been left here her body would have been thrown to vultures to feast on. I thought you'd like to know!" He walked out of the room without looking back.

Morava was dumbstruck. Her heart beat accelerated not because she was angry, but because Eltanin had just shown how ignorant, foolish and disloyal she was. Her face was flushed red and didn't know where to look. She was trying to be sweet and show that she was faithful to the king, supporting him, but it rebounded back so badly that she didn't have time to recover.

Alrakis was shocked. Wordlessly, he watched his son leave the foyer. What he said was right and for the first time Alrakis felt ashamed that he chose Morava to be Eltanin's bride. He was aware that Morava was still standing behind him. He couldn't face her. After a long moment of silence, neither spoke, Alrakis trudged back to his room.