The Alpha's Temptation

Eltanin got up to cover her with the blanket. As he tucked it around her, he continued, "Mates want to mark and claim each other. Your mate is your soulmate and you will follow him or her to the Fade. If one dies, so does the other. Or let me put it this way, if one dies, the other doesn't want to live if they have formed a mate bond."

A shudder ran through her body. She experienced this feeling when he was lying lifeless in the temple. She didn't want to live without him. Her feelings for him were so intense it was hard to fathom.

"Most mates do not wait… they can't wait to mark and claim each other because the bond is too strong to deny or resist. However, sometimes you find mates in omegas, in werewolves who haven't yet shifted. So, it is possible that the omega doesn't smell his or her mate but they do develop strong feelings for their mates. They trust each other over anyone else." He sat down beside her and took her hand in both of his. He brushed her knuckles with his thumbs. "Mates want to have pups together and take care of their families. It is a natural instinct."

Eltanin had lived so long, yet he hadn't known much about mates. He had never identified with their intense feelings. His parents were mates and he idolized the strong bond they had with each other, and that was one of the reasons why he wanted to marry his mate. He had seen how his mother and father would talk passionately with each other. They protected each other with their lives. Now that he had found his mate, everything he was saying felt natural and right. It was as if his soul had gravitated towards only one person and that was his mate.

"Why are you telling me all this?" she asked in a shaky voice as she stared at him. Her eyes welled up.

He brought his free hand to her cheek and caressed it with his fingers. "Have you ever had any feelings about… me?"

Her gaze locked with his and she felt her vision becoming blurry. She had been feeling all this for him and then some. "You are the only wolf I have ever felt this strongly about," she confessed.

Eltanin's whole body felt like strung chords of a harp. His soul hummed with so much happiness that his chest vibrated with a rumble.

So, the girl who came to spy on him fell in love with him… eventually.

Tania felt a tear wetting her cheek. With quivering lips, she thought she should speak, but a sob left her instead. "Why— why are you telling me all this?" she asked again, breathing heavily.

"Because you are my mate, love."

Tania's hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes were as wide as saucers with tears rolling out. He leaned towards her and kissed her tears away. Then he kissed her on her forehead and realized that she was shivering under his touch. He knew that the information was overwhelming for her.

Dread bubbled inside her chest. The whole thing felt so right, yet… She was held by numerous shackles. "But you are a king and I am— I am just a slave, Your Highness."

"So?" he said. "You are my mate and that is all that matters."

"But I am— I am someone you will loathe, Your Highness. I am—" she choked. How could she say that she was a spy who was supposed to relay all his secrets and every day routines about him to Menkar? She felt she had betrayed Eltanin on so many levels. And she betrayed her Master as well by falling in love with the man who was her first mission. Guilt weighed heavily onto her shoulders, like the mountain of Humval ruins. She was loathsome. How could a man who was the most powerful king of Araniea, who trusted her blindly, be her mate? Yet through all this, she wanted his hand to soothe away the sting of guilt and the feeling that she was betraying him and Menkar.

All of a sudden, Tania wanted him so badly she couldn't comprehend her feelings for him. She wanted to be devoured by him. She wanted to be taken by him, if that even made any sense.

A strong wave of anxiety at the thought that a part of her soul was held prisoner by Menkar made her tremble. She had made a deal with Menkar that if she spied on Eltanin, he would give her her freedom. He would give back that piece of her soul that he had coveted since she was a child. But now she didn't know what to do—choose her soul or Eltanin. She wanted her freedom desperately. And it depended on her completion of the mission.

So, now what? Should she stop spying? Should she tell Menkar that she couldn't be a spy anymore or should she tell Eltanin that she can't be his mate. The thought twisted within her soul and felt as if it was stabbed by a thousand daggers.

Eltanin rested his head on hers. "Don't think too hard about it, Tania. Just accept me."

She was broken out of her reverie and the tears she was holding back rolled out unbridled. She choked on her emotions as a sob left her. "Your High—" she shuddered. "Elty…"

"Oh, Tania!" Eltanin crashed his lips on hers. He had never felt such strong emotions about anyone in his life and for the first time he said passionately, with all his heart, "I love you!"

She curled her arms around his neck and threaded her fingers into his soft and silky, midnight blue hair. She had to admit that she, too, was in love with him. "I love you, too!" Something stirred wildly in her chest. It wanted to come out and claim the beautiful man kissing her as if his life depended on it. But other than the wild sensation she felt, nothing else happened.

When the two pulled away from each other, they were both breathless. "I don't know if your people would accept me. I don't know where to go from here… You are a king and I am a slave from the Cetus Monastery, who hasn't even shifted. Everyone hates me. I am—" a spy. How could she say that she was a spy? She rubbed her chest as unease settled within her. "Maybe… maybe, you should reject me. I am not worthy of you."

He placed a finger on her lips as a growl emanated from his chest. "You don't have to say anything right now. And I will never reject you. The word rejection will never come between us, okay?"

"But—"

He pressed another kiss on her lips and stopped her from speaking. "I want to show you to the world." He was so proud of her that he was becoming impatient about marking her and presenting her to his people. The Elders would get shut down once and for all. His father and mother would be so happy for him. "But first, I want to take you to meet my mother."

She giggled with amusement. "I would love to meet her. Where does she live?"

"In the Jade Sea."

Her mouth fell to the floor.